Room size
- Thread starter Thieliste
- Start date
Steve Williams
Site Founder, Site Owner, Administrator
Depends on what you want to achieve. Having the biggest possible soundstage, the larger the room the better I would assume. A somewhat smaller room like 15 x 21 will allow easier energizing of the room and pressurizing it with bass where appropriate. Everything has its advantages and disadvantages.
My room is 24 x 12 x 8.5 (L x W x H, 13.5 wide at small window bay) and for a long time I found the narrower width to be a drawback. In the meantime a) my soundstage has gotten rather large, also in subjectively perceived width (especially when listening in the dark with visual clues absent), and b) I discovered that with greater width at same length I might have to change my system concept if I'd like to play as loudly as I do now, and energize the room properly (related but not the same). This might bring with its own issues. So I am now actually happy with the compromise I got. But it will be different for each individual, and the concept of 'ideal' will vary.
Elliot G.
Industry Expert
the proper ration is 1:1.6.2.33. This is one of the golden ratio's not the only one and if the ceiling can be 10 instead of 9 it will make a difference
or 10 foot ceiling by 16 by 23.3 feet long.
Best regards,
Elliot
With basement rooms, to the extent that the walls of the listening room would border the foundation, the walls will tend to be very stiff since they are concrete. The floor will also probably be concrete. This construction will tend to emphasize bass room modes, thus accenting peaks and dips in bass response corresponding to the room modes. Be prepared to use electronic equalization to tame these bass modes.
Also, you may find that few basements will allow construction of an unsupported expanse more than about 12 feet in one room dimension. Usually there need to be steel I-beams or concrete walls spaced every 12 feet or so to support the upper floors of the house adequately, and horizontal steel I-beam joists have to be supported down to the basement floor every few feet. That's why most large unfinished basements have a lot of vertical posts in the space. This may pose problems for constructing a basement room 15 feet wide without vertical pillars or posts interrupting the space. I'm sure there are architectural ways around this problem, but you should research this to make sure that constructing such a room is not cost prohibitive.
In my case, I was building a ranch home and initially planned a basement listening space of 20' x 26'. But when the architect mentioned the need for posts, I decided to build a narrower, 13' x 20' room. As other comments mention, such a narrow width can create problems for a a listening room unless you adopt a near-field listening strategy--which I did.
Also, you may find that few basements will allow construction of an unsupported expanse more than about 12 feet in one room dimension. Usually there need to be steel I-beams or concrete walls spaced every 12 feet or so to support the upper floors of the house adequately, and horizontal steel I-beam joists have to be supported down to the basement floor every few feet. That's why most large unfinished basements have a lot of vertical posts in the space. This may pose problems for constructing a basement room 15 feet wide without vertical pillars or posts interrupting the space. I'm sure there are architectural ways around this problem, but you should research this to make sure that constructing such a room is not cost prohibitive.
In my case, I was building a ranch home and initially planned a basement listening space of 20' x 26'. But when the architect mentioned the need for posts, I decided to build a narrower, 13' x 20' room. As other comments mention, such a narrow width can create problems for a a listening room unless you adopt a near-field listening strategy--which I did.
tmallin thanks for your input.
I have visited a house that has 2 basements and one of them is 90 m2 and 12 foot ceiling.
If i recall it would be possible to have 15 feet wide even though there are some vertical pillars.
The bigger basement was used to store 2 trucks that's why there is 12 foot ceiling.
I would still think it would be cheaper to construct a dedicated room in an existing basement compared to expending the house with the construction of a new room.
One other solution would be to use an existing garage next to the house to build the listening room.
I have been visiting houses with large garages so that could be an option too.
One other solution would be to use an existing garage next to the house to build the listening room.
I have been visiting houses with large garages so that could be an option too.
Although one or two extra feet width over 13 are great, many speakers can be used relatively close to the side walls and will allow us to listen in the far-field in such a room.
Ideally the room's dimensions would not allow more than one modal frequency in any dimension. The golden ration is one way to accomplish that but there are many others. Anything that gets you dimensions that are relatively prime to one another (i.e. not multiples or submultiples) will work.
HTH - Don
HTH - Don
Hi guys i have found a home that i would like to purchase and make nice renovations.
Unfortunately the room where i could build my listening room is not ideal size : 10.50X16.50X9.
What wall should i choose to place my speakers in my case ?
I will do some serious room treatment since the room is not ideal.
Thanks.
Unfortunately the room where i could build my listening room is not ideal size : 10.50X16.50X9.
What wall should i choose to place my speakers in my case ?
I will do some serious room treatment since the room is not ideal.
Thanks.
Vintage tannoys, harbeth, possibly LS3 5a with some corner traps and carpet firing down. Too much room treatment is not going to help, room is what it ls. Try pulling up both the chair and the speakers from the wall to sit more towards the middle
I obviously know it's too small that's why i'm asking, but check out this guy's room : https://systems.audiogon.com/systems/5707
No room is too small - I have seen pictures of a pair of Souldlab A1's in a 3x4 square meters room. And the owner was quite happy.
Dipole speakers can help a lot in narrow rooms, as they can be placed close to side walls.
Thanks. That is a great link. Placing the speakers on the long wall in small rooms is often the best option.
In my experience, unless you are prepared or wish to have very large speakers and everything that comes with their care and feeding, keep the dedicated room's size between 30 and 50 sq/m with a ceiling height of 3 to 3.5m. The amount of dedication required to make things work past this is not for everyone. Most flagships will work very well at 50sq but more importantly so will many if not all, their smaller siblings.
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