HAA AUDIO CALIBRATION
by one of Australia's leading experts Andrew Poole
Have you ever progressed from powdered coffee to great freshly ground coffee, or from bad wine to truly great wine, or driven a truly fine car?
Once you have had that better experience its hard to go back.
THE BEST SOUND
YOU'VE EVER HEARD!
Sound (and picture) are the same. Humans are amazing they can put up with all sorts of things.
But with sound and picture you don't need to. You may be used to the sound (or picture) you currently have, but we can promise you, there is much more.
Often just by correctly setting up the system you already have.
Or getting help before you buy a sound system.
Mistakes are expensive and we can help you avoid them.
"The THX key team and was one of the amazing industry leaders who personally taught us here at HTE!"
You may have come across things like Delay, Speaker Distance, Test Tone, Phase, X-over, Large or Small Speakers and a host of other choices and options.
These are there for a reason, but are widely misunderstood, misused or most commonly, ignored.
This video is by John Dahl of THX its a great starter. It helps you understand some of the simpler principles to getting better sound.
(We are particularly proud to be able to say John is one of George Lucas' THX key team and was one of the amazing industry leaders who personally taught us here at HTE!)
SPEAKER POSTION IS PARAMOUNT!
You are not the boss, Your room is! If you want the best sound and picture you need to get your head around one thing..."Ya canna change the laws of physics" as Scotty would say.
So this means, if you want great sound and picture, then do what your room tells you. Of course you can do anything you like but each step down that road compromises great sound and or picture. How?
The length height and width of your room determines how your bass will work. The specifications of speaker positions as determined by dolby etc determine where your speakers go.
This in combination with your bass response decides where you sit! Doors windows and other features lock this down even more.
This all then determines where your screen can go and at what height and size etc and this is dictated by the specifications of your projector etc. So Yes you can go bigger but that means less light, bigger pixel resolution, increased upward viewing angle etc etc.
The fact is small room acoustics are complex and maximising your system will take time, effort and the right test equipment, but the rewards are huge. Imagine getting rid of that annoying boom or squeaky top end, being able to clearly hear every word spoken in a movie and being able to close your eyes and "see" exactly where every sound is coming from. We call it soundstage. Even if you "think" your system is great, you will be stunned by the improvements you will get when it is properly calibrated.
Subwoofers! There is a good chance your sound system is working hard generating sounds you can't even hear. Oh they are there, but complex room "modes" can mean that where you are sitting you could be just the spot where there is nothing to be heard at specific frequencies. We can help resolve that. See these images below.
Before Calibration
After Calibration
And so it goes.. So just remember if your goal is to get the best from your gear that you have purchased then the room is boss. Better yet, get the room professionally designed and laid out by someone who knows those rules.
Give us a call or email us at Home Theatre Engineering for a plan to get the best out of your room.
It will save you the 20 years of study we have put into getting this all right.