For months, much of the project of transforming the indoor swimming pool of my new home into a dedicated listening room existed only in my head, on computer screens, in drawings, calculations, 3D models, emails, and endless discussions with consultants and workers. That part was fascinating, but eventually you have to stop talking about building a listening room and actually build one.
Since my last instalment in this series, I’ve been reminded that construction has an unforgiving way of showing us who’s boss. Still, amid all that’s been happening, I also managed to start an audio company—accidentally.
Other than that, things have been pretty quiet.
The Pool Is Empty. Now What?
The swimming pool was drained in March. Seeing it empty for the first time made the whole project suddenly feel very real.
Initially, the plan for creating the new floor seemed quite doable. We would drill through the bottom of the pool and install ten screw piles. A wood structure would be built on those piles, with a concrete slab poured on top. The large empty space underneath would then be filled with loosely arranged insulation to prevent my former swimming pool from becoming a giant resonance chamber.
Simple enough.
To install the screw piles, however, we first needed to cut 12″ × 12″ openings through the bottom of the pool.
We started with the first one.
Water came in. Not a few drops. A flow. We had drilled directly into the water table—that underground layer of sand and stone saturated with water.
There came a moment of panic, followed by a furtive emergency trip to the nearest hardware store for hydraulic cement. The hole was sealed, and the screw-pile idea disappeared almost as quickly as the water had appeared.
Plan B was a much less elegant solution but also considerably more effective: fill the swimming pool with crushed stone. And when I say fill it, I mean a lot.
Seven 12-wheelers dumped about 147 tons of 0–3/4″ crushed stone. The stone was brought into the pool and compacted every 12 inches until we reached approximately seven inches below the planned floor level.
Of course, there was one small question: How do you bring 147 tons of stone into an indoor swimming pool?
You make a hole in the house.
I had really hoped to avoid that. The exterior of the house uses cement panels that are glued in place and covered with an acrylic finish. Once removed, they can’t really be reused, and matching the existing material and finish later would not be easy.
But there wasn’t much choice. We created a large opening in the exterior wall and used a mini excavator to carry the stone directly into the room.
Once the pool was filled and compacted, we installed two inches of rigid insulation. On top of that went the glycol tubing for the new floor heating system.
We also removed all the existing floor tiles around the pool that appeared to be poorly bonded and cut a trench through the existing concrete floor to route the glycol lines back to the electrical room.
Did I mention that this 8,000-square-foot house has no basement? That little detail has a way of making almost every major renovation more complicated.
My personal deadline for having the new concrete floor poured was July 15, the day I was leaving for my annual vacation in Spain.
We made it.
A five-inch concrete slab was poured just before my departure. For the first time since buying the house, I could stand in the middle of what used to be the swimming pool and begin to visualize the actual size and proportions of my future listening room.
As I write this, the next stage of construction is scheduled for the week of August 17. First, the concrete slab will be sanded. Then, a leveling cement will be applied over the surrounding floor to eliminate the slopes that originally directed water toward the pool drains. That surface will also be lightly sanded to keep dust to a minimum and prepare it for the final epoxy finish, which will be applied near the end of construction.
After several months, one empty swimming pool, one encounter with the water table, and 147 tons of stone, I finally have a floor.
Progress!
From Acoustic Design to Construction
An interesting part of this project has been learning where one specialist’s work ends and another begins.
Swedish acoustics firm SMT has done an enormous amount of work on the room’s acoustic design. Their AutoCAD drawings are extensive and precise, and their SketchUp 3D model allowed us to see the room and virtually move through it before it even existed.
We also held a long virtual meeting with SMT that included Norman Varney of AV RoomService, Daniel, my HVAC specialist, my contractor, and me. We went through the AutoCAD drawings and SketchUp model step by step. SMT explained the design, answered our questions, and provided a great deal of information about how the different acoustic elements work together.
But SMT’s job is room acoustics. They never promised me a turnkey construction package covering every aspect of vibration isolation, noise control, electrical power, HVAC design, local construction methods, and building codes. Nor should they. Building techniques, codes, materials, and vibration-isolation hardware vary from one country to another.
I should probably point out that I could have given the entire project to Norman from the beginning. He has designed countless listening rooms, home theaters and recording studios over the years, and frankly, it would probably have made my life a lot simpler.
But I didn’t want to give up on the SMT concept.
