bottleneck
talks a load of rubbish
Moved into my new apartment a month ago.
Eventually 'fired up' the hifi a week ago.
Bass, a bit wooly I thought. More hiss than I remember (going to a passive with the horns).
hm. not bad though. Not brilliant. Not bad.
My next door neighbour apparently knocked on the door, but I couldnt hear because I was playing music.
...got an email the following day... TURN THE MUSIC DOWN, I CAN SING ALONG!!!
]
...oh dear..
1 Week later
2 x layers of T50 (£450)
http://www.customaudiodesigns.co.uk/pdfiles/t60.pdf
1 x carpet fitter (£130)
...and it's down
T50 then, whats it like to work with, what difference did it make, do I wish I'd gone the whole ''floating floor '' route etc?
THE OLD ROOM
...
OK, the old room. Large, 1930's conversion. high ceilings. 15x18. Bought the place for the size of it (for music) if I'm being totally honest.
THe floor.. chipboard, thin layer of hardboard, and some foam-backed carpet, no underlay.
In between the joists some ''gravel type stuff'' that was there before. We think it a warmth insulation product. Not sure. Like shitty little stones that get everywhere, thats what I'd call it... didn't do much to stop my neighbour being mad, thats for sure.
THE INSTALLATION
Everything out!!
Ouch, my f**kin back.
How boring and how much work was that?
Not as hard work as carrying these tubes of T50 up the stairs, that's how much.
The T50 - needed 7 rolls for the double layer. Each roll, I'd guess somewhere between 30 and 40kg.
For the technical - see the PDF. Weight, a double layer is adding 10kg per sq/m.
Installing it - the floor fitter did it. Just cut it with a stanley knife, dead easy. I'd compare it to laying flooring vinyl. It actually is a very good 'visual comparison'.
So, T50 down, carpet back down. Heavy goods back in. Time at start.. 9:30.. time at finish .. 12:30.
Wired up the hifi. put knick knacks back in. almost.
Time now, 1:45. Half a day's job then.
ACOUSTIC DIFFERENCES.
Well, I didn't measure my neighbours 'noise level before'. It was enough to seriously piss him off though.
I set music to peaks of 90db, which is ''pretty loud'' for me. I listen at this quite often, and then drop it a bit when fatigue sets in.
Went downstairs - his living room is directly beneath. If you listen carefully you can hear it. Noise is comparible with hearing the washing machine come through the wall from his kitchen. His words ''you can hardly hear that, turn it up a bit louder if you like''.
In his bedroom, next door - where he could previously also hear it, and was especially a problem.. nothing at all.
What a difference!
SOUND QUALITY.
Hard to say, I haven't finished the ''room'' yet. It is still a bit echoey due to lack of sufficient soft furnishings. Nearly there with that, haven't 100% moved in yet.
Still - I can say that bass and mid-bass has firmed up. I'm definately hearing ''more of the music'' - less mush.
Frankly, I'd go as far as this - if you live with a wooden floor, you've done nothing apart from put carpet on it.. next time you change the carpet, spend £450 or so on a double layer of this - take it from your ''hifi upgrade money'' if you have such a thing. You won't be dissapointed.
It doesn't make a wooden floor firm up as much as a concrete floor, but it's a very nice compromise.
CONCLUSION
Well, obviously a success.
The floor height has raised 2.5mm per layer, 5.1mm approx total gain. No need to even raise the door.
Sound - better, firmer, bass, more clarity in the mid-range.
Insulation - speaks for itself.
Is it enough? Do I wish I'd done more?
I think it's enough, yes. '' next carpet around'' in another five years or so, I think I'll whack a 3rd layer down. I can play reggae at baddass volume then
One final, final point. My room is LARGE at 18x15. If you have a more modest size, you will find the experience cheaper.
The experts at custom audio say, that typically sound insulation effectiveness is often traditionally thought of as ''weight added per sq/m. This added 10kg with a double layer per sq/m. That's quite a lot. Don't judge T50 by how thin it is (although the more layers the better) - judge it by the fact that it has sound insulation figures that compare favourably with LEAD !..
My only concern now is the ''lady upstairs''. She is elderly, so fingers crossed for hearing limitations !!
