New Design - moved from Studio Construction

Glenn - I can work with that. It does seem to contrast with Stuart's statement below, and I would like to discuss the reasoning why he is concerned about it.

But if you mean that the peak runs crosswise, being low at the front and back and high across the middle, well, I think I'd avoid that.

Stuart - why is it that you would avoid this? I can understand a concern of reflections, but this would be, at a minimum, beginning at 50% of the room (assuming identical pitch), which is behind the operator location. If I set the front rise to 12 degrees exactly, it would only expand that to 55% of the room. However, this would then put the first face that reflections would be an issue at that point. I would assume that since the ceiling should be "soft" - as the floor is "hard", that the high frequency reflections would be dampened pretty well anyway. So, what is the problem with doing this? (Again, I am not attempting to be argumentative or contrary - I truly want to understand this).

if it was actually a hard shell, you might end up with a concave situation where the peak could result in undo concentration. in this case, the ceiling will be a false ceiling below the isolation ceiling. this leaves you a lot of options for ensuring the sound travels correctly and you don't take up valuable floor space with large traps.

If it is a false ceiling, then what would give me the inner leaf mass? I assumed that the ceiling of the original scissor truss was my outer leaf, and the second ceiling I was building would be my inner leaf. I planned on building it inside-out. So, considering it would have two sheets of 5/8 drywall on it, wouldn't that be considered a hard ceiling? Edit - Now that I have spent more time looking at your proposal, I believe you are suggesting that I place a hard ceiling parallel to my outer leaf ceiling - creating the actual room shell. Then, adding a false "soft" ceiling which is 12 degrees off horizontal starting from the front of the room going back until it meets the hard ceiling. Above this false ceiling, I would then run hangers for bass traps as well as ductwork. Is this correct? If so, I am concerned about the ductwork. In order to get it into my live room, I would be punching holes directly through my control room leaf and into my live room, creating what I foresee as a frightening leak path. Based on this, I may just go with a flat hard ceiling for the control room, leaving empty air between my inner and outer leaves that I can place my ductwork. Then, I would at least not be compromising the isolation in exactly the same locations between my walls. Why is it I feel like I'm trying to fit the proverbial 10 pounds of manure in a five pound bag?

what i would do would be to build the inner leaf wall parallel to the outer truss up to the dividing wall to create as much volume in that space as possible, then add a lower false ceiling with the appropriate angles. even so, if you went with an inside out approach and given the fairly low angle it shouldn't be an issue as the inner portion of that new ceiling is all about absorption anyways. in that case, you'd build it out so the ceiling is as high as possible and use some clouds to do the final shaping.

"Much as I have enjoyed Rod's book and this forum, I have not found a clear cut explanation as to the differences in design philosophy." 50 years of sound control design: http://www.madebydelta.com/imported/ima ... 126205.pdf Tom Hidley tops this list, you may notice the strong resemblance between his and Mr. Sayers work. WestLake Recording Studios designed by Tom Hidley: http://www.thelakestudios.com/Studios/F ... rPlanC.pdf I do not think you will "find" a clear cut explanation but what you can do if you persist, is understand the methodology behind differing designs, learn to interpret what it is you are seeing to some extent rather than what seems to be an obscured teaching.

Glenn - I understand now, thank you for your patience explaining it to me. One question - because I am putting up the false ceiling, will the fact that the hard ceiling height is getting progressively smaller cause issues with reflections of low-mid frequencies that simple soft surfaces will not absorb as easily as the highs? Brien - Excellent links! Thanks for more reading material!

the angle of the ceiling is low enough (as defined so far) to very likely not be a problem.