Grimani Systems CEDIA 2018 Show Report

Anthony Grimani was on the road this month, training distributors, integrators and commercial contractors in Denmark, Sweden and the UK on Acoustical Tuning Techniques for home theater, featuring MSR's Dimension4 line of acoustical tuning modules.  More than 100 enthusiastic trainees attended sessions hosted by HTP in Copenhagen, Elektronik in Stockholm, and Anthem AV in East Sussex, England.  According to Tony, "Both groups had lots of great questions and many stayed long after the training to soak up as much knowledge as they could. They were even tweeting what they learned after the session!"

With this Newport Beach, California project, the client wanted a dedicated home theater that could open up into the rest of the house for a variety of entertaining options. They wanted a rustic look to match the rest of the entertainment area of their waterfront property, evoking a comfortable feeling with a soft, light décor. In the lifestyle uses of the room, sometimes it would be open for entertaining and sometimes it would be closed down for private screenings. A large opening with sliding door was a huge challenge for the sound isolation and the acoustical reflections in this room. A door system was designed with acoustic absorbers built into the panels and seals all around the frames. The room had limited height so the sight lines had to be very carefully studied. A layer of resiliently suspended sheet rock was added to the concrete structure in order to reduce standing wave resonances. Structural posts in the right concrete wall were enclosed in resilient wall structures and c...

The main objectives for this project were to create a 10-seat home cinema with outstanding picture and sound, privacy from the main living spaces of the residence, and a design style that flowed naturally into the rest of the home. The client wanted the basement cinema in their new custom beachfront home in Dana Point, California to follow the traditional architectural look of the house. It had to retain the classical decor while being comfortable and delivering high performance quality. Located underneath the Great room, the initial plans for the cinema made no effort to provide sound isolation or noise control. So we redesigned and reconstructed the wall structures, ceiling structures, and floor layouts to provide STC65 sound isolation, proper sightlines, and proper sound reflection decay times, all while respecting the original architectural style.   A ventilation supply duct for the Great room transitioned through the top right corner of the cinema, so we had to ful...

Last month, we attended The Home Entertainment (T.H.E.) Show in Orange County, California, where we partnered with The Lotus Group who used our Audiophile First Aid Kit (AFAK) to optimize the room for their high-resolution loudspeaker sy stems. Utilizing top-tier components from our Dimension4™ Symphony system, our Audiophile First Aid Kit is a premium-grade acoustical tuning system that improves accuracy, focus, and tonal balance. (click to read product sheet) Joe Cohen at The Lotus Group was happy with the results of our AFAK - as were numerous journalists and reviewers - check out the kudos below!    " The sound was wonderful, with tremendous space and bloom." Robert Harley - The Absolute Sound " Another tip of the hat to The Lotus Group and their stunning performance..." Neil Gader The Absolute Sound Also at T.H.E. Show, Anthony Grimani conducted two seminars on Listening Room Tuning Techniques. Anthony's in-depth courses ...

At 7th Street Media Station in Santa Monica, California, MSR was brought in to help the client convert a large open space into a multi-purpose room. The new room incorporates (1) a voiceover and control space, (2) multichannel mixing and sound production, (3) green-screen soundstage, and (4) a cool hang-out lounge. MSR engineered the solution, created the plans, and supplied a combination of SõN Acoustics and  ZSound Ensemble modules to tune the space for all of its applications. According to Mark Viehas, "The initial listening experience has been remarkable. In a hybrid film editorial /shoot /record and mix room designed to be flexible, spacious and above all comfortable over a long day, Tony has created a sound environment that's spot-on from all angles." ................................................................................................................................... Infinity Custom Systems of San Jose, California chose a Dimension4 ...

Pflanz Electronics chose a Dimension4 Sonata 250 system to outfit the Sioux City Boys Club theater room. According to Vance Pflanz "It was our first Dimension4 installation and our technicians were very proud of their work. Listening to the 7.1 surround system before the Sonata 250 installation - and after - was an amazing enhancement to the room. It not only greatly improved the sound, but is also aesthetically appealing to people when they walk into the theater room. We have received many positive comments." For more info on MSR's Dimension4 products and solutions, please visit our website !