I had been attracted to SMT’s acoustic solutions from the beginning, not only because of their acoustic performance but also because of their aesthetic design. Their Waves, Wings, and Varitunes have a very distinctive, modern look that was exactly what I wanted for my room. As I wrote in my previous instalments, I want outstanding acoustics, but I also want a room that feels elegant, contemporary, and inviting. I don’t want to feel like I’m sitting in a recording studio.
So, instead of choosing between SMT and Norman, I chose both.
SMT is responsible for the acoustic concept and acoustic architecture of the room. Norman’s expertise complements their work in several important areas: noise control, vibration isolation, electrical power, the HVAC system, and the construction details required to make the whole thing work.
Based on my experience with him on my previous listening room, I have essentially given Norman carte blanche on those details. He is currently preparing recommendations for my carpenter regarding the structure, vibration isolation, and the methods we will use to build what amounts to a room within a room.
One thing Norman has made very clear is that noise control is not something you can leave to one contractor. The carpenter, electrician, HVAC contractor, drywall installer, and every other trade involved in the construction process can potentially compromise the result.
A tiny opening where there shouldn’t be one, an improperly isolated pipe, two electrical boxes placed back-to-back, or a faulty mechanical connection can become a source of noise or vibration.
For someone with my level of perfectionism, this is both fascinating and slightly dangerous information to work with.
But Norman’s role won’t end when construction does. One of the most important steps will come when the audio system is finally installed. That’s when Norman, using his state-of-the-art analysis software, will determine the precise placement of the loudspeakers, subwoofers, and listening position.
When I say precise, I mean it: we may be moving loudspeakers and subwoofers by millimeters, not inches.
Norman’s expertise is extremely specialized and, in my experience, very rare. You can spend a fortune on loudspeakers, electronics, and acoustic treatments, but if they and the listening position are not properly integrated with the room, you risk undermining their potential.
At this level, I consider final optimization every bit as important as the acoustic design itself.
So, for me, it’s logical to have both SMT and Norman involved. SMT is designing the acoustic environment in which the system will operate, while Norman is helping us control everything that could compromise that environment. Later, he will help extract the maximum performance from the system once it’s installed.
It’s certainly not the simplest way to build a listening room, but then, I’ve never been one to choose the simplest way.
And I didn’t do it either for the electrical and HVAC systems.
A System Built for Silence
Norman prepared detailed electrical recommendations for the listening room. The audio system will have its own dedicated electrical infrastructure, including a Torus isolation transformer and a dedicated audiophile-grade breaker panel.
The current design calls for 16 dedicated 20-amp circuits for the main audio components, using 10 AWG copper conductors and, at minimum, hospital-grade isolated-ground receptacles. The system will also include a grounding strategy designed to reduce electrical noise while maintaining proper safety and grounding requirements.
The HVAC system was another challenge.
Norman’s target for the new room is a background noise level below NC-20. That means low air velocity, low turbulence, variable fan speed, acoustically treated ductwork, flexible connections between the HVAC system and ductwork, and mechanical isolation of equipment and ductwork.
The supply and return ducts serving the listening room will also be separate from those serving the gym next door to avoid noise crosstalk between the two spaces.
Unfortunately, there was another problem: the existing heating and cooling system in the house is noisy.
Very noisy. I could hear it in the new listening room.
The existing heat pumps use two-speed fans, giving us very little flexibility in achieving the extremely low air velocities Norman is looking for.
That flexibility is particularly important in the listening room. There is no reason to move the same amount of air when I am listening alone as when the room is full of people. The objective is to move only as much air as necessary, as quietly as possible.
So what started as an HVAC problem in the listening room eventually led me to a perfectly logical audiophile conclusion: replace the heating and cooling system of the entire house.
We are switching to geothermal heat pumps. These will use fully variable-speed fans, which should make a huge difference to the noise level. They will also give us almost endless possibilities to fine-tune airflow, fan speed, and operating parameters once the system is installed.
To be fair, this decision is not only about the listening room. The new system should make the entire house more comfortable, significantly quieter, and much more energy efficient. The fully variable-speed equipment will also allow for a much finer level of control throughout the house and integrate well with the heated floors.
There is only one minor disadvantage.
The cost. Converting an 8,000-square-foot house to geothermal is really not cheap.
Acoustics Versus the Room I Want
My collaboration with SMT has also necessitated compromises, which I expected from the beginning.
I have always said that I didn’t want my new listening room to look like a recording studio. Sound reproduction is obviously the priority, but I also want a beautiful, welcoming space where I can spend hours listening to music with friends.
Sometimes those goals aren’t compatible.
