HIGH END HOME THEATERS

But IHT has taken their commitment to excellence one step further with the inclusion of open-architecture DSP solutions from high-end pro audio manufacturer Symetrix. IHT uses Symetrix' SymNet Express units to customize speaker timing, speaker response, and room tuning in order to transform already-wonderful sounding systems into paragons of clarity and punch. Their amazing Orlando showroom was the recent benefactor of SymNet processing and now, with the push of an A/B button, undeniably demonstrates to customers the improvements that SymNet can deliver in their home theater.

"The number one complaint in home theaters (although not the ones that we design!) is that viewers have a hard time understanding the dialog and don't feel fully engaged in the movie," said Brett Ogilvie, president and CEO of IHT. "So they turn up the volume, but there's still some unintelligibility, so they turn it up some more. It doesn't get any better! At the end of that frustrating process, they've got the system so loud they're feeling fatigued. It's not a pleasurable experience."

Ogilvie suggests that poor speaker placement, resonant room frequencies, and unchecked reflections render the frequency response with enough dips and bumps to cloud intelligibility at any volume. In a nutshell, IHT uses SymNet Express to tame those "bad" sounds so that the audio is a pleasure to listen to - crisp, clear, and natural. After they've tuned a system, a whisper is just as intelligible as a shout regardless of whether the volume is set just above zero or cranked all the way up. IHT uses world-class high-end audio components and SymNet Express DSPs to put the WOW back in the movie!

The process of tuning a home theater is an all-day event that relies as much on the trained ears and deep experience of IHT's staff as it does on a raft of high-tech acoustical analysis equipment. In the first hour, they simply listen to the system in its 'just installed' state, taking notes and discussing with the user what they like and what they don't like. In the second hour, they adjust the speaker placement, including angles and height above the floor, since this has such a profound effect on the system's overall sound and performance.

For the next five hours, IHT sets up a Sencore SP295 audio analyzer and several laptops running additional real-time audio analyzers for taking measurements at different locations, and for programming the SymNet Express 8x8 Cobra via SymNet Designer software. IHT has two Home Acoustic Alliance certified audio calibrators on staff to perform the demanding work for their clients. They adjust speaker curves, typically removing some highs and lows for a more natural, less hyped sound. They adjust the overall bass response
of the room. They use the 8x8's surgically accurate parametric EQs to smooth out room modes. They use high-pass filters for improved efficiency. They move speakers forward and back via precision audio delays and adjust for lip-sync with the video. Finally, they set overall relative SPLs for all of the speakers and subwoofers.

In the final hour, they bring the user back in, A/B the processing applied and dial in their precise preferences. "We find that a lot of people like the center channel closer for improved intelligibility, which is easy to do with SymNet's delays," said Ogilvie. "In addition, most people like the surround channels to be a bit louder than is 'correct' - since they paid for them, they want to hear them! The final tweak ends up being somewhere between what we know is technically correct and the personal preferences of each of our customers - making our IHT home theater uniquely theirs."

Although most commercial contractors make extensive use of SymNet's assortment of user interfaces, IHT has found that the use of presets in a home theater typically leads to a mild case of operator error. "The kids come in to play video games, mom watches some TV, dad watches a movie. Sometimes they'll think to change the presets, but most often they won't. That leaves them with funny-sounding audio and leaves us with service calls," remarked Ogilvie. IHT instead optimizes the system for movie playback, which ends up doing an excellent job for other uses as well, and leaves no room for confusion.

There is, however, one place that IHT takes advantage of SymNet's presets: in their showroom. "When a customer comes for a demo," explains Ogilvie, "we start them off with unprocessed sound. Since most people are used to $300 systems, our $75,000 system blows them away even in its unprocessed state. After they've acclimated, we punch a button and turn on the SymNet processing. Now we've taken something that was already amazing and made it twice as amazing. It's like, 'how is that even possible?' I promise that no one leaves here thinking that the difference between a full-blown professional home theater system and a Best Buy 'do-it-yourself' is even remotely subtle!" Visit with IHT to hear the difference, to hear what the very best can offer.