Get Control of Yourself with Home Theater Sound Control Basics

As you begin to design and construct your home theater space, you may need to know something about some sound control basics as well as some of the specifics that relate to sound control. As you research the particulars of sound control as it relates to home theater systems you will find that there is a lot of associated technology to understand. The best way to begin is by narrowing the definition of sound control a little bit and explaining the difference between some of the technological terms.

The first area to address in the way of home theater systems and technological terms related to sound control is the difference between sound absorption and isolation. Sound isolation is what many people commonly refer to as “sound proofing” a room. Generally, in context of home theater, the need for sound isolation results from low frequency sounds that are emitted from your subwoofer and are disruptive to those who are engaged in activities in other areas of your house. To isolate the low frequency sounds from the system’s subwoofers, many take steps to install seals on the doors and increase the size of the walls. Yet another home theater challenge is that of interior room acoustics. Most home theater spaces are limited in size, meaning that you as the home theater owner need your small room to sound like a big room. Sound absorptive treatment is the basic way to make that happen. By reducing the echo or reverberation that the room has, your system is free to produce louder noises and you are able hear them more accurately than would be possible otherwise.

When thinking about the best way to achieve effective sound absorption, often home theater owners consider sound absorption panels. Typically for small rooms what needs be accomplished is that of broadband absorption, which is to say that you need to take care that you address absorption in the lower part of the band. The lower frequency echoes and reverberations in the room are the most troublesome in typically-sized rooms in home theaters. An absorption panel is capable of absorbing the low frequency noise much more efficiently than smaller and thinner panels. While thinner panels are made for sound absorption, they do not work well on low frequency noises. Thus, they are not usually appropriate for applications in smaller rooms of less than 7,000 cubic feet. In other words, if your room is smaller than about 20 x 30 x 10 feet tall, as far as the ceiling height, you need to really focus on low frequency absorption and make sure you cover that well.

Sound isolation and sound absorption are two basic concepts that are of common concern to home theater owners. Understanding both sound isolation and sound absorption is the first step to creating your ideal home theater space and your subsequent ideal home theater experiences.