Home theatre room flooring

[HT BUFF]

I currently have an H/T room approx 11x14 in my basement and I love the acoustics of the room, sounds awesome, however one question here, the area is all wall to wall carpet & my wife is trying to convince me me for estetic purposes the flooring should be Laminate,
I personaly think that that would totally screw up the sound of my system causing hollowing
& echoing with the sound bouncing all over, what are your thoughts here?

[kexodusc]

I currently have an H/T room approx 11x14 in my basement and I love the acoustics of the room, sounds awesome, however one question here, the area is all wall to wall carpet & my wife is trying to convince me me for estetic purposes the flooring should be Laminate,
I personaly think that that would totally screw up the sound of my system causing hollowing
& echoing with the sound bouncing all over, what are your thoughts here?

Laminate certainly won't absorb sound like carpet does, so you will notice some additional "liveliness". It's doubtful it will totally screw things up though.
In my experience, it doesn't have to be too bad. Try a compromise with her. Do the laminate maybe, but throw an area rug or two in between the front three speakers and yourself where the sound is likely to reflect. Maybe one for behind the seating position if applicable as well. I've noticed the ceiling and wall reflections especially are far more important than the floor...so a decent size area rug should accomplish almost as much. An ottoman/foot stool or coffee table strategically placed can work well in smaller rooms too.
Maybe give up the floor in exchange for some well placed room treatments on the walls?
There's plenty of options there for you if she's determined to get rid of your carpet.

[paul_pci]

It would definitely change the acoustic characteristics, but how much and what the specific change would amount to will depend on how bare the room is and where the listening position is. If you have a lot of exposed floor, then maybe you'll get more hollowness than you desire, but as kex suggests, strategically placed area rugs can mitigate that.

[HT BUFF]

Thank you guys for the input, there are actually some Home Theatre themed area rugs that come in all sizes.

[HT BUFF]

I came to a compromise with my wife, 1/2 of the basement is now Laminate flooring, the home theatre side remains as carpeted.Looks nice & clean.