Meeting an acoustic door supplier

[TheRealOC]

I'm doing soundproofing treatment on two rooms that are going to have surround sound systems installed in them, as well as a small comms room for A/V equipment.

The wall treatment consists of a self-adhesive soundproofing membrane called Tecsound https://www.soundinsulation.ie/product-category/wall-soundproofing/ which is sandwiched by plasterboard on both sides of the stud partition walls. So every treated wall will be:
Plasterboard layer > Tecsound membrane > Plasterboard layer > Stud wall with RWA45 sound-isolating rockwool insulation > Plasterboard layer > Tecsound membrane > Plasterboard layer
This also applies to the ceilings.

Having put so much effort into the walls, it was a bit annoying because I had given up on being able to get a quality acoustic doors, as I didn't have €3000-€12,000 to drop on just these three doors. My wife also vetoed the idea of having two doors with an air gap in between them. So I had found a guy who would install three solid-oak core 30 minute fire doors for about €730 each (€2200 total, and was hoping that with the correct installation, it would be a reasonably good solution.

And then, plot twist

Another supplier got in touch with me claiming that he can install proper acoustic doors, complete with frame, architrave, hinges and lock, for €460 each. So that would be only €1380 for the three doors. My immediate reaction was it's probably too good to be true but he sent me a few pics from the catalogue, and I'm going out to meet him now. The standout spec seems to be "sound insulation class Rw = 32dB", so it should guarantee sound absorption up to 32dB. However, I don't know how dB correlates to an STC rating, so was wondering if anyone knows -

how good is a 32dB reduction?

Would 32dB be sufficient for a door into a 12foot x 12 foot room, with a 7.2.2 speaker setup in it (taking all the wall treatment into account)?

Would I be better to go with a door like this, or stick with the solid-core fire rated door?

 

[highfigh]

I'm doing soundproofing treatment on two rooms that are going to have surround sound systems installed in them, as well as a small comms room for A/V equipment.

The wall treatment consists of a self-adhesive soundproofing membrane called Tecsound https://www.soundinsulation.ie/product-category/wall-soundproofing/ which is sandwiched by plasterboard on both sides of the stud partition walls. So every treated wall will be:
Plasterboard layer > Tecsound membrane > Plasterboard layer > Stud wall with RWA45 sound-isolating rockwool insulation > Plasterboard layer > Tecsound membrane > Plasterboard layer
This also applies to the ceilings.

Having put so much effort into the walls, it was a bit annoying because I had given up on being able to get a quality acoustic doors, as I didn't have €3000-€12,000 to drop on just these three doors. My wife also vetoed the idea of having two doors with an air gap in between them. So I had found a guy who would install three solid-oak core 30 minute fire doors for about €730 each (€2200 total, and was hoping that with the correct installation, it would be a reasonably good solution.

And then, plot twist

Another supplier got in touch with me claiming that he can install proper acoustic doors, complete with frame, architrave, hinges and lock, for €460 each. So that would be only €1380 for the three doors. My immediate reaction was it's probably too good to be true but he sent me a few pics from the catalogue, and I'm going out to meet him now. The standout spec seems to be "sound insulation class Rw = 32dB", so it should guarantee sound absorption up to 32dB. However, I don't know how dB correlates to an STC rating, so was wondering if anyone knows -

how good is a 32dB reduction?

Would 32dB be sufficient for a door into a 12foot x 12 foot room, with a 7.2.2 speaker setup in it (taking all the wall treatment into account)?

Would I be better to go with a door like this, or stick with the solid-core fire rated door?

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Ask if you can see some of these doors in action so you can hear the difference.

I worked for an AV integrator in 2005 and we installed a demo theater in the office. Local code requires metal framing and fire rated drywall/wood products, so we ran the cabling in Smurf tube, installed the back boxes and screwed vinyl membrane onto the framing, followed by fire-rated particle board, followed by drywall. In the walls and ceiling was Rockwool, the HVAC ducts were fiberglass and the only additional perforations were for the sconces. The double doors were solid core with weatherstripping all around and a wooden threshold on the floor. When the door was closed, almost no sound escaped but as soon as it opened a bit, the sound came out.

Look at solid core doors, but make sure these do what the sales guys said.