Microperf, is it worth it? (1 Viewer)

[BrianRosen]

I know it's a bit off topic, but this seems like the crowd of people who would be interested in this sort of thing. I'm looking for MicroPerf opinions

I'm trying to keep my budget under 10K, I'm heavinly leaning towards the MK 750 setup. Am I crazy to spend more on a Microperf screen than the actual speakers? I haven't gotten any quotes yet, but I'm expecting that the screen would cost over 3K.

So, is it really worth the extra 2K or so to have the center channel directly behind the screen? Any opinions?

 

[Michael_Johnson]

This will depend on your particular situation. I needed to use a microperf screen due to my low ceiling height. I went with a 92x52 dalite microperf.

I am using 2 M&K LCR 750 (mains), 2 M&K LCR 750 Centers, 2 M&K SS55 Tripoles (surrounds) and a pair of SVS 20-39cs+ w/Samson 1000 amp. Using my SPL and Avia disc, I was able to center EQ my center channel to compensate for the sound loss.

You can well spend thousands for a microperf. I spent well UNDER a thousand dollars on mine. It just depends on your HT needs and equipment. It sure does look nice though with all my fronts hidden in one way or another.

 

[BrianRosen]

Curious, how does it depend on the setup? My understanding is that the primary reason for placing the center channel behind the screen is for proper "anchoring" of the dialogue. It sounds like in your situation you just needed to put them behind your screen since you didn't have room to put them above or below. My room has 10 foot ceilings, so my main motivation is getting the best sound possible. Am I misunderstanding your post?

Also, I'd love to know where you got your screen for under 1000 dollars! What kind of screen? It looks like Da-Lite is selling accoustically transparent screens, how do they compare with the Stewart?

 

[Mark Seaton]

Brian,

There are differences between "perf" screens. The size and spacing of the perforations are the main difference acoustically, and then each has an associated gain loss as compared to the same material without perforations. I have been told that the Stewart MicroPerf is the most sonically transparent, and visual inspection of the few others I've seen appear to confirm this with the perf pattern. I expect to recieve a sample of the MicroPerf screen material in the next few months to have our designer Tom Danley do some real measurements in front of our speakers. The plan will be to make the results available.

The use of a perf screen is a balance of compromises. There can most certainly be a positive effect from having the center channel's sound actually originate from the screen. The psychological effects are beneficial, but it does make for some compromise in both audio response, which can be mostly compensated for, and in video performance, which is more a question of sufficient light output. How you lay out your room and the look of your room have to be considered in deciding what road to take.

Hope this helps some,

 

[Michael_Johnson]

You are correct, my problem was mainly one of height. To keep all the speakers the same height, I needed to place the center behind the screen. I only had 5 inches above and 24 inches below my screen area.
Of course, there was the WAF to take into account. My wife was against doing a dedicated HT at all. After I made a few concessions, she even coughed up the cash for 6 Berkline Cineloungers .
I understood that there were some serious differences between the Dalite and Stewart screens. After talking to many people who had both, I opted for the dalite. It was less expensive and the sonic differences that could not be made up for, I probably would barely notice, if at all. As far as PQ, I am using a Panasonic 711xu and it has both high and low settings so I could adjust to match the screen. I also am in a total light controlled enviroment and this also factored in.
After determining that I could actually pay for my SVS subs with the money I saved, the Dalite became the clear winner. I am happy to say that I am quite pleased with the screen.
So, if you were to call Carl at projector superstore and order a dalite screen, tell him I said Hi . Of course, I can only give you just under seven hundred good reasons to call him...