EI takes the tour of this whole house project expertly executed by Simply Sound & Vision.
Hussein Jodiyawalla, Project Manager at Simply Sound & Vision, explains, “Simply Sound & Vision started in 2005 as SimplySONOS which gives us 14 years of experience in Multi-Room Audio. From our early days we have also aimed to be experts in ceiling speakers and have been involved in many excellent projects since our inception.
“Our small company takes pride in a personal service approach and delivering great value for our customers. Our staff have qualifications and experience in Computer Science, Networking, Wi-Fi, Programming, Audio Engineering and more to ensure our projects are put together with great technical insight and detail.”
Hussein adds, “We take as much care over small projects as we do with large ones, and they all need to meet our exacting standards. We love problem solving; so where we can use custom woodwork, custom bracketry and a little creativity to make an element of a project work – this is where projects can be very satisfying.”
So how did this particular project come about?
Hussein explains, “This home is a full renovation of a garden suburb Edwardian property with a large extension for a modern open-plan family living space. Our brief was to incorporate a video distribution system, large television, audio, CCTV, door entry and lighting all into one easy to use system which did not distract from the traditional features throughout the home.
“The involvement that a client takes with our AV projects always varies, and in this particular case they are detail orientated. This is excellent for us as it really does help us get their home exactly right for them. In this case there were some detail revisions as the project progressed but on the whole, we did deliver exactly on spec and on budget which the customer is very pleased with.”
The touch and feel of the aspects of this home were important to the customer. Control4 helped deliver a high quality finish with glass faceplates, engraved buttons and easy-to-use remote controls and touchscreen interfaces.
Hussein adds, “QMotion Blinds are a key part of this project. Quiet, smooth and reliable operation combined with neat features such as the ability to tug the blinds to raise them all helped in the client choosing to have these built-in to his home. Being able to power and control these blinds over a simple Cat6 cable means that install is a breeze and it eliminates the need for particular requirements from the site electrician. Integration with Control4 allows us to have a button in his hallway for ‘Auto Mode’ where the blinds operate automatically based on sunset / sunrise, as well as via Alexa voice commands.”
This home also uses a Blustream HDBaseT video matrix which has worked flawlessly, even to the gym in the outbuilding, reports the install team.
The Sonos based audio system keeps everything easy to use with apps that the customer is already familiar with. Being able to voice control the system is a great advantage too.
Hussein enthuses, “There is a NAD T758v3 AV Receiver which is the beating heart of the living room audio system. This is a favourite of ours, simple, no frills, just exceptional audio quality, powerful amps and straightforward control.”
Technical challenges?
“The theme for most of our installations and this one in particular is hiding away the technology as much as possible”, says Hussein, “We worked very closely with the builder and on-site carpenter to ensure the TV recess, the subwoofer recess, and blinds recess are all constructed exactly to spec. It is nerve-racking mounting the chunky TV bracket with exact precision, knowing that adjustability is limited but thankfully we did get this right.
“The pockets for the QMotion Blinds were made for the bracket sizes and this did all work out great in the end, but if we were to do this again if would be useful to allow a gap to make cable management easier for the fly-lead connection, especially with dual blinds where there are two.”
So, favourite parts?
Hussein says, “My favourite part is probably the Living Room TV – a Sony KD-75ZD9 mounted within a recess with a 5mm gap around the edges. Although this is a huge television, it is not imposing at all since it is perfectly flush mounted and does not draw any attention when off.
“The client loves his Study, we specified a specific LG monitor and Vogel’s floating desk arm here for his motorised sit/stand desk.
“This connects to his MacBook with one USB-C cable that also charges the laptop. There is a Control4 remote control here where he can use to watch TV on the monitor with audio from the ceiling speakers, or choose to have the ceiling speakers being fed from his Laptop, or he can listen to Sonos. He can even split-screen the monitor so it is possible to work on a spreadsheet while watching the Cricket!” A particularly useful feature this just as the world cup has started.
Essential Kit List
- Control4 Control System
- Control4 Lighting Panel with 0-10V Control of Architectural LED Features
- Ubiquiti Unifi Networking with Cloud Control and Diagnostics
- Ubiquiti Unifi Protect CCTV System
- DoorBird Video Door Entry System
- Blustream Video Distribution
- Sonos Multi-Room Audio
- Blucube Ceiling Speakers
- Sony KD-75ZD9 Television
- NAD T758v3 Amplifier set up as a 5.1
- Bowers & Wilkins Cinema 7 Front Channel
- Bowers & Wilkins CCM663 In-Ceiling Rear Channel
- Bowers & Wilkins ASW610XP Subwoofer
- QMotion QIS Wired Blinds with RS485 Control via Control4