Home Entertainment, NYC April 2005, Rives Audio interviewed various editors, writers, and columnists from Stereophile and Home Entertainment magazines regarding their thoughts and advice on acoustics in the home environment.
Acoustics is a fundamental issue, pointed out John Atkinson. John Marks agrees that it is indeed fundamental and Michael Fremer stated that acoustics is component number one.
John Marks went on to discuss how significant acoustics can be in the home environment.
If all of these editors are convinced it is so important, then why is it often avoided? John Marks believes it's somewhat of a cultural issue and that awareness may be part of the problem, and Michael Fremer agrees with a slightly different take on the subject. Issues of aesthetics and the complexity are two obstacles points out John Atkinson. Kal Rubinson agrees and also supports John on the issues that it's a complex subject, but Kal also points out that the aesthetics of many pre-fabricated solutions may be a signficant obstacle to many people.
But for those that are ready to get involved in acoustics Kal Rubinson offers what needs to be the very first step: Listen and be commited. Maureen Jenson also has 2 rooms to compare and agrees with Kal on this point. She uses the Home Theater magazine's fully engineered facility as a benchmark. She also points out that you really need to learn as much as you can about acoustics and is supportive of more retailers offering acoustical consulting. Art Dudley feels the audiophile community is improving in their understanding of acoustics and is at least paying attention to the subject now.
Michael Fremer also has some basic advice on how to get started in acoustics, but warns us of over doing it. Art Dudley also offers some tips on where to start, and firmly believes that in order to be successful you must get the bass right. John Atkinson offers his words of wisdom for getting started and also offers a very practical tip on how to find good speaker placement.
Different spaces and uses may require different acoustics altogether. John Marks discussed the difference of Home Theater acoustics and 2 channel acoustics. Kal Rubinson took this a step further and talked about multi-channel music, while John Atkinson shared his view on the subject of Home Theater acoustics and followed up with his thoughts on studio and control room acoustics for recording engineers and how they differ from the home environment.
In the end, all agreed that acoustics are extremely important, and John Marks summed it up very nicely.
About the Interviews
