Room Acoustics, #1 Component

Room acoustics. Have you ever thought about it? Has your dealer discussed it with you? Would you believe me if I said that it is the most important component in your playback system? It is. Acoustics will have the loudest and last say. It has been proven time after time, that great equipment cannot sound great in a poor environment, but good equipment can sound great in a good environment. I look at some of the A/V magazines and can tell just from the picture that the sound is poor. Nice expensive gear and no acoustic considerations equal a bad investment. You don’t stand a chance in having the experience the artists worked so hard to create unless you consider set-up, calibration and room acoustics.

In this series titled "HT Planning, Design, Calibration & Enjoyment", I’m going to take you through the steps needed to make the room sonically disappear — a movie experience unlike any you have had before. A total immersion experience with natural tone, huge soundstage and wide dynamic range — all without bothering the rest of your home. I’m talking way better then your local theater complex. It’s relaxing and exhilarating at the same time. You become Jim Lovell stuck in space aboard Apollo 13 trying to figure out how to get back. You are onstage at the Royal Albert Hall with Eric Clapton and Cream. You are dancing while looking into the eyes of Catherine Zeta Jones or Richard Gear, or whomever. Go wherever you want without leaving home — maybe a concert last night, deep sea diving tonight and the Wild West tomorrow. When it’s done right, it’s virtual reality.

Don’t believe it? While working at the Science and Technology Center for Owens Corning, we built two identical rooms of average home theater size. Both included the same equipment, set-up and furnishings. One room had acoustic treatment in it and the other did not. I ran bio-feedback tests with a couple of dozen engineers playing the same “Das Boot” clip for them in both rooms. We found that when subjects were in the room that was acoustically treated, their heart rate and blood pressure increased. Acoustics controlled their emotions. They did not understand why it was happening, or even care, but they all wanted it at home. A similar thing happened when I gave a little acoustic seminar for about a dozen teenage boys. In the untreated room they behaved like teenage boys, but in the acoustically treated room, it was like flipping a switch; they were totally focused on the movie, motionless, involved. So you see, it’s real, and it’s for everyone to enjoy. It’s not just for audiophile geeks like me with golden ears.

You don’t have to have a million dollars in the bank either. Decent equipment, when properly positioned, calibrated and acoustically treated will get you totally involved. High-end equipment will cause goose bumps on your skin and tears in your eyes because it sounds so good. A high-end system can be scary good. I mean scary. It can scare you. You might be scared that your system may blow up when watching “War of the Worlds” because of the loud low frequencies, or it might be a movie with intensely scary silence, or one that startles you with a sudden loud noise. A really good system can make musicians seem like they are right in your room. Yes, a really good system can make audio only recordings come to life. I listen to music more than I watch movies. A lot of the new and re-issued recordings are mixed for multi-channel audio too.

The approach for the series will be from a purist point of view and general in application. This will mean it will apply to all interested in improving their existing home theater, planning on a remodel or building a new one. I make suggestions that will help you avoid common pitfalls. The points made will be valid whether your home theater was purchased at a department store or a high-end solon. If you do have a lot invested in your equipment, this series will make it pay-off.

Nine more articles will cover topics designed to help you to understand; 1) how big your theater should be, 2) why dimensions matter to the low frequencies, 3) speaker/listener positions and how they effect tonality and the soundstage, 4) screen size and how to have a better picture for less money, 5) noise control to and from the theater, 6) power supply filtration, protection and isolation, 7) interior acoustic treatments and why you need absorption, reflection and diffusion, 8) the absolute essentials to A/V equipment calibration and 9) how to enjoy and show off your home theater. Along with each edition will be a home theater tip. These important and practical tips are probably not ones you’ve heard before.

• by Norman Varney
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