Doctor's Orders-Part Two-The New Listening Room Of Steve Williams

LL21

Well-Known Member
Dec 26, 2010
14,430
2,517
1,448
Steve,

Thanks for a great writeup of your odyssey! It's good to read that it has worked out so well.

As a structural engineer myself, I found your story of particular interest. But I think you have a typo... I suspect that the new floor is designed for 150 pounds per square foot, not 1500. (The normal residential design is for 40 psf.)

Yes, that makes sense...i think even industrial warehouses with large-loading dock bays for 18-wheeler trucks are built for 300+ pounds psf load.
 

audioguy

WBF Founding Member
Apr 20, 2010
2,794
73
1,635
Near Atlanta, GA but not too near!
Of course I have no clue what it sounds like, but you might like to hear what my bride had to say (remember she was with me when we visited your previous home). "It HAS to sound better. Gorgeous drapes, more intimate and comfortable feeling and no round "thingies" all over the room".

I would also add that while this room is smaller than your last room, I would not classify it as small. GREAT looking room Steve. Great job.

I would love to consider using your acoustician in our new home and new listening room, but my guess would be that her services are priced a TAD above my price point. My new room will also be upstairs and I am most concerned about being able to listen to music after my wife goes to bed. Would you mind PMing me her contact information so I can at least talk to her?

Congrats again. VERY nice!!!!
 

Steve Williams

Site Founder, Site Owner, Administrator
Steve,

Thanks for a great writeup of your odyssey! It's good to read that it has worked out so well.

As a structural engineer myself, I found your story of particular interest. But I think you have a typo... I suspect that the new floor is designed for 150 pounds per square foot, not 1500. (The normal residential design is for 40 psf.)

Trust me.I will show you the plans. It IS rated for 1500 lb/sq ft

In fact after the subfloor was installed and the plasterers were there working the next day I was asked by one of them whether I was installing a jacuzzi in the room because they had never seen a subfloor such as this.I'd be happy to show you the plans
 

Peter Breuninger

[Industry Expert] Member Sponsor
Jul 20, 2010
1,231
4
0
Greetings from Munich!

Steve you have done a marvelous job! The care and consideration that went into the project is outstanding... every detail was thought out.
I am impressed and amazed.

Sincerely,

Peter B.
 

Steve Williams

Site Founder, Site Owner, Administrator
Of course I have no clue what it sounds like, but you might like to hear what my bride had to say (remember she was with me when we visited your previous home). "It HAS to sound better. Gorgeous drapes, more intimate and comfortable feeling and no round "thingies" all over the room".

I would also add that while this room is smaller than your last room, I would not classify it as small. GREAT looking room Steve. Great job.

I would love to consider using your acoustician in our new home and new listening room, but my guess would be that her services are priced a TAD above my price point. My new room will also be upstairs and I am most concerned about being able to listen to music after my wife goes to bed. Would you mind PMing me her contact information so I can at least talk to her?

Congrats again. VERY nice!!!!


Hi Chuck

Her name is Dr Bonnie Schnitta and all her contact info is here

www.soundsense.com

As for budget Chuck, I found Bonnie an excellent listener. I told her what I wanted to achieve and what my budget was. I can say this in all candor, that her fees and charges were less than any other acoustician with whom I consulted. She suggests practical things that don't cost money. For instance when I had plans drawn up for the 3 bookcases Bonnie suggested that they be made 1/2" less deep than the space allowed because the extra 1/2" behind the bookcase and the wall against which they would lie serves as a diffusor.

Total Cost $0 ;)

Chuck

Here is another of her webpages showing her proprietary products


www.noiseout.com
 

Steve Williams

Site Founder, Site Owner, Administrator
Greetings from Munich!

Steve you have done a marvelous job! The care and consideration that went into the project is outstanding... every detail was thought out.
I am impressed and amazed.

Sincerely,

Peter B.

Thanks Peter

I am hoping to have you back to my house one night during The Show to have a listen
 

Paradise Effect

New Member
May 11, 2013
2
0
0
NYC and East Hampton, NY
Chuck,

Let me introduce myself. I am Dr. Bonnie (Paradise Effect). It is mother's day and I am going offline in a moment to spend some special time with my daughter. I would be happy to hear more about the goals of your room and provide you a proposal to mathematically model it. The fee is significantly less, if you only want the information in a material list format. A document discussing the detail can take a great deal of time and thus can be costly.
 

microstrip

VIP/Donor
May 30, 2010
20,807
4,700
2,790
Portugal
Chuck,

Let me introduce myself. I am Dr. Bonnie (Paradise Effect). (...).

Welcome to WBF Dr, Bonnie. I am separately sending you a private email about your services, but I will ask a general question that can interest other members - can you supply your services remotely to clients in Europe?
 

Paradise Effect

New Member
May 11, 2013
2
0
0
NYC and East Hampton, NY
Welcome to WBF Dr, Bonnie. I am separately sending you a private email about your services, but I will ask a general question that can interest other members - can you supply your services remotely to clients in Europe?

