How bad are v-shaped vaulted ceilings for acoustics?

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by Brian Gupton, Sep 20, 2014.

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  1. Brian Gupton

    Brian Gupton Forum Resident Thread Starter

    We are looking at houses right now. Found a great one, however, I'm worried that the acoustics might make it impossible to get a great listening room. It has v-shaped vaulted ceilings, lots of windows, and hard floors (not sure what they are made of).

    Not too worried about the windows since I can get curtains or fabric blinds. Ditto on the flooring, though it will take a massive rug to cover that floor. The ceiling is the biggest concern. I vaguely remember that v-shaped ceilings are the absolute worse for acoustics, but can't really remember.

    You can see video of the room starting at the 2:10 mark. Am I asking for trouble with this room?

     
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  2. LeeS

    LeeS Music Fan

    Location:
    Atlanta
  3. T'mershi Duween

    T'mershi Duween Forum Resident

    Location:
    Y'allywood
    Vaulted ceilings are an acoustical gift. Whether you're blasting your full range stereo speakers or recording a drum set, vaulted ceilings are your friends. :)

    Now that hard wood floor on the other hand... :shake:

    Lovely house there!
     
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  4. mrwolk

    mrwolk One and a half ears...no waiting!

    Location:
    Ottawa, Canada
    For listening to your sound system I can't imagine any problems...many churches with vaulted ceilings are used for recordings......best to remember that a house is a home..not just a listening room. The last thing I thought about the house that I currently live in is whether any of the rooms would be a detriment to my listening enjoyment.
     
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  5. Brian Gupton

    Brian Gupton Forum Resident Thread Starter

  6. Brian Gupton

    Brian Gupton Forum Resident Thread Starter

    The floors aren't wood. They are some hard ceramic or linoleum maybe. Not sure, but definitely not wood.

    I have concrete floors now, but cover it with carpet. I also have lots of GIK acoustic treatment panels and corner traps. Not sure I could get away with those in this space. Ceiling would probably be ok to put panels on. And I guess I could put the other panels on stands and move them out for listening sessions.
     
  7. Brian Gupton

    Brian Gupton Forum Resident Thread Starter

    I have a dedicated listening room now. While it is quite small (11' x 15'), it sounds great. If I'm going to move, I'm definitely taking my listening enjoyment into consideration as long as there are options to consider.

    I think it's the Jim Smith book where he specifically says that vaulted ceilings are a nightmare. Can't remember, but whomever it was specifically said something to the effect of "Cathedral ceilings belong in churches, not listening rooms."
     
    Last edited: Sep 20, 2014
  8. tim185

    tim185 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Australia
    V ceilings. You will need to be very careful with listening position. Those type of ceilings will tend to focus early reflections. Will need to be tested to see what your dealing with.
     
  9. Slack

    Slack Forum Resident

    I have lived in houses with vaulted ceilings and the acoustics were OK.Better to fire the speakers along the vault rather than across it though.
    My room was about 6m by 5m with a glass wall along one side and sounded good.
     
  10. tim185

    tim185 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Australia
    Thing is in a church they are less damaging because the ceiling is MUCH higher than in a domestic home, so the reflection is much later in time.
     
  11. mongo

    mongo Senior Member

    The large windows are way more of an issue than the ceiling which to me is a non-issue.
     
  12. tim185

    tim185 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Australia
    Large windows will pass a lot of bass so that's good, as long as they are not in bad reflection point zones. A V ceiling is fine , unless you sit right where it will focus a reflection from its apex.
     
  13. tim185

    tim185 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Australia
    Brian if you set up with the large windows behind you, you would save yourself the trouble of massive rear wall treatment. Windows as seen here are a GOOD thing.
     
  14. Brian Gupton

    Brian Gupton Forum Resident Thread Starter

    I had some cloth blinds kinda like these in a loft I owned before that had huge windows. Seemed fine, however, those windows were behind the speakers. These would be on one full side. You think fabric blinds like these would make it sound good or just so-so?
     
