# flooring and carpet



## jpv (Jan 19, 2008)

I am getting ready to redo the flooring in my listening room. This room is for 2 channel only - no home theater. Currently I have wall to wall carpet on a very squeaky floor - my cat can't even walk in without being noticed. I plan in screwing the floor down better before re-carpeting. I am also thinking of putting down another layer of ply wood to stiffen up the floor. 
I am looking for suggestions on installation, rug type, padding type and thickness, wall to wall, area rug, etc.. 
Would a live end in the front be the way to go?
My room is 13.5 x 16.5 long x 10 high. The speakers are setup along the short wall. I have bass traps in three corners, and absorption at the first reflection point on the ceiling and side walls. The back wall has a combination of absorption and diffusion.

John


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## bpape (Sep 14, 2006)

Which 3 corners? Are you symmetric in front of you?

Carpet - really doesn't matter a ton. You can do hard floor soft ceiling too. Area rug on hard floor with an absorptive ceiling can be a very nice sounding space.

Bryan


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## jpv (Jan 19, 2008)

The traps are in the two front corners and one in the rear left corner, the right side is the entrance to the room. My room is as symmetrical as I can get it. Do you think stiffening the floor is worth the effort.
How much area would you keep as reflective on the floor vs carpeted?


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

For music listening a fully dampened room is not necessary as some reflective points just adds to the natural sound so dont go overboard.


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## bpape (Sep 14, 2006)

Unless the floor is a noise transmission issue, no, not worth it most likely.

Sounds like you're good in front of you.

Dead floor - depends on your preference - 1 dead, 1 live, top or bottom, meh. 

Bryan


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## jpv (Jan 19, 2008)

Since this is my listening room I am just looking for things to do while I'm making changes. Will the type of rug and padding make any in room changes that are better then others? I'm thinking of part wood floor and part rug. Transmission out of the room is not much of a concern I want the room to sound the best it can with in reason.
I have a cathedral ceiling that peaks in the center with traps running the length. A suggestion I got here. Will that be enough absorption that I could go with a more lively floor?


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## bpape (Sep 14, 2006)

If you do a hard floor, you'll still need to do an area rug at a minimum between you and the speakers. The rear half, I would do in carpet. It's really more of a visual thing and a tad more livelyness if you prefer it that way.

Bryan


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