Meridian Audio Home Cinema Install

Our team was commissioned to design and install a state-of-the-art private home cinema for a client who demanded the very best in audiovisual performance. The new home cinema was to form part of an extensive renovation to this exceptional London home. This project post explores the Meridian Audio home cinema.

The home was being lovingly refurbished, to provide a London base for the client’s family. With meticulous planning, and an unrelenting eye for detail, the client and his team were focused on creating an elegant and lavish home, with all the modern benefits of the very best in home electronics. Imagine This was chosen to provide the design and installation for the entire integrated home, and for the high-performance immersive home cinema room.

The primary goal was to create an immersive, luxurious experience that surpasses the audio and visual quality of commercial cinemas. After careful consideration, Meridian Audio was selected as the speaker brand for this project, due to their reputation for delivering outstanding audio quality and innovative engineering.

Client Requirements

The client’s key requirements included:

• Uncompromised audio quality with precise sound reproduction.
• Vibrant, large format video, for movies and gaming.
• A fully integrated AV system that would be easy to control for the whole family.
• Support for multiple formats, including Dolby Atmos and high-resolution music playback.
• A sunken seating area.

System Design

Given the client’s requirements, the decision to use Meridian Audio loudspeakers was clear. Known for their DSP (Digital Signal Processing) technology and active loudspeaker designs, Meridian speakers offer supreme accuracy and performance. The selected system components included:

1. Loudspeakers from Meridian Audio:
   • Front Channels: Three ultra-shallow Meridian Audio DSP640.2 loudspeakers were installed for the left, centre, and right channels. These speakers were chosen for their powerful output, clarity, and ability to handle the dialogue and high-energy sound effects.
   • Surround and Height Channels: To create a fully immersive Dolby Atmos experience, Meridian Audio DSP320.2 loudspeakers were used for the surround and height channels. These models offer exceptional accuracy and seamless integration with the front channels. To provide an understated aesthetic, the height speakers were painted with the ceiling fabric pattern and the rear speakers were mounted within bespoke artisan side-tables.
   • Subwoofers: Two Meridian Audio DSW shallow depth, digital active subwoofers were installed to deliver deep, impactful bass, down to 24Hz.
2. Electronics
   • To integrate all the digital active loudspeakers, we used a Meridian Audio Digital Theatre Controller. This high-resolution interface is equipped with Meridian’s (MHR) High Resolution Audio output and a simple IP control interface for the Crestron control system.
   • We used a Trinnov Altitude for the cinema processing. This provides a Dolby Atmos immersive audio decoder and natively processes high resolution 24 bit, 96K audio.
3. Video Display:
   • A 4K Barco Balder projector and acoustically transparent bespoke screen were utilised, to complement the audio setup with a high-performance visual experience. The screen was constructed with a bespoke leather surround, to match the interior scheme. To provide a discrete solution for the projector, the Balder was installed within an in-ceiling mount, which lifts the projector away into the ceiling when not needed. The mount was painted with the ceiling fabric pattern, to ensure that it was unobtrusive when not in use.
4. Acoustic Treatment and Room Calibration:
   • The room was treated with acoustic materials to optimise sound performance. Bass traps, diffusers, and absorbers were installed to minimise reflections and ensure even sound distribution.
   • Trinnov’s Optimiser system was employed to fine-tune the system, compensating for acoustical anomalies in the space.
5. Control and Automation:
   • The entire home cinema system was integrated with a Crestron home automation platform, allowing the client to control the cinema with a single touch. The user interface was designed for simplicity, enabling easy switching between movie modes, music playback, and other entertainment options. The cinema was linked to the house-wide video distribution, using a Crestron NVX network video streamer. To provide a sophisticated lighting solution, we designed a Lutron Homeworks QSX lighting control system. This ensured that the lights could be controlled with precision, to complement the movie experience and to showcase the unique features of the interior design.

Installation

The installation was carried out in close collaboration with the client’s interior designer, cabinet maker and building contractor. Our team carefully specified the components, including the speakers, projector, and acoustic treatments, to ensure that the technology complemented the aesthetics of the room, whilst not compromising on the technical performance.

The project required detailed calibration of the audio and video systems. Meridian Audio built-in DSP and Trinnov’s Optimiser technology allowed our team to achieve an exceptional soundstage and immersive surround sound experience. Every detail, from the placement of the seating to the speaker axes, was meticulously planned to create an exceptional experience for all listeners.

This home cinema space embodies comfort and sophistication, centred around an unusually constructed sunken seating area, thoughtfully designed to immerse viewers in a luxurious and intimate environment.  The room embodies exceptional aesthetics and, with our careful design and installation, provides an equally outstanding audio and visual performance.

Providing an unsurpassed technical performance was of the highest priority, so meticulous attention was paid to the challenges of the sunken seating position. The technical design addresses the unusual requirements of the viewing position, using the correct placement of speakers, the clever use of acoustic materials and precise video calibration.

The rear Meridian Audio loudspeakers were cleverly integrated into the room by being housed in custom-made tables, positioned behind the seating area. The bespoke tables were specifically designed to conceal the speakers, allowing sound to project freely, while maintaining the room’s sleek aesthetic. To avoid unwelcome resonance or vibrations, we used dampening materials to isolate the speakers from the tables. This ensures that the audio remains distortion-free, whilst maintaining the room’s luxury aesthetic and ensuring the speakers blend seamlessly and imperceptibly into the décor.

The interior designer envisioned LED-lit artwork as a key feature in the room’s decor, adding unique visual interest. However, this posed challenges for the video image, as the brightness and reflections from the artwork could interfere with the optimal viewing experience. To overcome this, we integrated the artwork LED with the Lutron lighting control system, giving us complete control over the fixture. By doing so, the artwork’s illumination can be automatically turned off during movie playback, ensuring that the video image remains crisp and free from glare. This integration allowed the designer’s vision to be preserved without compromising the technical quality of the home cinema.

For me, the cinema is not a slice of life, but a piece of cake. Alfred Hitchcock

 

Results

The Meridian Audio speakers deliver crisp, clear dialogue, and a powerful, balanced low end, fully immersing the audience in music and movie soundtracks. The surround and height channels provide the enveloping sensation the client desired, making them feel as though they are truly in the middle of the action.

Imagine This’ Michael Forrest said, “This home cinema project truly exemplifies the pinnacle of immersive entertainment. With Meridian Audio speakers delivering dynamic sound, the Trinnov processor providing unparalleled audio precision, and a Barco projector bringing stunning visual clarity, we’ve created an experience that transports viewers right into the heart of the action. It’s the perfect harmony of cutting-edge technology and expert design, turning a home into a world-class cinematic destination.”

Conclusion

This exceptional project showcases how Meridian Audio speakers can be the cornerstone of a luxury home cinema installation. The combination of Meridian’s cutting-edge technology, our expert system design, and careful installation resulted in a cinema that not only meets but exceeds the client’s requirements for both performance and aesthetics. This project stands as a testament to what is possible when the highest standards in audio engineering, system design and expert installation come together.

Further Reading

For further reading, here is an article on home cinema costs, this one discusses finding a home cinema installer and here is an article that discusses the size of potential home cinemas.