What size should I make my control room?

[dankelly]

Hey all. I'm about to build my room in room control room and need to know what size to make it. The maximum I can make it is L 14'6" x W 8'1 3/4 x H 7'8 1/2". I know its small but it's all I have unfortunately. It is purely for making electronic music ITB and so I don't need a lot of space and I'm willing to use up as much of what I have as is necessary to get the best possible sound.

In other threads I have read Ethan saying with a small space you should keep it as big as possible and treat it afterwards but I have also heard JHBrandt say that he believes that sizing the room correctly to closely match a tried and tested ratio makes a big difference and is worth the trade off with space.

I'm pretty hopeless with the modecalcs and was wondering if anyone with a knowledge of good ratios (mr Brandt himself?) might be able to offer a suggestion given my dimensions?

To complicate things, the ceiling is cathedral style and I have come to the dimension of 7'8 1/2" by averaging the height between the lowest and highest points. I know this makes it difficult to predict the modes but I thought this was the best approach.

Thanks guys

Dan

Please could a moderator move this thread to studio building please. Sorry!

[Ethan Winer]

Don't count on this thread being moved, and it's fine here anyway. If it were my room I'd leave it at the maximum size rather than go smaller, even if smaller has a better ratio. My gut feeling is if you reduced a dimension by, say, one foot, you'd have been better with the larger size then adding an extra foot thick of bass trapping. Others may disagree.

--Ethan

________________
The Acoustic Treatment Experts

[Jens Eklund]

Originally Posted by Ethan Winer

Don't count on this thread being moved, and it's fine here anyway. If it were my room I'd leave it at the maximum size rather than go smaller, even if smaller has a better ratio. My gut feeling is if you reduced a dimension by, say, one foot, you'd have been better with the larger size then adding an extra foot thick of bass trapping. Others may disagree.

I agree.

/Jens

[dankelly]

That's a great point. I would definitely be reluctant to lose a foot, I was probably thinking more an inch or two, here or there.

I've read John Brandt's posts when he has said something along the lines of "if you make that dimension 10'7 instead of 10'8 you will have better modal distribution".

If I was only a short distance away from a decent ratio then I thought it would make sense to adjust to suit. Thanks guys