Q: When should I involve Audiolabs in my project?
Absolutely the best time to involve an acoustics/audio specialist is at the very beginning. If you have the luxury of building your room from scratch (for example while finishing your basement or building a new edition to an existing structure), then you have a unique opportunity to optimize your dimensions and address technical elements including heating, air conditioning, and ventilation (HVAC) systems. Keeping the room quiet is a key ingredient to achieving sensational audio.
Q: Can an existing room be made to sound excellent?
Most Certainly! We can analyze your room and determine the best approach to optimize the room based on the equipment you have now, or plan to acquire. As every room is unique, we encourage you to talk with us about your existing room, your audio needs, and desires.
Q: Does Audiolabs do the construction work?
No...we do not do the construction ourselves. We work with builders who share the same standards of excellence. They have an appreciation for acoustics and understand the importance of following the specific instructions that we will provide. In addition, hiring us to oversee the acoustic project means we are there to ensure everything is excellent. If you choose to use your own builder, we will meet with them early to ensure all requirements are understood and we will work closely with them through to project completion.
Q: Can you provide references?
Absolutely!. Please simply ask. Our customers are invariably delighted. Because their expectations are exceeded they continue to express an interest and willingness to support us with testimonials and references. Please check our testimonials page.
Q: Does acoustic treatment really make a difference?
Yes... but with a qualifier. Acoustic optimization is much more that simply putting some absorbers on the wall. Many acoustic products are misleading in that they do not necessarily perform in the frequency spectrum that is important in your room. This is a fundamental concern for Audiolabs and separates us from our competitors. We believe that there is misleading and simply false information out there and as a result many people inappropriately spend big money on acoustic treatments that don’t work or make matters worse. We differentiate ourselves by taking the following approach:
- Optimize the dimensions of the room
- Optimize the position of the speakers and listeners
- Calculate the precise location and specifics of acoustic materials (absorbers and/or diffusers)
- Measure the room’s response and adjust the acoustic materials as required
- Listen carefully and adjust double check adjustments
Let us know what you’re planning to do or have done. This is especially true if you change or add speakers. Speaker location is calculated based on the room and the speaker characteristics. Let us know so that we can re-verify the correct location of the speakers and listeners. If you change components, the overall impact will probably not be significant; but if you add a significant piece of furniture or cabinetry, you should let us know so we can assess the impact. In recording studios, if you change your console this could have a dramatic acoustic impact, so again... please let us know.
Q: Can you describe some of the differences I can expect after room optimization?
Over the years the quest for the best audio has to offer has led to many superlatives that attempt to describe what “real” and “accurate” audio sounds like. They are:
- Flat and accurate frequency response
- Distinctive channel separation, including a definite and precise phantom center image
- A 3 dimensional quality to stereo material, where the sound seems to emanate from “outside and around” the speakers. This has also been described as “the speakers disappearing”
- An “involving” surround sound experience, where you feel immersed within the presentation as opposed to simply “watching”.
- An extremely quiet noise floor, i.e, silent passages are truly silent. This leads to...
- Extended dynamic range and lightning fast transient response. Finally....
- Realism
Yes, “we believe you will be truly amazed at the difference a properly specified and implemented acoustic environment can make.”
Q: The salesman at “Acme Audio” told me that a pair of extremely expensive “interconnects” would improve all those things you noted above. Is this correct?
This is a huge concern for us. This key issue has been at the core of many long discussions and debates. We take the side of physics on this one. Any real audio benefit should be supported by a scientific principle and not “pseudo-science” that sounds fascinating... but is not rooted in logic. We have tested expensive “interconnects” and compared them with our our own hand made quality cables using quality wire, proper shielding, and connectors that provide a secure fit. The latter are the basic principles for any excellent cable. Although the expensive cables deceptively look attractive (almost jewellery), they simply do not perform beyond our own high quality cables. It is our adamant belief that all customers should read the following:
“Please consider investing in your acoustic environment before you spend extra for specialty cables or other “magic bullets”. At the very least your optimized acoustic environment will allow you to assess accurately any difference such products really make. Then you can decide for yourself.” Jim