As big supporters of EI
Live! and trade events in general, our team was out in force at this year’s
event, which took place at its new home – the Farnborough International
Exhibition and Conference Centre.
First up, and just to underline in case you did not get to the show, this new venue is top notch. It’s brand new, has all the facilities needed to take the show to the next level, and is exactly the sort of venue you would expect to be hosting a cutting-edge tech show. So make sure you register and come along next year.
At the show, our team wanted to lay down a marker as to what can be achieved with properly installed and supported modern home cinema equipment, and we spent long hours constructing a home cinema demo to do just that.
Gathering together a world-class line up of brands, means it can be a challenge for us to pick which ones are going to feature at a show like EI Live! However, this year we chose to build a cinema around Sim2 (our most recent projection addition), Screen Research, Anthem and Paradigm.
Hosting the demonstrations, which played to packed houses throughout the two days, was Simon Schino, Pulse Cinemas’ Internal Sales Manager.
Simon takes up the story, “This year we really wanted to show what amazing results can be achieved for a relatively modest budget. The system we demonstrated at EI Live! would come in at around a £40K price tag to the customer, costing around £30K for the kit. The system price surprised many and was received very well. We believe that the level of performance we demonstrated for that budget is a very strong proposition.”
Picking out particular highlights from the demonstration, Simon explains, “The powerful Paradigm Defiance X15 subs were a big hit. For the price point, these large and powerful bass drivers offer the precision and presence that content needs to really impact the viewer. They don’t over power, but give whatever you are playing the backbone to offer an immersive experience and the punch for impactful scenes when needed.”
Simon adds, “We also chose to show just how good the
single-chip DMD 4K UHD SIM2 Domino 4 is. This is the brand’s lowest priced
machine for the home cinema category, but it has all the performance you could
ever need for a cinema of this size and handles HDR like a dream. SIM2 built
this machine to do precisely that, with the company’s ability to create vibrant
and lifelike colours, HDR and SIM2 were literally made for each other. This
particular unit is also very attractive to look at, so although of course it
can be hidden away if needed, for media room installs, it’s striking crystal
glass exterior can be a real asset.”
Simon underlines that visitors were also impressed with the Screen Research woven FS3 screen. The ClearPix material used in this product only loses .75dB of the 10-20K frequencies, as opposed to 4db with perforated materials, making for a much more satisfying and believable image.
Driving and controlling the cinema was the Anthem MRX 1120 AV receiver.
Simon enthuses, “This unit delivers the wide-expansive sound you are looking for when creating an immersive Dolby Atmos experience. In this case, we had created a full 7.2.4 Atmos cinema, and all you need to drive it is the MRX 1120. This product also has built in the Anthem Room Correction (ARC) calibration system, which is both easy to use and highly effective.”
For the speaker configuration, a full complement of Paradigm drivers rounded out the offering.
In detail, three Paradigm P5 LCRs made up the front firing part of the audio, with the surrounds and rear channels delivered by four Millenia LP Xls and four CI Pro P80-Rs filling in the rest of the channels. Meanwhile, the powerful Paradigm Defiance x15 subs deliver the bass.
Simon notes, “Visitors were particularly taken with the on-wall Millenia we used for the surrounds as they are very high output, but deliver a narrow depth form factor, meaning they are perfect for all types of install including cinemas, media rooms, space conscious installs and for LCR channels around a TV.”
Other brands featured in the room included content delivery from Kaleidescape with a Strato 4K movie player and the room was treated with Vicoustic panels for absorption, diffusion and bass management.
Completing the picture was an anamorphic super wide lens from Primasonic.
With plenty of installers packing the demo over the two days, the reaction from Ajay Pattni owner of Soundz Good was typical, “The system was brilliant! The Paradigm speakers and the subs in particular were really impressive. The sound was really clear, crisp and the vocals especially good. The price point was also a strong aspect of the system.”
Simon sums up, “In a strong price category for the sector as whole right now, we wanted to show what our brands could do, and I think we really underlined the performance available has developed hugely in recent years. Yes, there are customers who want to go up a few notches and reach for the stars in terms of performance, and we can definitely look after them too, but for this system cost, we believe there is nothing to touch what we can offer.”
Other Pulse Cinema Highlights
Our show presence did not just include impressing with our cinema demo, as the team also provided insight into other recent additions to the brand line up, including power cleaning and conditioning from IsoTek.
IsoTek builds all of its products on the principle that if you don’t have clean and controlled power, the system is just not going to be the best it can be.
In today’s home, modern products flood the electrical infrastructure with noise and interference. IsoTek removes all of that and allows sophisticated AV equipment the room to breathe and do its work in the most effective way possible.
Visitors got the chance to learn more about how this highly innovative maker can take all of their installs to the next level.
Whilst at the show, news also broke of yet another exciting new chapter for Pulse Cinemas, with the addition of the RTI automation platform to our portfolio. Stand by for lots more information about this new offering from us.
