Re: Optimal rear speaker placement

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"Chris P. [MVP]" <msdn@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:141chm2u7dmgf$.3zmedtpb3a9z.dlg@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> On Fri, 6 May 2005 11:37:02 -0400, Chris P. [MVP] wrote:
>
>>> OK - there is no-one that knows the answer or if they do they are not
>>> willing to divulge it. I've asked on mulitple forums and each time have
>>> run
>>> into a brick wall. It's either the best kept industry secret or
>>> developers
>>> are sloppy and don't use a reference setup to ensure that their sound
>>> algorithms are working correctly.
>>
>> I don't have any direct access to any XBox people but I'll pass the
>> message
>> on and see what I can find out.
>
> I got this from an ex-MS engineer that worked on the XBox audio platform.
>
>
> "Tell him to take off the pointy hat and trust his ears.
>
> The real answer to this question is that the customer always has a
> different
> (non-optimal) setup, so there is no magic pill. You can put your
> speakers in the exact formation, spend hours treating the room, etc...
> but other factors like room reflections, materials, etc... can skew the
> results away from your target listening environment: Joe and Susan's
> basement. Your customer is going to have a totally different rig every
> time, so you need to test your mix out on as many systems as possible if
> you're going to do it right.
>
> For authoring, the audio designer should follow the best specs they can
> find, but I always used two: a nice studio monitoring setup in a "real"
> studio environment, and a basic system I bought at retail that was
> popular at the time. Drink a few beers before you set it up, throw a
> couch into the room, and you've got an accurate setup as far as what
> your customer is listening through.
>
> That way you can make you best guess and then I turn it over to Test who
> I relied on to put it into the lab and run it through more systems.
> Really, the QA team should be responsible for testing this stuff like
> they do for TV sets.
>
> BTW: The guidelines are not widely published because Dolby and THX
> require "certification" of studio monitoring environments, which
> involves a technician coming out and blessing your room. This is a big
> deal for them.
> We had Dolby come out and certify our big room, which wasn't that big of
> a pain, and then we checked everything in there. But honestly, half the
> time I went back and made changes only after hearing it at home, or at a
> friends'
> house, because hardly anyone has a Dolby certified living room.
>
> I hope this helps."

My sincerest thanks for the response... I can finally take off my pointy hat
:)


.

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