I find great joy in the personal interview. It tells me so much in such a short time about the design desires in which I hide the acoustic treatment. As for the mathematical modeling, it is very easy to do remotely ... and I have on many occasions.
 

rbbert

Well-Known Member
Dec 12, 2010
3,820
239
1,000
Reno, NV
Steve, did you investigate LED's as an alternative to halogens for your room lighting?
 

audioguy

WBF Founding Member
Apr 20, 2010
2,794
73
1,635
Near Atlanta, GA but not too near!
Chuck,

Let me introduce myself. I am Dr. Bonnie (Paradise Effect). It is mother's day and I am going offline in a moment to spend some special time with my daughter. I would be happy to hear more about the goals of your room and provide you a proposal to mathematically model it. The fee is significantly less, if you only want the information in a material list format. A document discussing the detail can take a great deal of time and thus can be costly.

Bonnie:

I will be contacting you in the next few days to discuss my needs and see how you can assist. In some ways I have two of the same objectives as Steve: (1) make the room sound as good as possible and (2) since my new room will be upstairs, keep as much of the sound in the room as possible. Unlike Steve's situation, my room will already exist with ZERO attention to addressing (1) or (2)!!

On the other side, I don't mind at all if the room treatment is visible (it is in my current room) and my room is a good bit larger than Steve's so have less issues in that regard.

I look forward to speaking with you some time next week.

Chuck
 

vinylphilemag

WBF Founding Member
Apr 30, 2010
810
1
328
56
Kelowna, BC
www.vinylphilemag.com
Trust me.I will show you the plans. It IS rated for 1500 lb/sq ft

I believe you. Given their relatively small footprint, your X2 behemoths are probably loading your floor at about 300 lb/sq ft, if not more. Add your amps and subs, plus a healthy safety margin, and there you go!
 

Steve Williams

Site Founder, Site Owner, Administrator
Steve, did you investigate LED's as an alternative to halogens for your room lighting?

I did. They were my first choice but the high hats and transformers I wanted were back ordered for 60 days. I wasn't going to wait any longer. My blue pastel lights are LED.
 

Steve Williams

Site Founder, Site Owner, Administrator
Bonnie:

I will be contacting you in the next few days to discuss my needs and see how you can assist. In some ways I have two of the same objectives as Steve: (1) make the room sound as good as possible and (2) since my new room will be upstairs, keep as much of the sound in the room as possible. Unlike Steve's situation, my room will already exist with ZERO attention to addressing (1) or (2)!!

On the other side, I don't mind at all if the room treatment is visible (it is in my current room) and my room is a good bit larger than Steve's so have less issues in that regard.

I look forward to speaking with you some time next week.

Chuck

Bonnie specializes in noise reduction and isolation Chuck
 

R Johnson

Well-Known Member
Jul 24, 2010
189
45
1,583
Chicago, Illinois, USA
I've reviewed the framing plan that Steve sent me for his second floor listening room.

The 1,500 PSF loading capacity is correct, but it applies to the 1-1/8" thick plywood sub-flooring as it spans between the floor joists. This makes the floor quite rigid and easily capable of carrying the heavy concentrated loads from the speakers and other equipment.

The floor joists themselves are spaced at 12 inches on center, but are not designed for the 1,500 PSF. They are capable of supporting merely about THREE (3) times the usual residential floor loading!

I think this was a very good approach for a custom listening room floor.

Ron
 
Last edited:

Steve Williams

Site Founder, Site Owner, Administrator
Bob

Thanks for doing that review. As I told Bob my biggest concerns about the floor were

1 meets or beats code

2 very rigid with no chance of movement or vibrating

3. I stressed the weight of my gear, where it would be positioned and that the floor in those areas would support the weight as the addition of the 2 rolls of Noiseout2 added another 600 lbs
 

microstrip

VIP/Donor
May 30, 2010
20,807
4,700
2,790
Portugal
Steve,
What was the size of the wood studs used in your new walls?
 

About us

  • What’s Best Forum is THE forum for high end audio, product reviews, advice and sharing experiences on the best of everything else. This is THE place where audiophiles and audio companies discuss vintage, contemporary and new audio products, music servers, music streamers, computer audio, digital-to-analog converters, turntables, phono stages, cartridges, reel-to-reel tape machines, speakers, headphones and tube and solid-state amplification. Founded in 2010 What’s Best Forum invites intelligent and courteous people of all interests and backgrounds to describe and discuss the best of everything. From beginners to life-long hobbyists to industry professionals, we enjoy learning about new things and meeting new people, and participating in spirited debates.

Quick Navigation

User Menu

Steve Williams
Site Founder | Site Owner | Administrator
Ron Resnick
Site Co-Owner | Administrator
Julian (The Fixer)
Website Build | Marketing Managersing