Super Studio Demo Space

HomeCinema.Studio used many Pulse Cinemas ingredients to create this cracking, compact showroom to take their business model to the next level.

Andreas Stamos, co-founder of HomeCinema.Studio explains that the company offers high-end home cinema, smart home and media services. “To deliver the full potential of our product offerings, we offer product demonstrations at different price points as well as immersive audio-visual quality at the highest standards. This includes acoustics, lighting, smart automation, multi-room audio and seating options. Whether the client's main interests are movies, sports, music or gaming, we’ve got them covered,” he says.

Based around a core team of two HomeCinema.Studio is relatively new in the market, trading for less than a year, but has had a passion for acoustics and visuals for over 20 years, assisting in many projects before entering the market fully.

Kapes Patel, Pulse Cinemas COO, comments, “Using Pulse Cinemas ingredients as the backbone, the company’s demo room has just been completed and the team is working on the second fix of a grand whole home install which should be complete towards the end of August, there are also other exciting projects in the pipeline.”

The vision for the demo room was to create a space that underlined what can be achieved towards the more competitive end of the home cinema market.

Andreas says, “Not all clients have the space for a high-end cinema installation, so we wanted to create a demonstration space that reflected that. The install has multiple unique selling points that highlight the potential of installing a high-performance cinema in a small space, whilst keeping to a particular price point. The project required no joinery, there are no recessed in-wall speakers, there was no building work, and the AV chosen reflected our desire to bring the project in at the entry level for a complete home cinema system.”

The key to this install was for potential clients to envisage how their room could be transformed using just high-end equipment, some acoustics and with a minimum of other type of works being carried out.

Getting it done

The first stage was to strip the room entirely and focus on the acoustic aspects. All the room’s windows were screened and blocked out. The second stage was to introduce some carefully chosen and planned acoustic treatment. Vicoustic VMT panels were used on all the walls for sound absorption and to help complete the aesthetic look for the room. All the cabling was hidden via the coving and also the acoustic panels achieving a clean look and efficient feel. All the AV equipment is installed in an adjacent server room, all chosen to make the most of the room’s dimensions and characteristics.

Paradigm speakers were used for rear, front, sub and height channels. Paradigm, Millenia LP 2 XL were used for the on-wall front channels because of their ultra-thin design (44mm), sitting snuggly recessed into the Vicoustic VMT panels (20mm). A Screen Research acoustically transparent screen was mounted over the LCR speakers for a flush minimalistic look.

The rear channels followed the same concept and were handled by the non-XL (baby brother) Paradigm LP 2 on-wall speakers, with only 22mm depth on show. Partnering the Paradigm speakers is the Anthem MRX540 AV receiver, powering the 5.1.2 channel layout. Paradigm and Anthem are created to work in harmony with each other so this particular pairing really delivers excellent playback for the price point.

Projection in the space is handled by the excellent 4K Domino4 UHD HDR from Sim2 delivering stunning visuals powered by a 0.67in chipset from Texas instruments. Sim2’s relationship with HDR is a very long one and so the maker achieves a level of quality with this type of content that few can match.

A Kaleidscape media server was chosen to deliver bit-for-bit studio master audio in lossless audio and uncompressed video bitrates, taking advantage of the equipment used and providing a genuinely fully immersive home cinema experience.

A full sweep of Lutron has been added to provide a layer of automation and drama and the room is managed by Control4. For some added style, movie art wall posters in sync with the Kaleidescape system are displayed on a Samsung Frame TV.

The installation phase starting from the stripped-down room to finished and calibrated, (via Anthem’s ARC software) took an impressive three days to achieve, showing what can be done when a space is properly planned and the equipment chosen facilitates fast, but predictable and reliable results.

In particular the install team highlight the ultra-thin speakers, Vicoustic panels and the Screen Research acoustically transparent screen as being really key to ensuring the room got where it needed to be. Also, Anthem’s ARC (Anthem Room Correction) was important in uplifting the audio and really bringing the audio in the room together.

Andreas concludes, “My favourite part is the positive feedback from clients being blown away with the fully immersive home cinema experience, comfort and the general sound of the room. Creating an eye-opening experience for movie enthusiasts, realising the potential for home cinema installation in any home living space has out our efforts and reach on a new level.”

Kapes adds, “If you want our help in creating your very own demo facility to lift the power of your presentations and sales reach, just get in touch. We are here to help you create just the right room for your business and then support you with marketing content too. Check out this latest initiative from Kaleidescape for example.”