Audio Chews: the hi-fi and music community

Monty

Well, after a few months of planning, my living room (aka listening room) is getting an overhaul. During which time, the hi-fi is going to be dismantled and stored in the dining room :(

Hopefully the changes will improve the sound. I'm changing windows,the fireplace, adding dedicated cat6a cables under floor, adding extra power sockets, carpeting, adding acoustic panels and wiring up for the purchase of a projector (moving the plasma to the kids room).

Just seen on PFM a member adding some concrete to his wooden floor so I'm getting a builder to quote for this as I think it will make a big difference if used at the speaker end of the room.

I'll post some pics in September when it's completed ! Yes, it's taking a while but we have builders etc coming at different times .....

Docfoster

September?
Blimey. Tho' I'm sure it'll be worth the wait. :-)
Please could you elaborate on the 'concrete to wooden floor' bit. I've often wondered about the sonic differences between suspended and solid floors. The closest i've come to experimenting with it is by using concrete slabs and blocks on a carpeted suspended floor - which I feel did make a difference. In fact even my dad (who has always found my Hifi interest hilarious at best) agreed that the cinder blocks effected the sound. Mainly in the trebble iirc...

Alan

There's a nice thread on PFM by our own Scottyhammer, he has made concrete infills under his floor for his speakers. (I'm sure he hasn't posted here because of his issue with posting pics on Chews).

Hope it's all well worth it Monty! I look forward to seeing how you get on.

PAC

Done it myself. The idea is very simple and very worthwhile (providing you don;t change speakers for ones which need moving closer or further away!). Work out where the speakers go and instead of sitting them on a springy wooden floor which resonates horribly (which can never be completely cured by simply adding a paving slab or similar to sit speakers on) you cut the floorboards, make up a mould and create a mass concrete plinth sat on the substrate, with compressible filler between the concrete and the surrounding floor boards (which need to be framed). By doing that you have completely isolated the speakers from the floorboards and have them on a solid foundation. Difficult to do unless you're on the ground floor though! I would be happy to pass on a detailed design to anyone thinking of doing that (although having retrained in electronics, I am still a chartered civil engineer for my sins)

Docfoster

Thanks PAC.
Understood.
Would love to try that one day. However a risk assessment indicates the following:
Recently laid interlocking wood/laminate floor + wife + recently sharpened Global kitchen knife set, makes the work currently too hazardous to undertake.

Monty

well, took the hardwood flooring up yesterday to find a problem. No floorboards and a depth of 3ft below the joists to the concrete!

Also, the joists are of poor quality (only 2 by 3 inch !) so need to be lowered and replaced before putting new flooring down.

SHMBO won't now allow me to fill with concrete (not even the speaker end) so I'm going to have to make do with stone plinths for the speakers (I did make it out I was doing it for insulation purposes and the builder didn't back me up :) )

uglymusic

Sounds like one of those projects on Grand Designs or Restoration Man where the unique 15th century keep is found to have no foundations and is next to a mineshaft.

Seriously, though, sounds a bugger.

Hope you get it all sorted without too many other nasty surprises.

Docfoster

Monty said:
well, took the hardwood flooring up yesterday to find a problem. No floorboards and a depth of 3ft below the joists to the concrete!

Also, the joists are of poor quality (only 2 by 3 inch !) so need to be lowered and replaced before putting new flooring down.

SHMBO won't now allow me to fill with concrete (not even the speaker end) so I'm going to have to make do with stone plinths for the speakers (I did make it out I was doing it for insulation purposes and the builder didn't back me up :) )

Bugger. :-(

Monty

I'm having major withdrawal symptoms :(

Cat6 and HDMI cables sorted. Extra double sockets ready, room stripped.

2 weeks in Menorca + 6 weeks then should be back up and running :)

uglymusic

That's strange, I was wondering yesterday how you were getting on.

Personally, I get withdrawal symptoms when I'm on holiday!

Monty

finally back up and running :)

Docfoster

Images not appearing.
Can help you to sort it out if required. :-)
Best way is to upload to an image hosting site (e.g. photobucket) and use the link from there.

uglymusic

Well done!

Was it worth the wait?

The images have a lot of mess in the code. I think you need to try posting a different version of the code from Photobucket, or just simply, the image's URL.

Alan

Nice room Monty! Were these the correct pics? I will take them down if not.

(FWIW, the 'Direct Link' next to your images on photobucket are what you need. Use the little 'picture' button (3rd in from the top right when you write your post), delete the 'http' already there and paste in your direct link. Or ask one of us modz to do it)

uglymusic

Ah. Mr Magic Fingers has sorted it, I see :-)

Alan

No, I just went to Monty's photobucket page and posted from scratch. I couldn't work out which images to use from that code.

uglymusic

There was a lot of stuff that I couldn't make out in that code, for sure.

Monty

Yep, these are the right pics. Thanks.

The carpet really helped things and positioning the speakers away from the wall seems to help too. I'll still need to look at acoustic treatments as there's still a bit of echo when I clap my hands but the soon to be hung curtains will probably help that too.

I've got the speakers on Naim Chips which are also on 1.5 inch thick slate slabs which controls the bass boom and room vibration well :)

Alan

I love being in a carpeted room now, having had a hard wood floor for a couple of years. That looks like a nice system and a comfortable room - well done!

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