Hardwood or Carpeting
Posted by: tam92 on 24 November 2003
Currently, my audio setup is in a living area with with wall to wall carpeting, which is installed over a concrete slab. I was considering removing the carpeting and installing a hardwood floor in this area.
How much will my system change, sonically, with the hardwood floor? Aesthetics aside, is carpeting or hardwood flooring a better choice for a listening environment? Or, does the shape of the room and placement of the equipment influence the sound more than the flooring?
Is there a good way to have an audio rack and speaker stands (both with spikes) and not mar the wood floor, but maintain the desired sound?
Charles
Posted on: 24 November 2003 by prowla
One option is to put crosshead screws through the floor exactly where the speaker spikes will go.
I haven't tried a hardwood floor, but I guess it might confuse the sound a bit (reflections and all that).
I was recently faced with a similar problem where we were looking to move to a house with tiled floors (probably worse than wood!), and pretty much decided that we'd need a few rugs here and there. However, the house fell through so I didn't have to resolve it.
Paul Rowlands
Posted on: 25 November 2003 by Laurie Saunders
When I had my listening room recarpeted (in my ex-house), I removed the old carpet a few weeks beforehand and lived with a vinyl tiled concrete floor. The sound was much livlier , and in my view, better. Whether this is beneficial or not for you, depends on other factors.....room shape, wall materials,furnishings, speakers etc.
If you have "tuned" your system to sound "right" with carpets then removing them may give you a sound you do not like....very hard to predict, this one
laurie S
Posted on: 25 November 2003 by andy c
Re the crossheads screws issue that is very very dependant upon which speaker you are using.
What system do you have - details please?
Posted on: 25 November 2003 by tam92
This is my system right now:
NAD 5440 CD Player
NAD 705 Receiver
Heybrook point five Speakers and stands
Yes, I am planning to upgrade soon.
Also, the room has a sofa and minimal window treatments.
I don't have a problem placing speaker and equipment stands with spikes on a carpeted floor. If I had hardwood I'd really rather not drill screws in it to set the equipment. Also, I don't want to hang any heavy cloth coverings on the walls or windows to "absorb" any sound.
In a hardwood environment, are there too many reflections and will the system sound too bright? If you had a choice, would you rather listen in a carpeted room or a room with hardwood?
Charles
Posted on: 25 November 2003 by garth
I have a hardwood floor with area rugs and my speaker spikes on Linn skeets to protect the floor. One nice aspect of this set-up is that I can, very easily, slide the speakers closer to the wall and out of the way when the room is in general use, and bring them out to optimum positioning for a listening session.
As was stated earlier, great results can be had with either flooring and I am sure there are far easier and less expensive ways to improve the sound if that is your main goal in re-flooring. If the just want a hardwood floor for other reasons however, I am sure you will be able to tune the room to your satisfaction with area rugs, furniture, heavy drapes, etc. if need be to tame the enlivening effect of a hardwood floor.
Cheers,
Garth
Posted on: 25 November 2003 by J.N.
Hi Charles
I'm old fashioned and prefer carpet. What really pisses me off, is that all these 'design gurus' are going to be slagging off polished hardwood foors as 'soooo last year' next year!
Anyroad; rooms that are too reverberant are not a good idea. If you prefer the look and feel of a hardwood floor; fair enough, but you may need a lot of rugs and fabric wall hangings to tame the room acoustically.
Naim Fraim 'chips' are available to take spiked feet and protect your floor from damage. It's an alloy disc that just sits on the floor.
Simple but perfect.
