Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Wood floors for auditoriums.

This is topic Wood floors for auditoriums. in forum Ground Level at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

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Posted by Jeremy Fuentes (Member # 2135) on 04-08-2004, 12:15 PM:

I was just browsing through the Roxy theater website. Click here ,which is a great site. I noticed that they pointed out that they have wood floors in the auditoriums, which distinguishes their sound from other theaters. Are wooden floors better than cement floors, when it comes to sound. Or does it just enhance the vibrations from explosions and things like that.

Posted by Daryl C. W. O'Shea (Member # 1303) on 04-08-2004, 01:28 PM:

Well, wood floors sure make EQing the room fun. Although not as bad as bare concrete.

Posted by Jonathan M. Crist (Member # 413) on 04-08-2004, 02:02 PM:

I have wooden floors in my 1911 theatre (www.elkstheatremiddletown.com). My four subwoofers (All Bag-End 18" with 4" voicecoils) are in custom built cabinets tied in under the stage near the floor. The wooden floor definetly seems to help with the low end vibrations.

Posted by Bill Enos (Member # 440) on 04-09-2004, 12:28 AM:

It is interesting that a theatre built that late was permitted to have wood floors. By the late "20s it was unlawful to use wood in floors or structure in new construction in theatres in Va. and many other states & localities.

Posted by Paul Linfesty (Member # 214) on 04-09-2004, 01:17 AM:

The Regency One Theatre in San Francisco had wooden floors (don't remember if the Regency Two did or not). Both are now closed.

The piedmont in Oakland had a wooden balcony.

Posted by Nicholas Suchyta (Member # 2050) on 04-09-2004, 01:24 AM:

My theatre has wooden floors on the main level and the balcony. It does make a huge difference when it comes to the low end sound. Compared to a few theatres with concrete floors, it sure sounds better to me.

Posted by Dave Williams (Member # 299) on 04-09-2004, 01:53 PM:

I personally find it a nightmare to EQ a room that has too much or too many direct reflective surfaces. A proper EQ is nearly impossible. If you want to know if you have a good sound room, a simple test will give you a good idea...

...stand in the center of the room and clap once real hard and loud. Listen for the echo. How much time between the clap and the echo? More than a quarter of a second and it just isn't as crisp and clear as it could be.

Just my own personal thought. I prefer good clean crisp sound that is not bouncing all over the damn place. By the time it gets to your ears its all distorted and fuzzy. Best to get it straight from the source.

Ciao

dave

Posted by Manny Knowles (Member # 1171) on 04-09-2004, 02:33 PM:

Based on what I have read, the interior of a cinema -- ceiling, walls, seats and floor -- should be acoustically non-reflective.

A carpeted floor is preferred wherever possible.

A wooden floor -- even a carpeted one -- will impose "coloration" to the sound, opening the door to possible over-equalisation.

Posted by Eric Hooper (Member # 1730) on 04-09-2004, 04:43 PM:

quote:
The Regency One Theatre in San Francisco had wooden floors (don't remember if the Regency Two did or not). Both are now closed.

The piedmont in Oakland had a wooden balcony.

The Alexandria also had wood floors, in both the downstairs and the tri-plexed upstairs auditoriums.

Posted by Gordon McLeod (Member # 33) on 04-09-2004, 06:45 PM:

A wooden floor is perferable acoustically to a concrete one any day

Posted by Paul Mayer (Member # 355) on 04-09-2004, 09:23 PM:

Depends on what you're using the room for. For listening to live music or recording, a proper mix of live and dead surfaces can greatly add to the musical performance and experience.

On the other hand, soundtrack playback should be done in the deadest possible space, virtually anechoic if possible, since all of the acoustic "space" of the playback is artificially created on the mixdown stage. Good motion picture theater auditoriums should be like good analog turntables--the only good one is a dead one.

If you're in a multi-use venue, you'll have your work cut out for you establishing good sound for each use. The demands of good live vs. good playback acoustics largely contradict each other when it comes to room characteristics. Good concert halls generally do not make good motion picture auditoriums.

Posted by Phil Hill (Member # 371) on 04-09-2004, 11:17 PM:

But, in general, wood is good...

>>> Phil

Posted by Chris Hipp (Member # 1788) on 04-09-2004, 11:56 PM:

Not when you have to pee in the midle of the night! [Big Grin]

Posted by Phil Hill (Member # 371) on 04-10-2004, 12:20 AM:

Oh my....

>>> Phil

Posted by Chris Hipp (Member # 1788) on 04-10-2004, 12:41 AM:

Yeah yeah, noone will believe that you werent talking about that. [Razz]

Posted by Phil Hill (Member # 371) on 04-10-2004, 12:51 AM:

Hmmmmm... but Chris, *YOU* responded to it... Hubba Hubba! [Wink]

>>> Phil

Posted by Aaron Garman (Member # 1653) on 04-10-2004, 01:40 AM:

Holey Moley! [Eek!]

AJG

Posted by Nicholas Suchyta (Member # 2050) on 04-10-2004, 01:56 AM:

Can always count on Phil to keep the topic entertaining

[thumbsup]

Posted by Phil Hill (Member # 371) on 04-10-2004, 02:39 AM:

I'm totally amazed at how *some* people take my innocent comments and turn them into something perverted.

My "wood is good" comment was merely a reference to "tongue-in-groove".

Ummmmm... flooring! NOT some HOT sex thing! [Wink]

But Chris... call me again, we can still talk about all this.

>>> Phil

Posted by Bruce McGee (Member # 131) on 04-10-2004, 05:34 AM:

The Fine Arts Theatre in Asheville was built in 1946. Not only does it have a wooden floor, it was also a porn/art theatre from 1961 to 1985, when it closed.

There are few, if any, squeaks when you walk the floors.

There are, however, some groans heard from time to time. Could be old wood, or something else? [Roll Eyes]

Auditorium has a nice dead sound. You'd never know that there is a 4 lane business district outside...

[bs]

Posted by Steve Kraus (Member # 476) on 04-10-2004, 09:59 AM:

There are few, if any, squeaks when you walk the floors.

Well...those boards were probably well lubricated over the years.

Posted by Josh Jones (Member # 447) on 04-10-2004, 09:30 PM:

didnt take long for this one to head south, eh boys [thumbsup]

Posted by Phil Hill (Member # 371) on 04-10-2004, 10:46 PM:

South? To Acapulco Mexico? I'm headed there the end of the month and I'll tell Martha you said hello, Josh.

>>> Phil

Posted by David Favel (Member # 1125) on 04-12-2004, 12:02 AM:

Cinema 3,(600) wooden stage & floor.
1 x 18" Tannoy on stage vibrates thru the whole cinema.

Posted by Jeremy Fuentes (Member # 2135) on 04-12-2004, 06:25 AM:

Thanks for the info guys. Phil, youre right, wood is good, in general. [Wink]