| So you've finally made the decision to create your | | | | Internal sound absorption deals with the sounds that |
| own dedicated home cinema system. You've | | | | bounce around inside your cinema. These sounds will |
| convinced your partner that it's ok to spend that kind | | | | originate mainly from the speakers and will be |
| of money and have agreed that they too can go and | | | | reflected by the different materials in the room. |
| buy whatever they have always wanted. Everything is | | | | Essentially you want to design your room so that you |
| looking good and the green light is on but then you | | | | have internal absorbers to remove most of the |
| start to think about all the different design elements | | | | reflections so that you only have direct sound coming |
| that make up a cinema and you start to get | | | | to you from the speakers. In some cases such as the |
| overwhelmed with the correct order and the amount | | | | surround speakers you will want to have multiple |
| of budget you should allocate for each section. You | | | | reflections but the full scope of this design is too much |
| check online and just seem to find so many different | | | | for this article. Do your due diligence here and it will pay |
| conflicting views and now you're not even sure if you | | | | off in reduced costs later on. |
| should even get started because your mind is so | | | | Equipment Choice and Levels |
| scrambled that you're not sure where to begin. | | | | 5. Sound levels-speaker and amplifier choice |
| Well, if the above story sounds familiar to you then this | | | | Most people will be surprised to see that speaker |
| article will put you at ease. Maybe you have just | | | | choice has only appeared at number five and not |
| decided to build your own home cinema system or | | | | sooner but if you have really read and understood the |
| perhaps you thought about it before but just weren't | | | | previous four items and done your due diligence on |
| sure where to begin and so decided to leave it. If any | | | | them then it will be no surprise at all. The majority of |
| of this rings true with you then I am pleased to say | | | | bad quality home cinema systems are due to poor |
| that I can give you my personal experience to allow | | | | room design and not the speakers or other equipment. |
| you to make the best home cinema system you can | | | | If you get the room design right then you are 80% |
| based on your budget. | | | | there already. |
| So here are my 10 steps to creating the home cinema | | | | There are many different speaker brands on the |
| of your dreams. | | | | market and you will need to get active and out to your |
| Each of these steps should be performed in this order | | | | local dealers who can demonstrate different packages |
| to get the best out of the available budget and room | | | | side by side. Most of this decision will come down to |
| space you have. | | | | your budget and personal preference. Don't think |
| Internal and External Shell and Structure | | | | however that you have to spend a huge amount of |
| 1. Start with the end in mind | | | | money here. Providing you got the room design right |
| Like any construction project you need to have a | | | | then you will get a great sound out of most systems. |
| good vision of what the end is going to look like before | | | | 6. Visual requirements-projector and screen size |
| you even start. This means you should at the very | | | | The screen size will mainly be determined by your |
| minimum have some hand drawn sketches of the | | | | available room width. You will need to make sure that |
| style, size and shape you are going for. Now this will | | | | the main seating area is approximately 2.5x the width |
| naturally be dictated by the available space you have | | | | of the screen back to give the best visual |
| to work with but there is definitely some room here for | | | | performance. This means that if your screen is 1 |
| artistic flare here so really tap into your mind and pull | | | | meter wide then your main seating area should be |
| out what your dream home cinema system will | | | | about 2.5 meters back. The screen height should be |
| eventually look like. Remember, this is probably | | | | positioned so that the bottom of the screen is |
| something you are only going to do once so make | | | | approximately 850mm from floor level. This will |
| sure it lives up to all your expectations and dreams. | | | | prevent head fatigue and give the best performance. |
| Remember that what you see is always what you get | | | | The choice of projector again will be dictated by your |
| so the clearer your vision is, the better the end product | | | | budget and you should go and see your local dealer |
| will be. Do not rush through or overlook this step, it is | | | | once more to see different models side by side to find |
| probably the most important part of the whole | | | | one you are happy with. |
| process. | | | | 7. Kinesthetic requirements-seating and movement |
