Oct 27, 2004

If you have any interest at all in putting together or perfecting a home theater, you should be reading the Home Theater Blog (RSS). There’s a lot of great technical advice about audio/video products and system setup.

Recent HTB postings of note:

• Acoustic panels for the home theater - “It used to be that if you wanted acoustic paneling for your home theater, you’d call a specialist and they would custom make them on site. Like anything else, with time mass production will step in and make things cheaper, but not necessarily easier for the do it your-selfer.”
• Home theater subwoofer setup - “More often than not, the number one piece of home theater gear I see setup incorrectly is the subwoofer… The most important thing to keep in mind is that a subwoofer … [is] only supposed to augment the bass extension of your main channels.”
• Home Theater Calibration 101 - “…[R]est assured if you bought home theater equipment, unpackaged it, and thought that was it, you’ve got a lot more potential you can squeeze out of your investment. ”

I do have some minor quibbles with some of the articles - for example the subwoofer article claims that the sub should not be set at a higher volume than the main channels. That’s good advice, but realize that if you’re listening to the system at low sound levels, you might find that all of the bass disappears due to the ear’s low sensitivity to bass at low overall volumes. But certainly if you’re listening to the system at THX-specified levels, the setup advice is sound.

I’ll also emphasize a passage in the absorption article: “A word to the wise, adding absorption may not be best in all cases….” I wholeheartedly agree. Furthermore, Cross·Spectrum Labs can perform a reverberation-time measurement to determine if (and what kind of) absorption may be useful to improve the acoustics in you home theater. We can also perform audio calibration for you home theater or audio system. Contact me for more information.

A DIY recently installed laminate flooring. He thought it would be useful to run audio cable while putting down the floor. He found some flat cable, and the rest is history. I recently installed laminate flooring for a relative, and I wish I had thought of doing this.

Here is an innovative use of sound monitoring: Newark, New Jersey is deploying a sound measurement system to monitor accidents at a particularly dangerous intersection. The system recognizes audio cues from screeching tires and crashes, and uses the audio to trigger a video recording system. You civil libertarians out there should be happy to know that the recording system is temporary, and won’t be used as a traffic enforcement tool.

Michelin is showing off a concept car with an active suspension system (as well as propulsion and braking) integrated into the wheels. I’m glad the article points out that increasing the unsprung mass of a vehicle is not without its risks, but it’s good to see other approaches to active suspension systems. Now we just need an active suspention system for trains…

permanent link