There’s no arguing against the fact that a television with a big screen can rival the appeal
of a movie theater, especially now that home theater’s can have the same
level of surround sound effects. But having great sound and hearing
great sound aren’t the same thing — not
when there’s all kinds of surface noise that interrupts the experience.
Just turning up the volume on an A/V receiver isn’t the answer
either, especially if you live in an apartment or have other people in the
houseor apartment uninterested in hearing what you are listening to. So what’s
the answer? Creating an envrioment where the external sounds are deadend and so
what you are hearing is just what is playing.
Checking The Area for Problems
The key to controlling the external sound begins with a check
through the area where your home theater will be. Are the speakers close to a
window? If so, then they will be competing with noise from the outside — be
that cars on a road or people walking by outside. Is the area where you have
your home theater right up against the kitchen, with all its foot traffic,
refrigerator and microwave noises? Are there vents for the whole house
heating/AC on one of the walls where the sound blows out into the room next to
where you or yours will be sitting? These are all things that you can keep from
interfering by avoiding the area where they are most prevalent.
Working On Improving The Sound
The first thing to do is remove extraneous noise from your
speakers and subwoofer — besides potentially bothering others
(especially a subwoofer’s deep bass penetrating the floor to
another apt.), vibration and surface noise results. There are pads designed to
go underneath the speakers/subwoofer and which control the vibrations and
reduce the “leaking” sound without affecting what the
speakers are doing.
Next up are the entrances/exits to the room, which in most cases
means a door. Weatherproofing foam tape material placed around the edges will
help to keep the sound down, as well as keep light from leaking in. For the
bottom of the door, it can be as simple as putting a towel down, or you can
create a door “trap” This is basically a piece of material
placed against the door that just “kisses” the
floor and so negates sound (and light) coming from beneath the door.
For curtains, there is blackout materials to block light but also
material that will better muffle the sound (blinds are noisy by definition and
hanging up something in front of them is another way to go). And placing foam
material around windows to control sound leakage will work as well for this as
a door. As to vents, while it is possible to cover them up, a more concrete
approach is to put baffling material inside — should
you feel competant to do that. But for most, the simplest method is to just not
have the AC or heat on when you’re using the home theater.
It’s also important to consider any
vibrations/noise that might be coming from the TV if it’s wall mounted.
Also the same as regards electrical boxes and AC wall outlets — if
some cauklng around the edges knocks down on the air passage, it’s
worth considering and doing.
Of course the main issue are the walls but in a non-invasive
situation there is little that can be done here (hanging blankets or sound
paneling material on walls can work but it could be hit and miss, besides
looking somewhat “odd”).
The Professional Sound Solution
Another solution, one that involves invasive means, could prove
the easiest and most satisfying. Instead of a DIY project, bringing in a
professional custom installation team, for example, Just One Touch, takes all the burden off you and
lets you dictate what you want, while knowledgable pros handle all the issues.
The main advantage here is that the installers know what you don’t — in fact they know the answers to the
questions about sound isolation and sound absorption that you don’t
even know to ask! And when they’re
done, your home theater will be isolated from all the annoyances that
extraneous sound can bring, even as you will be freed from the aggravation and
hardship of having to try and do it for yourself.
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