Creating a system you love shouldn't be difficult. The Acoustic Frontiers blog is here to help.
Greg, a seasoned tech professional and avid home theater enthusiast, wanted to include a home theater space into the design plan of his new home. With two prior home theater projects under his belt, Greg sought to push the boundaries and achieve an elevated experience with his new build.
Greg collaborated with his architect to integrate the dedicated home theater space into the new build plans. Based on his knowledge and experiences with prior setups, he calculated the space needed for his dream theater.
Through extensive research on design firms, Greg discovered Acoustic Frontiers on the AVS forums. He was drawn to their comprehensive planing approach, which encompassed construction, electrical work, acoustic layouts and treatments, equipment optimization, and more. Acoustic Frontiers' expertise and collaborative approach streamlined the project, fostering seamless communication and coordination among all stakeholders.
To accomplish Greg’s project vision and plan, we provided a custom home theater design package based on our Complete Home Theater Design Package
Sound Isolation Plan
Audio Layout
To keep the project on course, Acoustic Frontiers and Greg scheduled weekly touch-bases to maintain clear communication and address any questions from the build team, composed of local contractors without specialized knowledge in home theater construction. Leveraging his tech background, Greg also remained deeply involved throughout, ensuring alignment with his vision.
The collaboration between Greg and Acoustic Frontiers resulted in a home theater that surpassed his expectations. Purposefully designed to replicate cinema-quality experiences, the theater stands as a testament to meticulous planning, expertise, and collaboration. While Greg is thrilled with the unparalleled home entertainment experience, he regrets not consulting with professionals like Acoustic Frontiers earlier in the process. He advises future homeowners to involve experts like Acoustic Frontiers from the outset of any new build project, working alongside the architect to ensure proper room measurements, such as adding four feet in width to create a wider hallway with additional space for speakers. This experience highlights the importance of involving expert consultants early in the design process to optimize every aspect of the project.
“This was our third dedicated home theater build in the past 10 years, and we wanted it to be special. Like many home theater projects, the first two involved a local AV integrator working directly with the general contractor on the design, the construction, and everything in between (wiring, sound isolation, seating, etc.). Both were solid, and my family and I received much enjoyment from them over the years, but some mistakes were made due to lack of knowledge and experience, and some sacrifices due to space and budget constraints. I knew that if we were going to level up with this theater we would need to engage with a true expert in the field.
I met with four national firms who specialize exclusively in home theaters, and Acoustic Frontiers rose to the top. There are few in the world who can rival their depth of experience and expertise, and from a price/performance standpoint they stand alone. Another key factor was their willingness to work directly with the General Contractors and a hands-on homeowner (me), without requiring a dedicated crew for the entire build as some other firms do. After completing the design, which took several weeks, we started the build and met with Acoustic Frontiers weekly for many months while the project was ongoing. They were there to answer questions, remotely inspect and verify work via video call, and help us work through various challenges that surfaced during the project. Acoustic Frontiers also made two multi-day site visits for commissioning and calibrating the system. It was quite an involved process, but the end result is indeed quite special, and we couldn't be more pleased!
That said, If we were to do it again, I would engage with Acoustic Frontiers at the very beginning, the same time as the architects, to ensure that adequate space was allocated for the theater and equipment room. In this case we did not do that and simply told the architects to use dimensions a little bigger than our previous theaters thinking that would be sufficient, but we ended up a couple of feet short on the optimal length and width. Instead, we should have let our seating requirements, desired equipment, and other core aspects drive the theater size, instead of coming to Acoustic Frontiers with predetermined dimensions. Fortunately, Acoustic Frontiers was able to help us work through it and minimize the impact to achieve an exceptional result, but it added overhead that could have been avoided. Next time!”
~ Greg G.
Clint, an avid DIYer, planned on building his own home theater to cut costs until he realized the complexity of the task. "One piece of advice I came across most often was to hire a professional. I was hesitant, but I just found myself going in circles and didn't want to invest in something I'd later regret."
Nyal Mellor, Founder, Acoustic Frontiers
Nyal Mellor
Author