I wonder what speakers this theater uses?

[K5SS]

I haven't been to a movie theater in a couple years but I might make an exception for theater:

http://www.geekwire.com/2014/sneak-peek-cineramas-high-tech-upgrade-creates-one-worlds-top-movie-expericnes/

[mustang guy]

Meyer Sound are the speakers. I would go just for the beer. I haven't had beer in a movie theater since I was a teenager.  

 

http://www.komonews.com/seattlerefined/lifestyle/Revamped-Cinerama-opens-Thursday-after-months-of-renovations-282962701.html?tab=video&c=y

Edited November 18, 2014 by mustang guy

[garyrc]

Does anyone know where to get spec sheets & photographs of the Meyer speakers used in this theater?  I looked around on the Meyer website and failed to find them.

 

90 feet wide is pretty close to the width of the original Cinerama screens, although the front row of the new theater seems a little farther away from the screen than in some of the original Cinerama theaters.  Also the old screens seemed more deeply curved, possible because of the vertical louvers which prevented light from bouncing back and forth between the two sides of the screen.  The original 70 mm Todd-AO screens (inspired by Cinerama) were also more deeply curved (used for the first two movies only); in that case, the screen was advertised as being composed of thousands of little lenses which were oriented to prevent cross glare, as well.  The deep curves made the experience very immersive.  I hope the new Cinerama theater provides that kind of experience as well.

 

P.S. Those interested in very early multitrack sound should take a look at the Scientific American, January 1941 (online somewhere).  The article is: "What Makes Fantasia Click."  SA claims there were 90 speakers in the theater, but I imagine they are counting every speaker in three-way speakers containing 3 to 6 speakers each.  The big units were behind the screen, on either side and in the balcony -- one is pictured.  Another picture shows a bunch of small (15" ?) in small enclosures across the back wall, behind the audience.  Although the orchestra was recorded on 9 tracks, they were mixed down to 3 sound tracks on the film, which also had a control track that moved the sound around the theater.  Originally, Disney intended to use the system (Fantasound) in a few subsequent films, but WWII came along, and only Fantasia was released that way, in just a few theaters, in NYC, LA, SF, and some others.  The article talks about the system allowing sound to "creep down the aisles" toward the screen, which I guess refers to the pilgrims in the Ave Maria, or a violin sound to move across the screen, which might have allowed the sound of the starry arrow of Artimis (or whoever) to move across the screen in the Pastoral.

Edited November 18, 2014 by Garyrc

[Chris A]

http://www.meyersound.com/product/upq/index2.php ... UPQ-2Ps mounted sideways (surrounds)?

 

http://www.meyersound.com/product/acherons/ ... Subwoofers (the longer units on the walls)?

 

http://www.meyersound.com/product/acherons/ ... Behind the screen?

 

All these are guesses.

 

Meyer boasts the following:

1.  They apparently have smaller loudspeaker footprints (and unfortunately, we know what that means in terms of lower SQ/higher modulation distortion, i.e., clarity),
2.  Their loudspeakers are self powered/actively crossed/EQed/electronically channel limited at each loudspeaker,
3.  They provide turn-key installations with their own electronics and analysis software - no third parties,
4.  They're west coast US (Berkeley CA) - (shorter distance than IN or AR, east coast, etc.).

[garyrc]

Thanks, Chris.

 

unfortunately, we know what that means in terms of lower SQ/higher modulation distortion, i.e., clarity

 

Yes.  The old giant bass horns for theaters had cleaner bass attack (IMO) than any newer theater speakers with direct radiators, including those used in IMAX.  Most were 4 woofer models and were made by Altec (Cinerama) or JBL (Todd-AO), and used a combination of huge front loaded bass horns, a smaller bass reflex port (on some) , and braced plywood baffles between the speakers.  In the bass, they sounded effortless and precise and earth moving, even though they rolled off rapidly below 40 Hz.  I've often wondered what these would sound like with a horn sub, active between about 15 and 35/40 Hz.  There is precedent for huge bass horns (even huger than the horns mentioned above) with the short-lived Sensaround speakers installed in big theaters for the terrible film Earthquake.  I think they were Cerwin Vega.

 

I'm afraid big theatrical bass horn tended to go out with THX, because the guy doesn't like horns.  I think he looked at harmonic distortion only, not modulation distortion?

[Chris A]

I think he looked at harmonic distortion only, not modulation distortion?

No - flat FR.  The world is crazy about flat FR - and it's the only performance attribute (along with phase compensation filters) of loudspeakers that can be easily compensated for: modulation distortion can't be compensated.

Edited November 18, 2014 by Chris A