Sound room flooring advice needed


I'm planning a remodel of my family room, which is on a concrete slab, currently covered with 50-year-old linoleum. I'll be installing engineered hardwood flooring.

What installation method is better for sonics, glue-down or floating? My main audio system resides in this space, doing double-duty as a 2.0 home theater. I listen to vinyl 90% of the time, so I'm also a bit concerned that floating could introduce footfall issues.

Thanks for your thoughts.

Bill
wrm57
I was doing the same research when I was building my music room. Ultimately, I decided on stranded click bamboo for the floor because of its hardness compared to other woods
http://www.lumberliquidators.com/ll/c/Xiamen-Click-Strand-Bamboo-Morning-Star-Click-PRQCBAMSTX5/10024105

I opted to go with a floating floor because with the vapor barrier and then the weight of the equipment on top of the floor, I never noticed any issues with resonances from the floor. My speakers are 285 pounds each, amps are 115 pounds each, turntable stand is 225 pounds, music rack is sand weighted and is also 175 pounds, with the equipment on both, the turntable and equipment stands, there is very little to be worried about resonance from the floor interaction, due to the mass. I did add carpet under the racks and speakers so as not to scrape the floors and to further isolate the equipment from the floor.
Ciao
audioquest4life
Gluing to a concrete basement floor is a mistake due to wicking moisture. Floating floors work wonderful for room acoustics. Your always better off mounting turntable to studs. You can brace and beef up during wall construction so table is completely isolated.
Look just float the hardwood to the floor. That is the right way to do it. Then put some nice through rugs down. If you have resonance problems them look for better speakers, ones that don't use big bass drivers. I am a dealer for Wilson Benesch. They are made from carbon fiber and the cabinets do not resonate and excite the room or the floor.
Gluing to a concrete basement floor is a mistake due to wicking moisture.

Zenblaster, solid hardwood floors, of course, cannot be glued down below grade. But in talking to contractors and doing research (okay, on the web), I've learned that engineered hardwood flooring is designed for this application, provided a proper moisture barrier (4-6 mil of plastic) is under-laid. Are you saying it's still a bad idea?

I'd certainly rather do a float if only because I could leave the old linoleum squares in place. My gear and Adona racks are pretty heavy; my 90 lb Sound Anchor speaker stands don't pass much resonance that I can sense; one of my turntables has a 100-pound plinth and the other is on a Minus-K isolation platform, so I doubt they'd be much affected by footfalls or vibration. I'm not certain that resonance would be a problem with a floating floor, especially using a dense foam underlayment. But my system has evolved and been tuned while being spiked to the slab, so I don't want some big sonic curveball. Obviously, I want to get the flooring right the first time.
I'm not certain that resonance would be a problem with a floating floor, especially using a dense foam underlayment. But my system has evolved and been tuned while being spiked to the slab, so I don't want some big sonic curveball.
Indeed. I can't say from experience whether you'd have resonance issues or not (though like you I'm inclined to think not). But you're accustomed to speakers which are firmly fixed to an immobile floor. Any compromise there will let the speaker cabinets move, and that softens dynamics and smears each waveform launch.

I've heard this in many setups including early versions of my own. The slightest elasticity beneath a speaker is audible. A floating floor might be preferable in the listening area, but not beneath the speakers.