Perfect Integration used all of its experience and some high-performance brands including Wisdom Audio to deliver this world class relaxation and entertainment space to a beautiful, restored London crescent. Chris Knight, Managing Director, Perfect Integration, gave EI the tour.
This detailed and high-performance project was created as a private residents club, offering many types of relaxation to the owners of the apartments above, which are also provided with automation and entertainment systems by Perfect Integration. Entering the space delivers a genuine wow factor as it is immediately apparent that the level of finish and detail is right at the top of where the industry can go.
Chris explains, “We have had a long relationship with the developer responsible for the renovation of this attractive set of apartments. Totalling around eight years now, the building was the winner of Best Multiple Dwelling Unit project at the 2020 CEDIA Awards. The basement where the members club is located was not suitable for residential users, so our long held ambition was to provide a top class entertaining and relaxation space for residents.
“To fit in with the rest of the building, we really wanted to invest in the space and produce something really impressive. We used our existing knowledge about the residents and worked really closely with our suppliers including Habitech and in particular Wisdom Audio to deliver a space that mixes genuine luxury with high performance AV and automation.”
The first space that visitors encounter is the Billiards Room, which partners a high end billiards table with fully integrated AV solutions based around a Samsung The Frame 75in TV, three Sonance invisible IS10 LCR speakers, a James PT-1000 sub and James C806-BE surrounds – all driven by an Arcam AVR40. The space is controlled with a Crestron TSW-1070 touchscreen.
Residential apartments above also have Crestron, so the transition from the living space upstairs through to the entertainment space feels seamless and a genuine extension of the apartments. This is a well-appointed space and has a slightly James Bond/Kingsman feel to it, which is only enhanced when paintings on the walls rise using Future Automation lifts to reveal amongst other things a drinks cabinet. The action of the lifts combines well with some subtle lighting that really takes this feature to where it needs to be, it feels completely right for the space adding some fun and drama. The AV performance in this space is also impressive, offering a mixture of music only and media room viewing options.
The next zone offers a luxurious and welcoming lounge area which echoes the period features of this Georgian crescent with aplomb. A beautiful ceiling rose is complemented by a spectacular lighting pendant which the integration team re-engineered to not just shine down but up also into the ceiling rose as well, creating a really dramatic and stylish look. The whole scheme benefits from Lutron lighting, but in this zone its use is particularly effective in creating different moods for residents and their visitors.
The Perfect Integration team used all of its experience with period features to integrate Sonance and James speakers into this space so residents can enjoy background music or something more full on without the interior design of the space being compromised. Moving over to the gym, residents enjoying this area can call on some Sonance commercial speakers, which reflect the industrial look that has been used in this space. The wellness and spa area also enjoys some integrated speakers to help enhance the experiences and treatments available. Challenges in this area included installing marine grade speakers in the sauna and a steam room, and again Crestron control is used effectively to deliver all of the experiences that residents can enjoy here. In the spa area, lighting that reflects natural light and circadian sensibilities is used to great effect.
HOME CINEMA HIGHLIGHT
As impressive as the rest of the club is, EI was naturally eager to experience the cinema as the space had already built up a reputation for top end performance. Before the cinema could be created, the basement had some extremely effective soundproofing structures and products installed – as the cinema sits directly below where people live and sleep. Further protection is supplied by ‘the room within a room’ build approach so the cinema can be at reference levels and not be felt at all in the floors directly above. Diffusion and absorption products from Cinematech were also used in the creation of the space. A starlight ceiling was also installed, providing some added aesthetic appeal.
The cinema is built around a Wisdom Audio speaker collection and StormAudio processing. The Wisdom Audio speakers are arranged in a 9.6.8 system. The Perfect Integration team spent a long-time modelling and working out the best configuration for the space. The bass in particular needed a lot of careful planning with six subs finally proving to be optimal. The room correction software on the StormAudio processor (Dirac Live) was also used to optimise, but mostly for the lower frequencies. Chris says that the Wisdom Audio speakers proved to be so strong at producing a wide range of audio, the cinema simply didn’t need adjustment in the mid to higher ranges.
