Creating a system you love shouldn't be difficult. The Acoustic Frontiers blog is here to help.
Mr. Parvathaneni is a computer executive with a young family from North Carolina.
Mr. Parvathaneni came to Acoustic Frontiers mid-way into his home theater build. The home theater was in an existing basement and had already been sheetrocked and wiring run. The client had a preliminary layout and finished aesthetic in mind as well as some provisional thoughts about equipment.
Our Home Theater Design Review is a thorough analysis of a client's plan that includes comparison to best practices / industry standards and preparation of a written report. The report scores the plan against the design standards and suggests options to improve the performance of the space. Our recommendations are discussed with the client over a phone call and the path forward agreed. The Design Review differs from our Home Theater Layout process in that it includes no design work - it is purely a review of a client's design.
Front of theater at the time of client's engagement with Acoustic Frontiers
Rear Wall of Theater
Client's floorplan
Following on from the Design Review we made some amendments to the layout and finalized the equipment list together. This included the following set of high performance, high value components:
Acoustic Treatment Plan for one side wall in the theater
We also created a baffle wall to improve the room acoustics and provide optimal support for the Procella Audio P6 speakers. Most of the walls we are designing now a "hybrid" type, meaning they include some solid areas and some open areas. The solid areas provide a diffraction and speaker boundary interference free environment for the speakers and provide increased low frequency output. The open areas allow air to circulate into the area behind the baffle wall which is filled with a deep layer of pink fluffy insulation. Experience has shown this approach works exceptionally well at controlling room mode resonances.
One of the views of the baffle wall design that we created for the client
The final step in the process, after the room was finished and the equipment installed, was to perform the Audio & Video Calibration. Our techniques for this very important phase of the project allow us to work effectively with clients that are not located locally.
The Video Calibration was performed in our shop before the projector was shipped to the client. We performed a comprehensive calibration to THX standards using the controls available in the projector as well as the greyscale and color cube controls in the Lumagen.
Greyscale, pre and post calibration.
For audio we sent an acoustic measurement kit (laptop, mic, cables) to the client. We accessed the computer via the internet and over the course of two sessions with the client adjusted the settings in the AVR (levels, delays) and EQ'd the system.
"My initial plan was to build out a basic HT room with off-the-shelf AV equipment without any intentions to treat/tune the room acoustically. After doing a bit of research and speaking to a few local AV dealers (unsatisfactorily), I felt the need to take the extra step and speak to an acoustic professional. I came across Nyal Mellor on one of the AV forums where he is very active, and felt from his comments / feedback that he knew what he was doing.
Nyal started out with a design review (since the room work had already begun) and after a couple of interactions I was comfortable enough to let him plan/guide the rest of the build, and purchase the AV equipment from him. He took the time to understand our requirements, discuss equipment options and budget considerations, and was able to provide his recommendations without any over-selling. Nyals build/acoustic plans have been very thorough, and he always took the time to explain the details and ensure that the plans were properly executed. After the build and equipment install, Nyal was able to complete the room by calibrating the equipment remotely.
Everyone that has been to the room have had good things to say at how well the room looks and sounds. The room has turned out beyond our expectations, and it would not have been possible without Acoustic Frontiers' home theater products & services." Mr. Parvathaneni, North Carolina, USA.
Nyal Mellor, Founder, Acoustic Frontiers
Nyal Mellor
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