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Goal: To create a space that provides the best acoustical environment possible for speech and music in the home.
- Related Codes & Standards
- Tips/Considerations
- When analyzing a critical listening room or home theater, it is important to examine the ratios of the room's dimensions in addition to the room's reverberation time and any potential problematic reflection (such as from concave, reflective surfaces or peaked/domed ceilings). Certain room dimension ratios are better suited than others for achieving a rich acoustic environment.
The goal is to find ratios that allow even distribution of sound across the frequency spectrum. When this happens, tones are reinforced equally and the least amount of "coloration" occurs. Colorations largely determine the quality of sound in a smaller room (such as a studio or home theater). These colorations, caused by room resonances (modes), can degrade the quality of music and speech, creating an unnatural and monotonous emphasis at certain frequencies.
- Assuming any transmitted noise is controlled, the primary noise concern is from the HVAC system (heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning). All mechanical equipment should be controlled to about NC 25-35. Excessive HVAC noise is best addressed in the design phase, as it is difficult to control after construction. A system upgrade might be the only post-construction solution.
- Excessive room length should be avoided.
- Walls, except the side walls close to the screen, should be absorptive. It is not necessary to cover every surface in the home theatre with a sound absorbing material. This would create an acoustically "dead" environment with too much bass sound. To create the optimum acoustic environment, a balance of absorption and diffusion should be considered. There are several commercially manufactured products for both absorption and
diffusion.
- One of the biggest acoustic concerns in a home theater is the transmission of noise either from the activities of the home into the theater, or the noise from the home theater impacting the rest of the home. The majority of the noise will always be transmitted through the weaker point (for instance, doorways). Before any effort is spent improving the isolation quality of the wall, the noise path should be controlled through the door. At least add weather stripping to the door, even though it is an interior door, and consider a drop seal.
- Sound isolation is achieved with massive construction, an airspace, and elimination of any structural connections that may transmit sound. Because of the low frequency/bass music, it can be difficult to properly isolate sound when building a home theatre.
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