Complementing the audio is a JVC X9 projector, partnering a DT Screens (3.4m wide – 2.35:1 aspect ratio screen) both chosen as optimal for the size of this room (6.5m x 4.3m). The cinema enjoys a wide range of sources, allowing users to experience movies, as well as gaming and there are also settings within the processor to allow people to listen to music using the front speaker array only. Chris explained that future plans include the possibility for residents to access their own sources from their apartments (such as Sky Q) so they can jump right into their own content, set up the way the like it, as soon as they enter the cinema.
Chris also explained how important Steve Rutherford, International Sales Manager, Wisdom Audio, had been during the creation and fine tuning of the cinema. “Right out of the box the cinema has always been impressive, however with an installation like this, naturally, we wanted to go as far as we could performance wise and so a lot of time was spent in calibration, and we are really happy with the final results,” says Chris.
Steve was present the day EI visited and was clearly very proud of what has been achieved here. Entirely justified – as the cinema really does deliver. What’s particularly impressive is how the cinema combines power with subtlety, you feel completely relaxed and engaged no matter what kind of content in being played. The reaction from residents has been extremely positive, revealing to many just how good a system like this can be for the first time.
One resident has already asked to upgrade his own system in the apartment above based on what the main cinema has delivered. The cinema can be booked via the building’s concierge and the Crestron system driving the cinema again delivers a control approach the residents are already familiar with and so getting up and running is easy.
A really impressive set up here all round from Perfect Integration with each zone providing something different tuned perfectly to the activities taking place. However it has to be said the star of the show is definitely the cinema, just a really luxurious and high performance space it’s a joy to experience.
Essential Kit List
General
• Lighting
• Lutron HomeWorks QSX
• Light fittings
• Decorative wall lights, pendants and lamps
by Bert Frank
• Architectural fittings by Orluna
• Linear LED by Tagra
Control
• Crestron with bespoke user interface
Security
• Dahua CCTV with AI
• Salto access control
Cinema Equipment List
• 9.6.8 Wisdom system
• Wisdom Audio: 7 x Sage Cinema Line 2
• Wisdom Audio: 2 x L75i
• Wisdom Audio: 6 x S90i subs
• Wisdom Audio: 8 x ICS7A
• Wisdom Audio: 11 x SA3 (3 x 500w)
amplifiers
• StormAudio: ISP Mk2 32
• JVC: NX-9 projector
• DT Screens: Custom Screen (3.4m wide –
2.35:1 aspect ratio)
• Kaleidescape: Strato S
• Apple: Apple TV 4K
• Humax: Humax Freesat Tuner
• Microsoft: Xbox series X
• Oppo: 4K Oppo UDP203 Blu-ray Player
• Crestron: TSR-310 remote
Billiards Area
• Samsung The Frame 75in TV
• 3 x Sonance Invisible IS10 LCR speakers
• James PT-1000 sub
• James C806-BE surrounds
• Arcam AVR40
• Crestron TSW-1070 touchscreen
• Crestron TSR-310 remote
Lounge
• 4 x Sonance Invisibe IS8 speakers
• James PT-1000 sub
• Dim to warm lighting
• Bespoke pendant with up-lighting to
highlight ceiling
Cardio Gym
• 4 x Sonance P63 pendants
• 1 x Sonance PS-S210SubT sub
• Bluetooth receiver to allow Peleton and
Hydrow to connect to speakers
Weights Gym
• 4 x James SA63-7 small aperture speakers
• 85” Samsung LED TV
• RGBWW LED lighting
• Crestron TSW-760 touchscreen flushed
into wall
• Crestron HR-310 remote
Wellness Area
• 2 x Sonace Invisible IS8 speakers
• Sonance Mariner in sauna
• Sonance VP Extreme in steam room
• Circadian Rhythm Tuneable white lighting
with bespoke wall lights
• Temp linked RGBW lighting in Sauna
and steam
• Crestron TSW-570P touchscreen
AV Racks
• 3 x Sonance DSP 8-130 power amps
• Sonos Ports for musical source. Plan to add
a Naim streamer
• Middle Atlantic AXS slide out racks
• Furman power conditioning
• Ruckus network switches and Wi-Fi 6 APs