Audyssey Installer Stories

Installer Program | Sign-In & Registration | Installer Stories

The Client's Setup

Derek Trulious, Dallas Extreme, Dallas, TX

What was your first experience with Audyssey?
"Our first experience was at a training at CES a few years ago between Denon and Marantz, when they introduced the Denon 5805. That was the first time hearing the Audyssey name. We did a little research and found you have a standalone product. Our business has been escalating into higher-level separates rather than just integrated receivers, so it seemed liked a great opportunity for a pretty easy-to-use solution."

How did you pitch Sound Equalizer to your customer?
"We pitched it as a fundamental part of doing the separates. The best equipment in the world has limitations still: the room itself. We had our client signed up for a very good preamp and amp and very good speaker equipment. It was explained to him that Sound Equalizer was the last five percent, but it can make as big a difference as changing any of those components in the first place. Sound Equalizer will get every possible value out of those components."

How did you go about this particular MultEQ Pro room equalization? What were the results?
"We EQ'd for every single solitary seating location. We initially did a temporary test after equalizing at 3 positions. Even at that level, there was a noticeable difference with the front channels. It opened up the soundstage dramatically. We then did a 12-point EQ, and it opened it up even further from any seating position in the room. The EQ definitely helps separate out that front soundstage, not just front and forward, but height and depth as well. This draws you into the event on the screen more; you're not in the back watching it. You're involved in it. The blending of the surround speakers is improved as well."

What was the room like, and how did the Sound Equalizer help compensate for these room characteristics?
"It had interesting, weird little sections of the ceiling, small window boxes up into the ceiling, about a foot deep. They looked really nice, but it didn't have the greatest effect acoustically. The outer edges of the room had a weird reverb echo going on at the outer seating locations of the front row. With the EQ on, it's almost entirely gone, greatly reduced. The blending between the sub and the mains seemed to tighten up quite a bit. The sub had some EQ built into it, but the bottom octaves were a little peaky, and now it's dead flat."

What program material did you use to demonstrate the effects of the Sound Equalizer?
"We did movies and music to demo. We were running through a couple of different Blu-Ray movies: Black Hawk Down, Ice Age 2, etc. The musical score in Black Hawk Down is pretty good. There are lots of slow motion scenes where the action is muted and the sound mixer is using music to convey the emotions of what's transpiring. You could really hear the soundstage opening and instrument locations in the mix rather then the usual mushed-together soundfield."

How does the Audyssey Sound Equalizer fit into your vision of a complete custom entertainment installation?
"Our whole sales pitch isn't about products. The customers don't care, they just have an end goal in mind. Within that, everyone has a budget of some sort. What will put those dollars to use for them? The room itself is always the thing we have the least amount of control over. The bang-for-the-buck of the Sound Equalizer puts those customers dollars towards better use. Rather than spending $20k or $30k on room treatments, you are fixing problems that can be fixed electronically."

Derek Trulious, Custom Installer | Dallas Extreme, Dallas, TX
www.dallasextreme.com

Read More Installer Stories: Vol. 1 | Vol. 2 | Vol. 3 | Vol. 4 | Vol. 5