Gauging Interest in a High Performance Music and Home Theater Design Thread

[Bruce H.]

Hi Guys,

I was an early adopter of Dolby surround when it was in it's infancy in the early 90's, trained in theater design and in the connection between sound reproduction, human hearing and room acoustics, an active member of the Consumer Electronics Designers and Installers Association (CEDIA) for many years, and have designed and built many media rooms and home theaters professionally.

My passion has always been the pursuit of faithfully and convincingly reproduced stereo and surround music and movie sound tracks. While the selection of equipment and surround sound formats has grown, and there's widespread availability of both technical information and businesses to design and install complete systems, achieving high performance sound is just as challenging today as in the early days. The last 20+ years of speaker, amplifiers, pre-amp, surround decoder and software playback system development hasn't really improved anything because the main limiting factor to the Holy Grail of reproduced audio hasn't been the equipment, it's in the acoustical nature of the rooms themselves. and the placement of speakers, listeners and acoustical treatment within them.

It's pretty easy to achieve a large and high quality picture image, high enough volume and deep enough bass to cause PTSD, and an ultra-plush theater decor, but accurately reproduced sound is the most difficult to achieve. That may not be a concern or priority for most, but for a discerning listener sub-par results can be very disappointing and frustrating. The problem can be compounded by a room that's been optimized for movie soundtracks when then used to listen to music in stereo or surround. Sometimes a room can be optimized for both...and sometimes for neither. It's good to know how suitable a room will be for the intended use, and to consider a better space possibly, and what can then be done to ensure best results.

So I'm gauging the amount of interest there is here in this topic, whether for those with existing rooms that could use some improvement or for those in the planning stages for a theater or music room. Feel free to respond here or to me by PM. As winter approaches I suspect quite a few of us will be spending more time enjoying our A/V systems!

Cheers,

Bruce

[commandomatt]

Definitely sounds like this could be an interesting thread.

You may just have to get started throwing some images of rooms and equipment to get the conversation going. I bet the thread will get busy. Show us what you currently have or what you have plans for

I myself is more interested in 2 channel as any home theater room in my current house is pretty much out of the question. That said, I am fortunate enough to be able to have the music cranking for 10 hours a day where I make a living, so that's where its at for me

[mjorgensen]

You know I'm in Bruce! ;-)

[TA Two Oh]

I can attest to Bruce's knowledge, and willingness to help people achieve the very best possible results, given the limitations of their budget, their room particulars and whatever other unique parameters that they are faced with.

He's a top notch expert in this field, having designed and built many high end theatre rooms over the years, but more importantly he's able to explain things in a way that us mortals can easily understand. Bruce was kind enough to spend a fair amount of time reviewing my theatre room remotely, and then recommending some inexpensive -likely less than $500.00 plus a few hours of my own labour- changes that will optimize our listening experience.

Almost 20 years ago, Lance Armstrong wrote a book called "Its Not About The Bike." (Queue jokes that it's actually about the drugs) Of course, he meant that the rider is the important piece of the success puzzle.
Those of us that drive on road courses know that "It's not so much about the car" in that driver skill and experience can be far more important.
With sound systems, too many people just "buy the best parts" and plunk them down in a room without much thought But, assuming that you start with a moderately good quality set of components, spending some time and effort on placements and in adding strategically placed sound absorbing materials will result in the biggest gains in sound quality.

It looks like Bruce is making a kind and thoughtful offer to do the same thing that he did for me, for other forum participants.

Thank you, Bruce!

[commandomatt]

With sound systems, too many people just "buy the best parts" and plunk them down in a room without much thought But, assuming that you start with a moderately good quality set of components, spending some time and effort on placements and in adding strategically placed sound absorbing materials will result in the biggest gains in sound quality.



I'm surprised that he was willing to help you at all....considering that you don't have a 'real' TA :icon_devil:

I agree with what you are saying about not necessarily needing the top quality equipment to achieve good results, although there is definitely a threshold where it changes from sounding ok to sounding amazing

[IndyRon]

I'm in the middle of construction on my 2nd theater right now. Having moved to a new home about 18 months ago, I really missed having the previous theater and family time down there together. For those who haven't truly delved into the subject, it can be a major black hole that will suck you down. If you think we spend a lot on these cars, its just a drop in the bucket on designing, building, and equipping a reference quality theater. That said, the rooms can be done for a reasonable price and still bring hours of enjoyment to the family.

[Bruce H.]

You know I'm in Bruce! ;-)

Okay, that settles it, anything that keeps you checking back with us must be done :)


I can attest to Bruce's knowledge, and willingness to help people achieve the very best possible results, given the limitations of their budget, their room particulars and whatever other unique parameters that they are faced with.

It looks like Bruce is making a kind and thoughtful offer to do the same thing that he did for me, for other forum participants.

Thanks Doug, but you're setting some pretty lofty expectations!


I'm surprised that he was willing to help you at all....considering that you don't have a 'real' TA :icon_devil:


Let's get a couple of things straight, there's no such thing as a "real TA", and it's a fact that the black ones are the fastest. Doug and I both know that because we own them :)


I'm in the middle of construction on my 2nd theater right now. Having moved to a new home about 18 months ago, I really missed having the previous theater and family time down there together. For those who haven't truly delved into the subject, it can be a major black hole that will suck you down. If you think we spend a lot on these cars, its just a drop in the bucket on designing, building, and equipping a reference quality theater. That said, the rooms can be done for a reasonable price and still bring hours of enjoyment to the family.

Hey Ron. Dedicated theaters with all the bells and whistles and themed decor can definitely run into big bucks. Setting up a room that is as impressive for listening to music as it is for video is the great challenge that will be my focus.

I'll start a new thread soon. This is going to be fun!

Cheers

[SilverACR]

I’m not too far off of building a new house, so I’m listening:) pun intended!

[TA Two Oh]

[QUOTE=commandomatt;364667]I'm surprised that he was willing to help you at all....considering that you don't have a 'real' TA :icon_devil:

Hmmmm. I agree with Bruce about all TA's being real TA's... package or group... doesn't matter to me. And i get that you're at least half joking. But for clarity, by ANY measure, I am pretty sure that I DO in fact have a real TA.

See Attached: My Window Sticker says Viper TA in big letters at the top. So the guys that built it and sold it seem to think that it's a TA. My car has TA stickers on the sills -and they're also noted on the Window Sticker. It has a Serialized Dash Plaque (I'm number 010) also noted on the Window Sticker. What am I missing?
35029

[Bruce H.]

The new thread is started! Let's close this thread and move over here.

https://driveviper.com/forums/threads/22819-High-Performance-Music-and-Home-Theater-Design-Thread

[commandomatt]

[QUOTE=commandomatt;364667]I'm surprised that he was willing to help you at all....considering that you don't have a 'real' TA :icon_devil:

Hmmmm. I agree with Bruce about all TA's being real TA's... package or group... doesn't matter to me. And i get that you're at least half joking. But for clarity, by ANY measure, I am pretty sure that I DO in fact have a real TA.



I was absolutely (fully and then some) joking and hoped that the devil after the sentence would illustrate that.

Back to the music

[Bruce H.]

I'm sure it did, and if not, then it's certainly clear now! Thanks.