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Removing Carpet . . . adding wood floors . . . sound?


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I am reflooring the entire house with wood floors with means my carpet is going away. I have never had a hifi in a wood floor room. I have always had hifi in a carpeted to thick shag capeted room.

 

Am I going to start crying after the home improvement?

My System TWO SPEAKERS AND A CHAIR

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Solid wood or engineered laminate? What species? No chance of a heavy may in your "HiFi" room?

Eloise

---

...in my opinion / experience...

While I agree "Everything may matter" working out what actually affects the sound is a trickier thing.

And I agree "Trust your ears" but equally don't allow them to fool you - trust them with a bit of skepticism.

keep your mind open... But mind your brain doesn't fall out.

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Engineered wood laminate.

 

Don't understand second question.

What type of wood: oak; pine; bamboo; etc.

Eloise

---

...in my opinion / experience...

While I agree "Everything may matter" working out what actually affects the sound is a trickier thing.

And I agree "Trust your ears" but equally don't allow them to fool you - trust them with a bit of skepticism.

keep your mind open... But mind your brain doesn't fall out.

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I'm about to pull the trigger on this too, with similar lingering doubts. Having a flooring that isn't echoey or springy is important.

 

cf: http://www.computeraudiophile.com/f12-headphones-and-speakers/what-best-flooring-4210/

 

Our carpet looks terrible now.

 

We had laminate flooring in a place I lived in briefly. It is an acoustic nightmare. A kid would drop a marble and you would hear it all over the house. You want real wood. I was told Maple was the best, but I think it is most likely we will get oak.

 

Get an area rug to go in front of the speakers where the floor reflection would be.

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I had a wood floor once and it was so bright sounding...I had to add a bunch of absorption in other places to tame the RT-60...and a throw rug (wool with an under rug anti-skid pad added) will help (a little). But it was pretty...worth it if you have that as a priority (it is important for keeping the peace, I'm sure). Just plan on having to adjust things a bit due to the change in first reflection bounce and the long echo. Can you swing a ceiling absorber? This would be a great tradeoff...carpet for wood + absorption cloud for sheetrock.

 

John

Positive emotions enhance our musical experiences.

 

Synology DS213+ NAS -> Auralic Vega w/Linear Power Supply -> Auralic Vega DAC (Symposium Jr rollerball isolation) -> XLR -> Auralic Taurus Pre -> XLR -> Pass Labs XA-30.5 power amplifier (on 4" maple and 4 Stillpoints) -> Hawthorne Audio Reference K2 Speakers in MTM configuration (Symposium Jr HD rollerball isolation) and Hawthorne Audio Bass Augmentation Baffles (Symposium Jr rollerball isolation) -> Bi-amped w/ two Rythmic OB plate amps) -> Extensive Room Treatments (x2 SRL Acoustics Prime 37 diffusion plus key absorption and extensive bass trapping) and Pi Audio Uberbuss' for the front end and amplification

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Thick carpet with good underlay will dampen a room significantly. Going to bare wood will increase the reflections and the "hardness" of the sound.

 

If you like the way the room sounds now then wood floors will require large thick rugs on top and/or changes to the damping on the walls or ceiling.

 

I went from suspended wood floors with full carpet, to concrete slab with full carpet and the difference was substantial. I like the concrete slab.

 

Greg

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Can you swing a ceiling absorber? This would be a great tradeoff...carpet for wood + absorption cloud for sheetrock.

 

John

I am very sure my loving wife will forbid clouds. But I am interested in benefits. Is it simply ceiling reflections or is there more to clouds that I need to know?

My System TWO SPEAKERS AND A CHAIR

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Thick carpet with good underlay will dampen a room significantly. Going to bare wood will increase the reflections and the "hardness" of the sound.

 

If you like the way the room sounds now then wood floors will require large thick rugs on top and/or changes to the damping on the walls or ceiling.

 

I went from suspended wood floors with full carpet, to concrete slab with full carpet and the difference was substantial. I like the concrete slab.

 

Greg

It's kind of funny that you like having a concrete slab (not funny in a bad way) while I have a cement floor in my dedicated room ; I have had conversations with Jim Smith " Get Better Sound" in the pass, where he saids that putting in a wooden floor over my slab would result in a warmer, natural sound. But knowing that you went from a wood floor to a concrete floor makes me wonder. Of course laying 2x4 flat over a slab would not give away to any bounce. Oh what to do? I feel your pain Wgscott in the reverse.

