Cinema Experience At Home

Recently we completed a Home Cinema experience, the customer told us it needed to be as good as his local Showcase Multiplex Cinema in Nottingham as he misses the experience. He was not sure what equipment he wanted but he certainly knew the performance he wanted. He had a double garage which was going to be converted, an ideal space. One of the most important things was that the cinema must be ready to play games using the new PlayStation 5 the customer had on order. As well as the Playstation, we needed to connect Sky Q and a Bluray player.

For the best cinema experience we, of course, recommended a projector, we were able to offer options from JVC, Optoma or Epson. To make the most of the available space a big 10ft fixed screen which was audio transparent was recommended, we like to fit the speakers behind the screen allowing for maximum size and also there are no visible speakers. Then we had to decide on the speakers we would recommend as an avid moviegoer the client want to have Dolby Atmos height speakers in his 12 seater cinema room. With so much choice from brands such as Monitor Audio, JBL, SVS just to name a few we had to plan the best result for our client.

We arranged a demonstration for the client on the projectors so he could see the key difference.

Epson EHTW9400 and compared this to the JVC DLA5BE we both agreed the JVC delivered better colours and the black scenes had deeper blacks. The Optoma was good however the JVC was by far the best.

We then focused on the electronics, as the client had used Arcam previously this was his preference. As an Arcam Centre Of Excellence, this is a natural choice for us. Arcam products offer great performance and versatility. We proceeded to set up our demonstration using:

Arcam AVR30 for left/right fronts centre and rear

Arcam PA410 4 channel power amp for height speakers (Dolby Atmos)

SVS SB2000Pro x 2

Played used the scenes from the films below.

Pacific rim

Scene 10, is a 25-minute testament to what a good speaker system can do. When the Jaegers drop into the ocean, you hear the water all around you. When you here the helicopter whiz over your head to the rear speakers.

The Matrix updated version 4k ultra-HD

Scene 29. The best moments, for Dolby Atmos, this scene is the hall scene when the elevator explodes, you hear it throughout the room and then you hear the sprinklers go off above you, a wonderful demonstration of Dolby Atmos. When Neo does his famous bullet-time-backwards lean you hear every bullet fly by your ears. The helicopter gun and the blades above Neo’s head sound so realistic!

The customer enjoyed the system but we wanted him to experience more impact from the subwoofers so we added 2 more SVS SB2000pro to the system and replayed the scenes from the films.

We both agreed it sounded more intense like you were immersed in the film and the bass was so real and powerful a true cinema experience.

Then we suggested upgrading the electronics by separating the processing and the surround amplifier.

We set up the following:

Arcam AV40 processor

Arcam PA710 7 channel power amp left/right fronts, centre and rear speakers

Arcam PA410 4 channel power amp 4 height speakers for Dolby Atmos

SVS SB2000pro subwoofers x4

Using JVC projector and Panasonic Blu-Ray player.

Again, we played the same scenes of the films, WOW what a difference! It was more intense than the AVR30.The client was very impressed in what he was hearing, the separation into each speaker was more noticeable and the bass from the 4 subwoofers made watching the film more enjoyable. So much more detail in the experience. The client was so convinced that system 2 delivered him the experience he was after.

This was a very rewarding project from start to finish, once we had confirmed what we could deliver to the client we arranged a visit the clients home to inspect the space. The garage was a regular internal garage with a flip door. After our inspection we recommended and installed the following equipment:

We then fitted the following into his new cinema.

JVC DLA5BE projector

Arcam AV40 processor

Arcam PA720 7 Channel power amp

Arcam PA410 4 channel power amp

Panasonic DMRBWT850

SVS SB2000pro subwoofers x4

Revel W763 in wall speakers 2 for side walls and 2 for back rears.

Revel C583 for the height Dolby Atmos x4

Monitor Audio CPIW260 x3 front left/right and centre speakers.

For the screen, we used Ultimate Slim fixed screen.

This has acoustically transparent warp knit fabrics so the front 3 speakers went behind the screen to maximise the size of the screen.

Once the installation was completed we were invited to join the client and his family to watch a movie and enjoy the experience, all we can say is we all left very happy indeed, never been a fan of Frozen but I loved the experience.