ceiling height question.....please help.

[allbaldo]

I leased a building recently which is very small, but has high ceilings. I have to build walls within the structure for soundproofing, but am not sure how high to set the ceiling with such a small room.

I know there are measurments to try to make the room have the nearest to ideal dimensions for sound/least standing waves/etc. Does anyone have any information on this subject, or know where I can find any? Thanks for your helpl

[jajjguy]

You want the room dimensions not to be multiples of each other. Sometimes making the room smaller in one dimension is actually better for this reason.

Any room has modes, which is to say certain frequencies that are amplified in some locations and reduced in others. There are modes in all three dimensions, and in the diagonals too. If you have two dimensions that are the same, like in a 10' x 10' x 12' room, then the modes that are created along those two dimensions are at the same frequencies, so you've just compounded your problem at those frequencies. Better to make it a 10' x 8' x' 12' room.

As for ceiling height, higher is generally better, but just make sure it isn't a multiple of either the width or height.

[axial]

what are the sizes as of?

[rhythm ranch]

Room Mode Calculators:

Ethan Winer's

MC Squared's

Studio Tips. Click on "Calculation Tools"

Hope this helps!
Good luck,
Mark

[allbaldo]

Thanks for the help so far...those calculators should be a big help too. As it stands, the room is 14.4 feet wide, and the ceiling height is about 20 feet. I am building the other walls, but only have room for about 16 feet. I could also do a lower ceiling height if that would help anything.

Any more ideas or opinions would be great. Thanks again.