Room Dimensions

[Shadow_Ferret]

Hi. I have a silly question. I know, a shock.

If I'm measuring a room, in this case, my basement rec room, do I measure the entire area of the rec room or just the area where my home theater will be?

The total dimensions are 12 feet wide by 26 feet long and 7 feet high. However, the way it's arranged I will have the rear surround speakers behind the couch at about the 12 feet long area. The rest of the rec room is for my computer, the kids toys and dog.

In that case, the dimensions would be 12x12x7. Are those the dimensions I consider when I'm determining what speaker configuration works best and what power requirements I'll need?

Does any of this make sense?

 

[Buckle-meister]

Does any of this make sense?

It does. I don't know the answer, but it does make sense!

Actually, it's a very good question. Although I really don't know for sure (so take this opinion with a pinch of salt), I would hazard the guess that you would consider the smaller set of room dimensions for the speaker configuration since you wouldn't set the surrounds or surround-backs (if applicable) way way behind you. But as for power requirements, I would guess that the full room dimensions would be applicable since you have what you have, i.e. you cannot prevent the size of the room having an impact on the sound you will hear.

Regards

 

[bpape]

You need to consider the space that the speakers have to fill. If there are not solid walls and doors to close off the space where your HT is, you need to consider the whole space - including the volume and dimensions of the stairwell.

 

[Shadow_Ferret]

OK. Thanks. That makes sense. I wasn't including the bar area either.

 

[bpape]

Yes. The room modes are determined by the hard surfaces. The decay time calculations use the total volume of the space. This takes into account the resistance of the air and also how long on average before it strikes a surface. The bigger the room, the less surfaces it strikes in the same amount of time - therefore, the less chance any particular piece of treatment will be hit by any wave during a specific period of time. The ideal RT60 time will be higher for a larger space.

In a smaller space, in the same amount of time, a wave will hit more surfaces (treated or not) and the same surface more times. This is why in general, when dealing with a very small space, it's advisable to use more broadband treatment and less targeted treatments. You simply don't have the luxury to utilize specific treatments for specific things. Everything has to do pretty much everything.

Bryan