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 focussed on creating an elegant and lavish home, with all the modern benefits of the very best in home electronics.

The primary goal was to create an immersive, luxurious experience that surpasses the audio and visual quality of commercial cinemas. The client requested uncompromised audio quality with precise sound reproduction and support for multiple formats, including Dolby Atmos and high-resolution music playback.

Product Selection

Meridian Audio was selected as the speaker brand for this project, due to their reputation for delivering outstanding audio quality and innovative engineering. Known for their Digital Signal Processing (DSP) technology and active loudspeaker designs, Meridian speakers offer supreme accuracy and performance.

The selected system components included three ultra-shallow Meridian DSP640.2 loudspeakers 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. To create a fully immersive Dolby Atmos experience, Meridian 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. Two Meridian DSW600 shallow depth, digital active subwoofers were installed to deliver deep, impactful bass, down to 24Hz.

“The Meridian speakers deliver crisp, clear dialogue, and a powerful, balanced low end, fully immersing the audience in music and movie soundtracks,” comments Guy Singleton, Managing Director of Imagine This. “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.”

To integrate all the digital active loudspeakers, Imagine This selected a Meridian 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. A Trinnov Altitude processor was used for the cinema processing, providing a Dolby Atmos immersive audio decoder and natively processes high-resolution 24 bit, 96K audio.

A 4K Barco Balder projector and acoustically transparent bespoke screen were installed to complement the audio setup with a high-performance visual experience. 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.

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.

Project Installation

The installation was carried out in close collaboration with the client’s interior designer, cabinet maker and building contractor. The Imagine This team carefully specified the components 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’s 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. 

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 speakers were cleverly integrated into the room by being housed in custom-made tables that were 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, the integrator 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.

“This exceptional project showcases how Barco, Meridian and Trinnov products can be the cornerstone of a luxury home cinema installation,” concludes Guy. “The combination of cutting-edge technology available via DbM, 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.”