Introducing the first THX-certified Door

[Kaido]

bwahahaha

A steal at $2495! :laugh:

 

[Tiamat]

This has been around for a while I think. The purpose is to isolate the noise from the home theater from the rest of the house (and vice-versa). Doors, windows, and HVACs are responsible for the limitations in noise floor within the room. Many people put their home theaters within the basement to eliminate the problem with the windows. Quiet and well-damped (mechanically) HVACs do carry quite a high price tag as well.

While I do not agree with the 2500$ price tag (as the door isn't the limiting factor to my sound quality yet), it is indeed somewhat expensive to make a solid door that makes a very good seal with the door jam and the floor.

For the market that these doors (or similar) appeals to, 2500$ isn't very much when compared to their 8k+$ projector, 1k+$ screen, 12k$ multichannel speaker sets, 4k$ room treatments, god-knows how much for the comfy theater seating, the HVAC... etc...

 

[Rubycon]

Gives new meaning to the term jumbo door prize. :laugh:

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: Tiamat
This has been around for a while I think. The purpose is to isolate the noise from the home theater from the rest of the house (and vice-versa). Doors, windows, and HVACs are responsible for the limitations in noise floor within the room. Many people put their home theaters within the basement to eliminate the problem with the windows. Quiet and well-damped (mechanically) HVACs do carry quite a high price tag as well.

While I do not agree with the 2500$ price tag (as the door isn't the limiting factor to my sound quality yet), it is indeed somewhat expensive to make a solid door that makes a very good seal with the door jam and the floor.

For the market that these doors (or similar) appeals to, 2500$ isn't very much when compared to their 8k+$ projector, 1k+$ screen, 12k$ multichannel speaker sets, 4k$ room treatments, god-knows how much for the comfy theater seating, the HVAC... etc...

I have some $33,000 speaker cable for you 😀

 

[Tiamat]

Originally posted by: Kaido

Originally posted by: Tiamat
This has been around for a while I think. The purpose is to isolate the noise from the home theater from the rest of the house (and vice-versa). Doors, windows, and HVACs are responsible for the limitations in noise floor within the room. Many people put their home theaters within the basement to eliminate the problem with the windows. Quiet and well-damped (mechanically) HVACs do carry quite a high price tag as well.

While I do not agree with the 2500$ price tag (as the door isn't the limiting factor to my sound quality yet), it is indeed somewhat expensive to make a solid door that makes a very good seal with the door jam and the floor.

For the market that these doors (or similar) appeals to, 2500$ isn't very much when compared to their 8k+$ projector, 1k+$ screen, 12k$ multichannel speaker sets, 4k$ room treatments, god-knows how much for the comfy theater seating, the HVAC... etc...

I have some $33,000 speaker cable for you 😀

I fail to see how 33,000$ speaker cables have anything to do with this discussion.

Lowering the noise floor within the room is an important step for people to enjoy their movies and music. As an example, classical music offers many situations where a 55dB (at seated postion) hvac system is too noisy for the listener to appreciate the quietest passages. In the same fashion, noise from around the house leaking through the door can also have similar problems (as well as traffic noise from outside breaching through thin windows). These are physical problems that can be easily objectively measured with a good SPL meter (inexpensive SPL meters have problems under 50dB) and solved with the appropriate materials. To some people, the problems are not a concern. To other people, these problems are of high concern. On the contrary, there are no such measurements for so called audiophile tweaks like the Transparent Cable you linked to, just like there are no such measurements for the Clever Little Clock, the Teleportation Tweak, and Cable elevators.

Whether or not the 2500$ door is worth the price, a similar functioning door could be had for far less, or the door has a dumb thx stamp, I care not. The position that I was making in my post was that noise floor problems in rooms are real problems that have been objectively measured as opposed to expensive audiophile "tweaks" which have not; a distinction that you seem to have misunderstood since your response and implicit comparison was to 33,000$ speaker cables.

I don't see how it would be difficult to accept the fact that great in-room sound requires good room acoustics and good speakers and electronics. Most people understand the latter two requirements but fail to grasp the first which is, perhaps, the most important of them all.

Just because someone is using the laundry machine in the next room over shouldn't mean you have to compromise your ability to hear whisper dialogue in your movie by reaching for the remote (only to have your ears shattered a moment later by special effects). I don't know if you've been to Home Depot recently, but good heavy basic doors cost more than $800 on their own, and this is without any regards to how well they insulate against noise!

Cheers!

P.S. I don't mean to be overbearing on this subject, but it is one that interests me greatly so I felt compelled to respond.

 

[destrekor]

That isn't a door, it's a drywall panel.

And yes it might not be cheap, but if you are a rich home-owner building a separate home-theater room, having the room constructed in THX-certified construction materials essentially means you know you will have a quality home-theater. For the snobs, this means proper acoustics in terms of audio reflection, audio dampening ability, etc etc. Home those investing a lot of money into a mini-theater in their house, that'll be a cheap investment compared to everything else. Insane a/v rack, mass expenses for contractor/designer for proper acoustics, among other things.

There is a very real, and very important market for theater construction materials. Same reason why a single chair designed for building rows in a home-theater is quite expensive as well. There's a lot of people who want their home theater to be the best possible, and not cause noise issues in the rest of the house.

 

[driftwood07]

Originally posted by: Tiamat

Originally posted by: Kaido

Originally posted by: Tiamat


The position that I was making in my post was that noise floor problems in rooms are real problems that have been objectively measured as opposed to expensive audiophile "tweaks" which have not; a distinction that you seem to have misunderstood since your response and implicit comparison was to 33,000$ speaker cables.

I understand and agree with what you are saying about importance of acoustics, but I think the 33k cable thing was probably more of a joke and not a serious comparison .

 

[Tiamat]

Originally posted by: driftwood07

Originally posted by: Tiamat



The position that I was making in my post was that noise floor problems in rooms are real problems that have been objectively measured as opposed to expensive audiophile "tweaks" which have not; a distinction that you seem to have misunderstood since your response and implicit comparison was to 33,000$ speaker cables.

I understand and agree with what you are saying about importance of acoustics, but I think the 33k cable thing was probably more of a joke and not a serious comparison .

I've learned that what I consider commonsense cannot be taken for granted and that this is especially true on a forum with varying levels of interest in this hobby. For the people who are truly interested, I hope my response allows them to understand the hobby better and give them a better perspective of what the limiting factors really are and how they can use that knowledge to make the price/performance choices they need. Some people might think that it was not a joke and that it was a serious comparison.