Need help with Basement Studio Design

Hello Folks. What an awesome resource you have put together here. This is my first post so I will do my best to follow the "rules". I am taking an existing space that I have been using as a studio in my basement and expanding the space adding an 8'x9'-6" pre manufactured Vocal Booth. I do intend to on occasion mic up drum kits and amplifiers, but for the most part I am using software instruments. My main goal is to have a really nice room to mix in. Eventually 5.1 will enter the picture. Currently I am working with several different trades, electric, plumbing, HVAC etc. to determine costs. Beyond these expenses, I would like to keep the budget to around $5k. I am having all new electric (dedicated ground rods, star diagram, etc) run for the space, will be moving a Hot water heater, and a trunk of my HVAC will be moved to the back of the space over the existing sump pump. The main HVAC system can not be moved. I will be installing all new hardwood floors over top of an existing concrete slab. The existing space has 1/2" drywall over 2x4 wood studs. The existing room is under my dining room which rarely gets used and the floors on the second floor above the studio are hard wood. I would prefer to keep my mix position below this area of my home as I believe it serves my families quality of home life best. The ceiling height is approximately 7' tall. It does tend to get loud on occasion when tracking and mixing. I do try to keep the levels in check by using a meter occasionally but often it gets cranked up. I am hoping the vocal booth will serve as the space that will keep the noise of the family above out of the recordings and vice versa. I was hoping that I could get general feedback on the layout of my room. All of the furniture and equipment is already purchased. I have spent several days looking at various potential layouts and believe I have found the one that makes best use of the space for flow and comfort of engineer and clients. Beyond the overall layout, I think this site has everything else I need from a standpoint of reference material. Your professional guidance would be greatly appreciated. I am including my basic design as well as photos of the existing space and the new area that I will be going into. Thanks in advance, Ross Hancock Maryland, USA

Additional photos of rough space. Ross

Last photos

Ross - If you want 5:1 you could do something like this. In your plan the door to the entry/voxbooth would be an acoustical problem creating bad rearside reflections. cheers john

John, Wow...thanks so much for such a fast reply. Your sketch actually represented the one and only position I had not thought of. Please forgive but I am sure you have had to battle with people who have not wanted to give up such valuable floor space on a small floor plan. I played with your idea a bit and squared out the wall hoping to get a suggestion from you on diffusers, corner traps etc. that would help "tune" the room without having to radically angle the walls. If I am just being unrealistic, please don't hesitate to say so. Couple of points that I must have missed in the original post. The Vocal Booth is pre manufactured at it's size and is rectangular. This can not be changed so I don't have the luxury to do what you have represented. The entrance into the studio is existing and can not be relocated. There is a steel beam that can't be moved that will hinder any stock glass slider or door from being framed in. I truly appreciate your time, and would ask you to take a look at the attached sketch and let me know if in your opinion I would be better served going in this direction or the layout of my original post?

yes - your new layout is better - you can tuck your speakers under the aircon ducts. It also gives you a longer length v wide ratio in the control room. I wasn't sure if you'd outlayed the money for the booth as you could probably build your own for cheaper. I'd imagined the jackpost to be hidden between the double walls which could be either sliders or a door/window system. My main point is that the proper angled walls in the control room is better than a square box. I'm not sure what you meant by the entrance as I put the entrance in the same place as you did. cheers john

John, I just can't thank you enough for your personal attention to this. I will be certain to Make a Donation to help you continue to offer this advice. The Pre manufactured vocal booth offered several advantages...instant gratification...transportability if I am to move (not likely anytime soon but always a possibility)...and most important, this booth went for a song and a prayer and was in excellent condition. Retailed for $10k, bought it for $3k...it just seemed to make a lot of sense for me. OK so I will go with the latest design, follow the detailed advice on this forum and start with the construction. Understanding that angled walls will be better than a box...is there any advice on these threads that explain how the "geometry" of the angles needs to be or can I just apply "slight" angles in the wall surfaces both horizontally and/or vertically to eliminate parallel surfaces while still maintaining as much floor space as possible? In addition, is there a calculation tool that you utilize that says AxBxC= an absolute requirement for bass traps and slot walls or are all of these treatments based on individual testing once the room is built. I ask, because if there are certain specifications that you can almost guarantee based on dimension or just your experience, it would be beneficial to know from the start. Regarding the "door", I interpreted your sketch incorrectly. Ross Hancock PS. How much of a "donation" does it take to see my floor plan realized 3 dimensionally in sketch up?:D