Progress in Iowa, but a few more questions (easy ones)

I am working on the floor plan for a home studio here in Iowa. The purpose of this studio is recording (mostly solo, some small ensembles) as well as music composition and, importantly, serving as a general music sanctuary. I have several questions and would greatly appreciate any advice anyone has to offer. 1. Sliding glass doors. I have been avoiding sliding glass doors, especially in the control room, to minimize hard surface reflections (the graph below compares, possibly incorrectly, reflection from glass vs. gypsum as a function of frequency, ignoring differences in absorption by the two materials). The point being that even with non-parallel walls, I am wary of hard surfaces adjacent to the optimal listening position. Question: Is this an over-inflated paranoia? 2. Parallel room. The room that would be the conventional “live room” is, for me, a music composition and listening environment as well as occasional recording room. I have modeled it after a “golden ratio” room with some base frequency control. However, the glass between the control room and this room will create asymmetry at the proposed listening position. In my current studio I deal with this by hanging a baffle over the window. Question: Any suggestions or pointers here? Should I consider a non-parallel wall room despite the small room size (and forget about golden ratio theory…)? 3. Iso room and a window. Many people emphasize the importance of visibility when recording artists. However, I have not included a window into the vocal/iso room (yet) in an attempt to avoid creating an asymmetry in the control room (and to reduce overly reflective surfaces, as above). Question: Should I put a window into this room (or a camera, though this seems less interactive)? 4. Foot traffic. The traffic flow is not optimal in terms of getting quickly from point A to point B. However, since I have usually just me or a couple other people working at a time, I do not anticipate that this is a giant problem. Question: Any suggestions or experiences that suggest that I should change the flow pattern? Thanks a million for any advice anyone has to offer.

scalpshifter wrote:

1. Sliding glass doors. I have been avoiding sliding glass doors, especially in the control room, to minimize hard surface reflections (the graph below compares, possibly incorrectly, reflection from glass vs. gypsum as a function of frequency, ignoring differences in absorption by the two materials). The point being that even with non-parallel walls, I am wary of hard surfaces adjacent to the optimal listening position. Question: Is this an over-inflated paranoia?

Not over-inflated, just cautious in th edesign phase. If the reflected sound will be past the listening area, no problem. From what I can see of your plans, the reflected sound will be behond the listening area.

2. Parallel room. The room that would be the conventional “live room” is, for me, a music composition and listening environment as well as occasional recording room. I have modeled it after a “golden ratio” room with some base frequency control. However, the glass between the control room and this room will create asymmetry at the proposed listening position. In my current studio I deal with this by hanging a baffle over the window. Question: Any suggestions or pointers here? Should I consider a non-parallel wall room despite the small room size (and forget about golden ratio theory…)?

Symmetry is only important for image building. As in control rooms. Not an issue here.

3. Iso room and a window. Many people emphasize the importance of visibility when recording artists. However, I have not included a window into the vocal/iso room (yet) in an attempt to avoid creating an asymmetry in the control room (and to reduce overly reflective surfaces, as above). Question: Should I put a window into this room (or a camera, though this seems less interactive)?

Good question, see above. Symmetry is not a concern here. A window would be fine. Symmetrically; Andre

swing it around to break up the parallels :) cheers john

swing it around to break up the parallels

John: Your eye for concepts is amazing! Humbled; Andre

or maybe this - better door entry :) cheers john

You guys made that look so easy! I had tried rotating things around but the rooms kept getting smaller..... I do want to avoid having any rooms overlap the slab/joist over basement junction so I'll have to be careful about where the walls end up. Thanks for the suggestions and clarifications regarding symmetry - very much appreciated!! Now that I have 5 months of Iowa winter in front of me it is time to do what fellas do best - build something (indoors)! Thanks again, Eric

Ok, after some mental gyrations I just have to ask… About the rear walls in the “swung around” designs. I see that the immediate listening area(s) are symmetrical, but also that the rear of the room with traps/resonators is not. Question: Is this going to be an issue (i.e., should I mirror the back-side walls of the rooms and sacrifice a bit of depth to get improved wall reflection symmetry)? Sorry for the lengthy Q and A. I think each question will be the last, but the scientist side of my brain wants to try every experiment, while the, “Henderson, you are perpetually broke!” side wants me to get it as close to correct with as few repetitions/expenditures as possible. Hence, the continuing barrage of questions. …and while I’m asking…. In reading about floating vs. not floating floors… I am physically isolated such that annoying people with low frequency leakage is not an issue. However, I very much want to minimize cable tangle both under the board and along the floor, as well as have a clean (aesthetically and electronically) power delivery system. Question: A floated floor creates opportunities to address both of these issues, but are there alternative solutions that folks have found to be satisfactory? Thanks again for your advice and supreme patience!! :?

About the rear walls in the “swung around” designs. I see that the immediate listening area(s) are symmetrical, but also that the rear of the room with traps/resonators is not. Question: Is this going to be an issue (i.e., should I mirror the back-side walls of the rooms and sacrifice a bit of depth to get improved wall reflection symmetry)?

At the frequemcies that the ear uses time delay for determining location, the room is symmetrical. This is not an issue. To put it more strongly, if I was designing this space for myself, I would use the rear design that John drew.

However, I very much want to minimize cable tangle both under the board and along the floor, as well as have a clean (aesthetically and electronically) power delivery system. Question: A floated floor creates opportunities to address both of these issues, but are there alternative solutions that folks have found to be satisfactory?

Floating a floor does NOTHNG for those issues directly. Making cable troughs/raceways in/under the floor does. The floating floor makes it easier to build cable troughs/raceways. Andre