Best speakers for a cinema

A cinema sound system must reproduce the studio mix accurately across the full audience area. That requires three-way screen loudspeakers for the left, centre and right channels, matched surrounds for the walls and ceiling, and subwoofers for low-frequency effects. Every component must be calibrated to the room's acoustics and the screen's acoustic transparency. SSOUNDS designs and builds its own line arrays, point-source loudspeakers, subwoofers, amplifiers and DSP, and its install range covers all cinema roles.

For screen channels, use SSOUNDS M series point-source boxes or P series install loudspeakers. The P4 and P5 are compact two-way models for small screens or surround duty. The P6T, P10T and P12T are three-way screen loudspeakers with high power handling and controlled directivity; the T models include 70/100 V line transformers for long cable runs in large multiplexes. For surrounds, choose the LC8.2 or LC16.2 slim column loudspeakers for discrete wall or ceiling mounting, or CL6 and CL8 ceiling loudspeakers for overhead effects. Subwoofers from the M series provide the low-frequency extension and impact required for modern film soundtracks.

Selection and sizing depend on room volume, screen size, seating layout and target SPL. As a guide, match the screen channel's horizontal coverage to the seating area so that the first and last seats receive similar frequency response. Use the same model across left, centre and right for timbral consistency. For surrounds, space columns or ceiling speakers to achieve even coverage without localisation. Subwoofers should be placed to avoid modal nulls, often in a front wall array or distributed around the room. Amplification and processing come from SSOUNDS A series networked amplifiers with DSP and Dante, which allow per-channel EQ, delay and limiting for calibration to the room.

SSOUNDS designs and installs worldwide from its bases in the United Kingdom, United States, Nigeria and Ghana, with projects across West Africa and beyond. For a cinema project, contact SSOUNDS with your room dimensions, screen size and seating plan to receive a tailored system design and a quotation.