Welcome to Absolute Cinema – a new monthly column where we highlight the very best custom install systems that have caught our eyes.
Yes, we know that very few people can afford such systems, including those of us writing about them, but who doesn't like to dream about the system they would build if that lottery ticket came in?
And who knows, perhaps you can get a little bit of inspiration for your own setup, maybe in the form of a specific component or even a unique solution to a problem presented to the installer of the system.
Anyway, enough of the preamble. You want to read about – but, most importantly, see – this month's system, which certainly doesn't disappoint if you love movies, music and incredible views of London.
The Joy Division room
Zak Vracevic, owner and director of M.E.G.A. AV Installations, provides a tour of this award-winning project, which mixes audio-visual high performance, the customer’s passion for music and movies and a wildly inventive approach to acoustic treatment.
Zak explains, “When the client bought a large two-floor penthouse with the aim of having more space for entertainment and music, we decided to ‘go all the way’ and make the project special.
"The main room on the 8th floor was 40 per cent glass windows and doors, but it had very good height, which allowed us to install everything above the windows and in the ceiling.”
The front of the room was the biggest challenge as that was where the screen and the main left, centre and right speakers were supposed to be, but all the structure was made up of a massive glass wall.
Zak says, “We decided to design a large MDF bulkhead and suspend it from the ceiling to allow precise height adjustments.
"The bulkhead was home to a number of Bowers & Wilkins speakers and subwoofers. The same space was used to house the 130-inch Screen Excellence drop-down screen and two pairs of Lutron shades (sheer and blackout).
"Altogether, the bulkhead was approaching 400kg and required a full structural study and report.”
Ademir Volic, Principal Designer at Volume 3, architects, also working on the apartment, had the idea to take the iconic album artwork from Joy Division’s Unknown Pleasures album – flip it upside down and use it as a statement for the room. It also works as an effective acoustic treatment.
Zak reveals, “We worked together on choosing materials and deciding how to make the ceiling work best for the room acoustics and all the services built into it.
"In between the veneered MDF ceiling ribs, we used semi-rigid compressed felt with acoustic properties, helping to dampen any room reverb and excess high frequencies resulting from the amount of glass present in the room.
“We were left with 175mm between the ribs to house the surround and back surround speakers as well as the speakers for the library at the back of the room. By pure luck, the Bowers & Wilkins CWM7.4 S2 speakers are exactly 175mm wide and were thus chosen.”
The team still had to cut the B&W metal back boxes smaller and use black spray for the white trim around the speakers, as they were to be installed without grilles and needed to be all black.
For projection, a Sony VPL-XW7000 native 4K laser projector mounted inside a Future Automation projector lift combination was chosen.
Video sources include Apple TV 4K, Sky Stream and a Blu-ray player. Presets for these different sources are fed into the Control4 automation platform, which controls the cinema via a Halo Remote.
The room’s audio is taken care of by a Marantz AV-10 and AMP-10 combo.
The audio configuration is 7.2, with both the surround and back surround speakers positioned on the ceiling, one subwoofer in front and one 15-inch sub at the back of the room.
As there were no major room peaks or dips, Audyssey room correction from the Marantz AV-10 was sufficient for minor tweaks.
The subwoofers are powered by Bowers & Wilkins CDA-2HD network power amps, which allow setup and DSP (not used here) via network/laptop.
The client’s high-end hi-fi rig includes a handmade Quasar Signature turntable for vinyl playback, plus a networked Innuos ZEN Mini music server via a high-end Weiss DA converter.
Audio can also be played through the cinema sound system using Marantz’s feature to utilise subwoofers for music.
A Lutron HomeWorks system that includes shades allows the customer to control light throughout the day, depending on what the room is being used for.
The system can also be accessed remotely by the install team so they can adjust performance and settings without visiting the apartment.
A pretty cool project all round.
The full Joy Division room kit list
Hi-fi equipment:
- David Berning ZOTL Pre One preamplifier
- 2 x David Berning 845 ZOTL HiFi One Edition Gen 3 monoblock valve amplifiers
- 2 x Audience ClairAudient 16+16 Mark II speakers (32 drivers, 9 passive radiators)
- Quasar Signature Turntable with (handmade) Lyra Etna MC cartridge and Graham Engineering Phantom III tone arm
- Weiss Medea D/A convertor
- Innuos Zen Mini music server / ripper
- 2 x Bowers & Wilkins CTSW12 12-inch subwoofer
- Bowers & Wilkins CDA-2HD DSP amplifier
- 2 x Audience aR2-T power conditioners (for mono blocs)
- Audience aR12-T4 power conditioner (for everything else)
- Audience Au24SX interconnect & speaker cables
- 6 x Audience Au24 powerChord power cables
AV equipment:
- Sony VPL-XW7000 4K laser projector
- Screen Excellence Media Time 130-inch motorised projection screen
- Marantz AV-10 Reference preamp / processor
- Marantz AMP-10 Reference power amp
- 2 x Bowers & Wilkins CDA-2HD DSP amplifier (for subs)
- 3 x Bowers & Wilkins CWM7.3 S2 L / C / R speakers
- 4 x Bowers & Wilkins CWM7.4 S2 surround speakers
- Bowers & Wilkins ISW-8 12-inch in-wall subwoofer
- Bowers & Wilkins CTSW15 15-inch subwoofer
- Control4 Core 5 system controller
- Control4 Halo Touch remote control
- Van-Damme speaker cables
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