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That level of sonic performance also comes with a serious price tag – but as I discovered, it might be the most affordable way to achieve commercial theater level audio performance in a package that you can purchase today.
#SOUND ON LONELY SCREEN PRO#
Theory Audio Design might be a new brand in the residential home theater space, but its origins in the larger pro audio and commercial world give it a different advantage in this category.
![sound on lonely screen sound on lonely screen](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Tl5cLfxtkF0/mqdefault.jpg)
Paul Hales and I discuss the limitations of soundbars, and other loudspeakers in an interview that you can find here.Īnd please don’t confuse “loud” with “dynamics,” because they are not the same thing. Soundbars may offer convenience and affordability, but they certainly don’t offer a true cinematic experience.
#SOUND ON LONELY SCREEN TV#
How wide is your TV or projector screen at home? Put away the tape measure.
#SOUND ON LONELY SCREEN MOVIE#
Strip away the slim form factor, wireless audio connectivity, and affordability – what do you have left?Ī box made of plastic with tiny loudspeaker drivers trying to replicate the dynamic swings, detail, scale, and emotional impact of movie soundtracks that were recorded and mixed for playback in cavernous movie auditoriums with screens that average anywhere between 45-50 feet in width. Nothing has delivered the gravitas of the classic theaters of my youth the Eglinton, Hyland, Hollywood, York, and University that made Toronto such a great place to experience movies growing up.įasten your seatbelts. I’ve had the opportunity to enjoy private showings at the Dolby Theater in NYC where Atmos-encoded content can really mess with your head, but it’s never been that way at home. When it comes to older films that don’t have any special effects, I would normally agree that a solid 2-channel system is all you really need.īut that part of me that has to watch The Ten Commandments, Star Wars, Yojimbo, Das Boot, Blade Runner, and 2001: A Space Odyssey multiple times every single year – it desperately needs a surround sound system to feel that I’m part of the action. They think it’s a gimmick a parlor trick to get between you and your wallet. I need it after ten hours of writing and editing all day long.Ī huge part of that experience is the sound.Ī part of me understands why some people don’t enjoy home theater. The manic side of me doesn’t want drugs, alcohol, gambling, or online fights with woke idiots who have never picked up a book or watched a decent film in their lives.įilms bring me a sense of calm. I watch alone because the movie watching experience allows me to feel a different sense of focus my mind is always working, possibly too hard on things that don’t need to be fixed at that very moment. Our basement home theater space can be a lonely place at night. My family doesn’t share my intense passion for older films Kurosawa, Wilder, Fuller, Hitch, Scorsese, Ridley Scott, Woo, and Kubrick all take me someplace new every single time I watch one of their films. The subsequent grounding that lasted until January 1984 was well worth it.īeing stuck at home during the lockdowns forced us to home school 3 children on Zoom for almost 5 months, leaving us with only a few hours at night (utterly exhausted) to enjoy new movies or television programs on Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, Disney+, and Vudu. I skipped two days of school in 1983 (I was 13) to be the first person in line to see The Return of the Jedi. How often have I attended films since theaters reopened locally on the Jersey Shore in the summer of 2020?Īccording to my bank records, I’ve watched more than 44 movies alone (or with my kids) at my local AMC and only 10 of those films were classics from the 1980s like the 40 th anniversary showing of The Empire Strikes Back. I own more than 3,700 different titles and I am confident claiming that I may be the only person in New Jersey to have seen every new film release during the pandemic at his local AMC. But could a soundbar system from Theory Audio Design move the needle enough for me to reconsider everything that I know about surround sound at home?Īs much as I love music, movies have always been my passion.
![sound on lonely screen sound on lonely screen](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Zny6clIGsoE/hqdefault.jpg)
Over the past 20 years, I’ve intentionally avoided calling any product the “Best” I’ve ever heard for the simple reason that it’s not a statement with any degree of longevity.