“We have a modest space for a family cinema room,” the client began, “but I am inclined towards the highest quality experience — so long as it’s as quick and simple to use as my old television.”

A reference audio brief makes the job both easier and harder simultaneously. The shortlist of products capable of genuine reference performance is short — but choosing between them is another matter entirely. Here, the room itself offered useful guidance: at the dimensions available, large floor-standing speakers were out. Meridian’s in-wall DSP750 — a speaker we’d specified on several previous projects for its extraordinary performance in a 10cm depth — became the natural choice. This project marked the world’s first installation of the DSP750: five drive units and ten digital amplifiers per speaker, with a fully lossless digital connection back to the rack.

For audio processing, Trinnov was the only considered choice. Their Altitude 32 — the standard by which immersive audio and digital room correction is measured — connects directly to Meridian’s speaker system via digital output. The result is a precision and depth of sound that very few setups can approach.

Projection was the right choice for the display. It allowed the speakers to sit within the walls and the image to be projected across them through woven acoustically transparent fabric — no room space consumed, and sound arriving through the picture as a proper cinema demands. The room’s depth ruled out a conventional throw distance, and projecting from behind was not viable. We worked with Future Automation to engineer a ceiling lift mechanism, lowering a specially adapted Sony laser projector into the room from above. Paired with Lumagen video processing and ISF calibration, the image quality sets a standard rarely achieved outside a dedicated screening room.

From there, the room found its own logic. Thick block walls with acoustic treatment on both sides contain the cinema within the space. Working with the interior design team, we integrated Lutron blackout shades to the windows and adjacent lightwells. The room’s existing Lutron Homeworks lighting system remained — and when we saw how well it rendered the Meridian speakers on the rear wall, we abandoned our original plan to conceal them entirely.

The Kaleidescape movie server arrived prepopulated with the client’s complete film collection, with as many titles as possible upgraded from DVD to HD or 4K. Press the single button on the Crestron remote: the projector descends, the screen illuminates, the sound begins to draw you in, and the lights fall slowly to dark.

EQUIPMENT
Sony VPL-VW870ES 4K Laser Projection
Sony VPLL-Z7008 Short Throw Lens
Lumagen RadiancePro 4446 Video Processing
Future Automation Ceiling Lift
DT Screens Frontier 270cm Wide Projection Screen
Meridian DSP750 Front Main Speakers (3)
Meridian DSP640.2 Rear Speakers (2)
Meridian DSP320.2 Ceiling Height Speakers (2)
Triad InWall Bronze/6 Subwoofer (2)
Triad RackAmp 700 DSP Amplifier
Trinnov Altitude 32 Audio Processing
Lutron Homeworks Shades and Lighting
Crestron HR-310 Remote Control
Crestron TSW-760 Touchscreen
Oppo BDP-203 4K Blu-Ray Player
Kaleidescape Strato 12Tb 4K Movie Server

Meridian | Trinnov | Kaleidescape | Sony | Lumagen | Future Automation | Lutron | Crestron | Triad | Oppo