For example, the new acoustic ceiling will be approximately 12 inches lower than the existing one. That means the transom windows near the ceiling will be hidden behind the new structure.
I would have preferred to keep them, but I accepted the compromise.
The huge glass wall on the left side of the room will also be almost completely covered by acoustic diffusers. The large sliding glass door at the rear will remain accessible, but most of the glass will disappear. Another compromise.
Where to place diffusion panels and my record collection was another issue.
SMT would have preferred greater separation between the front listening area and the rear portion of the room, with full-height diffusion and walls of records behind the listening position.
I really didn’t want that.
One of the things I love about the new room is its enormous size and feeling of openness. I don’t want to divide it into two smaller rooms.
Therefore, the diffusion immediately behind the listening position will be approximately 50 inches high, with a row of records at the back. Behind that will be another 50-inch-tall, two-sided row of records, with another record section against the right wall. Full-height diffusion will be used on the rear wall.
That way, when you enter the room, you can still see through the entire space.
This is another advantage of having both SMT and Norman involved. I get different perspectives and, sometimes, different solutions, giving me a more complete understanding of potential consequences before making a decision.
The objective isn’t to win every argument. It’s to understand what each decision might cost acoustically or aesthetically and then make an informed choice.
One Door, Another Construction Project
Then there’s the gym.
The existing gym is adjacent to the listening room. Unfortunately, once the audio system is installed, anyone entering or leaving the gym would have to pass behind the loudspeakers and through the front portion of the listening room. That made no sense.
The solution? Relocating the entrance. Simple, right? Of course not.
The new layout requires us to use the former pool equipment room to enlarge the gym. That structure is presently separate from the main house, so we now have to physically connect it to the house, modify the space, and create a new access point.
All to move one door.
At this stage of the project, I’ve learned not to ask what anything costs until I’m sitting.
Three Containers and an Accidental Audio Company
About two weeks before leaving for Spain, I learned that the first container of SMT acoustic treatments would soon arrive at the Port of Montreal.
The exporter strongly recommended that I use a corporation to handle the importation. I didn’t have one.
Here’s where I take a bit of a detour in this story.
For several months, my friend Étienne Jarry and I had been discussing the possibility of someday developing our own ultra-high-end power amplifiers. Étienne is an electronics guru and has dreamed for years about bringing his own amplifier designs to market.
The basic design ideas were already taking shape: pure class-A, 845 tubes, an enormous power supply and energy reserve, and absolutely no interest in making sensible compromises.
In other words, the kind of project I seem attracted to.
The amplifier company was something we had discussed doing one day. Then, containers were headed to Montreal, and that “one day” became “this week.”
I decided to kill two birds with one stone: create the company we had been discussing and use it to import the SMT acoustic products.
What ensued was a race against time.
Within days, I incorporated and registered the company, obtained tax and importer numbers, opened a bank account, got a corporate credit card, created a logo, registered domain names, created email addresses, and rented a 46′ × 35′ warehouse with a 16-foot ceiling to receive the three 40-foot containers from Europe.
You know, just the usual.
Fortunately, my friend Louis Desjardins, owner of Kronos Audio, was extremely helpful. Through his advice and contacts, I found a customs broker who took control of the import process and made my life considerably easier.
That still left the small matter of actually taking possession of the containers.
From Spain, I coordinated a team at the warehouse and arranged for a forklift to unload the two 40-foot containers that had arrived—the third is expected in September.
To my huge relief, everything went smoothly.
The amplifier company now exists. I know very little about manufacturing, but apparently, even at 68, I still haven’t learned how to make my life simpler.
Maybe that’s what keeps me young.
What Happens Next?
The next major milestone is scheduled for September 15, when we hope to begin building the framework for the listening room.
Norman is currently working on the structural details and vibration-control recommendations for the carpenter. Once construction has progressed far enough, he will come to Montreal from his home in Ohio to take the first acoustic measurements.
That’ll be an important moment.
Until now, we’ve been working with designs, models, calculations, and predictions. Once the structure is up, we’ll finally be able to measure what the real room is doing and make any necessary changes.
And much later, once the acoustic treatments and audio system are installed, we’ll reach that final optimization stage where Norman, with the precision of a master, will position the loudspeakers, subwoofers, and listening position.
I suspect it’ll be one of the most fascinating parts of the entire project.
The optimistic schedule says the room will be completed by mid-December. But realistically? Probably sometime in 2027.
When I began this series, I titled the first installment How Far Can One’s Passion Go?
Simple, right? Of course not...
0 comments