Media Room
Oakham, Rutland
Transforming a junk room into an entertainment hub
Home Owner Geoffrey had long dreamt of a dedicated home cinema room in his home. His wife however had her hopes set on a decent sitting room, luckily they were able to compromise and started to plan for a sitting room, music room, TV room and home cinema all rolled into one. A real entertainment hub which could house Geoffery’s much-loved film collection and his beloved 70-year-old Wurlitzer wallbox.
The room which would undergo this transformation was a junk room the couple had affectionately referred to as ‘The Dungeon’. Full of network cabling, switches and routers installed when the house was built, and accompanied by a collection of Sonos amplifiers temporarily connected when they moved in a few years ago.
Due to the room position within the house the couple were able to carry out some serious soundproofing by building secondary stud walls in front of the existing internal walls and also to soundproof the ceiling with acoustic plasterboard fitted with a soundproofing membrane and fixed to resilient mounts. A double entrance door completes the soundproofing.
After watching lots of Youtube videos and planning the room for a few weeks Geoffrey decided that he needed some expert advice. Que Pure Theatre’s involvement in the project.
“Meeting Chris at Pure Theatre for a demo of their in-house systems was a real eye opener and showed us what was possible with a bit of planning, a bit of cash and some spare time. Being a film fan and having a large collection from the 60’s onwards I knew I wanted a large screen and a good sound system. Watching and listening to the Pure Theatre demo systems I was impressed enough to plan a 7.1.4 Dolby Atmos installation.”
Geoffrey
Geoffrey decided on Monitor Audio speakers as he already owned a pair of FXi Silver Surrounds and a pair of Radius 225’s which he had earmarked for the side and rear surrounds. Adding Monitor Audio in-wall and in-ceiling speakers to complete the system.
Chris, the cinema room designer at Pure Theatre, suggested two changes to Geoffrey's original layout. Firstly, go for twin Subwoofers and to future-proof the system install six Atmos ceiling speakers. Taking his advice the room now benefits from a 7.2.6 Atmos sound system.
Undecided whether to go with a 16:9 or 2.35:1 format screen the couple finally decided on a 16:9 format CR260 Pure Cinema concealed electric screen. This coupled with an Epson TW-9400 4K projector, with it’s lens shift facility, allows easy switching between the two display formats and also the repositioning of the Pure Theatre electric screen with a single button press.
The Pure Theatre demo also confirmed Geoffrey's choice of an Arcam receiver for it’s superior audio qualities but also it’s built-in Dirac room sound correction facility.
“The finished system meets and exceeds our expectations. The screen and projector combination gives unrivalled video quality and the Arcam receiver and Monitor Audio speakers means everything we play whether from the Sonos, the 70-year-old Wurlitzer or from the latest 4K UHD Atmos movie is an absolute pleasure to listen to.”
Geoffrey
