laminate flooring & surround sound

Susan

My husband and I are finishing our basement, putting up walls and ceilings, etc. We want to put laminate hardwood flooring in, but have been told by several people that if you use it along with a surround sound system...it will echo. Has anyone had that problem, and if so, is there any way to use them both without an echo? Would appreciate any input you have on this subject. Thanks.

Teetorbilt

Laminate flooring WILL bounce sound.
I build home theaters. How serious are you?
I can help with blackout and sound, used to work for Bose.

Susan

Thanks for the info. We had some discussion last night...I think we'll be going with carpet instead of laminate.

Teetorbilt

Carpet is good. Thinking of eggcrate walls?

Susan

No, but we have insulated behind the new walls & ceiling.
Susan

jproffer

I think what he was getting at, is that by the time the sound gets to the insulation, it'll be too late. It will bounce anyway. The insulation will help the room next door, but not the theater room. Teetor correct me if I'm wrong. :D

Floorwizard

Anything wrong with an area rug on the lam?

That way you can have a more decorative room, and still make it easy to maintain.

Teetorbilt

Most solid surfaces will reflect sound, especially the higher frequencies, before it gets to the insulation behind it. For a real easy explination, look at the inside of a movie theater. Carpeted floors, textured walls and acoustical ceilings. The big trick is that you don't see BEHIND the walls. The major effort there is to prevent any intruding sound from the outside while at the same time providing a certain amount of absorbtion and reflectivity on the inside.
In critical applications, such as syphonies, womens fashions can affect the sound. When hemlines go up, bare legs reflect more sound than covered legs. Yes, it can get that critical.