Is Carpet More Suitable for Flooring in a Home Theater / Listening Room?
Many customers often inquire whether installing carpeting in the hi-fi or home theater room will affect the sound system's performance.
Many articles and videos online about this topic, and opinions vary widely.
Here, we will share our thoughts for you to consider.
The carpet does not significantly affect the sound quality of a Home Theater or hi-fi listening room in an ordinary home listening space.
You can opt to carpet the entire area or just a part of it. Both choices are OK.
The premise is that the acoustic treatment of the other five surfaces of your listening space must be coordinated well.
Acoustic Treatment:
In this section, we will provide a brief introduction to acoustics treatment materials. These materials can be broadly categorized into three types:
1. Sound-absorbing materials
Sound absorption refers to absorbing sound with sound-absorbing material rather than having it be reflected.
2. Diffusion materials
Disperse sound waves through various structures to prevent superposition while maintaining sound energy levels.
3. Bass traps
A Bass trap captures low-frequency sounds. When these sound waves enter the trap, they stay inside and do not escape, which prevents harmful sound interference. This helps keep standing waves from forming.
These three main categories are further divided into different types of materials, sizes, and acoustic structures that process various frequency bands.
Home Theater:
A room has six sides: the ceiling (top), the floor (bottom), and four side walls. In private theaters, the front wall is usually not a concern.
It will be built into a standard baffle wall behind the projection screen, and the speakers will be installed within it to prevent sound from bouncing back and ensure that the sound is directed forward.
When you design your private theater, we recommend considering what material you want for the floor. Cork board? Hardwood board? Carpet?
Once you have decided what material to use for the floor, consider the corresponding acoustic treatment of other surfaces. Proper installation and operation require specialized equipment and a trained professional.
All acoustic treatments for absorption and diffusion aim to create a flat frequency response curve at the listening position.
Carpets are effective at absorbing high frequencies above 1 kHz.
If there are excessively high frequencies above 1 kHz, carpets can be used to help reduce them.
The speakers have a strong directivity, typically extending 60 degrees to the left and right and 40 degrees up and down.
As a result, few high frequencies are reflected off the ceiling and floor. Most of the high frequencies you perceive are primarily due to the direct sound from the speakers.
Example 1: Many commercial movie theaters are fully carpeted and equipped with theater seats to eliminate the sound of footsteps.
Its top, sides, and back surface are all made of sound-absorbing structures with cavities.
In theory, its high frequencies must be overabsorbed.
However, most commercial cinemas achieve sound quality that meets industry standards by utilizing high-power speakers with horn tweeters, which produce substantial high-frequency energy.
The audience perceives enough high-frequency direct sound, so excessive reflected sound is unnecessary.
In a closed space like a commercial cinema, carpets help absorb some high frequencies but mainly reduce the sound of footsteps. The most crucial factor is to use the acoustic properties of the other four surfaces to control excessive high and mid frequencies. Also, each person in the cinema is an acoustic absorber, helping to soak up some high—and mid-frequency sound.
Example 2: An outdoor concert offers a distinct acoustic experience, acting as an unobstructed sound space where sound disperses outward with minimal reflection.
The space for the audience, usually composed of concrete or grass, does not absorb mid- and low-frequency sounds.
Nonetheless, it is still feasible to experience high-quality sound.
Sound quality does not rely on reverberation from the sound itself or the instrument. Even when using a CD for a performance, the sound stays excellent. Reverberation does not matter in this situation. This works similarly to a professional cinema.
The speakers provide enough power, and the direct sound is strong enough.
Like headphone, The diaphragm directly impacts the eardrum when we listen through headphones, so reflected sound is unnecessary.
Here are two examples of large spaces: one has carpet, and one does not. This shows an important point. As long as your speakers have sufficient energy and the amplifier provides enough power to support the mid and high frequencies, the direct sound will be of good quality. In this situation, the sound absorption from the carpet has minimal impact on the high and mid frequencies.
Conclusion: In typical home theaters, the effectiveness of acoustic treatment largely depends on the layout of the ceiling and walls and the sound system's energy.
Since speakers are directional, they do not reflect much high and mid-frequency sound to the ceiling and floor. Therefore, the direct sound at high and mid-frequencies is generally sufficient.
In addition, you can adjust the sound of different channels through settings and volume control.
A carpet on the floor has minimal impact on the overall sound quality.
Feel free to select your preferred decoration method confidently based on your tastes.
Music Listening Room/Living Room:
Various items, such as sofas, curtains, and furniture, live in a living room and contribute to sound absorption. (See the blog: Making Living Rooms Sound Better Two)
High-fidelity speakers generally have a low energy output, resulting in lower sound pressure levels for high and mid frequencies.
For instance, placing a pair of high-fidelity bookshelf speakers in a home theater room that has been specifically acoustically treated can produce a dry and unpleasant sound. This is because these speakers' mid- and low-frequency output is relatively minimal and does not require significant absorption.
Conversely, even a tiny Bluetooth speaker can provide better sound quality in a typical living room than in an acoustically treated home theater.
Some worry that adding carpets will absorb the high/mid-frequency sounds already limited in the high-fidelity speakers, resulting in an unpleasant sound.
But please don't forget that, as mentioned above, speakers are directional. People usually sit close to the speakers when listening to music, so you mainly hear direct sound. Adding carpet on the floor will not have much impact if your room does not have acoustic treatment structures on all four sides, like a Home Theater room.
Example: Think about the car audio system. The car's roof, floor, and seats act like a carpet by absorbing high frequencies. Have you observed that the sound appears excessively muted when the car audio is activated? A key element to remember is the reflection off various surfaces.
Conclusion: Same as Home Theater
A carpet on the floor has minimal impact on the overall sound quality.
Feel free to select your preferred decoration method confidently based on your tastes.
Different environments and equipment have specific needs. Home theaters, music listening rooms, professional stages, and concert halls all require different acoustic settings.
For example, a home theater needs a reverberation time of 0.3 to 0.4 seconds, while a hi-fi listening room needs 0.5 to 0.8 seconds. If you use hi-fi equipment in a home theater, the sound may be dry and unappealing. On the other hand, using home theater equipment in a hi-fi room can make the sound too loud and harsh.
This difference happens because these two types of equipment produce different speaker outputs. As a result, each setup needs its specific acoustic treatments.
Deciding whether to carpet a Home Theater/Music Listening room involves several important factors.
First, consider the speakers' energy output and whether the sound frequencies are balanced. These elements are essential in any discussion of acoustics.
If the speakers have good energy levels, carpeting might not be an issue. In a Dolby Atmos Home Theater with at least ten speakers working simultaneously, the combined energy from the mid- to high-frequency range can be quite strong.
This is especially true for the key frequency ranges at 1 kHz, 2 kHz, and 4 kHz, where energy levels often peak.
During the setup, we can use a manual equalizer to manage these peaks or choose a high-density carpet 1.5 to 2 cm thick to absorb excess high-frequency sound above 1 kHz. This method can work well.
Note: Don't exaggerate the carpet's role; just treat it as a decoration.
That's all for this time. We hope you have a great time!
Welcome to our "Aperion University" series. Here, we will introduce you to basic acoustics knowledge. We hope it will help you. If you like it, please follow us!
Note: The images in this article are obtained from the Internet. If there are any issues, please contact us for removal.
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