ceiling height's effect on sound?

[RnR]

Hi Guys,

I just purchased my first house!  It is an older row house in Bloomfield with some quirkiness to it's layout, but overall in good shape and in a great area.  The previous owner put in a dropped ceiling at 8', it has 10 foot plaster ceilings.  For aesthetic reasons I'd like to take out the dropped ceiling and expose all 10' of the room height.  The room I see best suited for my system is around 12x12

Do you think taking out the dropped ceiling would have a positive or negative effect on sound?

What kind of sonic effect would you expect?  I'm assuming more reflections and a taller soundstage?

Anyone ever done this?  Thanks in advance

[scorpio333]

Maybe set it up and see what it's like, then pop out the tiles?

Our living/dining/kitchen ceiling goes up to the roof. It's a one story ranch. I've often wondered how the setup up there would sound if we had a normal 8' ceiling in that space.

Congrats on the house!

[papabearjew]

Congrats on the house. You might want to check under the dropped ceiling to make sure it wasn't installed to cover water damaged plaster before starting to tear it down. If the plaster ceiling looks good I'd go for it. Appearance wise I'd take plaster over ceiling tiles any time. The taller ceilings might sound good too. I have 8' ceilings and these new Carver Line Source speakers are 7.5' tall!

[Kingman]

IMHO, the 13 foot ceilings in my listening room coupled with Ribbon speakers add to the listening experience.

[AdamG]

Larger rooms require more bottom-end reinforcement for best bass response. The bass doesn't care about the ceiling tiles though so that shouldn't majorly change. One big difference between drop-ceiling tiles and plaster is that the drop tiles are made to dampen reflections, which the plaster will not. This should help provide better midrange clarity and soundstage, although since some of the treble energy that normally is bouncing around is absorbed it may sound slightly less lively to your ears, which isn't necessarily a bad thing depending on the absorption ratios of the rest of the room. Think of it as a room treatment rather than the size change. Many of the points explained in the Room Treatments primer by GIK Acoustics will guide you through what to expect. It's all about what sound you like in the end though.
http://www.gikacoustics.com/acoustic-primer/

[Sir Thrift-a-Lot]

Maybe set it up and see what it's like, then pop out the tiles?

Our living/dining/kitchen ceiling goes up to the roof. It's a one story ranch. I've often wondered how the setup up there would sound if we had a normal 8' ceiling in that space.

Congrats on the house!

That certainly seems like a prudent approach.

[OldiesButGoodies]

Larger rooms require more bottom-end reinforcement for best bass response. The bass doesn't care about the ceiling tiles though so that shouldn't majorly change. One big difference between drop-ceiling tiles and plaster is that the drop tiles are made to dampen reflections, which the plaster will not. This should help provide better midrange clarity and soundstage, although since some of the treble energy that normally is bouncing around is absorbed it may sound slightly less lively to your ears, which isn't necessarily a bad thing depending on the absorption ratios of the rest of the room. Think of it as a room treatment rather than the size change. Many of the points explained in the Room Treatments primer by GIK Acoustics will guide you through what to expect. It's all about what sound you like in the end though.
http://www.gikacoustics.com/acoustic-primer/

Agree,  I ran this experiment in the cave (removed all the ceiling tiles, adding 2' in height to the room) and the bass did not change much if at all,  from listening or measuring using REW...  but the reflections changed in a positive way for higher frequencies,  the exposed beams holding the first floor up adding more 'bounce' to the room (in a good way IMO).  In the end I put new tiles back on because that was the main purpose of the project all along (replace the aging tiles). 

[MacGeek]

 All other things being equal, a taller ceiling will serve to lower the frequency of standing waves, which is usually a good thing.  To the points made previously, all other things are not necessarily equal in your room.   I have lived in houses with both high and not so high ceilings, always preferring the added height.

[Jim Pittsburgh]

MacGeek.... yep. 

Had the same experience. First house (150+ YO) had 12 ft ceiling throughout... then moved to a more modern house with 8'... took a lot of work to get the sound as right as possible. Next two houses all had cathedral ceilings (by intention). The best sound by far was the house in Tulsa with a two story massive living room.... Current listening area should be overly bright/ lively since it is glass on three sides, but the cathedral ceiling really seems to help.

[RnR]

Thanks for the replies and congrats'. 
I guess I'll take scorpio's advice and set up the stereo before tearing out the drop ceiling, then pop the tiles out and do a comparison.  I'm thinking without the tiles I'll end up with a little more "air" and a taller soundstage, and with that will come additional reflections and such.  I do tend to like a more dead sonic environment.  Hoping to ultimately eliminate tiles and strategically place some absorption/diffusion panels so I can get the best of both worlds.  Stay tuned for an update once I get moved in.

Thank you again for sharing your experiences and input