Ideal dimensions for a listening room

[rockmeister]

far too late to this I expect, but golden ratio always works sound wise, being one way of cancelling standing wave nasty stuff (excuse the technical jargon ), in which case 14 x 22 for an 8ft standard ceiling is perfection.

But firing across the short dimension complicates that if the speakers are huge.

Firing across the narrow bit always means that, speaker to you is a shorter way, almost nearfield so the best results in a small room are mini monitor type speakers, since you need to get the speakers out 2 or 3ft, and ideally you need to get your head away from the reflective wall just behind your ears, also 2/3ft AND damp that wall, which has the most effect (try simply cupping both ears with your hands while listening to see what occurs when reflections don't bounce around so much).

In your 14' you are only 8 ft from the face of the speakers. If 8 is fine, then read on.
Next big thing is to avoid a cube. I'm guessing a standard 8ft ceiling height, so don't double the 8. Go a bit bigger. I'd guess anything from 18 to 22 will be fine, and if you are doing speaker spacing on the standard triangle, that also might push you at least 3ft away from the corners so! Great.

Concrete floor with plywood sheet screwed/glued down (to take spikes) and then carpeted to aid damping.
Damping behind your head
Something at the 1st reflection points if you can, to break that up and job's a good un I'd think?

 

[timmytiger]

You might be constrained by planning on floor choice, i wanted solid but as soon as the inspector looked in the foundation trench he insisted on suspended floor and deep foundations.

If it fits for you an upstairs room could remove the need to have a flat ceiling, could even make it a top floor glazed space. I always find flat 8 foot ceilings a bit boomy without some form of control, i think it's around a half wave 2nd 8ve D.

 

[tuga]

far too late to this I expect, but golden ratio always works sound wise

You seem to have missed the link to a piece by the Head of Acoustics Research at Salford Uni, which starts with:

Room sizing for studios​

Over the years, people have suggested certain ratios of room dimensions that minimise the distortion caused by low frequency room modes. These “golden ratios”, however, are not necessarily the best dimensions to choose for a room and below some new best room dimensions are suggested.

 

[DUVET]

Sorry but 8 foot ceiling . Ground and first floor will be block and beam to deaden noise transference upwards

 

[tuga]

Sorry but 8 foot ceiling . Ground and first floor will be block and beam to deaden noise transference upwards

We usually specify double layer plasterboard ceiling and a 50mm sound absorptive quilt on top between commercial and residential.

 

[marko]

In our last house - listening room was 14’x30’ with 8’ ceiling. Firing down the room, all the speakers we ever used sounded wonderful with listening chair (half way down the room) 15’ from speakers.
Current house - much smaller listening room is 11’ x 15’ with 8’ ceiling. Again, firing down the room with listening chair 14’ from speakers. Sounds superb,
even with biggish ANE’s.

 

[Audio Al]

Just listen to the music , F--k the room , Isn't it about the music ?
Next you will be doing sweeps of the room measurments

 

[DomT]

Sorry but 8 foot ceiling . Ground and first floor will be block and beam to deaden noise transference upwards

You should consider the use of resilient bars as well as they really help cut sound transmission and are not expensive.

 

[DomT]

Just listen to the music , F--k the room , Isn't it about the music ?
Next you will be doing sweeps of the room measurments

Yeah on that basis just use a boom box with a sub. Of course the room matters. If building from scratch you can make sure that it doesn’t have problems.

 

[marko]

Just listen to the music , F--k the room , Isn't it about the music ?
Next you will be doing sweeps of the room measurments

I’ll squeeze the system into our downstairs toilet - think it’ll just about fit. Will report back on how it sounds.