Totem Acoustics is a highly-regarded brand of performance-oriented speakers. When its national sales manager Stephen Libin approached us to improve acoustical performance in his home office/demo room, we were happy to help. We analyzed the space and prescribed MSR Dimension4™ Melody system to improve sound absorption. "The addition of the Dimension 4 Melody system was a revelation to me. I was expecting some level of sound improvement - but not as much as I got. The performance of my Totem 6.2 system showed improved imaging, more detailed bass and greater resolution of voice and musical nuances. And my wife approved of the overall look of the room. I couldn't be happier." Happy client and WAF, what could be better! For more info on MSR's innovative acoustical solutions, please visit our website .

Dave Upton gives a great review of our SpringTrap bass absorbers! "MSR Acoustics is a name you probably haven't heard of, but given the products they produce, it wouldn't surprise me if that soon changes. The guys at MSR have some serious experience in their resumes, with Tony Grimani coming from a background in the industry and having held positions with Dolby Labs and Lucasfilm . MSR takes a unique approach to designing acoustical treatments, and intrigued me with their unconventional SpringTrap offering... We've all heard it, read it, and said it a thousand times: the room matters just as much, if not more than the gear you're using. Unfortunately, most of us don't take this sound advice (I'm on a roll folks, forgive the puns!) and do something about it. In the case of MSR and their acoustical treatment products, I think they have a truly innovative, unique, and well-engineered product in the SpringTrap. This is not snake oil folks....

Therapy Studios is a busy post-production house in West Los Angeles. With a big feature film project in the works, they realized it was important to improve their main sound room. Initially, they thought they just needed some acoustical tuning materials. After contacting PMI and meeting with Anthony Grimani, they learned the room needed complete renovation - and talk about "asap" they needed it done in less than a week!  The main problem was sound isolation – the room had essentially no isolation on the right wall and the ceiling so sounds from adjacent spaces were seeping into the studio. Moving at warp speed, PMI engineered the space, contracted the building and installation, specified and secured the gear, and actually got the whole project completed in four days from start to finish. Here’s some of what we achieved in record time:   Completely reconstructed the right side wall with a resilient framing system.  Reconstructed the ceiling with a sound-isolat...

This is a story that happens time and time again in hundreds of rooms all around the world. It is a tale of terrific audio gear, talented people, good intentions and… terrible sound. In this particular case, Anthony Grimani of MSR Acoustics played the role of the “room doctor,” while a famous music studio played the “patient.” In the wings, a well-known composer waited to hear the outcome. Would he be able to use his new studio composition room? Or would he have to continue using headphones? It all began after composer Guillaume Roussel moved into his new studio space in Hans Zimmer’s Remote Control Productions facility in Santa Monica, California. This facility houses many musicians, composers and sound engineers, each with their own space to create music. Roussel had just purchased more than $10,000 worth of new speakers, amplifiers and subwoofers to go along with his existing digital audio recording workstation, flat screens, keyboard and composing rig. But the problem was th...

One of our more complex projects has recently been recognized with several prestigious industry awards: the 2011 CEDIA Lifestyle Award for Home Theaters Bronze Level VII, Best Documentation, People’s Home Theater, and more recently the 2012 Electronic House Bronze Award in the Best Home Theater category ($15k+). While on the surface this project has all the beauty and glamour to win these awards, what you don’t see is all the engineering, creativity, problem-solving, and hard work that went into making it a brilliant success. Nestled just outside the western foothills of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County is the quietly posh community of Hidden Hills. Its beautiful and peaceful ambiance make it an example of small town Southern California living at its finest. The project was brought to us by one of SoCal’s premier integrators, DSI Entertainment, and was a remodel from what was originally an ill-conceived home theater with a bar and a large sliding glass window. We ...