Building HT with 4 concrete walls. Need to get rid of Echo. Help

[fred87nc]

I'm living in Mexico and building a mini theater for 30 people. The Four walls are concrete and it's around 9 meters long and 4.5 meters wide, with the cealing being 3.9 meters high. I got a bad echo in there just talking.

Now what is the cheapest way to get rid of the echo, I been told to put thick carpet or fabric on the walls to get rid of the noise, and also thinking of puttting carpet on the floor.

[BLURAYSONYES]

The echo is caused by concrete walls and no furniture at all. A mini home theater for 30 people isnt mini.

[BACsader]

There are numerous ways. First off, anything you put in there as far as furniture like couches and carpet will definitely help. You might also want to put a fabric on all the walls and possible the ceiling.

[fred87nc]

well it's not mini then, Okay, so right now it's empty, but once I put the furniture and add carpet, it will reduce the echo? what should I put on the walls? Thick curtains like the ones in the theater, or plain carpet on the walls?

[sokrman14]

Originally Posted by fred87nc

well it's not mini then, Okay, so right now it's empty, but once I put the furniture and add carpet, it will reduce the echo? what should I put on the walls? Thick curtains like the ones in the theater, or plain carpet on the walls?

Thick curtains should be perfect, that will eliminate nearly all reflections. Plain carpet, especially thin, wont eliminate all of the reflections.

[jomari]

welcome to the forum fred!

hmm... 30 people in 9 by 4 meters, approximately 30ft x 15ft x 14ft plus change, nice size for a room!

id consider three things
- we want to absorb that echo firsthand, so we need acoustic treatments. you can either consider adding a carpet hanging off the rear wall to absorb the initial reflections, and not add too much heat in the room
- acoustic panels are to be placed on the side walls, since its a relatively large room, id consider spreading them out symnetrically, and some at the front stage too, right behind the front speakers.
- one problem with fiberglass and foam is that they can also add heat to the room, so ventilation should also be something you want to consider. plus factor in how many people would be in there, would also add up to what your room already measures. while we're at it, lets try to install some good ol fashion vents to cover the room evenly.

dont forget the pictures! not that we need them, but because its always nice to see how you are starting off. if we can suggest a post in our gallery section, here, so we can see the start of your fruition.

*edit, saw the curtain suggestion, thats great if ever the echo wasnt as bad as he sort of mentioned. it CAN work, but id suggest the carpet on the back area to handle the more noticeable reflection.

*you can also add fabric panels instead of acoustic panels, but then again, why are we considering them in the first place if we dont address the problem right?

[fred87nc]

Alright, well money is certaintly an issue here, I wasn't expecting so much in the contruction, I already put up a concrete wall. I gotta find a way to put in furniture with some sort of slope, so I may build a concrete slope, or wooden slope. Depending what is cheaper. I looked up the at the acoustic panels, but they seem expensve, how many of them would i need for the room this size?

I'm putting up carpet, but around the furniture, and not the whole floor, to lessen the expenses. I'm thinking of a 220 Inch Projection screen, along with a 720p Projector that I saw on new egg.

Mitsubishi HC1600 720p DLP Home Theater Projector

I have a 5.1 home theater sorround system, Best I can do for now, I'll upgrade depending how business goes,

Now How should I mount the projector to the ceiling? Should I have one that has some sort of incline, since the ceiling is so high. And how long of a HDMI cable do I need. The ceiling is 3.9 meters high.

[jomari]

hmm for business eh?

well, lemme put it to you straight. you dont want to have your expenses way over your expected income out of it. so will strip it down to the bones.

- acoustic panels, dont need them just yet. id still do the carpet thingy, but just get a regular carpet with a great design on it for starters.

- risers. to have a decent amount of risers, you have to calculate first how many rows and people you will have seated. got a blu-print yet? (hehehe, pun intended)

- we can deal with the PJ details later on, lets focus on building your current layout. you can always go with a 720p and a good pj screen later, including the details about mounting can be discussed after we lay out our system.

