Does any1 know the costs of making an unfinished basement into an audio room? Im looking the the avantgarde trios but i have no idea how big the listening room shld be. Is there a kind of standard??

if your going all out, couldn't you put up walls, and make the room to your exact specifications?

it sounds like a long, expensive project, but I am sure it will pay off in the end


goo dluck, and be sure to post pics when your done =)

-mk

Well, first you'll have to finish the basement. Bare concrete walls and floor are obviously bad for acoustics, so you'll want some carpet down there, and some drywall for the walls too. You'll want it to be nice down there, so I'd budget at least 3-5k for the finishing alone (and that's if you're DIYing the basement finishing - if you're going to hire a contractor that's probably going to at least double). You'll want furniture, since obviously you won't be putting gear (or yourself for that matter) on the floor - budget another 3k for that.

Then, you can think about your audio gear setup.

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the showroom i went to had polished concrete walls and floor (one small carpet at the middle) and the sound just awes me. Its not a kind of impressive sound, but its the only one that engaged me to finish listening the whole album. I have never heard any speaker that reproduce a a live performace so vividly and naturally.

My basement however does not have any concrete walls. i guess its wooden walls layered with some funny foams...

It depends on what you are looking to do in all honesty. Do you want to put floating floors and walls in? What type of ceiling do you want and what type (if any) of acoustic treatments would you like? That will all come into play. Also, are you looking to soundproof your basement or just make it sound good? Not to pry, but what are the dimensions of your basement if you don't ind my asking?

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its around 1200 sq feet
i guess i wanna make it a really really really good soundproof dedicated listening room.

i would look for some of the room calculation software to see if you can "tweak" your room to sound better by say moving a wall 6" or so while you have an easy chance to do it.

You might start looking at site's like ASC...Rives...or any of the acoustic treatment companies.

Good choice on trios. I heard some duos and they were my first "wow" experience. I would love a trio + basshorn setup.

Found it:

http://www.decware.com/paper36.htm

Here's a paper on the correct dimensions for a listening room.

That listening room you went to with the concrete walls sounds interesting. They must have intentionally made it "live" for the reflections. Were they playing dipoles in there?

well if you are serious about a listening room and your going to keep this house for awhile, you can definately build a lot more than just the golden ratio size posted above. Slanted ceiling and non parallel walls will both have a big impact in how the speakers sound. You could also try to round the corners or set them up for bass traps in the future. Diffusors could be built into the wall, etc.

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In terms of soundproofing, I would recommend floating walls and such. You stuff or have the space in between stuffed with materials that will absorb and isolate and you have a nice soundproof room. These other suggestions above about some acoustic tweaks would add nicely to the excitement of the room too in terms of sound. Keep us posted and best of luck with whatever you decide to do!

search my thread esp about the dodd amps i had, youll see alot of info there about a basement setup.

if i could do it over again I would do hardwood floors instead of carpet, carpet gained alot but also hurt alot at the same time. remember its important that some wall in a basement have concrete behind them, so if you do one wall up to split the basement then youll have three concrete walls and one hollow. I would do a room in the center of the basement where all four walls are equal from behind. basements are great for isolation also..jump up and down in front of your rack with the turntable on..no skips here.
basements are even better for running dedicated a/c lines..very easy and close to the breaker box. but basements have alot of hard surfaces, floors and walls are again concrete and putting some carpet down wont do much.
stay away from glass as much as possible, remember you have alot of hard surfaces and adding more is not the way to go.

the best way in my view knowing what i know from my Basement room is a room built in the center with a butcher block maple floor few inchs above the concrete..thats alot of money though..

research my old threads, pm me any questions.

The only thing I don't like about basements for audio is the low ceilings. High ceilings do wonders for soundstage and some speakers simply can't operate properly in a room with low ceilings.

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you sir are mildly short of "lord amongst men" status.

i have been looking for that companies webpage for AGES now.

thank you.