SMX ProLine Screens...A Review...

[Jason Turk]

INTRO:

Although well established as a great acoustic screen fabric, for the longest time the SMX Cineweave HD was only that… screen fabric. Many, many people use it for DIY frames since it is a great performing, woven fabric, and not terribly expensive. But, SMX realized there was a large market share of consumers out there who are not handy, and would prefer a complete setup. Enter the SMX ProLine screens. The SMX ProLine screens are built just like the high-end, better known screen manufacturers. They use only the best materials with all the latest features, and even some unique features…all for less than any other comparable screens. But I am getting ahead of myself. Let me start from the beginning.

Rewind about 1 week ago. SMX custom made us a smaller 2.35:1 ProLine screen to fit into Alan’s theater (7.5’ wide). Alan called me and said it arrived…so I headed on up to his place. Low and behold the screen box. The first thing I noticed…it was a strangely shaped box. Every other screen companies shipping boxes are typically square on 2 sides, and then long enough to fit it. The SMX shipping box was actually a long rectangle. This had me intrigued. I tore into it. Ah ha! Most manufacturers take the 4 pieces of the frame, and put the top/bottom together, and the sides together, wrapped in a foam protector. Though usually adequate for protection in shipping, I have had instances where the velvet coating can rub off, or the frame moves around and gets scratched, etc… What SMX does is actually separate the frame pieces and literally bolts them to 3 padded 2x4” cross pieces. This locks them in place during shipping so they cannot rub against anything. Very slick. They also use 2x6” boards on each end of the box, with heavy duty cardboard wrapped around and stapled to them for the main support. The fabric is wrapped onto a tube and put into its own cardboard box that fits inside the shipping carton. In addition, there is a smaller box that contains all the bolts, brackets, and other items which I will go into later. The end result is a very strong box to protect the screen. You might be thinking “with all this wood and such, doesn’t it weigh so much that shipping will be a ton?”. Well, normally yes, but SMX includes shipping on all screens!







I removed the frame pieces, material, and parts. The 4 pieces of the frame are well made. They are extruded aluminum, filled with insulation (as to reduce vibrations during use), and covered with a beautiful velvet coating. The frame is beveled, but with a gradual curve rather than a sharp angle. To assemble the frame, you take 8 corner brackets (2 per corner, heavy duty steel), and slide them into the frame top and bottom. Then you slide on the sides, and you have a frame. To lock them in place, you use a bunch of small set screws (included) that feed into prethreaded holes via a hex key. This took a bit of time, but it did make the frame really sturdy.



Next I hung the bracket. The bracket is nothing unique, just a piece of metal with a slight “kink” in it. You simply bolt it into the wall at the appropriate height, and then the frame slips over it and hangs from it. What is unique…the bracket has a built in level. You may think “who cares?”…but as an installer I know this makes it much easier. Plus, if they went to the extent of thinking of something this small, it just shows how their attention to detail is.



Moving on. Now, when you get this screen you will notice the main fabric, as well as a smaller scrap roll. The scrap roll is a test piece of material. Why? Moiré. Though a woven fabric, EVERY screen that is acoustically transparent potentially can moiré. So, I took this scrap piece, and fired up an image from my projector. By slightly rotating the test piece, I could figure out what angle I needed to ensure I didn’t get moiré. Like I said, they thought of everything. By now you are asking yourself, “why does this matter if I already have the screen/fabric and they don’t know what angle I need”. Read on and you will find out.

Once the angle is determined, I put on the rubber gloves (included), and took out the actual fabric. I laid a plastic protective sheet (again, included) and then laid the frame face-down onto it. Next, I laid out the fabric onto the frame at the predetermined angle (note: SMX includes more material than you will need both vertically and horizontally, in order to allow for various angles). The frame has a channel in it with rubber “fillers”. This is all it takes to hold in the fabric (no snaps, Velcro, etc…). The advantage of this system is two-fold. First, it allows the customer to adjust the angle. Second, it allows for re-tensioning as needed. The unit comes with a little rotary hand tool. Starting in a corner, I used this tool to push the fabric side into the channel. Once in, I snapped in the rubber “filler” to hold it in place. Then I moved onto an adjacent side and as I stretched the fabric, rolled it into the channel. Note: This is much easier with 2 people. I worked my way around the screen, putting the “filler” in as I did this, until the screen was nice and tight with no waves. Though a good system for the above reasons, it does make installation a bit longer so be prepared. I then took the small safety razor and cut away the remaining fabric to finish it off. Lastly, I just hooked this onto the bracket and boom…ready to go!

[Jason Turk]

OBSERVATIONS:

The material is a low gain (~1.16) white, woven fabric. The advantages of woven fabrics are that they tend to have near invisible “holes”, and also tend not to moiré as easily. In addition, acoustically speaking they have some advantages over the vinyl “perfed” materials. They are lighter as well and less susceptible to movement when speakers are close behind them. With my test projector (that I am very familiar with), I found that the colors appeared very comparable to other test screens I have in my arsenal. This is important because though acoustic fabrics are good for proper sound orientation, the main purpose of it is for video reproduction. It also had good detail/sharpness, which on woven fabrics can be lost slightly if not done properly. But who cares about my impressions…where’s the proof? Okay, here are some screen shots:

[Jason Turk]

CONCLUSIONS:

In what seems like a never-ending onslaught of new screen companies coming to market, many of them just tend to fade to the background since they simply cannot compete with the big boys. It takes a company with a unique product to really standout. I firmly believe that SMX does just that. SMX thought of just about everything with their new ProLine screens and their attention to detail is only rivaled by the best screen manufacturers. Plus, with all you get from SMX, they are affordable for just about everyone. If you are in need of an acoustically transparent screen, you should definitely check out the SMX ProLine screens. Thanks!

[AVSRichard]

I also was there to review this screen and helped out in its assembly. Jason posted just about everything installation wise and I’d have to say that it’s impressive how well the screen comes packed. Also included are tools to put it together along with a glove for cleaning the fabric for the trim. Nice touches.

The nice thing about our test was we could listen to the center channel behind the screen. Our SPL meter measured about a 2 db loss when placed behind the screen, which considering that all screens equate to a db loss, this wasn’t bad at all. And there was no perceptible loss of EQ. I tend to find that acoustic screens lend a much cleaner look to a theater and this screen doesn’t disappoint.

While acoustic screens are much more than other screens, I’d have to add that SmX comes in price wise at a point much less than that of rival companies. Performance was good and the quality of components is excellent. Add to that the fact the fabric trim is the darkest I’ve ever seen, and everything you need for construction and maintenance is already in the box, this screen belongs in many home theaters.

Overall, the line is a worthy addition to anyone considering an acoustically transparent screen for their theater.

Richard