I know whereof Dan and others speak re: the sound of composite flooring, and i think any wood over padding would be similar. Hardwood floors are, i think, nailed directly to the subfloor and thus the sound of your clompers hitting the hard stuff resonates through the home's structure. this gives you that "toughguy" thud that is so good for our little blind egoes. <GRIN>
The laminate on padding gives a nice initial attack, or click, but isn't followed up by the resonance of the rest of the structure. I actually like it in the homes in which I've walked on it, not soft like carpet or like bynal, but you can clomp a bit without fearing you're gonna wake the dead. What I hate is carpet over concrete or anything over concrete for that matter. Concrete floors say "institution" to me and make me think of the dread word (SCHOOL!) Tom
