http://www.househacker.com/ househacker/tags/acoustics home theatre system. The author, Norman Varney, says that a high end audio system can be wasted in an acoustically poor environment and that a decent system can sound great under the right acoustic conditions.

From the article:

Don't believe it? While working at the Science and Technology Center for Owens Corning, we built two identical rooms of average home theater size. Both included the same equipment, set-up and furnishings. One room had acoustic treatment in it and the other did not. I ran bio-feedback tests with a couple of dozen engineers playing the same 'Das Boot' clip for them in both rooms. We found that when subjects were in the room that was acoustically treated, their heart rate and blood pressure increased. Acoustics controlled their emotions. They did not understand why it was happening, or even care, but they all wanted it at home. A similar thing happened when I gave a little acoustic seminar for about a dozen teenage boys. In the untreated room they behaved like teenage boys, but in the acoustically treated room, it was like flipping a switch; they were totally focused on the movie, motionless, involved. So you see, it's real, and it's for everyone to enjoy. It's not just for audiophile geeks like me with golden ears.

Now don't get too carried away with improving your home audio experience or you'll soon find yourself dropping nearly $500 on volume knobs and the like.

Article: Room Acoustics Number One Component]]> http://www.househacker.com/permanent/Interesting-Article-on-Home-Theatre-Room-Acoustics soundproofing discussion over at studio-central.com. The thread begins with the oft recommended carpet and foam wall technique, which, as you'll read, is a total no-no to some - although it's not quite unanimously opposed. The carpet opponents believe carpet and foam to be dangerous potential fire hazards that, lacking any significant mass, have minimal soundproofing ability - which is hotly debated due to many people adding their anecdotal evidence to the contrary.

The discussion offers many links to different, informative soundproofing resources, including this document called Exposing Acoustical Myths (PDF), which really breaks down a lot of the misconceptions people have about the science of soundproofing a space. Another nice resource is this page that details the different drywall, stud and insulation configurations and their corresponding STC ratings. STC ratings are, according to stcratings.com:

...a single-number rating of a material's or an assembly's ability to resist airborne sound transfer at the frequencies 125-4000 Hz. In general, a higher STC rating blocks more noise from transmitting through a partition.

So, the higher STC the better. Another site worth checking out is Acoustics.com. They've made available an Acoustics 101 overview page, as well as handy project design resources that give detailed tips on designing all sorts of different types of rooms, including home theatres. ]]> http://www.househacker.com/permanent/Informative-Soundproofing-Discussion home theatre, you may want to think about soundproofing the area. A quality soundproofing job will both prevent outside noises from entering your listening room/theatre and, conversely, give you the freedom to listen to whatever you like without having to disturb your house mates. Here's a drywall option, called QuietRock, that claims to be able to deliver that level of soundproofing. From the site:

• A single layer of QR-530 is equivalent to 8 layers of standard drywall (acoustically)
• QR-525 requires no power saw
• QR-545 is the only THX Certified soundproofing solution in the world
• 10x more reliable than resilient channel with no resilient channel liability risks
• Use like standard drywall (installs without special training)
• Fire rated. Environmentally friendly. Lab tested. Available in X, anti-mold, greenboard, blueboard, high impact and others

Installation video from the website available here (direct link to wmv video).]]> http://www.househacker.com/permanent/QuietRock-Sound-Proof-Drywall