Steve Haas Archives

Great Video Wall Sound Is Here

“Using the TPI controller, I was able to place the sonic image in the exact vertical position where my traditional center speaker
is located”

An opportunity to audition a center-channel solution in his own home theater showed the author you can have a micro LED wall without compromising the sound

by Steve Haas
January 19, 2023

Last June, in “Million-Dollar Wall, Hundred-Dollar Sound,” I talked about how difficult it can be to achieve acceptable sound when using a video wall in a home theater since the front speakers can’t be placed behind the screen as they can when using a projection screen. I mentioned that almost all of the solutions I had encountered resulted in significant compromises but that TPI’s Movement System showed promise, mainly because it includes a controller that uses digital signal processing (DSP) to allow you to adjust the height of the sonic image created by the front speakers.

I recently had a chance to audition the Movement System in my own home theater and was extremely happy with the results. This system uses speakers placed both above and below the video wall to create a phantom sonic image (similar to the horizontal imaging of stereo speakers except done vertically) to match the effect of a traditional center-channel speaker mounted at ear level. And it can accomplish this without the use of additional DSP and without having to employ the services of a professional calibrator (although both are still necessary to achieve optimal performance). Based on my hands-on experience with the TPI system, I have every reason to believe that this solution, along with others based on the same concept, will significantly accelerate the use of video walls in home theaters in place of projection systems.

from theory to reality

I know from my work with solid video screens in museum and commercial environments that effectively placing the sonic image vertically is both achievable and worth the effort. Some people contend that our brains can’t comprehend a vertical image shift as readily as a horizontal one. While there is some truth to that, A/B comparisons of vertical placement show that it can allow the sound of dialogue to be placed where we expect to hear it emanate from when watching a movie or a TV show, which is between half and two-thirds of the way up from the bottom of the screen.

I had been eager to evaluate the TPI system because of its potential to create precise vertical positioning in a home theater environment—particularly since I will soon be calibrating a very large residential project in Florida that uses the Movement speakers.

TPI sent me the two speakers and controller necessary to create a virtual center channel. While I could have requested additional speakers for the left and right front channels as well, I decided to use just the center so I could focus on dialogue. If the system could do dialogue well, I knew it would also be able to handle the left and right positions.

above | Quantum Media Systems‘ Cinematic LED Wall

Million-Dollar Wall, Hundred-Dollar Sound

click on the image to enlarge

TPI’s Movement System uses speakers placed both above and below a video wall for the left, center, and right front positions. A controller is used to adjust the vertical position of the sound coming from each top/bottom pair, to create the same effect as if the speakers had been placed behind the screen.

also on cineluxe

Rooms for Improvement

Video Walls Go Boutique

Achieving Serenity

Bringing the Gallery Home

I set the system up in my home theater, which uses a traditional left-center-right (LCR) speaker array positioned behind an acoustically transparent Stewart projection screen. I then used both objective measurements done with pink noise and subjective listening with program material that contained a lot of dialogue to position the phantom sonic image by way of the controller. I also employed Symetrix DSP to assist with the A/B comparisons of the top/bottom vs. behind-the-screen imaging, as well as with top-only, bottom-only, and top/bottom image comparisons.

Using the TPI controller, I was able to place the sonic image in the exact vertical position where my traditional center speaker is located. I then used the Symetrix DSP to tonally optimize the system so the sound from the top and bottom speakers closely matched that of my existing center speaker, even though they are from two different brands.

What was especially interesting is that the top and bottom pair exhibited a unique fullness of sound that wasn’t due to any type of distortion or phasing but that only added to their presence. Even though I had set the sound from the speakers to arrive at the listening location at exactly the same time, this presence took on an immersive quality because the sound was coming from two different directions, even though it created a solid sonic image in one specific location.

problem solved

The combination of objective measurements and extensive listening has convinced me the top-and-bottom-speaker solution will work. And it has significant advantages over the other existing approaches. By using direct-radiating sound as opposed to reflecting—or bouncing—sound off the video-wall screen, it avoids problems with the reflected sound from the screen becoming mixed with direct sound from the speakers, which creates distortion. Also, having large speakers mounted on the ceiling and aimed at the screen can be both unattractive and distracting. The top-and-bottom approach is especially effective with larger video walls where it can be difficult, if not impossible, to place the center-channel image at an acceptable height using LCR speakers mounted either above or below the screen.

Another advantage is that sound can be optimized for positions in addition to the traditional sweet spot in a theater, which isn’t possible with a single speaker no matter how well it has been calibrated. The type of system considered here would allow for the creation of presets to shift the sweet spot if the homeowners, for instance, wanted to sit in the front row instead of the center row because of the type of programming they were watching.

Also, the shallow height and depth of the Movement speaker cabinets allows them to be easily placed in the relatively small areas available above and below large video walls and allows for flexible placement within those areas. Admittedly, they can’t be used if a client wants an LED screen to fill the whole wall, but doing so would also create basic, non-audio-related problems with things like sight lines. It would be possible, though, to incorporate the speakers into a angled proscenium that would allow them to be positioned forward of the screen, an arrangement that could accommodate any desired screen size.

To have a speaker system that can be optimized without compromise, allowing you to place a pure, strong sonic image exactly where you want it, is going to be a game-changer for creating high-quality sound to go with LED video walls. Given the potential of what I experienced with this system in my own theater, I am looking forward to calibrating the system in the Florida installation next month, which will allow me to take the Movement System from an experimental situation into a real-world home theater environment.

