Progressive Home Technology
Putney, London
Progressive Home Technology
Putney, London
INSTALLATION BY PROGRESSIVE HOME TECHNOLOGY
When a client has a love for British manufactured products and an integrator requires a well-balanced audio system that will deliver an outstanding movie experience in a small cinema room, there’s one brand that has the answer, and Progressive Home Technology found it in DbM.
The project was a family home in Putney. With a large gym area making up most of the lower level of the property, there was space left for a very small cinema room. The limited space presented several challenges as it required an audio set up that would deliver a punch, but wouldn’t be overbearing in the space, a projector above the seating area, a screen that would be comfortable to watch at close range and insulation that would provide the required sound isolation. The client called upon Progressive Home Technology to deliver the best possible cinema system.
Having met with the husband-and-wife duo, it soon became obvious to the integrator that they enjoy British-made, handcrafted products that are reliable and unquestionably the best. Progressive Home Technology is a fan of Meridian Audio for these very reasons, so decided to arrange a visit with the customer to Meridian’s HQ in Cambridgeshire. After having the opportunity to find out more about the brand, demo the solutions and get a tour around the factory, the clients agreed that Meridian is at the top of their game, offers products with proven quality and has the right company ethos, making them the best audio brand for their cinema room.
With the room being so small, floorstanding speakers were not an option, but this is no issue for Meridian, as its Architectural loudspeakers provide the same audio quality. Alongside DSP320.2 in-ceiling loudspeakers for the height channels and DSP640.2 in-wall loudspeakers for the rear channels, Progressive Home Technology installed DSP750 in-wall loudspeakers – which were brand new to the market at the time – to deliver complete audio immersion and exquisite power and bass for movie viewing.
Meridian’s DSP750 loudspeaker combines high dynamic range, incredibly low distortion, and outstanding signal-to-noise ratio combine to provide full-range audio with exceptional headroom and low listener-fatigue. It delivers a maximum output of 120dB and bass extension down to 30Hz. Its built-in custom tweeter with a beryllium dome and diffraction expansion technology ensures a wide sound dispersion for incredibly lifelike sound, capable of playing over 40kHz. The DSP750 has superb off-axis performance with two 100mm mid-range drivers.
The DSP640.2 features eight power amplifiers delivering 100w per drive unit with 105dB over 4m, providing full range sound with bass extension down to 40Hz, together with Meridian’s on-board Enhanced Bass Alignment which perfectly aligns the high, mid, and upper bass frequencies for added clarity. In addition, Meridian’s Centre Elevation technology raises the perceived image location from an under-screen loudspeaker, so it seems to appear from the centre of the screen, resulting in lifelike and spacious sound.
The DSP320.2 produces at least four times the bass performance of a passive in-ceiling speaker with similar cabinet volume (100mm / 4” mounting depth). The timbre is matched to the respected DSP520.2 and DSP640.2, whilst also integrating the latest audio enhancing technologies from Meridian, including Enhanced Bass Alignment (EBA), Fifo Buffering, DSP Upsampling, Apodising Filters and MHR.
Progressive Home Technology installed a Meridian 271 Digital Theatre Controller to integrate any analogue or digital AV processor on the market with Meridian’s DSP (Digital Signal Processing) loudspeakers. The 271 was paired with a Trinnov Altitude 32 processor, meaning that a digital signal path was kept from the processing all the way through the 271 and to the speakers. This results in the signal remaining digital until the very end, which is where you achieve incredible clarity of the system.
The Trinnov Altitude 32 processor ensures undisputed leadership in 3D sound, leaving nothing to chance: high channel count, huge processing capabilities, and exclusive patented technologies to unleash the full potential of immersive sound, regardless of formats and speaker layouts.
To overcome the projector location issue, Progressive Home Technology installed a short throw lens projector into a Future Automation lift, which meant that it was high enough above the client when using the room and hidden when the space was not in use.
Beyond this impressive cinema room, Progressive Home Technology have designed the whole home audio system around Meridian technology. This impressive installation features DSP320.2 in-ceiling speakers, Meridian 258 eight channel Power Amplifiers and Meridian 218 Zone Controllers. Accommodating both local and distributed audio, whether analogue or digital, the Meridian 218 Zone Controllers also act as the endpoint for Roon, the high-quality streaming service used in the property.