By Steven Haas
As audio technology becomes more sophisticated
and more prevalent throughout homes, consumers are becoming
increasingly aware of the need for excellent sound quality
and sound privacy. Manufacturers of audio equipment from compact
disc players to loudspeakers constantly strive to provide their
end-users with the highest sonic fidelity with minimal distortion
of the original recorded program. Yet how many owners of this
sophisticated audio equipment realize that the last device
in the audio chain is not the loudspeaker, but the room in
which they are listening to the material?
The listening room will severely affect the final
quality of sound that is heard from an audio system by either
absorbing, reflecting, diffusing (scattering) or transmitting
sound waves that impact its boundaries. Just as you may choose
a color of paint on a wall to achieve an aesthetic look or
select a light fixture to provide the appropriate amount and
coverage of light, one should also ensure that the surface
materials on the walls, ceilings and floors of an audio listening
room are carefully chosen to achieve a balanced sound level
in the room throughout the entire frequency range of human
hearing.
Because the knowledge-base of acoustics is so
limited in the architectural and audio/video design industry,
audio-listening rooms and home theaters are often built with
no real attention given to the natural sound of the room. Many
times, the audio/video designer will even suggest to the architect
or homeowner that they don't need to spend any money or effort
on acoustical treatments, since they can simply compensate
for the bad room acoustics with equalization. As will be shown
in a future article, this approach is only marginally effective
since it is essentially creating a deficient sound to compensate
for a deficient room.
Yet where does a homeowner or a designer go to
achieve a room design that will enhance the state-of-the-art
audio system in every way possible without adding distortion
to the sound that reaches the listeners' ears?
Acoustical consultants have been assisting architects
and building owners for decades in the design of performing
arts theaters, concert halls, recording studios and many other
types of commercial, industrial and, more recently, residential
spaces. With the advent of multi-media theaters and critical
audio listening rooms in residences, it has never been more
appropriate to engage the services of a qualified acoustical
consultant to, not only work with the home designers to achieve
great natural-sounding spaces, but to also contain the tremendous
levels of sound and vibration produced by modern full-surround
audio systems. This is often very important with families where
perhaps the children want to invite their friends over to watch
the latest action movie in the home theater while the parents
want to relax upstairs or do work in a home office.
The best acoustical consultants are not in the
business of selling products, but instead have objectively
evaluated all products and construction methods and are able
to specify the right combination that is appropriate for each
project.
In this series of articles, I will attempt to
educate designers and end-users on the basic need for acoustic
considerations in technology-equipped homes. Articles will
focus on topics ranging from Why Can't I Just Slap Up Some
Eggcrates On The Wall And Be Done With It? to Are You Telling
Me That I Just Spent Ten Gazillion Dollars on My Audio System
and You Want To Actually Get Some Sleep?! I am open to suggestions
for article topics as well.
Steven Haas is a member of CEDIA and president
of SH! Acoustics, an independent acoustical consulting firm
specializing in custom and "high-end" residential
acoustics. His experience stems from nearly a decade of designing
over one-hundred concert halls, theaters, recording facilities,
museums, educational arts facilities and corporate offices
throughout the world. Steven can be reached by telephone at
(203) 258-9577, fax at (203) 377-1227 and E-mail at SHAcoustic@aol.com.
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