1 December 2015
Entertainment Total
When a family was planning their new home in the eastern Ruhr area, one feature topped the shared wish list. A large and cozy home theater absolutely had to have space in the new house, and in terms of picture and sound quality, it had to be at the absolute top level. After all, all family members share a pronounced passion for movies and music. The homeowners entrusted the realization of this project to the experts at AUDITORIUM. Since perfect picture quality was important, but absolutely flawless sound quality was at the top of the requirements, the entire room was acoustically calculated in advance, so that the later room acoustics could already be taken into account when the architect was drawing up the floor plan.
Every centimeter planned – The screen fills the available space as much as possible for the largest image. The wall was set in front of the actual room wall at the necessary distance, to make space for the high-quality speakers behind the screen and for the bass absorbers.
At this early stage, the decision for the projector and screen was also made, so that further construction measures could be planned accordingly. The 4k projector VPL-VW1100 from Sony was chosen to ensure a brilliant image, and a curved screen from industry leader Stewart Filmscreens makes the most of the available room width. Two professional racks from Middle Atlantic were provided for the entire cinema technology, one of which serves as a stable base for the Sony projector, so that it can illuminate the screen through a precisely placed wall opening. This breakthrough also houses the anamorphic lens from Panamorph. This lens is motorized in front of the projector depending on the aspect ratio and thus creates the widescreen image purely optically. This not only means the best picture quality but also ensures that the image always fills the entire height of the screen.
Everything in order – All the technology for the cinema and the house-wide multiroom system fits into two ventilated rack cabinets. A sophisticated film server from Kaleidescape offers convenient access to the owners’ film collection.
To create a real cinema feeling and ensure that even long movie nights can be enjoyed in utmost comfort, the homeowners chose six home theater chairs from Cineak with plenty of storage space, cup holders within easy reach, and electric adjustment for the backrests and footrests. The rest of the interior design was color-coordinated with the brown leather of the seats. Cream-colored walls meet real wood of cabinetmaker quality, atmospherically highlighted by numerous LED elements.
Form, function, design – All components of the home theater were technically and visually coordinated.
To maintain the sophisticated ambience, only in-wall speakers are used in the theater. Behind the screen, on the sides, and in the back wall, elegant in-wall speakers from the CT and CI series by Bowers & Wilkins provide powerful performance, while smaller installations from the same manufacturer in the ceiling reproduce the additional channels of Dolby Atmos and DTS:X. Since the homeowners also enjoy some robust action movies, they didn’t skimp on the bass. Two Velodyne subwoofers deliver solid performance beneath the screen, and each of the six seats is equipped with a tactile transducer from iBeam, which adds extra impact to corresponding bass events and makes them physically tangible.
Almost invisible – The elegant in-wall speakers from B&W deliver the sound of a floorstanding speaker while remaining visually unobtrusive.
To keep the sheer power of this collection of speakers in check and ensure the same sound quality at every seat, the AUDITORIUM experts had to put in quite some effort. Cleverly integrated wedge elements in the lighting design effectively diffuse any potential high-frequency reflections in the front area. Several precisely calculated bass traps were recessed under the screen and in the back wall. These are tuned to dampen specific areas of the low frequencies that would otherwise lead to resonances due to the dimensions of the theater room.
Elaborate acoustic planning – The acoustics of the theater were completely simulated even before construction began. Potential problems could thus be recognized and compensated for at an early stage, for example by bass absorbers hidden in the double wall.
The acoustic calculations, which were carried out even before construction began, were so precise that there was hardly anything to criticize in the acoustics of the fully installed system. Final fine-tuning could then be conveniently optimized via the calibration of the electronics, so that the sound of this basement theater now easily surpasses that of even the most modern multiplex hall.
Perfectly tuned – The subwoofer delivers strong punch across the entire bass range, while the absorber hidden in the wall specifically corrects room problems in a tightly defined frequency band.
The private home cinema was indeed at the top of the homeowners’ wish list, but of course, they also wanted other rooms to be upgraded with suitable technology. For instance, the billiard room, which also serves as a kind of anteroom for the cinema. After all, it doesn’t always have to be the full cinema experience—sometimes, for a cozy soccer evening with friends, a completely different atmosphere is required. That’s why the homeowner wanted a fully equipped system here as well, complete with projector, ceiling-recessed screen, and TV. The sound comes from a hi-fi system with turntable and high-quality CM9 floorstanding speakers from B&W.
Leisure time – In the anteroom of the cinema, you can relax with a game of billiards or enjoy a lively soccer evening with friends.
Guests should also feel at home here, so the guest room was equipped with a media wall consisting of a TV and recessed speakers. At the same time, this room, like all other rooms in the house, is connected to the multiroom music system.
Modern hospitality – Even visitors need not forego any comfort here and have full access to the music system and the film server.
All these amenities were also meant to be available in the light-filled living area, but to remain completely unobtrusive. Apart from the TV, the entire technology is actually almost invisible. The sound comes from numerous strategically placed ceiling speakers, and control is easy via wall panels, remote control, or the Control4 control system app.
Stylish – In the living area, you see (almost) nothing of the house’s extensive technical equipment.
In summer, the sunny terrace in front of the living room invites you to sit, barbecue, and celebrate. For musical accompaniment to all activities, speakers from the sound specialists at B&W are also used here, in this case the outdoor version AM-1.
Outdoor sound from the specialist – The outdoor speakers AM-1 from Bowers & Wilkins deliver top sound even on the terrace.
All images:
