Audio Best Practices
Sound performance for private cinemas
Version 1.0 (draft) · 2026-10-05
Audio Best Practices
Sound performance for private cinemas
Version 1.0 (draft) · 2026-10-05
This document states how the sound in a private cinema should perform. Every figure is an outcome in the finished room, with the room as built. None of it depends on a particular product.
The reference listening position is the seat the system is designed and calibrated for. Each table gives the target there. The limit is how far the result may fall away from the target at the other seats.
Level Response Timing Bass The room
1. Level
What is measured Target at the reference listening position Limit
Calibration level, every full-range channel (pink noise at −20 dBFS, C-weighted) 85 dB C — Level match between channels Within ±0.5 dB Within ±1 dB Maximum level, screen channels 105 dB — Maximum level, surround and height channels 102 dB — Maximum level, LFE 115 dB 109 dB
2. Response
What is measured Target at the reference listening position Limit
Response of each full-range channel, 100 Hz–16 kHz Equivalent to flat at 1 m, within ±3 dB — Level across the voice range, 100 Hz–4 kHz, each channel Within ±3 dB Up to ±6 dB, from roll-off only
3. Timing
What is measured Target at the reference listening position Limit
Arrival time between full-range channels Within 0.5 ms Within 1 ms Phase at each subwoofer crossover Within 5° —
4. Bass
What is measured Target at the reference listening position Limit
Bass at every seat against the reference listening position, 1/3 octave, 31.5 Hz to the crossover Within ±3 dB Within ±6 dB Bass extension (−3 dB point) 25 Hz or lower 31.5 Hz Subwoofer bandwidth Up to 120 Hz or the crossover, whichever is higher —
5. The room
Decay time
What is measured Target at the reference listening position Limit
Target, mean of the 1/3-octave bands 200 Hz–4 kHz (V = room volume in m³) 0.25 × (V/100)^⅓ s Each band from 0.05 s below the target up to the ITU-R BS.1116-3 upper limit plus 0.10 s 40 m³ room 0.18 s 0.13–0.33 s from 250 Hz to 4 kHz; up to 0.44 s at 125 Hz 100 m³ room 0.25 s 0.20–0.40 s from 250 Hz to 4 kHz; up to 0.50 s at 125 Hz 200 m³ room 0.31 s 0.26–0.46 s from 250 Hz to 4 kHz; up to 0.57 s at 125 Hz 300 m³ room 0.36 s 0.31–0.51 s from 250 Hz to 4 kHz; up to 0.61 s at 125 Hz
What is measured Target at the reference listening position Limit
Early reflections Below the threshold of audibility for their delay and direction — Buzzes and rattles None audible — Background noise, everything running Chosen for each project — Sound reaching neighbours No level is stated; the construction is specified —