- have you considered the shipping cost by the way? just a thought.

for the meantime, id go with basics,
- paint the room a darker color, preferably something with a matte finish.
- wiring the room would be a good start right now, since you dont have anything set up yet. have you reconsidered your speaker placement yet?

show us some pictures if you please fred, and im sure we can try our best to assist you. good luck on your business!

i'm out of commision right now, due to illness, so will check back on this later within the week.

[crackinhedz]

Sticky: Acoustic Treatment builds - DIY projects to treat our home theaters

Sticky: Acoustic Treatment Research Material

[fred87nc]

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3390/...412680e230.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3646/...24048f20_o.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3298/...71466ab7_o.jpg

My internet is sucking at the moment I can't upload them on my gallery, but this is the room so far.. I know it's ugly right now, but once the screen is up, the carpeted floor, the fabric on the walls, and the furniture, it will look nicer. The junk in the front is going out later, the workers are lazy here. but they are cheap.

[squirrel101]

carpet your walls with some sort of commercial needlepunch carpet using some carpet glue in a bucket, carpet down the isles to each side of the seats and then when you start doing better maybe hang some drapes along the walls , your gonna want the projector to be level with the top of your screen (if it has vertical shift) for best imaging..................

[Grevlin]

Originally Posted by fred87nc

Alright, well money is certaintly an issue here, I wasn't expecting so much in the contruction, I already put up a concrete wall. I gotta find a way to put in furniture with some sort of slope, so I may build a concrete slope, or wooden slope. Depending what is cheaper. I looked up the at the acoustic panels, but they seem expensve, how many of them would i need for the room this size?

I'm putting up carpet, but around the furniture, and not the whole floor, to lessen the expenses. I'm thinking of a 220 Inch Projection screen, along with a 720p Projector that I saw on new egg.

Mitsubishi HC1600 720p DLP Home Theater Projector

I have a 5.1 home theater sorround system, Best I can do for now, I'll upgrade depending how business goes, I forgot to mention this is for business. I live in a small town in Mexico where there isn't a movie theater in a 1 hour ratio, But there not going to be new releases, but DVDs that recently come out.

Now How should I mount the projector to the ceiling? Should I have one that has some sort of incline, since the ceiling is so high. And how long of a HDMI cable do I need. The ceiling is 3.9 meters high.

Wow, setting up theater for business. I have a few months experience with the forum, and if anyone can steer you in the right direction, its these guys. (and gals)

I would recommend building your theater in a way that makes upgrades easy. You could build in a channel with covers so you can upgrade and run new cables when needed. Also, pay careful attention to the area where the speakers will be located- leave space and don't box them in so you can change them out in the future.

How is the power in the building, might need conditioners and supplies.

Public - install with an eye towards durability

Good luck, and I can't wait to see progress pics. Who among us has not dreamed of opening a theater and doing it right!

[fred87nc]

Well I got my first problem, I made my risers too low. They are 10 cm each above one another, 4 inches. I don't know why I didn't got with 6 inches. Now I'm trying to get my custom furniture made, so I can fit 6 people comfortably in 3.85 meters. With 6 arm rests. Sorry, everyone uses meters and Cm over here.

I got my Projection screen today, It's 180 inches. Now the problem is the material kinda see through, and theres a line in the middle, like where they merge both materials to make it that size. will this be a problem Once the movie is on?

[jomari]

Originally Posted by fred87nc

I got my Projection screen today, It's 180 inches. Now the problem is the material kinda see through, and theres a line in the middle, like where they merge both materials to make it that size. will this be a problem Once the movie is on?

it shouldnt be. did you have it custom made? what screen material did you use or chose?

the only way to see if it would cause a problem would be using the projector you're getting. or, you can try using a flourescent bulb, and see if the light would 'show' you the crease.

just to make sure we're both on the same page.

are we talking about a crease or a fold?
or are we talking about two pieces of fabric, sewn together?

glad to see your still around bud. and yes, the metric system is a pain in the butt...

about risers, well, im sure a couple of experts here can chime in.

[fred87nc]

Originally Posted by jomari

it shouldnt be. did you have it custom made? what screen material did you use or chose?

the only way to see if it would cause a problem would be using the projector you're getting. or, you can try using a flourescent bulb, and see if the light would 'show' you the crease.

just to make sure we're both on the same page.

are we talking about a crease or a fold?
or are we talking about two pieces of fabric, sewn together?

glad to see your still around bud. and yes, the metric system is a pain in the butt...

about risers, well, im sure a couple of experts here can chime in.

