Reference Sounds – Masters of Cinema. Sure, it’s a bit of a boast, but in all modesty it’s true. On the one hand, it is a nod to my first cinema film ‘HeMan – Master of the Universe’, which was a kind of child-friendly LSD trip. I was about 6 years old, completely enchanted by the power of great images and sound and wanted to make that addictive trip my job. On the other hand, I think we are genuinely good at what we do. Simply because we really love what we do. Creating a magical film experience that transports you to another world. From modest to mega. From Cinemawall to dedicated Home Cinema space.
But sometimes a design is it all. The result is mega but visually modest. A Cinemawall on steroids is the basis for a dedicated Home Cinema and the 75” TV is the teleport to both the world of Buurman & Neighbor as the Avengers. A mighty seven-channel Cinemawall with three custom subwoofers disguised as a beautiful wall unit. The centerpiece of Friday night movie night for the whole family, as long as daddy can sit in the middle.
A cinema experience at the highest level, designed as a sleek cabinet wall
Of course, the same dad was the driving hammer in this project, but it became clear in the first briefing that this Home Cinema in the living room had to be one for the whole family. The demands were high. A cinema experience at the highest level with a heavyweight ultra deep and beautifully defined bass – without visible speakers or other technology. Designed as a sleek cupboard wall that also looks nice when not watching a movie. Challenge excepted!
The sketching process started with the Cinemawall Model XL as a starting point. But a version with a large injection of side-effect-free steroids: in addition to the 75″ TV, the JBL Synthesis SCL-6 speakers find their place in front of the left and right front speaker. We placed a third SCL-6 under the TV at an optimized beam angle. Above the left and right front speakers, we placed two JBL CSA280 speakers high in the cabinet, which we aimed at the ceiling as Atmos Effect channels. In this way we achieve an even greater three-dimensional film experience, without physical speakers in or on the ceiling.
3 custom subwoofers tailored to the room and frequency range
However, it doesn’t end there. Since the technical part of the Cinemawall was placed in a deeper cabinet, the possibility arose to do something special for the sublayer. We therefore placed two custom subwoofers, each completely decoupled, next to the Center speaker, each with one 10″ woofer that can fully concentrate on the bass between 40 and 80Hz. The drivers have been specially selected for their relatively stiff suspension and specialization in this sound area. Together with the position, construction and adjustment, they provide an immense kick in the top end of the bass in tandem with JBL’s SCL-6s. The attack is sublime. Gunshots in movies (with plastic pistols and always wrong of course) sound like they sound at the shooting range. Voices have a lifelike warmth and chest sound. Atmospheric soundtracks are reproduced with beautiful balance and richness. Madness! Disadvantage? Yes, the subs don’t really run far into the basement with a -3dB point of about 45Hz. And that was of course a requirement. Let’s have a nice solution for that at Reference Sounds.
A beast of a third subwoofer! Customized, completely tailored to the available space and the required frequency range: the very lowest bass up to the infrasonic regions. Our custom solutions are mainly intended for situations where a standard subwoofer does not fit or a specific application is required. For applications where the bass of the amplifier must run below 20Hz without lift, we like to work with our own transmission line principle.
In this case that means two 10” long throw woofers in a special Reference Sounds configuration and a natural tuning frequency of 16Hz! The measurement shows this beautifully: blue is the closed mic measurement, near the sub to exclude the room and red is the uncorrected measurement at the listening position. Well below 20Hz. And now we hear you thinking, pff – there’s no more information there, is there? Hell Yeah! In a film with mostly electronically created sound effects, anything is possible, but soundtracks by Hans Zimmer and Max Richter, for example, also contain extremely deep bass. Something you don’t so much hear as perceive. Not as shaking cups in the kitchen cupboard because we found that interesting when we were 14, but as a kind of atmosphere that makes the hairs stand on end. Delicious!
But as my fellow villager once said: every advantage has its disadvantage. And that’s right. Our sub focuses on the lowest figures of the auditory spectrum and below that it loses its qualities towards 80Hz. Fortunately, we had already taken this into account with the two other custom subs. The trick now is to forge those three together with the other front speakers as one whole. With the help of Dirac Live Bass Control and some external processing for the infrastructure sub, the necessary experience and patience, this worked out phenomenally. The low end is buttery sweet and powerful at the same time. Has the density of a good cheesecake but at the same time can swing like a heavy golf club in the hands of Tiger Woods. And all this without seeing a single woofer!
peeking at the woofers
The right part of the cabinet wall forms the basis of the visually asymmetrical design. This deeper part protrudes just in front of the actual Cinemawall, which gives the whole an exciting look. We needed that depth for the sub and especially for its fully decoupled placement. It is completely isolated from the wall cabinet so that even with the biggest impact, not a single rattle can be heard from the wall.
