In the custom electronics industry we are often faced with the task of designing a dream system in an area which has been poorly designed from the beginning. Too often builders rely on companies that specialize in areas other than acoustical design and home automation. When speakers are misplaced in a room certain frequencies of sound can combine to create a tone that is much louder than all of the others, when this happens in the lower frequencies it will literally make you feel like leaving the room. When frequencies interfere you can also create a null point where some sounds disappear altogether. If the sounds that disappear just happen to be in the vocal range then dialogue becomes unintelligible. When a house is being built a few things can be done to avoid the nightmare of having to remove and repair sheetrock to accommodate wiring for proper speaker placement. The first thing that should be taken into consideration is the acoustic profile for the rooms that you are working with. By consulting with an expert before the sheetrock is installed a builder can provide that extra level of service that will become evident immediately to the client because the media center is typically the homes primary entertainment center. The consultation process is normally performed free of charge in the hopes that properly wired houses lead to future business. Profiling the room following very specific formulas will determine placement of speakers. Once the speaker placement has been worked out and the “sweet spots” have been determined the rest of the system will literally fall into place. Considerations such as screen size, equipment type and furniture placement become exceedingly easy once this simple step has been taken. For example, the principle viewer should be seated 1.5 to 2 screen widths from the screen. If the sweet spot for audio places the client at 10 feet from the screen then it will follow that the screen size should be 60 inches wide (or approximately a 70” diagonal). The screen should also be placed where the viewers eye level at about a third of the distance from the bottom of the screen. Most viewers sit with eye level at 42” that would mean that a 70” diagonal screen should be placed where the bottom of the screen is roughly 30” from the floor. The second thing builders can do to add value to their service is following similar principles for other low voltage services such as home automation, distributed audio and security. Builders have the ability to include wiring in the house for conveniences that modern home buyers appreciate on a daily basis. The “wow-factor” of a home that can be continually upgraded over a number of years will keep the builders name in a positive light for many years. A perfect example is home automation. As long as a house has a few extra wires pulled, a world of possibilities open up for the customer. These needs can be as simple as a small camera placed in a nursery which will allow new mothers to see and hear their infant from any TV in the house. Summer also means spending time outdoors and having audio around the pool or grill makes it even more enjoyable. The last thing a builder can do for the customer is anticipate what technology will look like 5 or 10 years from now. Sounds impossible right? Simple assumptions like the integration of Computers into the media system, the need for wiring that will accommodate High Definition TV signals and the knowledge that standard CAT-5 wiring will accommodate most home automation projects can make the difference between a house that is locked into the present or a house that accepts the connivances that the future brings with open doors.
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