Processing & Room Correction

Cinema Processors

Trinnov and McIntosh — decoding, and the correction that makes a real room behave.

Dolby, DTS and Auro each specify different loudspeaker positions, and almost no real room permits any of them.

That is the problem Trinnov built the company around. Its four-capsule 3D microphone measures where each loudspeaker actually sits — distance, azimuth and elevation — and Remapping then relocates sound elements to their intended positions using the speakers that are there. It is a different operation from equalisation, which only adjusts level by frequency and cannot move anything.

The Optimizer, in roughly 2,000 studios and 10,000 installations worldwide, remains the benchmark other calibration systems are measured against. Trinnov also runs its processors on a multi-core Intel platform under its own operating system rather than fixed DSP chips, which is why new formats have historically arrived as free software rather than as a new box.

Correcting a room and equalizing one are not the same job.

How to choose a cinema processor

Room correction is the reason to buy at this level, not an add-on — a sealed cinema is the hardest acoustic space there is, and Trinnov's Optimizer is essential to what these systems do. On McIntosh processors, room correction and calibration are included with the purchase. Then count channels for the room you will want in five years, not the one you have.

McIntosh MX123 A/V Processor

The outgoing McIntosh flagship processor — 13.2 channels across ten HDMI ports, with Dolby Atmos, DTS:X Pro, IMAX Enhanced and Audyssey XT32.

McIntosh MHT300 Home Theater Receiver

A 7.2-channel McIntosh receiver expandable to 7.2.4 — 150W into 4 ohms across seven channels, 8K/60Hz HDMI and Dirac Live correction.

McIntosh MX200 A/V Processor

The mid-tier McIntosh A/V processor — 11.2 channels, four 8K/60Hz HDMI inputs, Dolby Atmos and DTS:X, Dirac Live and two discrete subwoofer outputs.

McIntosh MX124 A/V Processor

The current McIntosh cinema processor — 13.4-channel decoding, four independent subwoofer outputs and full 8K HDMI routing, succeeding the MX123.

McIntosh MEN220 Room Correction Processor

RoomPerfect correction licensed from Steinway Lyngdorf in a standalone stereo component, with custom EQ and a 2-way crossover. Measurement mic included.

McIntosh MQ112 Environmental Equalizer

The analog alternative to digital room correction — eight bands from 25 Hz to 10 kHz at ±12 dB each, plus a TILT control for overall tonal balance.

Trinnov Altitude32

The reference immersive audio processor — up to 36 channels, full Dolby Atmos 24.x.10, DTS:X Pro 30.2, with Optimizer and patented Remapping.

Trinnov Altitude48ext

A 48-channel extension chassis for the Altitude32 — enabling 24.1.10 Home Atmos with Optimizer and Remapping across up to 64 processing outputs.

Trinnov Altitude16

20-channel reference immersive audio processor. Full Altitude32 processing quality, scaled for private theaters where 20 channels is the ceiling.

Trinnov AltitudeCI

The Altitude for custom integration. Native Dante and AES67 Audio-over-IP, scalable from 8 to 32 channels, 2U chassis with 5-inch touchscreen.

Choosing a cinema processor, in detail

Room correction is not an accessory on a processor at this level, it is the reason to buy one. A dedicated cinema is a small sealed room with hard boundaries, which is acoustically the most difficult space there is — modal problems below 200Hz, early reflections that smear dialogue, and seat-to-seat variation that no amount of speaker quality will overcome. Trinnov's Optimizer is essential to what these systems do, not an option on top of them.

What separates Optimizer from conventional correction is that it measures in three dimensions using a four-capsule microphone, so it knows where energy is arriving from and not merely that it arrived. It corrects amplitude, phase and time alignment together, and it can remap channels when a speaker cannot be placed where the format assumes. On McIntosh processors, room correction and calibration are included with the purchase as well.

Beyond correction, count your channels honestly before choosing. Immersive formats need height layers, and the processor sets the ceiling on how far the room can grow. Buying for the layout you have today rather than the one you will want in five years is the most common regret in this category, because the processor is the hardest box in the chain to replace once everything is calibrated around it.

Hear these in Scottsdale and Tempe

Calibration is something we do in your room, not something you receive in a box. The demonstration worth asking for is the same room played uncorrected and then corrected — it is the most convincing thing in home cinema and it takes about ten minutes. Bring your room dimensions and seating layout and we can talk about channel count before anything is bought.