Audyssey Installer Stories

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Diem Digital Interiors provides audio, video, and home automation solutions to customers in the Dallas/Ft. Worth metropolitan area. As a dedicated Denon retailer, DDI is able to add the unique combination of Audyssey Dynamic EQ and MultEQ XT to their custom installations with MultEQ Pro.

DDI reps Derek Wilson and Tim Rhoads tell their story:

How did you first hear about Audyssey?

Derek: We first heard about Audyssey from one of our sales guys. We did a couple of installations with the Audyssey Sound Equalizer, and the results were just phenomenal. It just blew me away. Then, at the CEDIA show, we heard about MultEQ Pro being accessible through Denon receivers. We also heard about Dynamic EQ, which was a big kicker for us. That's when we decided to go with Denon.

Did you get a demo of Dynamic EQ at CEDIA?

Derek: Oh yeah, and it rocked! That's pretty much what got us hooked. First of all, you could hear the surround sound. Usually, when you hook anything up, it's hard to hear the surround in the background, especially at low levels. With Dynamic EQ, it was just flawless. The sub was accurate . . . everything was just great.

Tell us about a recent project that included a MultEQ Pro calibration.

Derek: We did a 7.1 surround installation with the Denon 4308CI. It actually went incredibly smoothly. We just hooked up the cable to the Denon, entered the license key, and we were good to go.

This installation was our show home. I've never been blown away by a system before. Whenever a customer is watching a movie, they want to feel everything, like they're actually in the movie. When we hooked up the Audyssey system, you could just feel everything. I personally had never felt that before. It's amazing.

Tim: I really pay attention to subwoofers and how they transition to the mains; I think that is a key area that can make or break a theater. If the sub isn't crossed over correctly, doesn't have a flat room response, isn't properly gain-matched to the mains, and isn't room-corrected you get reduced vocal intelligibility and musical detail. The LFE channel, instead of being an effect, becomes a distracting noisemaker. You often wind up at the end of the movie feeling like you've just been in a fight.

I especially liked how the subwoofers transition with MultEQ XT and Dynamic EQ engaged. Right out of the gate, the improvement is obvious, especially for the mid-to-high-end market we play in. The linearity, musicality, and seat-to-seat consistency at all volumes was great.

What were the problems of that particular room that a MultEQ Pro calibration solved especially well?

Derek: It was a huge room. It was actually multiple rooms--a kitchen, a living room, and a whole entry foyer. It was also half tile and half carpet. It didn't give you the effect of a small simple room, where you could hear surround in.

The MultEQ Pro equalization really balanced everything out. No matter where you walked into the room, it sounded the same. That was a big issue that Audyssey fixed.

Tim: I liked the seat-to-seat consistency; that's very difficult to do unless you have a ground-up room design. A recent worst case scenario involved being brought in to fix a family room surround setup created by a less-than-experienced person. We all know the type. And, I had no leeway to change speaker positions. The front three speakers were bookshelves in a cabinet, the sub was in the middle of the wall under the TV in a cabinet and the room was constructed out of slate, sheetrock and glass, with some spare leather furniture. I expected the sound to change from drastically terrible to just lousy. Thirty minutes later, I had a room that sounded ridiculously improved. Sure, it couldn't be perfect, but Audyssey definitely made lemonade out of a big pile of lemons.

What advantages has using Audyssey technology in your installations brought to your business?

Derek: Speed. No doubt. In our market, it has to go fast or we're not going to do it. We don't have three days to perfect someone's theater. That kind of time is also expensive for the customer.

Tim: My last big theater setup took about two days and I used about $15,000 worth of test gear and a $5,000 audio processor in the rack. After I was done, I still didn't have room correction capabilities or Dynamic EQ. Audyssey got me most of the way there in 30 minutes plus added a few extra features. I'm sold. Definitely the bang for the buck is there in my book, although I do like playing around in theaters for days on end.

Derek: Ha! I don't.

For more information about Diem Digital Interiors, visit www.diemdi.com

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