His energy finds a comfortable way out via a large, upholstered, removable panel. This way dad can occasionally glance lovingly at the aluminum woofers, without mom noticing. Because dad really wanted to take into account the healthy purchasing urge of his wife (and growing daughters), we were asked to provide invisible cupboard space above the subwoofer. Of course, she doesn’t need to know that he secretly kept an option open for a 4th subwoofer!
infinitely vary the color with the integrated LED strips
A vertical, matt gold sprayed grip strip connects the surface of the subwoofer with the top cabinet. In this grip strip we integrated a concealed Gradient LED strip via Philips Hue. This way you can vary endlessly with color and there is a right atmosphere for every film. Ideal for movie nights where dad is a little less in agreement with the film choice.
Above and next to the Cinemawall, the cabinet continues as a compartment cabinet with integrated lighting while the bottom of the Cinemawall stops just above the base cabinet. This gives the Cinemawall a little more air and makes it less massive. The base cabinet itself is the deepest element of the wall and, equipped with 3 flap cabinets, offers an enormous amount of space for all technology, sources and control.
surrounds speakers
A challenge in many living room situations with a Home Cinema wish is the physical placement of the surround channels. Especially when ‘normal’ speakers are not an option. Here too we were given a nice challenge where we wanted to ensure that the location of the speakers was perfectly balanced with the other channels while they blend in with the rest of the interior. We built the left surround speaker as a hanging, ceiling-high wall element. This way the JBL Synthesis SCL-7 could find its ideal place behind the acoustically transparent cloth, decoupled from the rest of the cabinet and at the right angle.
The wall on which this surround speaker is mounted slopes away. By taking this into account with the wall cabinet, the radiation is perfectly symmetrical to the right surround speaker. Ideal. A major advantage of our custom approach. The right surround speaker was a bigger challenge. The right side wall is ‘too short’ to allow for symmetrical positioning.
So we designed a cabinet element in the form of a room divider with slanted slats. In the first part, the SCL-7 finds its place, perfectly mirrored to its brother on the left. In addition, the wall element continues for about 40 centimetres with slanted, vertical slats. This not only looks very nice, but also makes the seating area a bit more intimate. An additional advantage of this integration in wall elements is the fact that there is space around the speaker to apply the necessary absorption materials. This improves the acoustics in the room, even when no film is being watched.
mission accomplished
1.367 / 5.000
All in all, this has become another beautiful project. The power and finesse of this system without any visible technology is truly phenomenal. It plays at a level that you would normally only expect in the very best, dedicated cinema spaces. Here it can simply be in the living room. The combination of custom subwoofers, each specialized in its own function, has a great impact on the sound. Also or perhaps especially when you turn it down a bit. That is not what it is all about. The pit-deep bass drops in the opening scene of Blade Runner 2049 that give even more foundation to Hans Zimmer’s Soundtrack. The oppressive ‘abort mission’ atmosphere of Graphity where Sandra Bullock keeps spinning through the living room or the rollercoaster of sound effects under the Marvel films. It is spectacular to experience this in this way. Yet it is mainly the natural ambiance that this system breathes into the living room that we remember most after the calibration. So rich and pure. The music and atmospheric sounds combined with Morgan Freeman’s voice under Life on our Planet on Netflix, for example. Truly beautiful.
Mission accomplished! I hope this beautiful family will enjoy many more Friday night movie nights together. And if they raise their daughters well, we will definitely have 2 more customers in about 20 years. Ajeto!
Specifications
Definition:
Home Cinema in living room with television wall and integrated speakers
Configuration:
JBL Synthesis 5.1.2 Dolby Atmos with RS Custom Subs
Components:
3x JBL Synthesis SCL-6 for front and center channels
2x JBL Synthesis SCL-7 for surround channels
2x JBL Stage 280CSA for Atmos effect speakers
2x Reference Sounds Custom 10” Passive Crossover Subwoofers
1x Reference Sounds Custom Dual-10” Passive Infrasonic Subwoofers
JBL Synthesis SDR-38 Surround Receiver
JBL SA-4D Subwoofer Amp with custom config for subwoofers
