Listening Room flooring upgrade... replacing carpet with wood or tile

My wife and I have decided to upgrade our kitchen, to include new wood or tile flooring extending into our (currently carpeted) family/listening room. We'd add a fairly large area rug in front of my Summits, so I'm thinking the acoustic impact would be minimized. We're leaning towards wood, but tile might prove more cost-effective (and more durable for the kitchen).

Has anybody done a similar flooring upgrade in their main listening area, and if so, how much impact did it really have on acoustics?

I think tile
would be better in the kitchen but wood would be better in your listening room.

Unfortunately, it's gotta be one or the other, as we have an open floorplan design, with the kitchen adjoining the family room, and we want uniform flooring throughout (hence the remodel). I presume replacing the wall to wall carpet (in the family room section) with tile or wood will increase room reverb, and perhaps add some brightness. I'm hoping the large area rug will tame those effects.

I wouldn't do it. If you do, a large rug between the speakers and listening chair at the very least is a must.

Just going by restaurants, every one in which I've been that had a tile floor was extremely noisy. I think a wood floor would be the lesser of the evils.

My long term plan is a solid wooden floor, most likely AB Walnut, on screed/ concrete, with large central heavy rug and wall treatments where necessary. Just from my research the wooden floor contributes tonally, perhaps an enriched tone, compared to carpet and concrete.
I have not personal experience here though, just impression gained from others who have..

Wood floor then if you must . Make sure it is fairly hard and from a good source e.g Mirage. Are you doing it yourself?

I agree about the carpet. Also perhaps some absorbing materials on the walls ( tapestries etc). On concrete you need "engineered" wood and a very good sound damping under layer .

RUR said:

Does Wood Really Sound Warm?

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is temperature audible?

Interesting! Looks like all solid surface options don't really matter, so we can decide based on standing comfort (wood better) or durability (tile better). Also going to investigate just staining our concrete slab.

RUR said:

Does Wood Really Sound Warm?

Click to expand...

tsv_1 said:

is temperature audible?

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Well, I have noticed that my bass is faster in warm weather.

RUR said:

Well, I have noticed that my bass is faster in warm weather.

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Sleepy,

I would vote against concrete... nearly intolerable (IMO) wrt "standing comfort".

Ken,

Thought this was interesting as I've definitely heard how temp and humidity can impact sound in my listening room, with slightly warmer more humid conditions tending to sound a bit sweeter (if I may conflate sound and taste):

Because it is less dense, sound passes through hot air faster than it passes through cold air. Also, as sound propagates through air, the air absorbs energy from the sound wave, attenuating (weakening) it. The effect is significant only at frequencies above 2 kHz, and increases with frequency. This is the reason why when we hear thunder in the distance it is only a low rumble. The high frequency "crack" has been attenuated more rapidly than the low frequency portion of the noise. The attenuation of sound in air is affected by the relative humidity. Dry air absorbs far more acoustical energy than does moist air. This is because moist air is less dense than dry air (water vapor weighs less than air).

Just met with our designer. We'll go with wood, glued installation (not floating). Just need to decide solid vs. engineered wood, then pick color, style, finish, etc. Looks like it'll be a 6+ month project, from design to finished installation. I'll get more baseline XTZ Room Analyzer measurements, for later comparisons.

Good choice, let us know the results if you can..

tsv_1 said:

Ken,

Because it is less dense, sound passes through hot air faster than it passes through cold air.

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Ahem....I was attempting an audiophile term/physics joke, Todd. "Fast bass", a term which I dislike and often poke fun at, combined with the above - faster sound transmission in warmer air. Once again, my obscurely dry (or is it dryly obscure?) sense of humor has failed me.

RUR said:

Ahem....I was attempting an audiophile term/physics joke, Todd. "Fast bass", a term which I dislike and often poke fun at, combined with the above - faster sound transmission in warmer air. Once again, my obscurely dry (or is it dryly obscure?) sense of humor has failed me.

Click to expand...

Just so's we're clear (like perfect-weather clear), I'm fully dialed into your unsettlingly deep (or is that deeply unsettling) disdain of the "fast bass" premise... it just reminded me of the temp/humidity thing is all. Cheers.

Gotcha!

It's definitely unsettlingly deep, BTW.

sleepysurf said:

Interesting! Looks like all solid surface options don't really matter, so we can decide based on standing comfort (wood better) or durability (tile better).

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Not necessarily. Yes wood can get dents and scratches, but if a pan or anything dense and heavy is dropped on tile, it may chip or crack. Also, settling of a house can cause cracks in tile. IMHO, wood ages well, like leather, the occasional dent or mar just adds character, while chipped or cracked tile just looks bad. Good luck, whichever way you choose to go.

sleepysurf said:

Just met with our designer. We'll go with wood, glued installation (not floating). Just need to decide solid vs. engineered wood, then pick color, style, finish, etc. Looks like it'll be a 6+ month project, from design to finished installation. I'll get more baseline XTZ Room Analyzer measurements, for later comparisons.

Click to expand...

I'm now on month 13 of our renovation. Hopefully another 6 months and it will be done.
Can't wait to see what you are going to do. Are you going to be able to have a temp kitchen or will it be much eating out?

Grilling, carry out, and restaurants! Might need to run up to see YOUR kitchen/house remodel for ideas!