Home Theater Sound Strategies: Taking the Confusion out of Diffusion
May 4, 2010 by Mike
Filed under Articles, Audio, Sound Control
For any serious home theater owner, the prospect of creating the perfect listening environment can be a daunting one. Great sound is paramount to achieving the ideal home theater experience. The concept of diffusion tends to give many homeowners trouble because they simply do not understand the overall concept about what it is and how it comes into play when designing and creating a home theater. Most questions stem from those theater owners who want to know: what diffusion is, how diffusion can affect the overall ambiance in a home theater, and how diffusion affects the home theater experience.
• What is diffusion? An acoustic diffuser is a device that alters the reverberant characteristics of a room by uniformly scattering sound towards all potential angles of reflection, regardless of the angle of which the sound arrives. Reverberation, as related to acoustics, refers to echoes. When a sound field is diffused, the echoes are coming smoothly from every direction.
• How does diffusion affect home theater ambience? When comparing smaller listening spaces and larger listening spaces, acoustical diffusion is much more suited for larger room acoustic problems. To illustrate the point, treating a dedicated listening space resembles a concert hall that has a large flat ceiling high above the audience. To help disperse the bounce a little more, large curved surface panels are installed and the sound is then scattered in a more natural pattern. The illustration is a standard tool of larger acoustic treatments, but it is not a default one for smaller rooms. As is the case in many home theater designs, one size does not necessarily fit all. The same holds true for acoustic diffusion.
• How does diffusion affect the home theater experience? Acoustic diffusion is one step that home theater owners can take to improve their home theater experience. Knowing not only how but how much acoustic diffusion to incorporate into a theater space can make a noticeable difference in the overall home theater experience. Because not all dedicated spaces are the same size or have the same characteristics, the design and planning of any home theater space should always take into account the size of the dedicated space.
It is important to keep in mind that it is not advantageous to treat the entire room with acoustic diffusion. The treatment of an entire room would result in sound that is no more normal and typical than a room that is covered in 100% absorptive surfaces or 100% reflective surfaces. The overall sound would be very abnormal in the least and no movie or sound recording would be heard as it was intended. Regardless of the size of the room, sound is important and steps must be taken to ensure that the quality of sound is maximized through the appropriate steps.
Home Theater Special Features: How to Transform Movie Night from Ordinary to Extraordinary
The finishing touches on a home theater space can make a measurable difference in the overall home theater experience. There are special features that many choose to add to their home theaters that are not necessarily a requirement for a high level of entertainment; however, their presence drastically, and positively, affects not only how but how much the audience members are able to enjoy the home theater presentation.
Special features can range from the simple to the complex and the possibilities are endless. Beginning with automatic door closers, and stretching to motion technology for seating, the special features added to any home theater can change a generic family room into a full-blown theater experience. Special features do not have to set the homeowner back financially, and what they add to the home theater is priceless. For example, automatic door closers integrated into the home theater are most often a small commercial type that may be purchased at popular do-it-yourself retailers. They basically mount on the top of the door and they resemble the larger ones that are seen at commercial locations in function yet are smaller in size. Often times when automatic doors are used for a home theater, the knobs and latches are omitted. In their place are the door closers and other commercial features like a push/pull handle to create the feel of a real theater. Another special feature that has become popular among owners of home theater technology is D-box motion technology built into the seats. D-box motion technology is used in high tech motion chairs that actually move with the movie. Although high definition is a goal for many theater owners, the experience comes full circle when the viewer becomes part of the movie itself.
Home theater special features are not necessarily limited to movies and cinemagic. There have been projects constructed for families that create a multi-media all-purpose room. For example, for the family who enjoys karaoke beyond the basic sing along may be fitted for a system that has a wireless microphone with a karaoke player. By installing a stage in front of the theater and using the large screen display in place for the theater, any family member or guest can stand up on the stage, look back across the seats to the back wall where a smaller LCD monitor is installed for the lyrics. Yet another special design idea may allow the owner to incorporate a special sports affinity or thematic affiliation into the scheme. What any home theater owner must remember is that special features are so-named for a reason. There are features that are commonly found in all home theaters, such as a large screen TV and platform seating. However, what makes features special is how they affect those who use them.
A correctly designed theater is like a custom-fitted puzzle. Many factors need to come together in harmony to create the desired effect. Because a home theater has is expected to generate a lot of entertainment and excitement in a compact space, it is very important to think through the design plan and fine tune it before any building begins. If one aspect is sized wrong or improperly configured, the results can be devastating. Regardless of what, and how many, special features are incorporated into the home theater space, it is most important that the home theater owner carefully plan for the space while taking the time to add those special touches that will make the space a unique experience each time it is used.
