Suggestions for the new man cave

[dumptruckz36]

My wife and I bought a house in Grandville, MI about a month ago. It was built in 1942, and the previous owner was a 94 year old woman who lived there since 1960. We have been working there every day to get at least part of it presentable before we move in this coming Sunday (the 29th). My wife has been gracious enough to let me have a man cave in the basement, and I am extremely excited to have my own space with which I can do what I want. I'll post a few pictures for ya.


Anyway, back to the man cave. It's in an unfinished part of the basement. The room is 13'x18', with a shelving unit on one side and a strange closet on the other which hides the water meter (does that make is a water closet?). The walls and floor are cement. I'm picturing the stereo going against the far wall, pictured below.


The reverse of this picture is the far wall, shown below.


Now I know there are a few issues here. The first is aesthetic. The room is butt ugly. Lol. That will be fixed over time. The first thing to go will be the horrible ceiling. I would much rather have exposed floor joists than crappy half broken whatever-is-there right now. The lighting also needs some work, but that is far from the top of my list.

The second is electrical. There is only one set of outlets in the room, and it is behind the shelves on the right side of the room. This isn't a huge issue. My brother is an electrician and he said he can set up a raceway outlet on the far outlet without too much effort.

The third issue is acoustic. I know cement reflects sound like mad, so I need to learn a bit about sound dampening and acoustic absorption. The stereo will include:
1 restored Pioneer SX-1010 receiver
1 restored Harman Kardon A300 tube amplifier
2 re-foamed The New Large Advent Loudspeakers
2 KLH Model 14B speakers
1 Luxman PX-99 turntable
1 Sony CDP-990 CD player
1 ADC SS-100SL Equalizer

I've been doing some thinking about furniture. I already have an IKEA Nornas sideboard unit to store LPs and to have equipment on top of. A picture of the unit is shown below, in a previous apartment I lived in.

There will also be a couch/comfy chair of some kind, as well as an area rug. Now, here comes the fun part.

I'm looking for suggestions on how to set up the room better and how to improve the acoustics of the room. I think speaker stands will be a good idea. I'm open to making my own, but if there are kits available, I'd be interested.

Conveniently, my father-in-law works for a company which does a lot of work with different types of foam (https://denarcoinc.com/). He told me some of their products are excellent for acoustic dampening. I need to ask him more about it, but in the mean time, if anyone has any suggestions on that subject, please don't hold back.

I'm open to any suggestions, really. This is our first house, and I want to take my time to make things exactly how I want. Also, the house is big enough where we potentially could live there for 40+ years, so I'm in it for the long haul.

Thanks!

 

[Wildcat]

Well hey, congrats on the new abode! 1942 is near the age of the house I'm in (built 1940).

Be careful tearing anything out--there could be asbestos hiding in there somewhere. Can't really say what or where but, in a house that old, it helps to play it safe. If you've already had a home inspection, chances are they would have pointed out anything obvious. (I only wonder what might be behind that ceiling.)

The basement will be "bright", acoustically. You could use an area rug at the very least. Or (if the basement is waterproofed), a carpet remnant which fits the area might be even better. Basements are drafty, and all of the cold air in the house will travel down to the basement. At least having the floor feel warmer

If you are tearing out the ceiling, you might also want to get rid of the shelf along the one wall, to free up some wall space (for "real" bookshelves or places to store records, CDs, etc. and hang pictures or memorabilia). One thing you might consider is getting some cheap paint and repainting the area to a nicer color--maybe something with a little warmth to it. I feel that a room that looks warm and inviting tends to be a little more comfortable to listen to--just my preference, though. (It's easier to do before everything is moved in.)

For reflections, the area rug or carpet remnant would take care of the floor. An easy/cheap treatment is to put some absorption at the first and second reflection points on the side walls. There is an easy way to find the reflection points, once you have your listening location set. Sit in your listening seat, and have someone else hold a mirror against the right wall, starting next to the speaker and moving it towards you. When you can see the reflection of the front of the right speaker in the mirror, that is your first reflection point. Mark it on the wall. Then, keep the mirror moving. When you see the left speaker in the mirror, that is your second reflection point--mark that as well. You can place treatments here to cut down on those reflection points--it can be an absorptive foam, a wall hanging like a blanket, etc. You don't want to make the whole area acoustically dead, or it can sound too muddy. But curing those early reflections will improve the clarity.

 

[Drugolf]

Excellent, a clean slate! Planning, planning, planning. Gonna be fun.

As an architect, here are some quick thoughts.
- Ceiling looks kinda low?
- Good caution above on the asbestos concern by Wildcat above. What do you know about that from the inspection. What is lurking above that mess of a ceiling?
- Pretty good dimensions. Your speakers should be okay in there.
- Since your bro is an electrician, you are set! Research dedicated power supply specifications and go for it. Also the lighting think will be key for that space. Many great lighting tricks you can do so it doesn't seem so basement like.
- Give thought to isolating speaker positioning from the gear. Move the gear to a side wall.
- Speaking of side wall, what that other built in cabinet/door thing across from the shelving?
- Get a 2nd comfy chair for the wife, she deserves it. And call it the lounge.

