If you have read my previous post “Why Good Audio Sounds Bad” or have a basic knowledge of sound waves, you'll realise that just buying good audio equipment will not give you good sound quality.
The acoustics of your listening room account for well over half of what you hear and without addressing these effects you simply will not achieve hi fidelity sound.
What Is Good Sound?
Before looking at equipment and room design, let's look at what we're trying to achieve. The graphs below show the performance of “Stereophile” magazines favourite and least favourite loudspeakers when measured in a very well designed listening room.
The graph on the left shows the smooth response of their 12 favourite loudspeakers. Listening to music on speakers that give a smooth response means that all the frequencies will be reproduced at a similar volume. The sound of one note played on a piano for example will sound just as loud as the next.
The graph on the right shows the huge variations in the response of their 12 least favourite speakers. These graphs nicely illustrate the fact that speakers that measure better tend to sound better.
Loudspeakers in “Normal” Rooms
The graphs above show speakers measured in an ideal acoustic environment. The real problem however is that no one has a listening room with ideal acoustics.
This graph shows the typical response of a very good speaker when measured in a “normal” listening room. As you can see the smooth, even response of this speaker now looks just as bad, if not worse than one of the worst speakers.
As a result this very well designed, very expensive speaker will now provide sound quality that is no better than a much cheaper alternative in an ideal listening room.
The HiFi Myth
Most speakers placed in a “normal” listening room will vary more than 20db.
A 20db variation means that one note will sound more than 4 times louder than the next!
As such, even though you may be using the very best hifi equipment, the sound quality that you'll enjoy simply cannot be described as “hi fidelity” – regardless of how well the components measured in a laboratory.
Unfortunately the hifi industry ignores this inconvenient truth or uses it as a method of selling you any number of upgrades such as cables, stands and mains conditioners, none of which can fix the fundamental errors that your room has created.
Solutions from an Expert
As the problems that rooms create are rarely discussed in hifi shops or in hifi magazines, trying to find good advice about sound quality can be very frustrating. If you are looking for the best home cinema however, one man that can help is George Lucas.
When George Lucas released Star Wars 20 years ago, there was as much focus on its superb sound track as the story line. At the same time the home cinema industry was taking off with the arrival of video tape and Laserdisc.
George Lucas was one of the first people to realise that in the near future movies were going to be watched in the home just as much as at the cinema. The problem however was just like today; most home audio systems simply weren't accurate enough to reproduce his superb soundtracks correctly.
The THX Standards
George Lucas realised that with even the best hifi equipment, his films often sounded disappointing. As a result he employed the finest audio engineer he could, to find ways of improving the accuracy and consistency of audio systems.
Tom Holman was the engineer and the standards are known as the THX programme. If you want to hear just how effective his recommendations are, just book a visit to a THX approved cinema!
George Lucas wants you to follow the THX standards Tom created, so that you'll enjoy his films at their very best. Virtually all the other advice you'll be given about surround sound is given by people who know far less about film sound tracks and are simply trying to sell you stuff!
The THX standards included advice on room design, amplifier power, equalisation and the use of small satellite speakers, with separate subwoofers to play ALL the bass.
These recommendations may be 20 years old but are just as valid today as they were then - the laws of physics haven't changed.
Perhaps only 1% of home cinema systems sold in the UK comply with George Lucas's THX's recommendations. This could be because the guy in the local hifi shop knows more about reproducing film sound tracks than George Lucas... or possibly because so much money is made by selling big loudspeakers.
If you found this post helpful you may be interested in some of the other topics I've posted on:
- Why Good Audio Equipment Sounds Bad
- The Benefits of Room-Friendly Speakers
- Acoustic Room Design
- Why You Need Room Correction
- The Result of Professional System Design
The acoustics of your listening room account for well over half of what you hear and without addressing these effects you simply will not achieve hi fidelity sound.
What Is Good Sound?
Before looking at equipment and room design, let's look at what we're trying to achieve. The graphs below show the performance of “Stereophile” magazines favourite and least favourite loudspeakers when measured in a very well designed listening room.
The graph on the left shows the smooth response of their 12 favourite loudspeakers. Listening to music on speakers that give a smooth response means that all the frequencies will be reproduced at a similar volume. The sound of one note played on a piano for example will sound just as loud as the next.
The graph on the right shows the huge variations in the response of their 12 least favourite speakers. These graphs nicely illustrate the fact that speakers that measure better tend to sound better.
Loudspeakers in “Normal” Rooms
The graphs above show speakers measured in an ideal acoustic environment. The real problem however is that no one has a listening room with ideal acoustics.
This graph shows the typical response of a very good speaker when measured in a “normal” listening room. As you can see the smooth, even response of this speaker now looks just as bad, if not worse than one of the worst speakers.
As a result this very well designed, very expensive speaker will now provide sound quality that is no better than a much cheaper alternative in an ideal listening room.
The HiFi Myth
Most speakers placed in a “normal” listening room will vary more than 20db.
A 20db variation means that one note will sound more than 4 times louder than the next!
As such, even though you may be using the very best hifi equipment, the sound quality that you'll enjoy simply cannot be described as “hi fidelity” – regardless of how well the components measured in a laboratory.
Unfortunately the hifi industry ignores this inconvenient truth or uses it as a method of selling you any number of upgrades such as cables, stands and mains conditioners, none of which can fix the fundamental errors that your room has created.
Solutions from an Expert
As the problems that rooms create are rarely discussed in hifi shops or in hifi magazines, trying to find good advice about sound quality can be very frustrating. If you are looking for the best home cinema however, one man that can help is George Lucas.
When George Lucas released Star Wars 20 years ago, there was as much focus on its superb sound track as the story line. At the same time the home cinema industry was taking off with the arrival of video tape and Laserdisc.
George Lucas was one of the first people to realise that in the near future movies were going to be watched in the home just as much as at the cinema. The problem however was just like today; most home audio systems simply weren't accurate enough to reproduce his superb soundtracks correctly.
The THX Standards
George Lucas realised that with even the best hifi equipment, his films often sounded disappointing. As a result he employed the finest audio engineer he could, to find ways of improving the accuracy and consistency of audio systems.
Tom Holman was the engineer and the standards are known as the THX programme. If you want to hear just how effective his recommendations are, just book a visit to a THX approved cinema!
George Lucas wants you to follow the THX standards Tom created, so that you'll enjoy his films at their very best. Virtually all the other advice you'll be given about surround sound is given by people who know far less about film sound tracks and are simply trying to sell you stuff!
The THX standards included advice on room design, amplifier power, equalisation and the use of small satellite speakers, with separate subwoofers to play ALL the bass.
These recommendations may be 20 years old but are just as valid today as they were then - the laws of physics haven't changed.
Perhaps only 1% of home cinema systems sold in the UK comply with George Lucas's THX's recommendations. This could be because the guy in the local hifi shop knows more about reproducing film sound tracks than George Lucas... or possibly because so much money is made by selling big loudspeakers.
If you found this post helpful you may be interested in some of the other topics I've posted on:
- Why Good Audio Equipment Sounds Bad
- The Benefits of Room-Friendly Speakers
- Acoustic Room Design
- Why You Need Room Correction
- The Result of Professional System Design
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