Own Spaces

This section deals mainly with Audio/Video systems that integrate with lifestyle automation systems. But similar considerations apply to other "entertainment rooms" such as home pools, spas and gyms — even other unusual spaces such as mini-studios, green houses or your own personal observatory. This is why we title this section "Own Spaces" - we try to show how we can help you to make these spaces easy to operate so you can derive maximum enjoyment with little or no hassle. On Audio/Video alone much has been written and we simply do not have the time to replicate it here. A good overview can be found in the book: R Harley, The Complete Guide to High End Audio, 2nd Ed., 1998. Online you can find good articles about a wide range of topics in the Stereophile web site.

Our clients typically require one or more (if not all!) of the following:

• A music room with sound quality that approaches concert hall class (difficult).
• A cinema room that surpasses the best cinema experience that you have ever had (easy).
• A Room or rooms that have multiple uses. The room can be a living room most of the time but get converted to a home cinema at the touch of a button.
• A music distribution that recreates the right atmosphere for a garden, house, or dinner party.
• A video distribution so every source (terrestrial TV, satellite, CCTV, VCRs, DVDs) can be played in (almost) every screen around the house.
• The option to select music for a specific room to match mood: perhaps you enjoy listening to Handel's Water Music while relaxing in the bath, or perhaps you like to listen to Bloomberg News while doing your home accounts. Kitchens, dinning rooms and pools are other areas that can be pre-programmed to music tracks, music styles or radio channels.

Audio systems must be flexible enough so they can play whole house sound in sync, play room-specific music or, if there are video screens, route the sound track (or go mute if the video system has its own speaker system). In addition, the audio system should be able to act as a sort of Public Address system and play information and warning voice messages from the control system such as "incoming car in drive" or "somebody at the door".

What, Where, How

Many questions are asked about specific equipment and equipment features. Getting the right system can be surprisingly difficult and one should seek credible and trustworthy professional advice where possible. But if you want to jump on your own, below we set up the top 10 things to watch out for:

1. AV Requirements. Decide what capabilities you want where - now and in the future. It is quite easy (and cheap) to wire an extra speaker cable, just in case you want audio in a spare room. To wire later may mean a great deal of disruption (and expense).
   
2. Room usage. Decide how you will use each room - is it dedicated? (if so, will it be used often?). If it is not dedicated what other activities will take place. Is it best to hide screen/TV/Speakers? There are a number of commercially available devices which help to hide things: curtains, lifts and sliding panels. These can be controlled automatically too.
   
3. Room characteristics. The shape of the room affects the dynamics of the sound. The more rectangular and asymmetric the better (according to acoustic theory, if height is 1, then ideal room is 1.9 times long and 1.4 times wide or whole multiples). The position of the speakers will also affect the quality of the sound. If you plan to hear loud sound (anything over 70db), think about sound insulating the room.
   
4. Equipment location. Work out where to place the equipment (equipment rack, screen, speakers, tactile transducers, lights, control points, media cabinet, etc). Watch out for windows, direct sun light on to the screen will wash the picture away. Ensure you have ease access to equipment backs as they need to be accessed for maintenance. Think also about potential equipment upgrades. Select where you will place lights and light switches. Think air conditioning - the equipment will generate heat and may make the room uncomfortably hot. This is particularly acute in attic and cellar spaces. Then wire to this plan. Try to keep power cables and audio/video signal cables as far as possible. Use a separate Consumer Unit to feed power to the Audio/Video equipment.
   
5. Screens. If you enjoy watching films, buy the biggest screen you can afford (limited to the size of the room and the position of the closest viewer). If you buy a projector, select screen ratio 1.78 (widescreen) or (if you are adventurous) a screen ratio of 2.35. Click here to find out about screen sizes, screen resolutions and screen aspect ratios.
   
6. Equipment decisions. Plan your equipment purchases. If you want 8 hours of uninterrupted music (say for a party) you will need a CD jukebox or better still, an MP3 sound server. Decide what you need, then do the research or audition. If you plan to use IR control make sure that the equipment has discrete on/off codes (but preferably select equipment with at least RS232 ports). You may also need an equalizer to balance different source inputs. We recommend rack-mounted equipment.
   
7. Audition. If you plan to install an expensive audio (or video system), audition the equipment (preferably in a room of a similar size and shape to yours) before signing the cheque. If you audition equipment, bring your own CDs (better 24/96 DVD Audio or SACD) and play them at the different sound volumes (some dealers may play the system loud to hide problems). Better still, borrow the equipment and use it at the proposed room for a while. Then decide whether or not to keep it. If you will do a fair amount of video or audio recording, select and test equipment before hardwiring it.
   
8. Noise. Whatever happens all equipment must be silent or almost silent (pause the DVD and listen to see if you can hear anything). Click here to find out about noise. In practice this means fanless or, in some cases, slow fanned equipment (otherwise, set equipment in soundproof cases).
   
9. Install. Lay wires carefully. Do not force of bend any wires. Make sure power cables are as far as possible from signal cables. Read manuals. Ensure connections are solid. Power up from source to output sequence (ie. screen and speakers last). Speakers need "run-in". Most installers recommend four to eight sessions of 6hrs uninterrupted playback.
   
10. Tuning. There are both CDs and DVDs available to help tune high-end audio/video systems. Click here for a suggested list. Investing in one (retail about £20) will be worthwhile. Finally the room can be further enhanced by sound treatments: purpose-built absorbers/diffusers, carpets and curtains or even, books can help absorb sound and thus create a more natural stage. Projectors need retuning every 2 years (more often if heavily used).

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