Re: laminate flooring
 

Our house was laminated downstairs when we bought it. We lived with it for a while and then we couldn't bear it any longer, we ripped the ghastly stuff up and got a carpet fitted.

As has already been said, it was very cold, hard, slippery and a beggar to keep clean.

Re: laminate flooring
 

To be fair entwisi, I did alot of research and trials when constructing the room and the sound is very good. There is no boom and no echo.
Everything is balanced and the acoustics are as good as they can be from the equipment I purchased. The amount of money it all cost, I wasn't going to just dump it all in a room and leave it.

Re: laminate flooring
 

Not possible, unless you have wall hanging tapestries or 4 or 5 settees you have to great a % of hard surfaces for sound acoustics to be good. The difference soft stuff(including humans) makes is amazing. I do the sound desk at our local church and the difference in how it sounds based on the number of people is astonishing.( I learnt the trade at Uni and have mixed for quite a few decent stars including Desmond Decker and others.)

I also spent a lot of time( my first job) in hifi setting up very expensive HiFi systems in people's houses and tuning sounds to match expectations and room acoustics. Go to any decent HiFi shop and look at the listening rooms, I bet every one is carpeted with a large settee and probably a couple of curtains.

Anyway, what you got?

I just swapped out my HiFi Quad amp for a Onkyo SR605, fronted by Key iQ5SE's. I've a nice pair of Kef Cresta 3's for rears ( I used to sell Onkyo stuff when it first came to teh UK, t'was very good even then. and I've always liked teh Kef 'sound')

Re: laminate flooring
 

I think a lot depends on the type of films you watch. I watch films that are dialogue heavy, rather than being sound-effects driven. When the room was carpeted the sound was fine, but since replacing the flooring I find the clarity of the dialogue much improved (actually noticeable, rather than some reviewer's measure of improvement).

I understand perfectly what you are saying, as I did a lot of research before deciding on my design. I also reasoned that if the sound was affected by the hard flooring, then I could put rugs down. However, I found the dialogue so much clearer with the hard flooring, so the rugs haven't been necessary. As I say, I don't tend to watch films with loud music or sound effects, so boom, etc hasn't been an issue. I don't even use my subwoofer anymore.

The equipment I have at the moment is a Sony DTR-DB1080 amp/receiver (due to be replaced fairly soon), Kef 2005.2 (6 x eggs) speakers and a Panasonic AE-200 projector (4:3 & 16:9). I have it connected by component cable and is progressively scanned. This allows me to use a 91" (approx) screen, which looks good from the distance I view from.

The Onkyo stuff is getting some really good reviews and I planned on trialing some of their stuff when I upgrade my amp. I also agree with your view on the Kefs, they produce some cracking speakers. However, the Castle Trent's I have in my lounge are probably the best stereo speakers I've heard. ;)

Re: laminate flooring
 

heh, Want to borrow my electrostatics for a while? They will blow you away with soundstage and clarity.

When I sold the stuff it always made me laugh when people brought in what HiFi etc and wanted to buy the latest greatest without even listening to it. My comment was that there were three words missing from every single review in every single magazine " In my opinion"

If there is one thing that took the longest to get across it was that only you can decide what sounds 'better' as I don't have the same hearing that you do. I prefer a natural clarity to my sound(hence I love the electrostats and the valve amps. the Kefs give the closest to that sound without being there) , you may like a crisper, brighter sound, then the next bloke wants bass heavy boom. None of us are 'right', just different. When it comes to spending more money on kit, its a law of depreciating returns, moving from a £100 amp to a £200 will be very noticeable but from a £500-£600 will be much harder to justify. Same with speakers.

I sold stuff on the principle of starting a system at 75% of what the customer wanted to spend then tweaking individual components and if they could hear a difference then fair enough, if they couldn't then no point in spending it. Often I could save them (quite) a few quid which meant they went home happy and recommended us to friends etc. I reckon we made far more money from repeat sales than from squeezing every last penny from each customer. It was nice to actually see people with systems that were suited purely to them and their listening rather than whatever Joe bloggs who writes for a magazine thinks they should have. I used to really enjoy doing teh install in peoples homes as you could really make a difference by proper positioning speakers etc.

Re: laminate flooring
 

To be honest, when I next decorate in that room, I'm replacing the laminate with carpet. I just don't like the look and feel of laminate anymore.. ;)

Re: laminate flooring
 

i love my laminate flooring so easy to clean just a sweep and a mop each day and its done.

Re: laminate flooring
 

you got it all in one there panther, i hate mine for all the same reasons, and the dust is bad

Re: laminate flooring
 

I love mine: however if you spill anything mop it right away or it will warp: I have a better quality in the kitchen so when I can afford will go for that:

I also use a steam mop really good: and no chemicals: only water very hot:

go for it you will never look back.... oh one last things tights with no shoes on and a few many a few too many beers do not work well with this kind of floor one tends to slip : ouch

Re: laminate flooring
 

Carpet doesnt repel dust people, it simply holds the dust better so it isn't as visible, and if you dont vacuum your carpets everyday anyway then I just find that a little odd. Surely you realise that dust is sloughed human skin, pretty much impossible to avoid in the home? Therefore you'd be vacuuming everyday anyway, the only difference with laminate flooring is that you can see what is coming off you, whereas with carpet you aren't as likely to notice.

Shouldn't be any less cleaning involved, unless of course you just dont class things as dirty if you cant see the dirt.

Re: laminate flooring
 

Personally, I find it very comforting to know that the dust I am sweeping or vacuuming out of my carpets or furniture are the discarded skin cells of myself, friends and family .. when they have left from their visit, lovely reminder, and not going to do you any harm ... :D

Around 30% comes from the outside, and animals, in the form of soil deposits and stone from the streets, etc. Dust mites are a big culprit as they feed on deposits.. seemingly cotton fibres, jeans being the main culprit (mainly worn by young university students) .. OK. admit it bin googling . LOl

The right type of muck does no one any harm ... just virus or bacteria carrying kind, which dust 'aint. Must admit don't know much about how much bacteria a laminate floor can hold, but does penetrate it fairly rapidly .. lots of wipes advertised anyway.. :confused:

Re: laminate flooring
 

LOL.....you vac up....LOL

Re: laminate flooring
 

Have you ever been to my house? No. So please be quiet you windbag.

Re: laminate flooring
 

Thankyou, Kim Woodburn. :rolleyes:

I admit that I don't vacuum every day. I'm just a filth bucket.:p

Re: laminate flooring
 

Is Kim the woman off how clean is your house?