Build A Soundproof Gaming Room or Booth

As a result, you might want to consider soundproofing your game room. Though you might expect this to be difficult, it can be more straightforward than you might assume, as there are a few steps that you’ll need to take.

Before you start, however, you’re going to need to gather a few materials. While these might take some time to get, they’ll be essential in soundproofing the room to a high standard. The most notable of these are:

• Foam Rubber Padding;
• Memory Foam Carpet;
• Soundproof Insulation;
• Mass Loaded Vinyl;
• Acoustic Caulk;
• Acoustic Foam Tiles;
• Soundproof Blanket;
• Soundproof Curtains;
• Adhesive.

There’s a large chance that you’re not going to have many of these items around your home. As such, you’re going to need to purchase them. However, before you run out to the store, it’s worth considering buying them online.

The main reason for this is that it can cost much less to do so, which makes it a much more affordable way to get a soundproof gaming room on the cheap. While this means waiting a few days to receive each of the materials, it can be better-recommended.

Once you have all of these, it’s time to start soundproofing your game room.

Improve Your Game Room’s Acoustics

There can be a lot of factors involved in having a high-quality gaming session. While the majority of these will focus on the game itself and the console that you’re using, there are a few external things that will play into this.

One of the most notable of these is making sure that you’re able to hear everything right. However, this is where the problem of noise comes in. While you’ll want to hear everything at a certain volume, neighbors and other family members more than likely will not.

However, this doesn’t mean that you’ll have to lower the volume or wait until everybody’s gone away. Instead, there are a few things that you should to do help with this. Some can be more effective than others, so you might need to use several of them to soundproof your game room.

Soft Household Items

If you have a large empty room with not much in it, this could be the very reason that the acoustics in your gaming room are bad. The acoustics of a room will play quite a large role in how loud your gaming system is. As a result, hard surfaces are best left avoided, as these will typically amplify the sound that’s being generated. However, there are a few ways around this, with soft household items being the most prominent.

This should mean that you’ll have to install materials that will absorb the sound from your gaming system. The first of these should be a carpet or rug that’s quite thick, with a memory foam rug being highly recommended in this regard. You should be able to decorate with things that are not only visually appealing but sound absorbing as well. 

This should ensure that no sound seeps through the floor and into other areas of the house. If you’ve got windows in your gaming room, then it’s also recommended that you hang soundproof curtains, which should be enough to dampen the noise that escapes your room. 

Moving Blankets

Moving blankets are items that many people may not think of when they’re soundproofing any room. While these are typically used when moving furniture from house to house, hence the name, they can also be called soundproof blankets as they have quite a large sound dampening effect. 

This should mean that you’ll be able to hang them around your gaming room to prevent much of the noise from escaping it. While these will generally be used over doors and windows, you can also attach them to your walls to help improve the effect that they have.

If you’re putting them over your windows or doors, it’s recommended that you attach them similar to how shower curtains are put up. By doing so, you should be able to move them quite easily when you’re entering or exiting a room, which is quite an advantage.

As long as it looks good, you should be able to hang these anywhere with nails. You can even hang them from the ceiling if you want them out of the way, or a more appealing wall. Just make sure to spread them out as much as possible to get the full effect.  They do wonders for sound quality because you can put them almost anywhere and it’s a cheap way to dampen everything out.

Acoustic Products

One of the most effective ways of soundproofing a game room is to place acoustic foam products on the walls of the room. There are quite a large number of them that you can choose between, although the majority of them will work in the same way.

Typically, the best effect will be seen with thicker acoustic foam products, as these will be able to absorb much more sound than thinner ones. When you’re putting these up, you should use as high-quality an adhesive as possible.

Doing so should ensure that you don’t need to reattach them over time. While nails could be used to attach them, these will often cause a certain amount of damage to the walls. With the number of acoustic foam products that you may need to put up, it can often be recommended that you avoid taking this approach.

Blocking Out The Sound

While each of the above will be quite helpful in reducing the noise that escapes your gaming room, they may not actually soundproof it. While the acoustic foam products and memory foam carpet will have quite a significant impact, you may often need to do somewhat more than this.

However, this doesn’t mean that you’ll need to put too much extra effort into it. Instead, each of the above will help to form a solid foundation for soundproofing your gaming room. As such, you’ll then be able to build upon them to ensure that it’s as soundproofed as possible.

With that in mind, there are a few additional things that you’ll be able to do to soundproof any room properly.

Find The Right Volume

Finding the right volume for your gaming system may seem as though it’s an obvious step, the number of people who might overlook it can be astounding. As such, it’s something that you should consider looking at, especially if it’s bothering other people in your home, as well as your neighbors.

Alongside being able to avoid any arguments because of the noise, there are a few other benefits to turning down the volume somewhat. The most notable of these is that you’ll be able to avoid any damage to your hearing. This is something that many people might overlook but could be beneficial long-term.

