A blank slate--help me redesign my audio space!

jellyfish

New Member
I'm asking the wise folks here at AK for advice on what they would do if they could design it from scratch. Essentially, I have just purchased an apartment, and we are pulling out all the built-in stuff, and rebuilding the interior. I want to know...what worked for you, what is a must, what is a waste, etc. Here's the stuff to think about:
--It's an open plan kitchen/dining/living area, with separate Japanese room/study room. Master + 2 kids BRs. 2 Bath. 2 tiny balconies. My wife isn't really into too much gear, so I am thinking about some in-wall/celiing speakers. About 1300 SF. Concrete building. Neighbors in each direction.
--We don't watch much TV, so my small Marantz home theatre system is enough. I'm a fan of 1970s Sansui and Pioneer, so would like to place a few units around. Plan on using some Bluetooth/NFC receivers to hook up the ipads, etc.
--I'm thinking of running a Sansui 661 or similar in the study room. It's a tidy unit and will fit nicely on a bookshelf.
--I'd like to add another Sansui or Pioneer in the dining, with in-ceiling speakers in the kitchen, and either in-ceiling or in-wall units in the dining area. (I don't have a brand picked out yet). I'm not too worried about the sound quality in the kitchen, but a little concerned about the directionality of in-ceiling speakers in the dining room.

So, what did you do that worked out fantastically? Or what would you do wish you would have done? Thanks so much in advance for your thoughts and time!
 
if I had to do something I would dedicate one wall to bookshelves and have a 6x8 section in the middle to hold the hifi and maybe big screen TV.
this section hold all the electronics and pull out speakers (probably on solid foundations with wheels under it with speaker cables for bi-amping
and storage).

then the coup d'tat is a 2 section (6x4) matching color panel that is hinged and moves along the front ((we call them barn doors here)
that pulls left/right to open this middle section for viewing TV or listening to music. that way, it covers the wife-unacceptable-stuff but
highlights the good stuff.

BTW I have a large area for my stuff so WAF is not an issue. and congrats on such a large space.
 
First thing I'd do is check the sound deadening on common walls you share with the neighbors. Be a real shame to put a lot of work in and find out you can't turn it up past 2 ...

With a full on gutting in mind, I'd check your options for insulation in the existing walls, and even consider floating another wall in front of those if it looks like there's gonna be a problem. Also a good idea to make sure your final layout doesn't put subs and bass ports firing right at em.
 
it's a concrete building, probably rebar re-inforced for all those flag 5 typhoon. probably test with a small system
and ask the neighbors left/right and up/down. My guess is that there's a built-in 50db attenuation and any sound
bleed through is through the windows, balconies, and front/back doors.

great news is you don't worry about 10,000 lps against a wall and over 4x6 joists.
 
Concrete wall sounds sturdy, and any concrete wall will typically have somewhat lower sound transmission than equal thickness balloon construction, but ... the extra weight and mass also tends to make a killer sink for deep bass. That's where surface treatment (heavy drapes or a floating wall) can make a big difference in minimizing annoying resonance. Give it a try as is, and keep that in mind if you have problems.

IME none of the in wall speakers I've ever heard were IMO worth investing in.

Obviously you've never heard my Gekko's ...

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The flat panel radiators create an amazingly stage, and surprisingly good frequency range and power for their size. Then again, those are surface mount, so forget I mentioned them. <G>

Oh ... any decent in wall speaker will also have an optional baffle box that fits behind them to isolate them from the wall cavity. Don't expect much bass, but that's more of a sub kinda thing any more. In your case, a distributed sub system might be the way to go to solve a whole lotta common wall problems anyway.
 
As a panel user all I can say about any of the in wall speakers I've heard, is they sound like extremely mediocre boxes at best. The brand is irrelevant. Underwhelming is the term.
 
Thanks for all your ideas! I'm still thinking about ceiling speakers in the kitchen, as don't really need tremendous sound quality. I think the sound deadening may be useful advice, and I'm trying to figure if any of these bluetooth in-wall receivers are worth the time...
 
I've never had in-wall speakers. Can't help but think they would be more likely to bother the upstairs neighbor. Sitting in a hole in your ceiling, they defeat the sound deadening the inside wall surface would give. No acoustic engineer here.
 
I have in-wall speakers in my kitchen and they sound fine... especially in a kitchen where I am doing other things.
My beef with in-wall or in-ceiling speakers for the OPs apartments is that they can't easily be moved to accommodate new furniture or other changes.
 
These are concrete floors, so there isn't much sound passing to the upstairs neighbors, I think. And since I'm just putting them in the kitchen, there isn't any furntiure to move about. That part doesn't worry me too much.
 
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