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Showing posts from 2016

A Techie's Dream Cinema - CEDIA 2016 Design Awards Winner

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

Dedicated High Performance -- CEDIA 2016 Design Awards Winner

In this industry, we regularly cater to “enthusiast” clients who are very enthralled with the idea of a fully engineered and commissioned private cinema. They may have played wit h speakers and receivers in their spare time. They may have preconceived notions about what makes speakers work or not work. They may even want to tell the crew how to go about doing the wiring and installation. This client just built his Tuscan dream home in the rolling hills over Newport Beach, California. He wanted a great place to enjoy concert videos and movies from all around the world. He got that and a lot more in an acoustically treated and tuned room with appropriate sound isolation, Dolby Atmos immersive audio, 4K video, and a luxury-grade interior finish. The room was to be laid out as a formal dedicated two-row theater, without many design frills, and with maximized return on investment for the equipment. The client decided not to adopt the customary stretched fabric dress in order to put mor

The Mysterious Case of the Turntable Hum

So there's this project down in SoCal; the client is a huge vinyl rock 'n roll and blues fan with what you'd call a multi-use media room. After the initial commissioning of his system, everything was groovy (pun intended) save for some serious hum and noise issues with the high-end turntable rig. Unfortunately, scheduling required us to knock off before we could track down all the issues.  Over the next while, the installer's guys and some outside consultants gave it their best shot - to no avail. Eventually, I said, "Enough is enough; we've got to get this guy squared away."   So, I loaded up my test gear, tossed in my trusty Technics SL1200 turntable with a basic preamp of my own, and headed south. After a good bit of head banging (the bad kind) and hair-pulling, I replaced his turntable and phono pre with mine. Presto! Hum/noise gone. Taking systematic approach of slowly inserting the client’s gear into the scheme, I found a “perfect storm” of i

Performance Media Industries, Ltd.

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