Grimani Systems CEDIA 2018 Show Report

Calibrate it All! Is it worth doing a specialty audio calibration in areas of a residence outside the dedicated theater? Absolutely!  Getting the spectral balance, bass management, and time synchronization of audio systems tuned for each and every environment is a pretty simple and cost effective way to upgrade the sonic experience. You can get good dialog clarity, smooth bass, and a reasonably good spatial rendition with an hour or two spent in every space. You do need to have some digital EQ functionality in the system, and that is getting pretty easy these days. I am not talking about auto-EQ, which I contend still doesn’t work right (unfortunately). I mean some number of bands of EQ for each channel that you can adjust while monitoring an analyzer application running on a laptop. That function is available in a number of multichannel amps (Sonance, Ashly, Powersoft, to name a few), in a number of receivers and decoders, and of course, as stand-along EQ devices placed b...

In Deep Thank you for reading the high level article, now we will go into a detailed explanation of this project. This blog expands on the details from the " Home Theater Has Come Out of the Cave " article. The integration firm responsible for building this masterpiece is  Audio Images  of Tustin California. Our designs and engineering is only as good as the implementation and AudioImages came through on every detail. The Room Shell The physical issues that needed to be dealt with to accomplish these goals dictated a few design solutions: Sound Isolation The room had to be decoupled from the Great Room that is located directly above it. This prevents the sound leakage from disturbing the adults. Decoupling loosely means to build resilient wall and floor-ceiling structures with little to no connections to the house’s framing structures. The purpose is to limit every contact point that could mechanically transfer sound energy and interfere with daily use ...

Welcome to the Fun Room Light, bright, and inviting. Walls & Ceiling look like drywall Comfortable seating for friends and family. Glass wall visually connects the Fun Room and Courtyard  High Points Think beyond the theater box Great entertainment can be in nearly any space New technology provides more flexibility New design solutions open the door for Interior Designers Overview Good news! With the latest technologies, we can move past the dark and secluded home theaters of the late 20th century! No more man caves isolated from the rest of the house. No more rows of theater seats formally lined up, as if ready for battle with action heroes. Imagine even having a glass wall or window so we can stay connected to the rest of the world? Instead of just a "Home Theater", we want a "Fun Room". But, and this is a big but, can we still have all of this and a great cinematic experience? The answer is Yes , and...

This client was referred to us by the integrator, who completed this installation about 10 years ago. The room was a dedicated three-row home theater in an upscale neighborhood of Detroit. All the gear was state-of-the-art for its time - from the studio-grade speakers, to the professional HD video projection system. But the surround decoder finally gave up the ghost after several years of faithful service. The client heard that Dolby Atmos® was the latest thing, so he sourced a new processor. He expected it to be an automatic upgrade, but wasn’t aware that he also needed to add speakers for the Top and Wide locations. At any rate, it was time to install, configure, and tune the system for the new processor. I took the job and carved out two days - right before Christmas - for a quick jaunt from my temperate San Francisco Bay Area home to frigid Detroit. (Who doesn't like a little cold for the holidays?) While planning the trip, I found out that the system didn’t include any ...

The life of an audiophile is driven by a relentless and unending pursuit of the idealized audio experience and the feeling of being transported to concert venues all over the world at the hit of the Play button. Sometimes this hobby also consumes the family living quarters and clutters them with large equipment, unsightly wiring, and seating arrangements that aren’t conducive to afternoon tea. A living room in a luxurious Tuscan-style Southern California home was to be converted into a dedicated listening room and home cinema for an uncompromising audiophile client. It houses a concealed set of large Wisdom Audio LS4 speakers, matches the classical interiors of the residence, and serves as a soundproofed retreat. Exceptional picture quality with 4k UHD resolution and 2.35:1 projection screen, Dolby Atmos immersive audio playback, and fully integrated automation for access to the extensive collection of jazz, classical, and rock music, complement the stellar audio-video package. Ou...