Notting Hill Experience - Best Media Room Level I, EMEA, 2023

The client wanted to use one end of their large basement as a sitting room and occasional cinema, for watching movies and gaming, with the other end as a gallery for contemporary art.

To keep the AV equipment hidden when out of use, and avoid any impact on the room aesthetics, the 4K JVC projector has been fitted on a Future Automation lift, while the screen is a 110” Screen Excellence retractable model.

The area is long, and divided by a curtain, so one of main challenges was only being able to use the ceiling and back wall for speaker placement. The integrator opted for a Triad 7.3 surround configuration. By using speakers with angled drivers, it was possible to direct sound to the seating positions instead of the floor; and made the front speakers sound as if they were behind the screen.

The room had a high ceiling and polished concrete floor, resulting in high reverberation, so acoustic treatment was extensive, in particular on the ceiling which has various 3D diffusers working as a bass trap and room deadening. The back wall is filled with dense ROCKWOOL and has a bank of seven diffusers running in the middle of it.

There was a late request for a Sony PSP5, but due to the 25m distance from the seating area to the rack room, it was decided to keep the console behind the sofa and use an HDMI over HDBaseT extender.