Home Theater Design Showcase Far Hills, Somerset County, NJ.

Bravo AV is committed to delivering the optimal solution for every project. The previous homeowner left behind the speakers but had removed all the electronics. BRAVO AV estimated the previous theater was more than 15 years old.

Video

On the video side, BRAVO AV maximized the screen size to 128 inches in a 16:9 aspect ratio. This yielded a dramatic presentation improvement versus the older, smaller screen. But there was a catch. The room did not have a lot of height to play with. Even reducing the size of the crown molding and moving the screen up as much as possible would not provide proper sight lines for people sitting in all three rows. The only solution was to rebuild the risers. The general contractor demoed the entire room so the new walls would tie into the new risers. It was a lot of work for the contractor, but the owner loved the result.

Audio

On the audio side, BRAVO AV executed several improvements:

· Migrated from a traditional surround-sound speaker configuration to an Atmos configuration.

· Relocated the Left, Center and Right (LCR) speakers behind an acoustically transparent screen. This move delivered the biggest design improvement for the audio presentation in that, previously, the LCR speakers were below the screen.

· Upgraded the speaker system to Meridian with JL subwoofers.

· Combined a Storm AV processor with Meridian 271 DSP processor to drive the active Meridian speakers.

· Installed a computer-designed acoustical treatment solution in the room. This maximized the 5 key factors of intra-room acoustic performance as outlined below:

1. Clarity

Clarity is the prime acoustic goal because its perfection depends on the successful attainment of all other goals. Of paramount importance are dialogue intelligibility in movies and music lyrics and the ability to detect quiet background details. Various elements affect this goal.They include equipment quality, room reverberation levels, ambient noise levels, and listener position, among others.

2. Focus

Acoustical focus is the ability to precisely locate each reproduced sonic cue or image in a three-dimensional space. Recordings contain many such images superimposed side to side, front to back, and floor to ceiling, for 360 degrees around the listener. A system is said to have pinpoint focus if, from the listener’s perspective, each of these images is properly sized, precisely located, and stable. Good focus also means that individual images are easily distinguishable from others within the limits of the recording’s quality.

3. Envelopment

An audio system should reproduce virtual images of each recorded sound for the listener in a three-dimensional space producing a wraparound soundstage that envelops the listener. Proper envelopment requires that the sound stage be seamless for 360 degrees without interference caused by holes or hot spots due to speaker-level imbalance or poor speaker placements.

4. Dynamics

Dynamics is the difference between the softest and loudest sounds reproduced by a sound system. While much emphasis is sometimes placed on high volume, the audibility of the softest sound is equally important to the quality of the system’s performance.

The acoustic requirements for proper envelopment, focus, and clarity are necessary for hearing the sonic cues relating these qualities. If these are overwhelmed by excessive ambient noise or reverberations in a room, they will not be properly audible. At a minimum, a system must be capable of reproducing loud passages with ease while soft sounds remain easily audible.

5. Response

A system’s frequency response is a measure of the relative levels of all reproduced audio frequencies. The response’s smoothness can be observed in a variety of ways, including booming bass, excessive treble, improper musical timbre, or a general lack of realism. It is important to select high quality components and proper system setup including the placement of listening and speaker positions, and the correct use of equalization. The system must also be non-fatiguing at all sound levels, so it is both articulate and faithful to the original sound.

The Look

Sophisticated and fun.