| 2. Room size and shape | | | | The choice of seating should deal with comfort first |
| Now that you have your ideas in mind and a clear | | | | and look second. Remember, you are going to be |
| picture of what you want to achieve you can start to | | | | sitting down here for a long while over the course of a |
| get down to some real design. Now I strongly suggest | | | | year so make sure you pick seating which is designed |
| you use some kind of 3D software here to make sure | | | | for this kind of use. |
| you get really accurate measurements and | | | | If your budget allows you can now get moving seats |
| implementation of your design ideas. You could also | | | | which have hydraulics that shake them around in time |
| just use a 2D CAD (Computer Aided Design) package | | | | with the movie. This can be an incredible experience |
| but it's usually much nicer and easier to keep your | | | | but also a very expensive one. |
| vision in mind if you can work in 3D. | | | | 8. Sources and cabling |
| Now this may scare a lot of you off but with the | | | | In general your choice of sources should be high |
| technology available today you can find some very | | | | definition and the best that your budget will allow. A |
| inexpensive design packages that are really user | | | | Blu-ray player and high definition broadcast or satellite |
| friendly so even if you have had no computer design | | | | receive should be a minimum requirement but it's also |
| experience before you will be able to pick it up fairly | | | | nice to add games consoles and other such devices |
| quickly. | | | | to get the best out of your home cinema system. |
| Full room acoustic design is a very in depth subject | | | | Cabling should be of a good quality but not over the |
| and beyond the scope of this article but I recommend | | | | top. We personally work at around 10% of the cost of |
| you do your due diligence on this area and get a basic | | | | the equipment should be spend on cabling. |
| knowledge of how audio is transmitted before | | | | Aesthetics |
| progressing. A good room design at this stage will | | | | 9. Interior design |
| save you lots of money further down the line when it | | | | This is very much a personal preference and so I will |
| comes to equipment choices. | | | | leave this area entirely up to you. We have designed |
| In essence you want to avoid any hard surfaces that | | | | many home cinema systems, some which have movie |
| will reflect sound and go for surfaces that absorb as | | | | posters all over the walls and authentic cinema carpet |
| much as possible. I'm sure you've all been inside a | | | | and others which have an Art Deco style and genuine |
| church and noticed how bad the acoustics are and | | | | arts from the period; it's totally up to you. Just make |
| how much it echoes. Well, these are things that you | | | | sure you don't compromise the acoustic design in the |
| really want to avoid in your home cinema system as | | | | process. |
| they will dramatically affect the quality of your sound | | | | 10. Light levels |
| reproduction. | | | | Naturally the cinema should be as dark as possible |
| 3. Sound absorption-external | | | | during usage so you will want to make sure that there |
| External sound absorption refers to the sound that will | | | | is no natural light coming in by either having no |
| leak out of your cinema during its use. This basically | | | | windows at all or having black out blinds that can be |
| translates to making sure you don't wake up the | | | | placed in front of them when in use. Low level lighting |
| neighbours when you have your home cinema system | | | | is always recommended for health and safety |
| cranked up to volume 10. Even if you don't have | | | | reasons and also a little bit of artistic flare using colour |
| neighbours you will still want to make sure the system | | | | can really enhance the whole experience. |
| can be used late at night when others may be trying | | | | Afterthoughts |
| to sleep. | | | | There are several other considerations that you may |
| You can start off very basic with some fibre glass | | | | want to look at when designing your home cinema |
| insulation around the entire outside structure of the | | | | system such as HVAC, remote controls and |
| room or placed between a cavity wall. This is very | | | | automation but this will depend on your budget and |
| inexpensive and works really well. If you want to get | | | | personal preference so I shall again leave this up to |
| really clever you can build a room within a room by | | | | you. |
| putting up a partition shell and fixing it to the outside | | | | Remember that this is just a general overview of the |
| structure with rubber washers. This will isolate the | | | | design and each area should have its own due |
| sound very well and keep most of it internal. | | | | diligence performed before undertaking any home |
| 4. Sound absorption-internal | | | | cinema system design such as this. |