With the client wanting to use the room for watching movies and sport, for listening to music, for gaming and for running presentations, they requested the best possible AV performance within the space. They also wanted the room to accommodate at least fifteen people, with the prime seating locations situated in the middle front and second row.

To achieve the client’s brief, construction needed to be to the highest quality, with meticulous attention to detail – an area in which Cyberhomes excels. Every constructional element to be installed was CNC cut. This included the stage, the projector ceiling, the wall panels and other supporting structures. Once the structural fabrication was complete, it was time to turn the attention to the AV equipment.

Victorious Video

For the best picture quality, the Barco Njord Cinemascope projector was chosen as it offers a native 2.37 image ratio using 5120 x 2160 pixels (5k), up to 9000 Lumens and DCI/P3 colour gamut from a three-chip DLP with laser light engine. This is perfect for the 2.37 aspect ratio projection screen specified here.

This large projector is housed within an acoustically isolated and climate-controlled enclosure. In order to meet the client’s requirement for fifteen seats, and with the aesthetic appeal of a big projector eye in the room, the enclosure had to be mounted above the rear seating. The lens outlet was finished with a custom-made brass eyelet designed by Cyberhomes, and constructed in a finish to match the bespoke cupholders in the seating.

The Barco projector is paired with a Lumagen Radiance Pro 5244 processor, which provides enhanced tone mapping and exceptional video signal quality. It reduces jitter in both the audio and video signals, making a easily noticeable difference to audio and video fidelity.

Awesome Audio

During the initial demonstration stages, Cyberhomes identified that the client had a preference for bass-heavy music, and action movies played at very high volumes. Knowing this, it was essential to select a high-SPL solution for the room equipped with a multiple subwoofer array which would allow for fine-tuning of the bass response. The target was to reach 105dB in the back row of seats, which  would then provide plenty of headroom for adjustments and fine-tuning, while maintaining the signature Meridian sonic fidelity so loved by the client.

After running through various equipment combinations, exploring how they would work in the room, the team opted for a Dolby Atmos 11.10.6 speaker system using Meridian’s Digital Active loudspeakers and subwoofers, fed from a Trinnov Altitude 32 processor.

Trinnov was chosen by Cyberhomes because of its extensive audio fine-tuning and its bass-management software, which would allow the team to optimise the room. Meridian speakers were selected thanks to their use of digital active technology to achieve super-low distortion while producing high sound-pressure-levels.

Physical aspects of the room-build also determined product selection. The positions of the doors into the room, limited the fabrication depth on the front wall to less than 150mm. This depth restriction meant that it would be difficult to angle the front left and right speakers towards the main listening position without building the wall out further, which would have the undesirable effect of of bringing the screen closer to the seating positions.

The slim profile of the Meridian in-wall loudspeakers means they can be fitted into walls that are as little as only 100mm deep, overcoming the side-wall depth limitations here. Furthermore, the wide off-axis response of the speakers - up to 120 degrees on the horizontal axis - removes the requirement for angling the front speakers towards the listening area.

The system features six DSP730 loudspeakers in the ceiling, and 17 DSP750 loudspeakers in the walls. The LCRs were installed behind the projector screen in a high-power-array set-up, made possible by using patented ‘HPA’ technology developed by Meridian. The sub-bass is handled by ten ultra-slim Meridian DSW600 in-wall subwoofers.

Acoustically, the room presented a significant challenge due to a combination of aesthetic requirements, the choice of materials, the use of three tiers of seating and other constructional issues. However, Cyberhomes were able to overcome these obstacles by using the Trinnov Altitude 32, interfaced seamlessly with the Meridian loudspeakers via a Meridian 271 Digital Theatre Controller. 

The large projector enclosure and curved structure meant that the rear height speakers had to be rotated to fit. By making calibration adjustments to the Trinnov processor, Cyberhomes ensured the speakers were still able to perform well for the rear seating positions.

A pre-existing recess - housing cooling fans - falls in what would usually be the natural location for the second row of surround speakers. This meant that these speakers had to be positioned further forward. However this hurdle was overcome thanks to a combination of the wide horizontal dispersion of the Meridian speakers, the high speaker count and the advanced calibration settings offered by the Trinnov processor.

Using calculations based on their specifications, all of the speakers were selected to ensure reference listening levels would be achieved at all relevant seating positions. Following installation, this was proved to have been successful with measurements using pink noise which exceeded 105dB - not just from all speakers driven, but even from the front speakers on their own.