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| Re: 4pi Dinner Theater Update [message #73848 is a reply to message #73847] |
Tue, 18 September 2012 00:50   |
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Wayne Parham
Messages: 18677
Registered: January 2001
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Illuminati (33rd Degree) |
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It's hard to say just by looking. But there are a few generalizations that I think may apply to you.
One is the larger the room, the smoother it is. Room modes get shifted down below the passband (and so don't exist) at some point. And reflections are further away, so they're more attenuated.
Another is slanted or gabled ceilings tend to increase ceiling slap, since they direct it like a parabolic reflector. That and hard floors can be a killer, so limited verticals are your friend. Then again, once the ceiling is high enough, it stops being a problem. Or if it is well damped, that helps too.
One quick and easy test is to clap your hands in the room. This creates a pretty good "signal" to tell you what to expect from the room. If the sound is primarily just the direct sound from your hand slap, with maybe a little bit of ambience, your room is probably going to sound pretty good. If it sound too lively, sort of a ringing like tinnitus, the sound you hear in your ears after a loud concert, then the room needs more absorbent material. On the other hand, it can be too dead. If you hear nothing at all from the room, no reflections, just the initial clap that sounds more like a thud without much "slap", then the room may be so absorbent that it sounds somewhat dead.
Walk around the room giving a sharp clap from time to time and listen to the room decay. It may be different in different places in the room, especially with a gabled ceiling. That will give you a quick feel for room acoustics.
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| Re: 4pi Dinner Theater Update [message #76259 is a reply to message #76258] |
Tue, 09 April 2013 23:26 |
dutchswan0311
Messages: 102
Registered: June 2011
Location: Iowa
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Viscount |
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Everything sounds great. It is all very articulate, but I have not really had the chance to "calibrate" anything yet. It will certainly go much louder than anyone could withstand, and I can produce clear bass that will knock the building off its foundation. I sometimes wonder if I might have been able to produce similar sound for less money, but I have never wondered if I could have had better sound for the same money (if that makes any sense). As is with anything, one always tries to find the dollar amount that will make 95% of the public happy. Satisfying the other 5% usually costs two or three times as much money. At the end of the day, I know our space satisfies 100%. The 1pis were definitely a money savings over all of the alternatives I considered. The DIY subs were a bargain and FAR cheaper than buying a finished product at retail. I know they are not of your Pi design, but lilmike's F20 from the avsforum.com really do deliver. I could probably have gotten away with only two of them, but they were cheap to build ($350/ea) and are also semi-permanent integrated furniture. I would rather run four of them at less power than two of them at higher power. Peace of mind that I will not blow a driver lets me sleep at night. The 4pi speakers were costly at about $850/each, but at the end of the day I do not regret splurging on the upgrades. They will be behind that screen for a LONG time.
I am surprised how directional everything is. The amps and receivers are tucked away in a server rack on the stage, and one has to be careful when setting volume and power levels. What you hear off to the side in the corner of the stage is not nearly what you hear when standing in the middle of the ballroom in front of everything. A lot of testing needs to be done in order to create "preset" settings for various scenarios (music vs movies vs television). Each movie is slightly different too. I find myself turning knobs a lot depending on my music or video source.
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