WSR's Holosonic™ Home Theatre System
Part III - Acoustical Design Part I

By Gary Reber

Widescreen Review's New State-Of-The-Art Reference Theatre At New Facility

This is Part III of a series of articles on the design, development and execution of the new state-of-the-art Reference Home Theatre Laboratory at WSR's new office facility in Temecula, California (north of San Diego, southeast of Los Angeles) that serves as Widescreen Review's and Surround Music's review laboratory. Part I appeared in Issue 48. The conclusion of the series, Part VII, will appear in Issue 53 (October 2001).

Our dedicated theatre measures 26-feet deep x 21-feet, 8.6-inch wide x 13 feet, 11.9-inch high, or approximately 8,000 cubic feet in volume.

The entire home theatre room and the rear-projection room were constructed with the complete QuietZone® Noise Control System build-materials package from the Owens Corning Science and Technology Center Acoustical Design Division. In this Part III, Dr. Peter D'Antonio, President of RPG Diffusor Systems, Inc., presents Part I of an article about the acoustical design approach taken for the theatre. RPG's VariScreen and Skyline acoustic treatments dominate the theatre's design. By using RPG's VariScreens we are able to have variable acoustic control to adjust for various loudspeaker systems under review.

As a follow-up to Part II in Issue 49, I visited with Ken DeLasho of the Industrial Acoustics Company during a recent business trip to New York City. By implementing an integrated system of QuietZone build materials and IAC acoustic doors, we were able to achieve a Sound Transmission Class rating of STC-63 for the theatre construction and a STC-61 rating for the doors. STC is a single number (laboratory) rating of how well a structure (wall, floor, door, window partition) reduces sound passing through it. A minimum STC-60 (partition) performance level is recommended for home theatre.

Mr. DeLasho showed me a new series of acoustic doors which are wrapped in a wood veneer finish to complement home interiors. The doors looked extremely attractive with performance at the highest STC values. IAC doors are the best acoustic doors made and the subject of conversation by everyone who experiences our new home theatre laboratory. These doors work - shutting out noise potentially entering the theatre and sounds in the theatre from leaking into the other areas in our new facility.

You can find this complete article in Issue 50 of Widescreen Review Magazine. Click here to view issue 50 in the back issue section.