Most conventional cinema “screen channel” loudspeakers are designed to sit on a platform behind the cinema screen. The low frequency (LF) enclosure is made of heavy MDF panels to offer the best low frequency performance for the lowest cost. The horn section is supported by metal brackets and is mounted to the top of the LF … Read More

In a previous blog about loudspeaker sensitivity, we looked at two readily available woofers to see how different specifications and construction techniques resulted in different amounts of low frequency output capability.  For this discussion, we will take a single woofer design and see how using 1, 2 or 4 woofers affects total output capability.  Doubling … Read More

Honestly, it is likely that you already know this, but if you don’t, EASE is software that provides sound system designers a set of tools to help simulate, or model, the acoustics of a venue. Basically, it helps determine the best locations to install your loudspeakers to get the best sound coverage for your space. … Read More

In our previous blog post, Sensitivity Sensationalism, we looked at some incorrect assumptions often made around loudspeaker sensitivity and power ratings. We discussed the dangerous practice of publishing inflated specifications, including frequency range, power handling, impedance, and unspecified boundary loading conditions. And we promised a deep dive into the design of a Screen Channel Low … Read More

How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Core Auditoriums with balconies can provide a significant challenge to the proper design and deployment of a cinema audio system. Generally, a 7.1 cinema auditorium is considered a single seating zone which is covered by multiple audio channels. When a balcony is introduced to an auditorium … Read More

In this third and final installment of our look at small rooms, we’ll focus on Q-SYS and how it can be used for multi-room systems, especially “cinema on demand” rooms in commercial multiplex sites. As before, let’s look at room sizes of about 10m, or 33 ft. in length. We’ll also assume the use of … Read More

Loudspeaker sensitivity and power ratings have become the primary specifications used to design sound systems in cinema. This practice and these specifications are accepted at face value and not often questioned. They make designing sound systems fairly easy and straightforward. However, they rely on many assumptions and some of them are simply not valid, at least … Read More

No one knows exactly what the “new normal” of cinema exhibition will look like. First, let’s get this out of the way: Coronavirus will not kill the global cinema exhibition industry. Changes are for certain, but cinema is here to stay. As has already been said by many industry observers – cinema has survived the … Read More

In Part 1 of our discussion on small rooms, we focused on premium solutions using our Reference Monitor System. In Part 2, we will look at some systems using the economical DCS SC 1120 and SC 1150 screen channels and a variety of amplifier and processor options for small rooms, including private screening rooms, high-end … Read More

In addition to our larger audio solutions for mainstream multiplexes, QSC has several options for small rooms. These could be private screening rooms, high-end home cinemas, or even “cinema on demand” rooms in multiplex sites that are rented to small groups. While QSC can support all room sizes, let’s focus on rooms of less than … Read More

In 1992, Syn-Aud-Con co-founder and audio industry legend Don Davis wrote an article (which later became a book) titled, “If Bad Sound Were Fatal, Audio Would Be the Leading Cause of Death.” While it hasn’t killed me yet, I’ve certainly been hurt more than once in public spaces, where it was evident that proper attention … Read More