6moons industryfeatures: Richard Bird of Rives Audio
Richard, why don't you start by telling us about the different levels of service Rives Audio offers. I know your service menu breaks down into three tiers of offerings. Say I was a Level-1 customer. What should I expect?

Level-1 is our entry-level which divides into two sub categories, Level-1 and Level-1+, the difference being new or existing construction. New construction entails more variables, hence more time on our part during the engineering phase. As with Level-2 contracts, a Level-1 client begins by downloading and filling out one of our no-obligation 6-page application forms [below]. This generates about 85% of the information we need:

The layout of the existing space; or constraints of a new-construction area (we frequently do basement build-outs where the ceiling height is fixed but no dividing walls have been erected yet). Upon receipt of the application, we call the client to go over some basic notions, about what we think could be accomplished. We ask a lot of questions. After all, everything we do is custom, to respond successfully to each client's unique needs. Those are defined by three major variables:
  • Aesthetics
  • Budget
  • Sonic benefit.

You can have two, but you can't have all three. [Cracks up.]

So even with a given room, the requisite balance between these considerations determines how we proceed. I could have two clients with the exact same room but wind up with two totally different results. One might serve double-duty as a family room, making aesthetics the dominant aspect. The other client could live alone to not care what we do - as long as it makes the best sound and remains within a given budget. So it's very important for us to understand our clients. What type of music do they listen to; how loud do they listen? Do we need sound isolation? If so, how much? So those are the first steps of our get-to-know-you process. In rare cases, we had to advise the client that based on a combination of available budget and very challenging physical circumstances, we couldn't deliver anything truly worthwhile. That's why we have the application form. We want to enter our working relationship with the unwavering commitment to deliver the most cost-effective and worthwhile investment you've ever made in High-End audio. And sometimes I know upfront that based on budgetary and practical constraints, I just cannot deliver that. Then the client is told before he spends dime one with us.


But let's say we go forward. Your goals and means to achieve them coincide with our ability to maximize your sonic environment: You tell me that you like what we told you and are prepared to proceed. We now do a Dimensional Analysis. We program the values from the application form into our CAD system because, keep in mind, to make Level-1 and Level-2 cost-effective, we don't travel to the site. Instead, we return the CAD drawing via e-mail or fax to have the client verify all dimensions or correct mistakes which would result in a redrafted blueprint. The next stage is the Conceptual Phase. We determine where we need absorbers, diffusers, in which approximate square footage we need to perform what treatments, where the ceiling will be if we need to modify it, where the speakers will be sited, roughly. We send that back to the client for approval and feedback. Is this doable? Can they execute our proposal? They may counter that they like everything - except that under no circumstance can we place the couch as proposed. Then we adjust the concept brief to accommodate those restraints, with one or two iterations usually sufficient to reach consensus.

[Left to right, RPG Modex Corner,
Omni Diffuser and Pro Foam panels]

What follows next is the Schematic Phase where we get to do the hard calculations: Where do the speakers need to go, exactly; how much square footage of absorption is required; how much ceiling diffusion? From those calculations, we deliver a D-sized [24"x36"] scale drawing from which the client can either build and/or acquire and mount prefabricated elements. On the detail rather than assembly drawings, we will specify how exactly to build the various elements we designed, as well as list contacts for acoustic treatment vendors who can either build them or already stock them in their inventories. We use RPG a lot because they sell a large variety of devices which operate at specific bandwidths [a few samples above]. However, we don't have any financial investment or special alliances with this firm nor do we recommend their products exclusively. Bottom line? Whatever is best suited for a specific job gets our nod. For example, if the only thing called for were some prefab fabric-wrapped fiberglass cores while everything else required custom fabrication to spec? We might identify a different supplier with a larger variety of cloth coverings and fabrics; or better pricing for this specific application. But overall, we do collaborate more with RPG than other prefab manufacturer due to their broad scope of products..


If I as your client had a pre-existing space to work with but needed sound isolation to convert it into a listening space that didn't interfere with the adjacent household - what would I be looking at?


That would depend on your criteria for sound isolation. The physical and acoustical isolation of one area from another must address the two main causes of sound transmission: Structure-borne and airborne. Real or complete sound isolation requires addressing all potential leaks such as recessed ceiling cans, air conditioning or forced air heating ducts, loose door jam tolerances and floor clearance, as well as all surfaces: Floors, ceilings, walls, which transmit sound through vibration to others areas, far beyond just suffering air leaks. All of these treatments have to be connected seamlessly so as to not create gaps that would assist acoustic transmission. In some retro-fit situations, that's highly impractical, virtually impossible and we then always advise the client accordingly. In some instances, all you might need is modest or partial sound isolation, such as perhaps a 20dB reduction for a bedroom below. This limits our sound leakage prevention to the floor. That would be relatively easy to achieve if we designed a listening room, say, into an attic. Or perhaps you had one shared wall with a neighboring room? We'd tear out the sheetrock to build in staggered studs or resilient channels to reduce sound transmission. It's easy to overlook important details while doing a bang-up job on the wall proper. Chris Huston, our senior engineer, was recently called in on a home recording studio project where the owner had installed recessed ceiling lights. He could hear everything in the adjacent rooms, despite the studio having been otherwise properly treated.


Are there add-on devices one could put on rather than inside the existing wall if, say, one were renting and couldn't tear out materials?


There are sound transmission coefficients [STC] for each type of construction, and depending on the amount of attenuation required, there are indeed add-ons like sound boards by Homosote which attach atop the sheetrock, to be covered by a second, usually different-thickness sheetrock layer [say 1/2" and 5/8" for dissimilar resonant modes] which imperceptibly thickens the wall by about one inch to only require minor trim and molding adjustments.


How much attenuation could one expect from that? Half the average playback level?


Easily, but I'd have to look up the exact figures. This type of partial retro-fit sound isolation is cost-effective and something we employ routinely. Beyond that, you have to look at other sound leaks -- ceiling joists and how they run, for example -- to obtain higher degrees of attenuation.
In many instances, as in the room we're in for example, we don't use any prefabricated elements. However, the raw materials used in the installed devices is inexpensive. It's the labor that drives up the bill. A resourceful client handy with saw, sander and needle & thread could readily manufacture them in a home workshop or garage, to save on contract labor. In fact, we have a Level-1 client with a partially finished basement room who did exactly that - erect a tiered-wall system, install the same patent-pending ceiling diffusion array we specified for Jacob. This man spent under $1,000 for our Level-1 participation, then about $2,000 in raw materials.

Because he performed all the work himself, he spent a relative pittance when compared to what he'd previously allocated for components - and the sonic benefits far outweighed anything he could have conceivably netted from even quadruple this investment in audio hardware. Thus, if you're willing and able to invest the requisite sweat equity, you can achieve these types of project results extremely cost-effectively.