It was custom made, well I gave him the sizes, I didn´t expect him to use that material, I order it online. Now what color should I paint the wall behind. cause I can the color behind . And I´m using the projector the mitsubishi hc1600, is this going to be a problem? Im getting it in a week or so. i got the clearance for the projector that far away. the room is like 9 meters long.

and the middle is like umm a fold i guess. Ill get pics of the screen and I´ll upload them tonight. thanks for the help.

[jomari]

Originally Posted by fred87nc

It was custom made, well I gave him the sizes, I didn´t expect him to use that material, I order it online. Now what color should I paint the wall behind.

hmm. the wall behind the pj screen im assuming? if so, id paint it a flat or matte black. better yet, covering it up with black cloth so that light doesnt 'seep' through.

And I´m using the projector the mitsubishi hc1600, is this going to be a problem? Im getting it in a week or so. i got the clearance for the projector that far away.

im not so updated anymore with pj's but ive always used a couple of great websites, including projector central for all my project research. great website.

and the middle is like umm a fold i guess. Ill get pics of the screen and I´ll upload them tonight. thanks for the help.

we'd love to see your pictures and hope to assist you further with your project. great job by the way! never hurts to ask!

[CollinViegas]

If you want to deal with the echo problem line the bottom half of the walls with a duct liner like linacoustic and the top half poly batting. Cover it with GOM fabric. you can use your trim to cover the stapels for the fabric. This will cost roughly as much as carpeting the walls, but will actually help your problem and also help to acoustically treat your room.

Contrary to popular belief carpeting your walls will do nothing for your room acoustically and will do nothing regarding the slap echoes you are hearing. Carpet has very little acoustic value.

[jomari]

Originally Posted by CollinViegas

If you want to deal with the echo problem line the bottom half of the walls with a duct liner like linacoustic and the top half poly batting. Cover it with GOM fabric. you can use your trim to cover the stapels for the fabric. This will cost roughly as much as carpeting the walls, but will actually help your problem and also help to acoustically treat your room.

Contrary to popular belief carpeting your walls will do nothing for your room acoustically and will do nothing regarding the slap echoes you are hearing. Carpet has very little acoustic value.

i could also recommend building acoustic panels, but then again,i was trying to help him with a 'simple' solution for the meantime. simply put, i was also being economical. we could go full blown for treating it properly, but then again, he might end up broke afterwards. hes building the theater for a smaller town in mexico, and using it as their 'cinema' over there.

[CollinViegas]

But I also noted that he was going to put carpet on the wall. To do a room of that size would cost more than the method I posted and is economical in comparison.

A 100 foot roll of linacoustic can be had for $150, poly batting even cheaper. Furring strips cost almost nothing, staples etc are all cheap.

The only part that is a bit expensive is the GOM fabric, which can be found for roughly the same price of cheap carpet/Glue combo when you do it by Sq footage...

The only thing is, the way I mentioned may take a little longer to build but can be done in a day or two. And he will have something that deals with his problems aswell as provides him with the extra gains of an acoustic environment. sounds like a win - win to me

[jomari]

Originally Posted by CollinViegas

But I also noted that he was going to put carpet on the wall. To do a room of that size would cost more than the method I posted and is economical in comparison.

A 100 foot roll of linacoustic can be had for $150, poly batting even cheaper. Furring strips cost almost nothing, staples etc are all cheap.

The only part that is a bit expensive is the GOM fabric, which can be found for roughly the same price of cheap carpet/Glue combo when you do it by Sq footage...

The only thing is, the way I mentioned may take a little longer to build but can be done in a day or two. And he will have something that deals with his problems aswell as provides him with the extra gains of an acoustic environment. sounds like a win - win to me

understood. but i guess my suggestion was to put A carpet on the wall (the back wall to be particular), and then work with the other walls later on.

i agree that the carpet all the way scheme wouldnt be cost effective, nor a great idea. im sure that the linacoustic could be a great way to deal with the echo, heck we can even use polyfill for lining up the wall panels, et al, but we havent had the chance to actually 'look' into the room.