Blog

Outstanding home deserves equivalent AV system

2023, April 19

With the challenge of pleasing a husband whose priority was the loudspeakers and an interior designer wife with a different vision of what was important, UK Integrator Homeplay had its work cut out for them.

Multi-purposes for one space

Set in a remote part of the United Kingdom, this project included the whole home as well as the outdoor space, with a focus on the media room. The owner wanted an entertainment room that included a golf simulator, cinema, pool table and sound system that was capable of being used for live music as well as DJ’ing. The client understood that because of the size of the room and to get the desired effect, it was going to take some special loudspeakers to do the job.

Homeplay suggested they visit L-Acoustics Creations in London. Immediately upon hearing the loudspeakers in play, the homeowner knew they were the ones for him. With the speakers decided on, Homeplay began design work on all other elements of the project.

StormAudio processor: a Must-Have to manage several audio zones

Needing several zones of audio just in the media room alone—along with several other zones both inside and outside the home—they chose a Control4 system.

Loving the StormAudio brand because of the power, control, bass management and reliability its products offer, Homeplay chose two ISP Elite 16 MK2 processors for the project—one for the outdoor space near the pool and one for the most challenging space inside the home.

Homeplay feels that StormAudio’s Control4 driver works seamlessly and the management of several audio zones is easy. In addition, the new low-latency mode with the latest firmware is perfect for the diverse playback scenarios in this home.

Combining aesthetic and acoustic

Acoustics were a big concern in the media room, which is made up almost entirely of acoustically reflective hard surfaces. The client wanted wooden floors, wood-cladded walls and a wooden ceiling in keeping with the rustic theme of the home. James Ratcliffe from Homeplay says they convinced the client to let them build a fabric ceiling instead with various acoustic treatments behind it. When the engineer from L-Acoustics came to calibrate the room he said that he had calibrated thousands of systems all over the world and this was the best he’d ever heard. Well done, Homeplay!

Award-winning Media Room

The media room won the CEDIA 2022 Best Media Room in the EMEA region as well as Best Global Media Room. It also received the “Highly Commended” status for Excellence in Innovation and Excellence in Documentation.

The project is ongoing as the homeowner continues to make additions to the system. Ratcliffe says, “We’ve also started early design work on a holiday home that they’re building in southern Europe, which looks to be every bit as spectacular as this one, so our team is really excited about seeing what we can do there to better this!”