 

[rockmeister]

You seem to have missed the link to a piece by the Head of Acoustics Research at Salford Uni, which starts with:

Room sizing for studios​

Over the years, people have suggested certain ratios of room dimensions that minimise the distortion caused by low frequency room modes. These “golden ratios”, however, are not necessarily the best dimensions to choose for a room and below some new best room dimensions are suggested.

yes lovely charts dear but if 1 = the smallest dimension (in Duvet's case, 8ft) then the smallest suggest on your chart is 8ff X 17ft X 24ft ish). Should he reduce his ceiling height to 'OW' level? And his room is 14' wide.
Theories are great but reality matters more.

 

[tuga]

yes lovely charts dear but if 1 = the smallest dimension (in Duvet's case, 8ft) then the smallest suggest on your chart is 8ff X 17ft X 24ft ish). Should he reduce his ceiling height to 'OW' level? And his room is 14' wide.
Theories are great but reality matters more.

12w X 9.6d X 8h is the smallest optimal dimension.
But if @DUVET is to insulate the ceiling that may actually drop it down in level.

And in what way is the golden-ration applied to audio is no more than a theory, and one which someone who actually knows about the subject says is not fit for purpose?

Perhaps the topic is named wrong, it should be called Not Ideal Dimensions For Listening Rooms...

 

[DUVET]

This is a domestic room so all I will be doing is trying to maximise its potential . Life , hifi and buying a house are always a compromise .

 

[tuga]

This is a domestic room so all I will be doing is trying to maximise its potential . Life , hifi and buying a house are always a compromise .

If you are invested in investing some money on this project then asking here is not the best course of action.
Unfortunately there isn't a Wammer that has training in room acoustics so the best option is to contact a professional.

 

[audio_PHIL_e]

Life , hifi and buying a house are always a compromise

True, unless your financial resources are unlimited.

 

[sjs]

Unfortunately there isn't a Wammer that has training in room acoustics so the best option is to contact a professional.

I think I may contradict that statement but I also think the OP is aware of that from a thread earlier this year.

As a first question it is a good start, aim to get sensible room dimensions and avoid the worst issues. Golden ratio, fenerbacci sequence, Salford Uni report, all much better than a cube

Then think about construction and room finishes to address absorption and reverberation time, particularly at LF. Solid floors and walls are good in some respects, but the bass energy needs absorbing somewhere.

With some planning it can be possible to create LP and CD storage which also helps make walls non parallel, and provide bass traps

Then think about room layout, and particularly speaker and listener locations, mainly aiming to minimise interaction with inevitable room modes.

And finally careful use of room treatment, particularly diffraction. Personally I am no lover of recording studio dead acoustic as a domestic audio solution, tends to rob the life out of everything.

With roughly 8 x 14 x 22 being possible, it should work out nicely

 

[tuga]

I think I may contradict that statement but I also think the OP is aware of that from a thread earlier this year.

As a first question it is a good start, aim to get sensible room dimensions and avoid the worst issues. Golden ratio, fenerbacci sequence, Salford Uni report, all much better than a cube

Then think about construction and room finishes to address absorption and reverberation time, particularly at LF. Solid floors and walls are good in some respects, but the bass energy needs absorbing somewhere.

With some planning it can be possible to create LP and CD storage which also helps make walls non parallel, and provide bass traps

Then think about room layout, and particularly speaker and listener locations, mainly aiming to minimise interaction with inevitable room modes.

And finally careful use of room treatment, particularly diffraction. Personally I am no lover of recording studio dead acoustic as a domestic audio solution, tends to rob the life out of everything.

With roughly 8 x 14 x 22 being possible, it should work out nicely

Don’t be shy, what is your training?

 

[sjs]

Don’t be shy, what is your training?

a degree in electroacoustics, and over 30 years as an acoustics and noise consultant

 

[tuga]

a degree in electroacoustics, and over 30 years as an acoustics and noise consultant

Interesting, I didn't know there were any acoustics specialists here.
Have modelled any music venues and/or monitoring rooms?

 

[DUVET]

a degree in electroacoustics, and over 30 years as an acoustics and noise consultant

Nice one . Are you coming to the show ?