Another Erskine-designed masterpiece (if I don't screw it up). - Page 10

remember not to put a chair in there or else construction will grind to a halt

That is a gorgeous room. I can't even decide which design element I like the best. Congrats man, it truly is stunning (and it's not even done!).

Somebody must be grinning ear to ear! All I can say is "wow" and Holy $#|+ Batman!!

Nice job - can't wait for the finished product.

Mine's those speakers.

Wow. Lots of calibration equipment.

Keep em coming.

Super job so far!

Are they going to re-tweak the audio calibrations after the screen is up and the rest of the wall coverings are in place?

Holy Crap Man

Wondering the same thing...

What type of chairs are those theater chairs in the middle row?

I think I am seeing 4 different calibration mics, oriented at 2 or 3 different angles?
I assume the mic(s) pointed straight-up are being used for low freq. (for EQ)?

Impressive room for sure!!

Assume nothing (bad plan).
There are four mics, they can be individually selected or sequenced for spatial averaging. The orientation of any given mic, at any given time, is providing a bias. Straight up, omni-directional. Aim it at a speaker, bias is toward the speaker. Mic positions/orientations will change as required to calibrate and get a picture of the entire seating area. Finishing the fabric install will have no impact on the calibration. Performance post screen install will be "tweaked" if necessary although what the screen is doing is very predictable. I'm sure Adam will comment when he is finished and off the clock.

Ah yes - that universal "Assume Warning"

Very nice. What calibration software/hardware is being used?

Hey all,

Dennis covered the calibration questions pretty well (of course). Those particular pics are just snapshots of time. The microphone matched/calibrated specifically to the meter gets moved around depending on the type of measurement being performed. Part of the calibration process includes verification that every component in the chain is performing properly. This includes impedance sweeps, near field plots, polarity of each individual driver, individual driver plots, etc. No sense in starting a calibration project if a speaker is mis-wired internally, or the x-overs are sketchy in one speaker. I can also verify that the AVR or pre-pro is working correctly, and more importantly, HOW it is working. Many manufacturers play games with x-over slopes for bass management, depending on the mode selected.

I can already tell this is going to be too long. Perhaps one day I will start a thread detailing the process that I use for calibration, as I am certain it is largely misunderstood. 70+lbs of test equipment matched with dual QSC 322's, Quest Acoustical Lens System, and Dennis' excellent room and system design is pretty much a win-win scenario for someone like me! Two 12 hour days go by quick..

Back to specific questions asked then. Once I have set the mic locations, the positions are fixed. I do change the angle of mics, depending on what info I need. All four mics in this rig are identical. I also have an 8 mic rig used in other circumstances. Spatial averaging is a critical part of the tool set.

That particular fabric will have no outcome on the measurements, although it can have some effect on how the different acoustical panels "work". The perfed screen definitely has an effect, as the room now has a GIANT reflective surface at one end. But as Dennis stated, it is a known, predictable, and did exactly what I hoped with the Procella's compression drivers. Easily measured, and compensated for. Since there is no room behind the screen, I needed the screen removed so I could play with the gain settings on the mains and subs, and toe-in of course.

The whole process is very iterative. If I change some filters on the left channel, chances are I have also now changed the output level, so level matching is re-checked, and then most likely need to re-check sub integration and phase, etc etc. And hours of just listening. That is usually when someone walks in, and wonders if all I really do is listen to music and watch movies in other people's houses...

Terrasond3/Sencore SP495 and SPLink for real time, Digital Audio Generator to create the signals needed, sent to the channel(s) I need, mic mux, mics of course, BSS Blu32 running ARCOS/HATS, also an HDMI signal generator (video and audio). The SP495 also doubles as a very high quality sound card, for when I need ARTA, SysTune, REW, etc.

I suppose someone also wants to know how the room turned out?

Amazing. I would have loved to spend an entire 3rd day JUST listening to music. Focus, Response, Envelopment, Clarity, Dynamics...this room scored high in every category. The Procellas simply perform. Having known dispersion, and tremendous off-axis frequency response is so valuable, especially when combined with the right acoustical treatments to take advantage of that tasty indirect sound that contributes so much to a good listening environment. The twin subs...Wow. Having a system able to truly extend down to 20Hz is a luxury very few get to experience. The room is quiet, and all the subtle nuances and ambiance cues get you completely engaged in the experience. Listening to an intimate jazz recording, followed by a massive organ piece with your eyes closed could be a confusing spatial experience!

Top that off with an excellent projector lighting up a ~13ft wide 2.35 screen and this is a room to be extremely proud of.

Wonderfully described.
I want one!

Only one?

What sound processor are you using in this theater?

A Denon 4311 is being used as the pre-pro. The Procellas up front are powered speakers, and the 4 side channels and 2 rears are being powered by an AudioControl Savoy. Essentially, the Denon handles source switching, basic bass management, volume control, and decoding the different surround sound formats. All of the heavy lifting is accomplished by 2 QSC 322ua. Video output is processed by a Lumagen Mini. A Crestron system stitches it all together!

Thanks Adam.

Very cool DSP's!

Is there a reason the Denon 4311 was chosen? When you compare it with the speakers, DSP etc, it seems that the Denon is in a completely different price range.

I do not know why that particular component was chosen.

At this time, choosing a pre-pro is a tricky decision, fraught with peril, as Jamin would say. If you go with something high end, you will almost always miss out on the latest codecs, front wides or heights, dolby volume, solid HDMI switching, built-in XM or ipod support, internet streaming, IP control, etc etc. Smaller boutique companies, or even larger ones, simply cannot keep up with the R&D that denon and others put into new products.

I also feel quite strongly about the importance of the room, compared to equipment choices. I have demonstrated countless times that mid-fi gear in an engineered room will outperform esoteric ultra high end systems in a typical installation. Caveats apply of course; a low end HTIB in a 20x30 room will obviously not be capable of generating the needed SPL, and of course, I would always prefer an engineered room combined with excellent equipment.

You can always upgrade the gear in the future, with minimal effort. Upgrading the room...not so much.

The Denon is acting as a switcher/decoder and it does that job very nicely (and, unlike some "boutique" stuff, things like EDID exhange, HDCP, works everytime, all the time). All the serious calibration work and amplification work has been off loaded to other gear (not to mention the room and room acoustics).

So he didn't recommend cable lifters ??!?!?!?!

Outstanding!

The room, the speakers, and the acoustic optimization, rings a bell doesn't it? There are untold number of enthusiasts that misguidedly spend in all the wrong places.

Great thread, it's nice to see it's coming together.


Continued good luck

So how is the theater coming? Haven't heard anything in a while. I'm assuming it's because your watching movies instead of playing on the computer.