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Gerry Lemay was recently called on to bring his unique set of engineering and acoustical skills together with one of our favorite QuestAI Dealers/Designers "Dennis Erskine" of Erskine Group to design the demo room at CEDIA Headquarters.  QuestAI provided the acoustical design and materials for what has come to be know as the best demo room in the world.  Adam Pelz of Bespoke, also one of our favorite dealers and an amazing calibrator, installed the gear and calibrated the complex 20 plus speaker immersive audio system.  I won't rewrite the article that prompted this post.  It was published ...

Quiet isn’t a word that is often used when describing a great theater.  To us, it’s one of the most important aspects of great sound.  Most people euphemistically call it sound-proofing.  That’s so you can have those late-night movie sessions without waking up the whole house.  There’s much more to it than that. Quiet is the bedrock of high-performance sound. [siteorigin_widget class="SiteOrigin_Widget_Image_Widget"][/siteorigin_widget][siteorigin_widget class="SiteOrigin_Widget_Image_Widget"][/siteorigin_widget] Technically, we discuss the ambient noise level in a room as the low end of ...

One question I seem to get with every job is the difference between using raw treatments covered by fabric secured by QuestTrac versus pre-built upholstered panels.  For those who don’t know what QuestTrac is allow me to explain. [siteorigin_widget class="SiteOrigin_Widget_Image_Widget"][/siteorigin_widget] The picture shows a typical Lens System (QALS) install in full swing.  The QuestTrac is attached to the wall, using staples or screws, outlining the area to be covered by fabric.  The installer then becomes an upholsterer lining up the grain of the fabric with the track and tucking the...

Designing a home theater can be as simple as deciding where the TV can be placed with a good view for everyone on the couch. However, our clients want more. They’ve usually studied the internet for advice and many even contemplate building the room themselves. The key though is the knowledge that small room acoustics and high-end video is more complicated than most have ever suspected. Getting speaker placement, seat placement and the dreaded subwoofer placement just right can make or break the room. As they say the devil is in the details. [siteorigin_widget class="SiteOrigin_Widget_I...

The reality is, basic acoustics is like looking at the top of icebergs to plot a course for a submarine. There are lots of articles and forums that contain loads of advice, but so often the various experts tend to disagree with each other. I’d like to give a little basic advice here but please understand the key isn’t so much knowing what to do but rather calculating the right place/amount/type to do it for a given scenario. [siteorigin_widget class="SiteOrigin_Widget_Image_Widget"][/siteorigin_widget]First Reflections: So isn’t that what acoustical treatment is for? Put an absorptive pan...

What are the basics?  At QuestAI there are two fundamental pillars; the Acoustical Framework and the Acoustical Treatment Strategy.  There are other important engineering problems but within these two processes lay the essence of a good design. [siteorigin_widget class="SiteOrigin_Widget_Image_Widget"][/siteorigin_widget][siteorigin_widget class="SiteOrigin_Widget_Image_Widget"][/siteorigin_widget]Acoustical Framework Simply put, the framework consists of the speakers, subs, and seating positions.  While there are handy rules-of-thumb for these, the real engineering is integration into th...

Why go through the trouble of designing a room from the ground up?  Isn’t it easier to just pick out a style and go with it?  At QuestAI, we are a custom company.  Yes, we can suggest themes and concepts, but ultimately the design will be unique.  It will be yours. [siteorigin_widget class="SiteOrigin_Widget_Image_Widget"][/siteorigin_widget] The technical side of this is the rarity of designing in perfect spaces.  Rarely is a spare room or a basement perfectly suited for a high-performance listening room.  The ingredients of the system need to be integrated into the space at hand.  Somet...

What are construction or build-out drawings? They are the road map for the contractor to build exactly what was designed. Shapes and dimensions are good, but the internal structure of walls and features can have a dramatic impact on the final performance. We’ve been in rooms where elements which are an intrinsic part of the structure create problems. Things that are hidden behind carpet and drywall. It’s something that cannot be easily or inexpensively fixed. In bad situations, it’s when the client realizes that the brand of the speaker was not the only important detail in the design. The r...

What is an expert?  Someone who’s dabbled in a hobby or trade and had some success?  At QuestAI, we’ve assembled a team of true experts who earn their living making clients happy.  Expertise is not a euphemism it’s a bonified qualification for our team.  We’ve been doing this a long time.  Our successes, and even a few failures have created the best “experts” in the field. [siteorigin_widget class="SiteOrigin_Widget_Image_Widget"][/siteorigin_widget][siteorigin_widget class="SiteOrigin_Widget_Image_Widget"][/siteorigin_widget] Expert detail is an intrinsic part of our review of every proj...

Getting it right means that you are taking control of variables and creating a reason for every piece of wood, furnishing, or drywall in your listening space.  Ultimately, it’s matter of trusting QuestAI.  We’ll do everything we can to make you understand every engineering decision that is made. [siteorigin_widget class="SiteOrigin_Widget_Image_Widget"][/siteorigin_widget][siteorigin_widget class="SiteOrigin_Widget_Image_Widget"][/siteorigin_widget] At a basic level, the best way to “Get it Right” is to copy the template of a previous successful design.  That’s not so easy in a home.  Dif...