When Design Dictates Theater Installation, Professional Acoustics
By Lisa Montgomery
Achieving audio perfection in a room with a set-in-stone design can be tough—but not impossible, as shown in this Manhattan townhouse.

Although the owner of this media room is a self-professed audio- and video-phile, he was adamant that the design of his theater was not to be a theme home theater, but rather keep with the intended design of the architect, Peter Marino Architect, New York, N.Y. Standard home theater accouterments like decorative acoustical panels on the walls and specialty cinema-style seats were out of the question.

In this project, the architect was given carte blanche, and some of his design choices, although elegant, would make the audio/video plan slightly more difficult to implement. White paint, hardwood floors, plus an unforgiving shell of brick and concrete would make it tough to incorporate speakers and acoustical materials into the Manhattan townhouse.



“He made it very clear that none of the design could be altered to accommodate the necessary A/V components,” says 20-year tech veteran Eric Schmidt, vice president of sales at Audio Command Systems (ACS), Westbury, N.Y.

Given all the hard surfaces in the space, improving its acoustic characteristics was a top priority for ACS. Both the architect and the homeowner made it clear that no acoustical treatments were to be visible, which meant every stitch of absorptive and reflective material had to be squeezed in behind the walls, ceilings and floors.

Fortunately, the 330-square-foot area was being gutted for renovation, so reaching into studs was no problem. However, choosing components that could disappear into the design and make a real difference in the audio quality was the real challenge. Professional acoustician Dr. Bonnie Schnitta of acoustical consulting and engineering firm SoundSense, East Hampton, N.Y., was brought in by ACS to handle that part of the job.

Using a variety of mathematical tools and sophisticated modeling software, Schnitta determined what types of materials to use, where to install them and, interestingly, how to alter the thickness of the plywood wall paneling so that it, too, could provide acoustical benefits.

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