Home cinema install: Storm’s brewing

The Ultimate Home Cinema Room

There’s a rich mix of premium hardware and attention to detail in this picture palace designed by UK installer Cyberhomes.

The owner, we’re told, wanted ‘the ultimate home cinema room’ and that’s what he got, not to mention a space crowned Best Home Cinema (£120,000 – £340,000) at the recent CEDIA Awards.Ion Smith, Cyberhomes founder and director, explains the brief. Dolby Atmos audio was a given but, if possible, a cut above 7.1.2. ‘Also, the screen image had to be bright enough to use during the day with lights on for general sports/TV, as well as in darkened room state for movies.’

A StormAudio ISP 3D 16 Elite processor handles next-gen audio decoding for the room’s 9.1.6-channel system. All speakers are from James Loudspeaker, fitted in-wall/in-ceiling. Power comes from a 16-channel StormAudio amplifier, with additional rack-mounted grunt for the quartet of subwoofers.

The main LCR speakers (James Loudspeaker QX830s) were installed behind the screen. Two James M122 dual 12in subwoofers reside in the custom low-level cabinet.

For visuals, the initial plan was for a Digital Projection E-Vision Laser 4K projector (7,500 Lumens, single-chip DLP) to be used, but after a comparison with the same brand’s 3-chip, 12,500 Lumens HIGHlite beamer, the owner demanded the higher-spec model. Next on the kit list was a Lumagen Radiance Pro 4444 processor, which introduces HDR (including Dolby Vision and HDR10) playout to the system, making use of the projector’s inherent brightness. Film and TV from assorted sources (racked in a boot room) are given cinematic impact by the 140in Screen Research projector screen.

Cinema Equipment Checklist

StormAudio: ISP 3D 16 Elite processor; PA 16 Elite amplifier
Digital Projection: Hermes ll HIGHlite 4K laser projector with 2.17 – 2.90:1 long-throw lens
Screen Research: XLR3 140in-wide side-masking screen with 2.35:1 aspect ratio
James Loudspeaker: 3 x QX830 in-walls (LCR); 6 x QX530 in-walls (surround); 6 x QX520 in-walls (height); 3 x M1000 amplifiers; 2 x M122 subwoofers; 2 x QX1020 subwoofers
Amazon: Fire TV 4K
Panasonic: DMP-BDT180 BD player (multiregion)
Apple: Apple TV 4K
Kaleidescape: Strato 4K server
Oppo: UDP-203 Ultra HD BD deck
Sky: Sky Q PVR
Savant: Savant Pro remote
Vizbox Enclosures: Projector airflow system; sound-isolating projector enclosure
Fortress Seating: 6 x Lexington cinema seats

This Hampshire home cinema won the 2018 CEDIA award for Best Home Cinema (£120,000 to £240,000) and was also a finalist for the Best Integrated Home (£120,000 to £240,000).