MediaComs Home Cinema Magic

With products supplied by Pulse Cinemas and a successful demonstration at Pulse HQ, the team at MediaComs set about creating this luxurious and high-performance home cinema.

With four bases dotted around the Southeast of England, MediaComs’ main office is in Bishop Stortford with the company servicing clients throughout London, Essex and Hertfordshire. This family run firm, headed up by brothers Peter and Chris Leon, has been established since 2002 supplying and installing equipment right across the spectrum from aerial, satellite, AV, security and of course luxury home cinemas. This well established installation company took on the brief to create a luxury, high-performance cinema for this new build property delving deep into the Pulse Cinemas product line up to get the performance needed.

Demonstration success

Lead installer for the company, Chris Leon, explains, “This project was for an existing customer who had recently moved in to a newly renovated home and wanted to upgrade his AV system and realise his home cinema dreams. We are fortunate that our HQ is very close to Pulse Cinemas, so we were able to visit with the client and show him just what was possible. We used to have a basic home cinema set up at our offices, but why show the customer a Fiesta, when you can show them a Ferrari right?

“Kapes provided all the demos on the day (Kapes Patel, Pulse Cinemas COO) and the customer loved the Apartment Cinema so much that what we specified for his cinema is basically a tweaked version of Pulse Cinemas' impressive room.”

The Equipment

All the equipment was chosen to maximise the performance in the space available giving the client the largest screen possible with the most immersive audio to match. A Screen Research 115in model was selected and fitted to partner the 4K projector specified for the cinema. The high impact audio in the space is delivered in a configuration of 3.8.2 by a series of speakers from Canadian audio masters Paradigm. The front channels are handled by three CI-Pro Paradigm P3 LCRs, a three-driver, dual passive radiator, two-way, shallow enclosure in-wall design that offers many benefits Paradigm has built into this range. This speaker features the X-PA tweeter with in-house created Perforated Phase-Aligning (PPA) Tweeter Lens that protects the pure-aluminium tweeter dome and acts as the Phase Plug, preventing out-of-phase frequencies for smoother, extended high frequencies with impressive detail and a higher output. This line also has high-performance mineral-filled co-polymer polypropylene bass/midrage cones, oversized computer-optimised ferrite magnets and high-power motor structures to offer detail in the mid-range as well as clean, extended bass.

Paradigm Millenia LP 2s step into deliver the surround audio in the cinema featuring an ultra-thin (1-3/4 in / 4.4 cm) design offering a three-driver, two-way bass-reflex array with dual passive radiators in an on-wall model with moulded high-gloss polymer enclosure. Just a few of the highlights from this range include an S-PAL satin-anodised pure-aluminium dome, a rigid mineral-filled ABS chassis and a perforated aluminium mesh screen. Offering a wide dispersion pattern, the speakers also feature an advanced motor structure with extruded aluminium heat sink. On to the height channels and here the Paradigm CI Pro P80-Rs were selected. Offering many of the features and patents as the P3’s these speakers are one of the Paradigm family to offer the in-house created Reduced Edge Diffraction (RED) Technology.

This approach involves RED Technology (patent pending) which consists of a die-cast aluminium tweeter housing that reduces negative effects of diffraction while enhancing midrange frequencies. The irregular edges and off-centre placement break up standing waves often found around the woofer cone and tweeter housing of other speaker designs. The aluminium structure also dissipates heat which improves power handling and allows a lower crossover frequency, further improving sound and reducing distortion.

Handling the bass in this room are the attractive and some would argue ‘cute’ Paradigm Seismic 110 subs. This good-looking sub really complements the aesthetics of the cinema and of course delivers all the lower frequencies the space needs leveraging an ultra-low-distortion split-coil driver, 850W RMS Ultra-Class-D amplifier, and 10-in cone.

Chris says, “We really like the Paradigm brand. It just feels more exclusive for the customer and the performance is really there. There are lots of impressive aspects to this room, but it’s the audio that really makes it and working in tandem with Anthem on the processing adds another level. I particularly like the subs, I have them at home and quote them for every cinema we specify.”

Providing the processing in this impressive home cinema and perfectly partnering the Paradigm speaker array is the Anthem MRX1140. Part of the hugely popular MRX family, it's important to note here that Anthem and Paradigm are developed in tandem and are designed to make the perfect AV partnership. Specifying them together means the cinema benefits from many years of cross pollination and development offering the very best performance. The MRX1140 throws its full weight behind the performance in this cinema with its 15.2 Pre-Amplifier/ 11 Amplifier Channel receiver capabilities compatible with Dolby Atmos, DTS:X and IMAX Enhanced. A generous 140W per channel continuous power into 8 ohms is also present as is the fantastic ARC (Anthem Room Correction) software taking room calibration to new levels.

Helping to control the audio in the space are a series of Vicoustic MD55 absorption/diffusion panels. In this instance, located behind the screen the MD55 are very straightforward to install and come at a competitive price.

Also featured in the cinema is the flagship fixed format 8x10 HDBaseT Pulse-Eight Neo 8a Matrix. This top of the range model offers Ultra HD 4K video transmission (up to 340Mhz), 1080p, 3D Full HDCP 2.2 support delivering 8x HDMI inputs, 8x HDBaseT Class B outputs and 2x HDMI outputs. This built in Britain product also has HDMI-CEC Bi-Directional Control, Bi-Directional IR Control and Automatic EDID Management.

All of the high-performance tech in the cinema is controlled using an RTI XP-3 control processor and a T2x remote control. Offering an impressive level in a small form factor, the XP-3 has a built-in RF transceiver and supports wireless bi-directional communications using ZigBee. The XP-3 has features normally reserved for higher-priced control processors, such as a built-in astronomical clock and control via Ethernet, RS-232 and relays. The perfect partner for the XP-3 is the fifth gen T2x remote loaded with a full complement of hard buttons delivering quick, intuitive control, while the 2.8in touchscreen interface can be tailored for full control of devices throughout this home cinema environment.

Chris concludes, “We have been working with Pulse Cinemas for around 2.5 years now and have completed four projects with them. The incredible product line-up and expert support on offer are just what's needed.”

So, all in all, a fine line up of products, fitted expertly by MediaComs, supported by Pulse Cinemas, delivered everything the customer asked for and more.