Move The Game Station

Where your gaming station is located could prove to have a large impact on how much noise it generates and who this noise bothers. If it’s placed against a wall that’s shared with somebody else, then you may need to move it to another location. This should mean that they’ll hear the noise much less than before.

You could also consider moving large pieces of furniture up against any shared walls, which should help to dampen the amount of noise that people on the other side will hear. However, this will mainly be seen if you move couches and bookcases against these walls, although it can still be well-recommended.

The main reason that this works is that adding mass to any wall should reduce the amount of sound that’s able to travel through it. This should mean that the majority of large pieces of furniture will work.

Despite this, it’s still recommended that you place a certain amount of soundproof acoustic foam or other products on the wall. Layers can be one of the most notable ways of soundproofing a game room, so the more of these you have, the better.

In many cases, it could take several tries to make sure that you have the right number of layers for your game room.

Professional Soundproofing Techniques

If you find that each of the above methods has failed to soundproof your game room adequately, then you may need to consider using professional techniques. However, these might not be as difficult to implement as you might think, as the majority of them typically involves placing certain materials on your walls.

Some of the most notable of these include adding mass-loaded vinyl to your walls. Though this will take a certain amount of time to do, it should have quite a large impact. Alongside this is soundproof insulation, although this may need to be placed inside your walls and will take a large amount of time to do.

One of the last notable methods that you can take advantage of is sealing any cracks or gaps that may be in the room. These will typically be found around your windows or doors and can be quite easy to fix. In the majority of cases, you’ll simply need to place acoustic caulk in them, though you’ll still need to take advantage of the above.

Build A Soundproof Gaming Booth

Not all of us will be lucky enough to have a full gaming room to ourselves. Instead, you may have to set up a system in a shared family room. While this will mean that you shouldn’t be able to take advantage of the above, there are a few things that you’ll be able to do. Perhaps the most notable of these is building a soundproof gaming booth.

While the soundproof gaming booths you may have seen on television or in films can be expensive, you’ll be able to make one relatively affordably. In the majority of cases, this will involve setting up drywall in a certain area and then adding each of the soundproofing materials that we mentioned above.

While this could take a significant amount of time to do, it can be relatively simple and affordable to do. You could also add a twist to this by setting it up similar to a musician’s home studio and adding acoustic panels around the booth. Doing so should prove to have a large impact on the noise that escapes the booth.

Tips & Tricks For Soundproof Gaming Booths

While many people might have a gaming room, quite a large number of us having gaming booths instead. While this can be an attractive option, it does mean that soundproofing the room might not do much good. The main reason for this is that you could end up sharing the room with other people.

This doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t be able to soundproof a gaming booth, however. Instead, there are a variety of tips and tricks that you’ll be able to use to ensure that your booth is as soundproof as possible.

Build A Soundproof Box

Your computer may be one of the loudest noisemakers you have, although you’ll be able to dampen this significantly. To do so, you can use the same concept as building a soundproof booth, although applying it just to the computer. This could be quite an easy and effective way of reducing the sound.

Though you’ll need to take a variety of measurements and spend a large amount of time on this, you should see a noticeable reduction in sound. When you’re doing this, you should make sure that your measurements are accurate so that you can add and removes games and disks with ease.

However, a soundproof door with a hinge could also be an effective way of overcoming this.

Lift Your Speakers

If you have your speakers placed on a flat surface, such as the floor or a table, then they could be generating a lot of vibrations, which will then make the sound level worse. However, you can overcome this by placing them on some padding or elevating them from the surface.

There are quite a large number of ways that you’ll be able to do so, which means that you can feel free to get creative with this.

Get A Headset

A headset will perhaps be the most obvious way of soundproofing your gaming system, although many people might overlook this. Despite how simple this may seem, it can be much more effective that you might think, with there being a variety of options that you can choose from.

Use A Silent Board & Mouse

Similar to headsets, using a silent board and mouse could be highly recommended, as it will cut down on much of the noise that people will hear. While this isn’t going to be the loudest sound, it’s something that could bother many people if your gaming room is a shared space.

As a result, this could make investing in a silent board and mouse well-recommended. By doing so, and taking advantage of a headset, you could avoid having to put a significant amount of time and effort into soundproofing the room. Most high quality or high priced accessories will have a very soft and steady feel to them. This will contribute to noise reduction.

This could also prove to be a versatile option, as you’ll then be able to move your gaming center around the house with ease.

Soundproofing a game room could be much more straightforward than you might have initially thought. Though it will take a certain amount of time to do so, this should prove to be a beneficial way of making sure that you don’t bother your neighbors or family while you’re gaming.

As a result, it’s something that you should consider doing, as you’ll be able to avoid any arguments as a result of the noise without having to cut down on your gaming sessions or reduce the volume. Your soundproof gaming room will solve a lot of problems that you used to have so be sure to celebrate and go on a gaming binge!