Sound-proofing a new home theater

October 20, 2004

To Wes Marshall,

I read your February 2004 sound-proofing advice. I need some unbiased help. I will be building a home theater in my basement. Above the basement is a hearth room. The only real area that I have to worry about sound-proofing is the ceiling as the walls are all isolated. I will be building a room about 16' x 15'. I have gotten different advice and I would like to find out what would be best.

The hearth room is hardwood with a wood floor under it. I intend on using some R-19 insulation between the joists. My question deals with what is next. One contractor advised Precision Channel hanging of two sheets of 5/8" sheetrock. I understand that if not done properly, this system may not work very well and there are really no sheetrock hangers who have experience with this in my area.

I have also been advised on using Accoustiblok or SB-1 by Soundsuckers. These vinyl-type products, I think, will decrease sound by 27dB. I would then put 5/8" sheetrock on top of this to form the ceiling. Another product is Quietrock 530 that is special 5/8" rock that reports a 70-80% reduction in sound. I would like to consider the use of the vinyl material for ease of use, and I am a bit nervous about the resilient channel or the U-bolt process that you have used because of the experience factor in construction.

Do you think I will get a good amount of benefit from the use of the R-19, vinyl-type block and 5/8" sheetrock as the ceiling? I know that bass will always be a problem no matter what. I will just have to keep the teenagers from cranking it.

I need help fast as my deadline is approaching for the contractor, whichever one I choose.

Terry Levine

I don't know all the products you are discussing. I like the Owens Corning products I mentioned back in February, but they work much better on walls. Ceilings and floors are much trickier because whatever material you use will have its weight supported by the very substance that is doing the soundproofing. The heavier the materials, the more compression and, therefore, the less sound-proofing. Given the fact that you want some truly unbiased help, I would spend the $100-200 to get a consult from an acoustic engineer. In the long run, it will be money well spent....Wes Marshall

Speaking of speakers

October 18, 2004

Editor,

I just purchased the Onkyo TX-NR801 and have been looking at a multitude of speakers (Bose AM 15, Mirage Omnisats, Paradigm Cinema 70s, Energy 5.2s) online to match with  this receiver. Criteria in my decision are based on the following (ranked in importance):

(1) Sound: duh.

(2) Cost: I would like to spend less than $1200 (the Bose AM 15s are a bit out of range, but if are substantially better than the others, I would consider them).

(3) Size: I would like them on the small size.

I primarily listen to CDs, but I would like the speakers to perform well when watching DVDs as well. The room they are going in is about 15' by 20' with a lofted ceiling of 18'.

What would be your take on the speakers that I have mentioned? What would you recommend? Should I cross any of these off the list? What other speakers would you recommend I listen to that I haven’t mentioned?

Tim Reckmeyer

I have no current experience with any Bose speakers, so I can't give you an informed opinion on their quality. The other three, however, are choices that come from companies that I know produce excellent products. The Mirage Omnisats , Paradigm Cinema 70s, and Energy Take 5.2s have been reviewed in our Home Theater & Sound publication, and all three received strong recommendations. Each satellite speaker in the bunch is similarly sized, with the Omnisats offering the widest range of mounting options, including the ceiling. As for sound, the Omnisats will sound different from the other two candidates due to their Omnipolar design (meaning they project sound almost evenly all around as opposed to only from the front). In general, the Omnisats will sound more spacious, but more diffuse as well. The other two possibilities are direct-radiating speakers, meaning that they project sound primarily where they are pointed. Their placement will be a bit more critical and they might not cast as huge a sound, but they will be more precise. You'll have to hear them to get a clear idea of what I mean. As for which I'd choose, much of it would depend on placement. If you have limited options and you can't place the speakers equidistant to the listening position, I'd go for the Omnisats in a second. If your placement options are more flexible, I'd be inclined to give the other two candidates a shot. I don't think there's bad apple in the bunch....Jeff Fritz

Recording on DVD

October 8, 2004

Wes,

I recently purchased the Panasonic DMR-E55 video recorder, but haven't hooked it up yet as I'm waiting for delivery of my HDTV. In your review you stated that if I use a cable box, I would need to tune it to the channel I want to record. Is there a way I can record a show from TV like I did with my VCR by just programming the start time and the channel without tuning the cable box to that channel? I think that's a hassle if I want to record something while I'm away from home or I'm watching something else when that show starts. Are there any reasonably priced DVD recorders on the market that will allow me to do that? Any help and advice would be greatly appreciated.

Jim

Not to worry. If your cable box allowed your VCR to change channels without using an IR blaster, then the Panasonic will also work. The issue is whether your cable box delivers an un-encoded signal that a VHF/UHF or cable tuner can read.

Many cable boxes and all satellite boxes require you to use the box itself for tuning to your desired channel and have you connect to your VCR or DVD recorder either by using a line-in (composite, S-video, etc.) or by using the antenna input and tuning the recorder to channel three or four. If you can currently plug your cable wire directly into your VCR and change channels on your VCR, then you will be able to do the same with the DMR-E55.

On the other hand, if you currently have to place an IR blaster between your VCR and the cable box to change channels, then, with the DMR-E55, you will have to tune to the channel you want to record before recording. You have to spend $200 more in the Panasonic range and move to the DMR-E65 to get an IR blaster.

Before you do that, you might try my solution. I use DirecTV with TiVo, offering a perfect digital copy (at least as perfect as DirecTV broadcasts), and then watch what I want from the TiVo and archive what I want from the TiVo to the DMR-E55. With this setup, everything works fine, and I have the luxury of TiVo....Wes Marshall

It is always amazing to me that we all see things so differently, depending on both our video equipment and our tastes. If someone’s equipment is biased a certain way, what appears a defect to me might be an asset to him or her. And vice versa. I surely notice the things about CSI Miami that you do -- though the contrast does not appear reduced here, nor the blacks crushed, but don’t consider them negatives, rather assets to the look of the show. For starters, I am not reviewing the HDTV version of this show. I have a Panasonic HDTV set, re-calibrated by an ISF (Imaging Science Foundation) technician, but I don’t have the converter box yet. I am supposed to receive that from my cable company any day now and then will be able to see all three CSI shows in true high definition. I was talking about the DVD of the show, which though not high-def, gives that impression within DVD restrictions. As a reviewer and editor, I see a lot of video and comparing any of the CSI shows on DVD to the other titles I see, it stands out as some of the best DVD video out there, pushing the format’s resolution limit to the max. No other TV show on DVD -- so far -- can touch it. When I choose a title as a reference, I do not disregard it for artistic use of filters and other visual trickery. If those effects convey accurately to DVD, so much the better. Yes, CSI Miami outdoor-heat-of-the-day shots do seem a bit yellow, and do artistically convey a feeling of heat. That effect is carried to an extreme on season four of the original CSI, which just arrived on DVD, in an episode called "Feeling the Heat." That segment takes place during a heat wave and is noticeably different from the norm for the show. Bottom line, though: If I were trying to sell video monitors and ISF tweaking, this is one show I would surely use to aid me in those efforts. That is good news you have on Collateral. Since it is a DreamWorks release, I would expect it to look very good when it comes out on TV. Time will tell. I would expect to see it on DVD sometime after the Academy Awards....Rad Bennett

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