C.A.P. Pipeline, windows pro 10 > Roon > SOtM USB > Keces power supply > HDplex power supply > 4x2 HD Mini DSP > Ayre DSD QB-9 > Naim CDX > ModWright 9 S.E. Preamp > A21 Parasound Amplifier > Magnepan .7 > Augie's Dipole sub, ML sub, DIY sub > Dedicated room with acoustical treatment.

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It's kind of funny that you like having a concrete slab (not funny in a bad way) while I have a cement floor in my dedicated room ; I have had conversations with Jim Smith " Get Better Sound" in the pass, where he saids that putting in a wooden floor over my slab would result in a warmer, natural sound. But knowing that you went from a wood floor to a concrete floor makes me wonder. Of course laying 2x4 flat over a slab would not give away to any bounce. Oh what to do? I feel your pain Wgscott in the reverse.

 

I'm glad we can have senses of humour over this stuff!

 

I've actually had more different wall and floor constructions in my listening rooms than I can count. While I agree that a wooden floor on 2x4 over concrete would change the sound, the amount of change would surely depend on the floor coverings as well. The wood over concrete change would also likely be less than my totally suspended wood floor which was quite springy.

 

Basements are quite rare here in Australia (the ground never freezes so the extra insulation isn't needed) and I've wondered what such a large echo chamber under a wooden floor would do to the sound.

 

I deliberately stayed away from evaluative words like "better", "worse", "natural" because they seem to be highly subjective.

 

(Funny story--At one time, in one place, with one speaker system, with one cat, I noticed that when she (the cat) slept at the first floor reflection point from the tweeter, that I preferred that sound--clearer and less muddled. She was very upset because for serious listening after that, her favourite place--and the mirror image spot for the other speaker--became blocked by a small pile of cushions! :) Those speakers are now gone, and the carpet and underlay are thicker so the cushions can now stay on the lounge.

The moral of the story--for me anyway--is that sometimes small changes can be significant.)

 

Greg

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I am very sure my loving wife will forbid clouds. But I am interested in benefits. Is it simply ceiling reflections or is there more to clouds that I need to know?

 

The benefit is that you can add absorption and deal with first reflection issues from the ceiling in a very local manner (i.e. where they occur if you are clever enough put them in the right spot). They can be more effective at a broader spectrum than carpet which is only limited in it's absorption range. A good trade especially if you place them well and can add a throw rug on the floor at the first reflection point.

 

Here are some simple mounting brackets for doing this:

 

Fixed distance from the ceiling:

Acoustic Panel Ceiling Cloud Mounting Brackets©

 

Variable distance from the ceiling (wire length can be increased or decreased to suit):

Acoustical Cloud Installation Hardware

 

I've not been able to get the "OK" yet either...

 

Best,

John

Positive emotions enhance our musical experiences.

 

Synology DS213+ NAS -> Auralic Vega w/Linear Power Supply -> Auralic Vega DAC (Symposium Jr rollerball isolation) -> XLR -> Auralic Taurus Pre -> XLR -> Pass Labs XA-30.5 power amplifier (on 4" maple and 4 Stillpoints) -> Hawthorne Audio Reference K2 Speakers in MTM configuration (Symposium Jr HD rollerball isolation) and Hawthorne Audio Bass Augmentation Baffles (Symposium Jr rollerball isolation) -> Bi-amped w/ two Rythmic OB plate amps) -> Extensive Room Treatments (x2 SRL Acoustics Prime 37 diffusion plus key absorption and extensive bass trapping) and Pi Audio Uberbuss' for the front end and amplification

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I just moved from a place where I had complete control (was single) into a place where I don't have complete control (married) and the new place has nice hardwood floors and high ceiling. My loudspeaker system sounds for shit now. We are in the process of doing a rug and I am building some room treatments. Carpet may not be the "nicest" thing, but for audio the level of coverage and damping it provides cannot be underestimated.

Roon ->UltraRendu + CI Audio 7v LPS-> Kii Control -> Kii Three

Roon->BMC UltraDAC->Mr Speakers Aeon Flow Open

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I am reflooring the entire house with wood floors with means my carpet is going away. I have never had a hifi in a wood floor room. I have always had hifi in a carpeted to thick shag capeted room.

 

Am I going to start crying after the home improvement?

 

You definately want to have two rugs in front of your speakers and maybe some other room treatment (depending on your actual livingroom situation) to enjoy some good listening experience.

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