The Beauty Of Room Acoustics

After a long break, I got around to watching a DVD at home - Forrest Gump, a classic.

I remember the hunt for a DVD system a good two and a half years ago. I really don't know how the situation is now but back then, everyone was on the lookout for one. It was a craze. Even the number of exclusive showrooms (or EBO's as my marketing colleagues will gather!) was phenomenal. I remember going to a Sony showroom once to check out their systems.

We entered this separate section in the Sony showroom which had a beige couch facing a massive (LCD) screen. On either side of the TV stood two thin towers, so elegant in design that you couldn't your eyes off the thing. A red carpet was floored for the exhibit. Grand eh?

He flipped on the telly and put some typical action flick in the DVD drive, a sleek & silver contraption that looked something from outer space. It had very few buttons on it and a sort of sun dial design on top, but clearly an aesthetic gimmick. He turned on the power and these funky LED's lit up the space on the panel. The salesman looked to us with a broad smile on his face. I wasn't floored.

I think it was Gone In 60 Seconds that he'd sampled for us on the system. A woofer was placed near the couch and two other tweeters were placed on the wall, again.. on either side. After all the lavish surroundings and flashy LED lights, the Sony system didn't prove its worth. That's when I realised how bowled over many Indians are by the show and razzmatazz people put up these days.

The 'core' product is clearly missing. One buys a home theatre for the sound it gives, apart from the experience. Trust me, there's a lot more to sound than blaring action scenes in your face. People tend to buy a lot of goods based on 'popular' brand names. Although the recent Business World claims that it isn't so (50% of Indians are not brand conscious), for a consumer good like this I can guarantee they are. Many brands have not been noticed in India and being a price sensitive market, we tend to overlook their value offering. A little more openness can help. Coming back to the point, no one has ever considered the importance of room acoustics. Yes, this does play a major role in the experience you wish to capture through your DVD system so why not think about that too? That's where the best guys step in.

Room acoustics have been neglected for the most part. The exact layout of your room and the objects that are a part of it, along with their placement is a crucial point. Take Bose for instance. They have looked at value right from the design of the damn cone. Imagine a sector of a circle around 120 degrees. That's your speaker cone. Now take two of those things. Place one on the left and other on your right. For the left speaker, the inner part of the cone represents the vocal tone. And since it's at an angle, it's bound to hit you as you sit at a central location (opposite the TV). The outer part of this cone will throw the effects and other sound variables. Apply the same funda for the right speaker. Here's the brilliance --

Provided you have a dead wall (or closed windows) on either side of your room (the longer part of it)
the sound effects from the outer part of the cone will bounce off that medium and come and hit your ears from BEHIND your seating spot. The vocals on the other hand, are directed straight at you from the inner part of the cones since vocals aren't the most stimulating forms of sound. (Unless you've seen V for Vendetta..Hugo Weaving rules). That's what you can call room acoustics or sound engineering. Making the most of it all.

I remember my first DVD movie at home - Master and Commander, a Russell Crowe flick where he plays a Captain at sea with his crew etc. There was this one scene where he's in his cabin and suddenly he hears a lot of footsteps above, scurrying across the ships deck. On hearing the sounds, a simple reflex motioned my neck to scout the ceiling. Simply superb.

PS - remind me to narrate a typical Bose salespersons actions next time we meet.