Here's everything you should know to get started !!


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WAVEFORMING STARTER KIT

Our revolutionary technology WaveForming is now publicly available to all Altitude16 and Altitude32 users.
 
WaveForming can be downloaded as a free software update, once again proving the unrivalled sustainability of an Altitude AV Processor.
 
We created this webpage to group all the resources you need to implement WaveForming in your system.
 
Note that a series of video tutorials will be released soon.


 

WHAT IS WAVEFORMING?

WaveForming™ is a revolutionary new approach to reproducing bass in “small” rooms – meaning, rooms you might have in your home, as opposed to full-sized concert halls and such.

These ‘small rooms’ have dimensions similar in size to the sound waves we perceive as bass. At specific frequencies where the wavelengths match the room’s dimensions, their reflections reinforce or cancel the direct sound from the speakers, causing ‘standing waves’ that introduce variations of as much as 20- or even 30-decibels in different parts of the room.
 
Subjectively, this means that people sitting in different seats in the room hear radically different amounts of bass.

To make matters even worse, these low-frequency, really long waves bounce around for quite a long time. The reflections cause a lot of low-frequency ‘mud’ that obscures the direct sound that you’d like to hear coming from the speakers.
 
WaveForming addresses both of these problems with the unique ability to control how the bass moves through the room and by then actively absorbing that energy when it has traveled the length of the room.
 
In order to achieve such control, WaveForming uses many advanced signal processing techniques from Trinnov such as Acoustic Reshaping, 3D WaveFront Synthesis or MSMC (multiple sources, multiple controllers), .
 
 
 
The bass decay time is dramatically reduced, allowing you to hear detail and dynamic contrasts that were previously lost in the ‘mud.’ 
 
And in optimal implementations of WaveForming, seat-to-seat variations are typically reduced to 1-2 decibels across the entire listening area.
 
Such improvements can truly be transformative and change the way you experience sound.
 
 


TESTIMONIALS

Erik Wiederholtz - Perlisten
Michael Cox - Krix
Guy Singleton - Imagine This UK
Gerard Brouwer - Procella
Geoffrey Heinzel - Ascendo
Walter Fortmuller - Zenzaru

 

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Before you start browsing through the resources on this web page, please read the responses to WaveForming's most frequently asked questions.
Who can benefit from WaveForming?
WaveForming is an active acoustic processing technology developed by Trinnov's research team since 2017. It is exclusively available on our range of Altitude AV Processors. As a result, any Altitude owners with a least 4 discretely driven subwoofers in his system can benefit from WaveForming which is available as a free software update.
What are the minimum requirements to use WaveForming?
WaveForming requires a minimum of 4 subwoofers (2 front, 2 rear), . It is also mandatory to use discrete output and amplification channels for every subwoofers.
How many subwoofers do I need?
In most cases, WaveForming requires 4 up to 12 subwoofers, depending on the dimensions of your room. Indeed, WaveForming is not a consumer technology developed for the mass market. Is was developed for home cinema professionals to achieve the best possible performance. This implies a design-led approach where the number of subwoofers and their positioning are dictated by the laws of physics, on a case-by-case basis and uniquely for each home cinema. In order to ensure these best practices are respected, we released WaveForming subwoofer placement guidelines and developed free online tools
What are the different subwoofer placements supported by WaveForming?
There are three different implementations to consider based on the requirements of each room and performance goals. A comparison table is provided in the resources library. The premium approach relies on planar arrays of subwoofers, meaning subwoofers are placed at different heights and along the front and rear walls to produce a plane wave and reduce reflections against the side walls, floor and ceiling. The second approach also requires to respect subwoofer placement along the front and back walls but subwoofers can be placed on the floor. This produces cylindrical waves with less control over the vertical room modes. The last but likely the most common subwoofer placement which can be used with WaveForming is to have subwoofers placed in the 4 corners of the room.
What if my room prevents me from following your subwoofer placement guidelines strictly?
One of the many WaveForming's benefits is to offer increased flexibility in terms of subwoofer placements. WaveForming supports up to 10% displacement in subwoofer placement compared to the ideal recommendation. This is described in our subwoofer placement guidelines available below.
What subwoofers should I use?
WaveForming works with every subwoofer but we strongly recommend to use the same subwoofers, at least the same subwoofers within each array. If needed, ensure that you place the most powerful and capable subwoofers at the front rather than in the back of your room.
I am tempted to install subwoofers at different heights to achieve maximum performance, but it is really worth it?
Implementing what we call a planar array of subwoofers is the highest level of implementation but also the most impractical. However, consider that this is also the most predictable and by far the best performing option. Finally, don't forget that the alternative to achieving similar results is to use more treatment space or move to a larger room, less prone to these standing-wave problems. In other words, you can invest in additional subwoofers or in real estate.

 

RESOURCES LIBRARY

WHAT IS WAVEFORMING?

WaveForming Brochure

This Brochure describes what WaveForming is and how it works

Download

Technology Page

Visit the WaveForming page of our website.

WaveForming on our website

Interview

Our CEO Arnaud Laborie explains WaveForming at ISE 2023

Watch the interview

DESIGNING A WAVEFORMING SYSTEM

Subwoofer Guidelines

WaveForming Guidelines for Subwoofers Placement

Download our Guidelines

Planar WaveFront

Using flexible planar arrays of subwoofers to maximize performance

Read the Announcement

Cylindrical WaveFront

Using line arrays of subs rather than planar arrays

Read the Announcement

Comparison Table

Differences between different subwoofer placements

See the Comparison chart

WaveForming Tools

Free online tools developed by Trinnov

Use our Tools

The Cinema Designer

Our preferred tool to design WaveForming systems

Visit TCD's website

GETTING PREPARED FOR WAVEFORMING

Release Notes

Release notes for Altitude software 4.4.0

Read the Release Notes

Software Update Procedure

Document explaining how to update the software of your Altitude.

Read the Procedure

WAVEFORMING STEP BY STEP

Configuration

How to get started after the update of your Altitude

Read the Document

Measurement

How to perform acoustic measurements for WaveForming

Read the Document

Fine-Tuning

WaveForming Settings and fine-tuning

Read the Document

 

CONTACT US

If you have particular questions not answered by the resources available on this page, please contact your dealer or fill out this contact form.

WaveForming Request

Discover our exclusive immersive trailers

Available now in Dolby Atmos, Auro-3D & DCP!