  15. tim185

    tim185 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Australia
    I really have the windows behind you if possible. If not, some sort of thickish type blind should be ok. You may have a bit of asymmetry going in depending on what the wall on the other side is doing.
     
  16. Brian Gupton

    Brian Gupton Forum Resident Thread Starter

    These windows would be on the left wall. I'd have to do the setup with the speakers on either side of the fireplace. That would be the only setup option.

    Here's a better pic of the room from another direction. The big wall of windows isn't shown here, it's the left wall. The room is bigger than it looks in this pic, but you'll get the idea.

    This is the first place we even looked. The outdoor area and the views are killer, but can be found in other places if we are patient. This place was pretty greta though and stuff in the Bay Area doesn't stay available for very long, so we'll have to decide if we want it by Monday.

    [​IMG]
     
  17. tim185

    tim185 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Australia
    Looks like a largish room, I think you could make it work. Those walls are going to be a reasonable distance from you so that's good. It's still going to need some attention as it will be very live in its current state.
     
  18. tubesandvinyl

    tubesandvinyl Forum Resident

    Ceilings: good
    Windows: early reflections will mess up your soundstage. But they can easily be fixed with coverings during your serious listening time.
    Tile floor: again, reflections. Tame them with carpet, furniture, etc.
     
    Brian Gupton likes this.
  19. Brian Gupton

    Brian Gupton Forum Resident Thread Starter

    One other consideration I hadn't thought about... that wall of windows is west facing. That means it will get direct sunlight all afternoon. We have a similar problem in our current place. The light has absolutely destroyed a pricey leather couch in a little over a year. I wonder how my speakers would fare.
     
  20. tubesandvinyl

    tubesandvinyl Forum Resident

    That window to the left is going to be a problem. Listen to your voice reflect when you're talking during the video. Big time reflections. It will be really bad when you play your music loudly.

    You're going to have to tame that window, especially the corner. Acoustic covering will help.
     
  21. Brian Gupton

    Brian Gupton Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Yeah, the sound reflections were pretty bad. I had her play some music (though she played it from the other room) and it sounded pretty terrible, though she obviously hadn't attempted to do anything about acoustics.

    You think plants and fabric blinds will be enough to tame the windows?
     
  22. Upinsmoke

    Upinsmoke Well-Known Member

    Location:
    SE PA
    Easy fix for that would be to have window film put on those. It will greatly reduce the amount of uv light into the home.
     
  23. tubesandvinyl

    tubesandvinyl Forum Resident

    Brian,

    Blinds will help dull the first reflections, and clean up the top end of the music. But, ideally, you'll need to do some bass trapping, especially in the corners. OTW, you'll get some pretty lumpy, thumpy one note bass.

    Not a panic situation. You can make the room sound decent, but you're going to have to do some work on it. You can do it all yourself, for very little money. The things you need are at your local building supply place.
     
  24. thegage

    thegage Forum Currency Nerd

    A manufacturer of room treatments: http://realtraps.com

    I use a large number of his bass traps. VERY effective.

    John K.
     
  25. mds

    mds Forum Resident

    Location:
    PA
    I have a vaulted ceiling and find it an attribute. My listening position is under the ridge, high point, and it runs perpendicular to the wall the speakers are placed in front of. I love having it, creates a very large volume of space for those large bass sound waves to fully open up. In addition the floor and ceiling are not parallel to each other another bonus. I also have a wall of windows behind my listening position with a deck on the other side. I have experienced no poor reflected sound from it and on nice days I open them which increases the perception of a longer room again I believe a benefit. On nice days I can sit on my deck with the windows open and enjoy the music, no need for outdoor speakers. I would go for it if you like the rest of the house and neighborhood, but agree I also am not buying my next house if it doesn't have a potentially great music room! I spend too much time listening to music and know the room is the one most important component. You can easily buy and sell electronics but if the room isn't working you are stuck.
     
    Brian Gupton likes this.
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