 

[dumptruckz36]

The ceilings are actually higher than most basements I've been in. It must be the angle of the picture making it look low.

As for asbestos, I know there is some in other areas of the house (kitchen tile, etc...), but I don't know if there is any in the odd assortment of ceiling covering. The inspector didnt mention it in the basement.

The cabinet on the one side hides the water meter. It's ugly, but hopefully I can dress it up somehow.

And dont worry, the wife will have her own chair. She isn't banned from the basement. I actually look forward to her spending time down there with me when it's mostly put together.

 

[swechsler]

If the ceiling isn't hiding any plumbing that will need to be accessed (e.g. shut off valves) then I'd cover it with sheet rock to block some of the sounds that will come through the floor. I'd probably go for wall to wall carpeting rather than an area rug, assuming there are no flooding possibilities. If there are, take care of those first - fix outside grading or drainage rather than installing a sump pump or French drain - much better to keep the water out in the first place than to get rid of it after it gets in. If there any foundation cracks, fix them from the outside, then re-tar. If humidify is high, install a dehumidifier in another part of the basement. Also consider HVAC. How warm will your basement get in the summer and how cold in the winter? This is similar to the basement room I built for my home theater - I installed hydronic baseboard heat and a split A/C.

 

[Treyfus84]

Congrats on the new home and the man cave

 

[Wildcat]

The nice thing about having the basement is that you have the support of the concrete floor beneath everything, vs. being on a wooden floor supported by wooden joists. Everything will sound more "solid." My family room is on a slab, so I have the equipment rack spiked through the carpeting and will soon have the speakers spiked as well. It all seems very well isolated.

 

[sKiZo]

I'd consider full length room darkening type fiberglass drapes on the back wall ... that would damp that, and also tend to kill any weird reflections from the alcove to the side.

I'd also set the main seating area maybe mid point - trying to fill a room that large and get good imaging can be a lot of work.

The extra headroom might be nice to do fiberglass ceiling panels. Something with some texture to it. That should also deaden the upstairs floor some, or at least give you an easy way to hide some fiberglass bats in the cavities ...

Relocate those shelves to the back of the room.

A throw rug between the speakers and seats, and you've killed a lot of potential standing waves.

Oh. And get rid of the wife and move back upstairs ... <G>

PS ... I'd seriously consider some good EQ when you've got the system in place. That can fix a lot of problems and keep everybody happy.

 

[Wildcat]

Oh. And get rid of the wife and move back upstairs ... <G>

I did that 15 years ago and haven't regretted it. But hey, let's not discourage anyone! I know quite a few whose better halves get into the music just as much as they do. Sharing music is a nice thing to take part in.

(In my case, I was tired of being relegated to the basement and having to keep it at a low volume, so she could blare the TV loudly upstairs. But there was a lot more dysfunction going on that I'd rather not get into....)

 

[Soundork]

Congratulations on your new house.

If I were you, I would ensure that the basement would never get flooded, then put a hardwood floor and radiant heat. Your house would be the coziest in the entire frozen state of Michigan...

I wouldn't worry as much about sound reflections from the walls, I would insulate the entire room from the noises emanating from the rest of the house.

Now...it is up to you if you want to share. You did say that your wife is not banned from the man-cave, but...If I were you, I would make it also a multimedia room. I would paint the walls black as in a real cinema and also put big screen TV and surround sound, some posters, the cute popcorn cart and a beer fridge of course. The best theater I have ever been was in Providence, RI. It is called "The Cable Car Cinema" and it had all the attributes above plus couches, instead of seats. I know, that isnt everyone's thing, but it makes guests and cave visitors comfortable.

Of course, it is your space and you can ignore everything I said with the exception of the first two sentences...

Best

Soundork

 

[lightcapture]

Congratulation on your new home and your basement room looks like it has a lot of potential.
Now would be the time to add insulation and redue the electrical wiring.

 

[dumptruckz36]

Thank you all for the kind words and suggestions. We are very excited to own a home and I can't wait to get started down there.

 

[sKiZo]

So when's the big party? We promise not to trash the place too badly ... <G>

 

[armyslowrdr]

to call it a water closet ya have to have a hole in the floor to pee in. lol.

 

[vintageadict]

I have my system set up in my basement and I did end up adding some sound treatments. Bass traps in the corners and baffles on the ceiling and walls facing the speakers. I thought it reduced feedback and tightened up the bass significantly. FYI, I play vinyl 95% of the time. I wouldn't say its a priority as ever room is different but if you experience low frequency feedback at higher volumes you should look into it. There are lots of companies out there that are good as well do it yourself videos etc. I used these guys. They have an online tool that allows you to size the room and show where you should add the treatments. Something you can use even if you plan to make the baffles yourself. I hope you have as much fun with this as I have.

Congrats on the new house!

https://www.acoustimac.com/room-calculator