Home Theater Systems VS. Music Systems

[mustang_steve]

But, in home theater, you may find movies that are beyond laser totin, grenade eatin, snortin, stompin giganta-lizards.

Phantom of the Opera (the new version) is a prime example of something where you will wish for a HT system that can bring out the subtleties....heck that's the movie that has made me want to upgrade again...I found a movie that makes my "good for HTiB fare" Yamaha speaker set pretty much sit there and look stupid....I had to actually move the couch closer to the front spekaers to nto have to get loud enough to anger neighbors (1am...I'm a night owl).

 

[westcott]

My definintion is different

A home theater to me always has 6 speakers or more. A home theater will almost always make sound compromises because the room may have a second purpose as a family room or due to aesthetics, secondary sound solutions are not possible. Since matching of speakers is critical to a home theater, speaker selection becomes more limited and additional compromises may be made.

Speaker placement will almost always become a compromise as well in a HT. Few people have the privelage of placing speakers several feet from the rear and side walls. Or maintaining a triangle for the listening position, or sitting close enough to the speakers while maintaining a proper viewing distance from a projector screen or large display.

I hate to overgeneralize but a HT usually will place audio second in hierarchy to the video experience when the two goals conflict.

 

[MACCA350]

If you are increasing the mass by using a larger driver(ie a 15" instead of a 10') the efficiency of the driver will change, since bass is all about moving large amounts of air the larger driver will move more air(giving higher SPL) with the same excursion, but will draw more power to do so.

But with drivers of the same size but with different mass they should both move equally for the same signal BUT the heavier one will draw more current for the same output. Given the same amp, with higher volume, the heavier driver will introduce distortion before the lighter one, this is why manufactures look for the lightest material they can find as long as it doesn't compromising on rigidity.

Have a look at this interview with Bruce Hall(President of Velodyne). He explains a number of things relating to this topic, also speaks about how the DD series are being mated with electrostatics, which doesn't surprise me as I own a DD15 .

cheers