One of the key questions our clients ask us is should I hide my cinema speakers. One of the first things we establish with a new customer or project is that will the speakers that are used to create the high-performance audio be on-show or hidden. It’s a key question of course for the aesthetics of the space, but also lets us know right at the start of the project what techniques we need to employ to ensure the sound is at the quality it should be.
The choices of hiding or not hiding Cinema Speakers
The choice between hidden or on-show speakers can have both advantages and disadvantages. Hidden speakers provide a sleek and unobtrusive appearance, a good choice when the space needs to double up and be a living space as well as a cinema, or if a particular look for the space is required that on-show speakers might compromise. Concessions here include careful planning and project execution to ensure the speakers and audio are never impeded by being woven into the fabric of the room. We might need to deal with unwanted reverberations or vibrations caused by the speakers and the structure of the room being linked.
On-show speakers can also offer aesthetic advantages but in a different way. Some customers really like the look of a powerful home cinema speaker and these days manufacturers do create some really beautiful speakers, they are often works of art in their own right. Compromises here include that the speakers will take up more room and also the fact that they are out in the open means they could be more vulnerable to accidents or the inquisitive fingers of children. It is also important to make sure the speakers do not distract from what is happening on screen.
Performance wise, there is a common misconception that on-show speakers will always deliver a more powerful and ‘present’ performance than hidden cinema speakers. This is not the case, today’s hidden speakers are based on decades of integrated speaker technology and are designed specifically for their job. The choice is mostly about how the room will look and feel, then it is up to our team to use their knowledge to make sure the audio is as it should be, amazing. Read our reviews here
Psychoacoustics
There are in fact some advantages to hiding your cinema speakers. We often place speakers that deal with audio coming from the front of the cinema from the left, centre and right behind a woven or perforated projector screen. The reason for this is to lock tightly together the audio coming from the front of the cinema, especially speech, with the image. The screen allows the audio to pass through, enabling a really strong marriage between dialogue and the image.
Building high-performance cinemas is about compensating for different scenarios. Even a high-performance woven screen will block some of the audio coming from the speakers behind them. To allow for this we increase the power and volume of the speakers so the audience will not notice and drop in quality.
Perhaps the structure or size of the room means we can’t place speakers behind the screen and they must be on-show? There are solutions here as well. We often employ the science of Psychoacoustics to convince the brain that a certain phenomenon is taking place, its often actually easier to do this than physically correct the issued we are having by moving or changing the speakers.
For example, we can place a centre speaker below a screen and boost certain treble frequencies, this has the effect of making the brain think the sound is ‘higher’ physically than it actually is. This is just another way we ensure the image and audio are locked together perfectly.
Additionally, using advanced signal processing techniques, such as equalisation and room correction. This can further enhance the performance of both hidden and on-show speakers, allowing for a high-quality cinematic experience regardless of speaker placement or design.
So “Should I hide my cinema speakers?” For the customer and the design community, the answer is you can whatever you want and with Prestige Audio on-board, the sound quality and the aesthetic ambition for the space are both guaranteed.