What;'s the speaker layout of an actual theatre?? (1 Viewer)

[BryanDO]

I've always had this question and it never been answered. How is an actual movie theatre (famous playes, silver city etc...) set-up speaker wise? Wheres the placement of speakers, how many, size, power, etc... I've always been very curious. I like to use movie theatres sound as a reference point for setting up my home theatre. I'm always pushing to emulate there sound in a smaller area, even though I know it's extremely hard due to the differences, I think this information will help out. Thanks guys, very anxious to hear how it's done.

 

[Neil Joseph]

Usually 3-5 surround speakers on each side wall of the theatre depending on the size of the room. 2 speakers on the back wall near the projector as rear centre surrounds. A couple of large subwooders behind the screen, plus left, right, and centre speakers.

 

[BryanDO]

Any idea on the size and power of the speakers, woofers? I'm still searching for the answers but im hoping someone might put my curiosity at ease here.

 

[Leo Kerr]

Well, it's not really an answer, but one projection booth I saw, outfit for DD-ES, and THX approved, had..

oh, let's see how good the memory is today.

They were QSC amplifiers, probably along the lines of the RMX-1850 series (probably not that exact model; this was some years ago). And probably 8 or 9 of 'em.

Bridged mono (most likely,) they put out 1800watts into a 4ohm load.

Leo

 

[Wayne A. Pflughaupt]

There’s really no good reason to try to emulate an actual theater at home, Bryan. For instance, I have seen some that had the surrounds poorly done - they were all at a consistent height, even though the seating descends closer to the screen. In other words, the front-most seats had the surrounds so high they were firing over everyone’s heads.

The actual and the home theater are completely different environments. To start with, most home theater enthusiasts also use their systems for music reproduction and therefore place a high priority on accurate audio reproduction. By contrast, I’ve never been in a theater that had what I would consider hi-fi sound. It’s always colored, muddy, equalized poorly, etc. This is because a movie theater is like most any other professional venue in that the speakers used have different purposes than home audio; namely the ability to reliably play at high volumes all day, day after day, year after year. The drivers pro speakers use are designed and built to this end; accuracy and high fidelity is a secondary concern.

Bottom line, Bryan, whether you’re talking about a real cinema or a home theater, it’s best to stick with equipment designed for the application.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

 

[David Noll]

I definitely echo Wayne's input!

The whole reason I built my home theater was to eliminate going to the local cinema and sitting through a movie that sounds and looks horrible! I have not been to a public theater that comes close to what a home theater sounds and looks like.

Please don't try to emulate your local theater, you will be 10 times better in the end.

David