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Also high frequency horn speakers tend to be a bit hard sounding at best, and it does not take too much peaking in the response at just the right frequencies to grossly accentuate that. They can take on a real "in-your-face" type of sound that I, and I am sure others, find objectionable.

Regardless of the reason, if people are consistently asking the projectionist to turn it down, then it IS too loud no matter what the fader is set to, and no matter what the artistic aspirations of the producer/director/mixer might be. Personally, as a paying customer(which is what I usually am), if it is hurting my ears, then I don't really give a flying damn why, I just want the volume lowered to a reasonable level so I can enjoy the movie I paid to see and hear! As a technical person, I am certainly interested in the reasons for the sound problems, and I would want to do whatever I could to help the theater correct the problems. But when I have paid my money, I do not expect to have my ears hurt.

Just to give some perspective, when we were in a different location, we had a very nice screening room. The sound system was tuned beautifully, and I could achieve over 120dB spl in that room. I could play films with levels approaching and occasionally exceeding that level. I could listen there at high levels easily and my ears did not complain. So I do not necessarily mind high spl as long as it does not hurt. (I do understand that excessive levels at long term exposure can cause hearing damage. I am not talking about that kind of hurt).

The bottom line is that IF the theater acoustics are good, and IF the system tuning is done properly, and IF the amplifiers are capable of providing sufficient power, and IF the film is mixed well, and IF the film audio content is not horrible sounding, THEN you may be able to run the film at reference level with no problems or complaints. Unfortunately many theaters and many films simply do not allow this happy set of events to occur.

And ultimately, what is more important - having the fader set to 7 or having customers who want to give you their money because they like the presentations at your theater?

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Oscar Neundorfer
Chief Engineer
SMART Devices, Inc.

Also Joe really does have the bottom line here. If the customers think it sounds great and continue to patronize that theater because of the "great sound", who really cares? Honestly now, we're in this to get people out of their homes, away from the DVD and to make money. I'm not agreeing with your fictional example that an EQ should be deficient between 800hz and 5Khz, but if that particular example of yours happens to sound fantastic in a particular auditorium and the customers are happy, it really does not matter how the end result was achieved. Some auditoriums have such a horrible echo or poor surround speaker type and placement that the surrounds must be played lower than reference. Is that wrong to turn them down? Of course not, and most every tech will agree. On the other hand, some auditoriums can really benefit from having the surrounds 1/2 to 1db louder, but in that instance you will see techs losing their mind. This is just foolish. What sounds right to the customers in a particular auditorium repeatedly film after film after film is what counts and continues to sell those tickets. (I clarify this because if only one film sounds good, then the EQ is no good.)

Also I think directors and sound mixers would rather have a room that did not look razor perfect on the RTA, received no customer complaints ...only praise and was played at (or very close to) reference 85db levels than an auditorium which is a perfect picture of the instructional manual that has to be played several db lower, losing it's impact in order to keep customer complaints down. That's not the way for us to make customers want to run out to their local cinema instead of waiting for the DVD release. That's just people being hard headed and stubborn.

He is SO right.

My experience has been that at almost every THX house I have been in, it sound like this is exactly what has happened. The tuning was done, the gear was packed up, and the technician went home. No listening. No fine tuning to pick up what the instruments can't. No subjectivism at all. I am an engineer, and I tend to like objective measurements. But I have also learned that ultimately, you stow the test equipment that plugs in, and use the test equipment that comes attached to the sides of your head. It DOES NOT MATTER what the rta says if it still sounds bad.

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Oscar Neundorfer
Chief Engineer
SMART Devices, Inc.

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HOWEVER 5 MINUTES IN THE AUDITORIUM WILL GIVE ME A GOOD INDICATION OF THE CORRECT LEVEL.

Now we have to get away from the stereotypical view that older audiences like it quiet. The simple fact is that mature cinemagoers, like all genuine movie enthusiasts, prefer the sound to be appropiate to the image.

Too often, levels are set by projectionists who are only interested in the latest 'popcorn' movie. There's a noticable reluctance to print-check films like The Others, Gosford Park or A Beautiful Mind yet a positive clamour for Monsters Inc and Black Hawk Down.

Cheers,

Frank.

Welcome to the Forums, but there's no need to SHOUT!

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