Acoustics in the home theater room

How to get the best sound in the room?

The sound from the three front speakers reaches the audience directly. However, the sound also goes to the side walls and is reflected back to the audience. Because of the longer path taken, there is a slight time delay and audience may hear it as an echo.

You should place bookcases or wall rugs along the side walls to absorb or diffuse acoustic reflections. What is diffusion? It means scattered. Instead of a single discrete sound reflection, the sound reflection is broken up into smaller sound reflection and reflects at different time and direction.

You also need a put a rug on the floor between the front speakers and the listening position to absorb acoustic reflections from the floor.

If echo persists, you can use an acoustical panel which is a fibreglass panel covered in cloth and hang them in the front and side walls.

However, the back of the room should be bare to allow sound reflections for the creation of a feeling of spaciousness.

Cinemas create a feeling of envelopment by its many surround speakers. Sound from the surround speakers reach the audience at different times to create a sense of envelopment.

Likewise, a bare wall behind the listener can create this effect through the provision of reflective sounds.

If possible, the top half of the front end of the room should be acoustically reflective while the bottom half of the front end of the room is acoustically absorptive.

Sound from the three front speakers will go to the side walls and be absorbed while sound from surround sound speaker placed on the side wall below the ceiling is reflected off not just from the rear wall but the front wall as well to create an even bigger sense of envelopment.