Cheers
Eventually 'fired up' the hifi a week ago.
Bass, a bit wooly I thought. More hiss than I remember (going to a passive with the horns).
hm. not bad though. Not brilliant. Not bad.
My next door neighbour apparently knocked on the door, but I couldnt hear because I was playing music.
...got an email the following day... TURN THE MUSIC DOWN, I CAN SING ALONG!!!
]
...oh dear..
1 Week later
2 x layers of T50 (£450)
http://www.customaudiodesigns.co.uk/pdfiles/t60.pdf
1 x carpet fitter (£130)
...and it's down
T50 then, whats it like to work with, what difference did it make, do I wish I'd gone the whole ''floating floor '' route etc?
THE OLD ROOM
...
OK, the old room. Large, 1930's conversion. high ceilings. 15x18. Bought the place for the size of it (for music) if I'm being totally honest.
THe floor.. chipboard, thin layer of hardboard, and some foam-backed carpet, no underlay.
In between the joists some ''gravel type stuff'' that was there before. We think it a warmth insulation product. Not sure. Like shitty little stones that get everywhere, thats what I'd call it... didn't do much to stop my neighbour being mad, thats for sure.
THE INSTALLATION
Everything out!!
Ouch, my f**kin back.
How boring and how much work was that?
Not as hard work as carrying these tubes of T50 up the stairs, that's how much.
The T50 - needed 7 rolls for the double layer. Each roll, I'd guess somewhere between 30 and 40kg.
For the technical - see the PDF. Weight, a double layer is adding 10kg per sq/m.
Installing it - the floor fitter did it. Just cut it with a stanley knife, dead easy. I'd compare it to laying flooring vinyl. It actually is a very good 'visual comparison'.
So, T50 down, carpet back down. Heavy goods back in. Time at start.. 9:30.. time at finish .. 12:30.
Wired up the hifi. put knick knacks back in. almost.
Time now, 1:45. Half a day's job then.
ACOUSTIC DIFFERENCES.
Well, I didn't measure my neighbours 'noise level before'. It was enough to seriously piss him off though.
I set music to peaks of 90db, which is ''pretty loud'' for me. I listen at this quite often, and then drop it a bit when fatigue sets in.
Went downstairs - his living room is directly beneath. If you listen carefully you can hear it. Noise is comparible with hearing the washing machine come through the wall from his kitchen. His words ''you can hardly hear that, turn it up a bit louder if you like''.
In his bedroom, next door - where he could previously also hear it, and was especially a problem.. nothing at all.
What a difference!
SOUND QUALITY.
Hard to say, I haven't finished the ''room'' yet. It is still a bit echoey due to lack of sufficient soft furnishings. Nearly there with that, haven't 100% moved in yet.
Still - I can say that bass and mid-bass has firmed up. I'm definately hearing ''more of the music'' - less mush.
Frankly, I'd go as far as this - if you live with a wooden floor, you've done nothing apart from put carpet on it.. next time you change the carpet, spend £450 or so on a double layer of this - take it from your ''hifi upgrade money'' if you have such a thing. You won't be dissapointed.
It doesn't make a wooden floor firm up as much as a concrete floor, but it's a very nice compromise.
CONCLUSION
Well, obviously a success.
The floor height has raised 2.5mm per layer, 5.1mm approx total gain. No need to even raise the door.
Sound - better, firmer, bass, more clarity in the mid-range.
Insulation - speaks for itself.
Is it enough? Do I wish I'd done more?
I think it's enough, yes. '' next carpet around'' in another five years or so, I think I'll whack a 3rd layer down. I can play reggae at baddass volume then
One final, final point. My room is LARGE at 18x15. If you have a more modest size, you will find the experience cheaper.
The experts at custom audio say, that typically sound insulation effectiveness is often traditionally thought of as ''weight added per sq/m. This added 10kg with a double layer per sq/m. That's quite a lot. Don't judge T50 by how thin it is (although the more layers the better) - judge it by the fact that it has sound insulation figures that compare favourably with LEAD !..
My only concern now is the ''lady upstairs''. She is elderly, so fingers crossed for hearing limitations !!
Cheers
