South African high-end residential A/V systems integrator, Cinema Architects, recently opened an Experience Centre to showcase its work at its headquarters in the Sandton area in Johannesburg’s Metropolitan Municipality.

‘There is nothing else like this in South Africa – it sets a new benchmark for home cinema and home automation showrooms,’ says Sales & Marketing Director Mauricio Tavares. ‘It shows prospective clients the functionality of home automation and offers them the opportunity to listen to world-class home cinemas powered by Genelec.’

With two home cinema rooms – an intimate space measuring 5.7m by 4.2m, and a larger 7.5m by 4.5m room with 3m ceiling height – Cinema Architects have been innovative with the acoustic treatment in the larger room, installing an acoustic board on the ceiling punctuated by different size apertures to create a unique visual effect. Above this is acoustic treatment of various thicknesses depending on the reflection point. The effect is enhanced with fading fibre-optic starlights, while two large floating golden discs suspended from the ceiling complete the look.

‘The idea was to show how a large room can be made to feel cozy and inviting as well as deliver exceptional audio quality, filling the room with transparent but powerful sound,’ says Tavares.

When it came to the audio system, Cinema Architects was categoric in its choice: ‘Acoustically, we knew it had to be Genelec,’ Tavares says. ‘Our successes with Genelec over the past ten years have given us great confidence in the brand. We appreciate the active design, which simplifies installation, the elegant aesthetic and of course the superlative, transparent sound quality.’

Cinema Architects opted for a 7.2.4 immersive Dolby Atmos loudspeaker system with three slimline 1238DF three-way smart active studio loudspeakers acting as the main LCR, concealed behind a 4m micro-perforated screen. These are supplemented by four AIW25 in-wall models in the surround positions, with four AIC25 in-ceiling models handling the height channels. A pair of 7370 12-inch smart active subwoofers placed beneath the screen complete the system. A DreamVision8k laser projector handles video, paired with a NAD 778 AV receiver for the Dolby processing. Clients can also compare image quality from a variety of sources including a 4k Apple TV, a Panasonic Blu-Ray player and a Zappiti media player.

‘This combination gives us balanced audio throughout any movie genre, from live music to action-packed movies,’ Tavares says. ‘The audio remains clean and strong no matter the content. This versatility is a real selling point with our clients.’

The smaller cinema room is dedicated to movie buffs who enjoy superior image quality and audio. As a dedicated demo room, the Genelec speakers here are visible rather than hidden.

This room also differs from a traditional home cinema in the choice of screen. ‘Instead of a traditional projector, we chose the Samsung 110-inch Micro LED screen, arguably the best picture quality currently available,’ Tavares says. ‘It’s an imposing screen – and rare. Indeed, this is currently the only one on the African continent.’ Consequently, as loudspeakers cannot be hidden behind the screen, Cinema Architects installed a TV cabinet below the screen to house the LCR loudspeakers.

‘The audio had to match the picture quality,’ he continues. ‘We specifically did not want substantial obtrusive speakers. Instead, we were looking for very detailed audio with quality taking precedence over SPL. Consequently, for LCR, we opted for the 8331 three-way coaxial models from the The Ones series. Besides its beautiful aesthetics, we knew that sound quality would be impeccable, and they delivered without question. Low end comes from a single 7360subwoofer; with a room this size, we know a single 7360 suffices without compromise. For rear and surround speakers, we opted for a pair each of the compact 8320 smart active loudspeakers for a 7.1 configuration. This smart active setup enabled us to use GLM software to calibrate the entire system to the room and achieve the best possible performance.

‘The results are incredible, and the audio performance is astounding – filling the room with detailed clean vocals and music tonality that must be heard to be believed. This room has become extremely popular; we could not be happier with the results. It is beyond impressive, even by our standards.’

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