Steve Haas is the Principal Consultant of SH Acoustics, with offices in the NYC & LA areas. Steve has been a leading acoustic and audio design & calibration expert for over 25 years in high-end spaces ranging from home theaters, studios, and live music rooms to major museums and performance venues.

a rendering of TPI’s Movement L center speaker

Bringing the Gallery Home

video | Refik Anadol, Melting Memories

Museums and galleries have a lot to teach about the best ways to display digital canvases in home environments

by Kirsten Nelson
November 22, 2022

You know that feeling you get when you walk into a room and see a bouquet of flowers? There’s a brief moment of surprise. Those aren’t usually there! It’s a new element in your roomscape, and it brings a quiet thrill.

Maybe it’s not flowers. Maybe it’s a new book, or a new bottle of Scotch, or a new arrangement of throw pillows. Something that you added, that you love, that’s a delight to contemplate, and it wasn’t there just the day before.

Now imagine that feeling amplified spectacularly in the most refined way possible. I’m not talking about fireworks or a parade. I’m talking about something that awakens the senses while also magically blending into your home in a way that makes each moment better. It combines the novelty of seeing something new with the soothing harmony we try to cultivate in our home.

That is what it’s like to add one of these new attention-grabbing digital canvases to your home. It’s an ambiance changer. It’s a scene-setter. And it’s dynamic, capable of constantly changing, so it will always feel new.

The phrase “digital canvas” is being thrown around a bit haphazardly these days. Anything that can help display digital art or the exotic works in your NFT collection is called a canvas. But in what seems like a limited interpretation of the possibilities presented by these new speculative realms of art—some of the works being generative, constantly changing in response to data inputs, movement, and the environment surrounding them—we seem to be hung up on

Kirsten Nelson, “Your Home is Your Canvas“

(2/11/22)
a look at how emerging technology is going beyond just making homes smart to making them expressive

video | Refik Anadol, Melting Memories

Tim Sinnaeve, “Enriching the Artist’s Digital Palette“

(8/19/22)
Barco Residential’s Managing Director on how artist Akiko Yamashita’s comments in “Natural Wonder” show that the creative community is beginning to embrace the potential of digital canvases

photo | Refik Anadol, Quantum Memories (Bitforms Gallery)

Natural Wonder

Destinations | Artechouse

rectangles. As in, we’re still hanging up the same old 16:9 panels and wondering why it feels like we’re only watching TV when in fact we’re looking at expensive works of art.

What is it about looking at fine art, anyway? Why does it create a moment of pause instead of merely lulling you into a soporific state? We probably can’t answer that question in this brief piece of writing, but we can address how fine art is typically displayed in galleries. And we can examine how we might make sure these new digital works get the same treatment as the other “static” pieces of art in our homes.

The Shape of Art to Come

To do that, first we need to get beyond the rectangle. How many oil paintings actually adhere to a 16:9 aspect ratio? And what about sculptures? Many of these new digital works have more in common with sculptures. They might be rendered in 3D, or in many cases their interactive elements make them feel more like an art installation than a print on a wall. That being the case, do we really want to lock them into the same tight frame we wrap around commercials and sports?

The makers of video technology see a future beyond the rectangle. Tim Sinnaeve, Managing Director of Barco Residential, is a passionate advocate of discovering new forms and means for displaying digital art in the home. “The whole idea of a 16:9 aspect ratio is very limiting when you’re talking about art,” he said. “And it’s a limitation that actually also negatively impacts the art world, and most importantly artistic freedom, because you get this self-fulfilling prophecy where the artist feels like they have to create their work in 16:9 because that will fit the screen it ends up on. Then on the other side, the thinking goes, ‘All the art that’s available is 16:9, so that’s why I’m using a 16:9 display or a TV.’”

If we want to get to a near future where we see more creative additions of these multi-faceted, multi-sensory works into our living spaces, we need to consider the experience you have in an art gallery. What elements help to elevate artwork? How can we ensure that a piece is displayed in a manner equivalent to its value?

The answer may vary, with options that include direct-view LED video walls or projection setups, but ultimately what we’re talking about is that suddenly ubiquitous “digital canvas.” It’s the surface that will determine whether an artwork looks like it was worth the investment.

“The canvas actually becomes part of the value, because it determines how the art looks, and how you experience it,” Sinnaeve said. “If you’re a serious collector, you need to work with professionals to make sure that the right digital canvas is selected.”

Once you’ve seen a major digital work on a proper LED screen or lighting up a wall with high-end video projection, there’s no going back. “Going from that level of depth and quality to seeing it on an 84-inch OLED TV is just night and day,” Sinnaeve said. “It’s between something that moves you and that you really would like to be a part of your life, compared to something that just doesn’t do it. And technically the work is the same.”

More than just a video technology decision, “it’s really about looking at it from an architectural and design perspective and considering where and how you want your digital canvas to create an experience,” Sinnaeve said. “The way you approach that shouldn’t be that different for digital art

Steve Haas, “Million-Dollar Wall, Hundred-Dollar Sound

(6/24/22)
Video walls have become a big status thing—and an even bigger investment—but getting them to sound good isn’t as easy as you might think

Touch displays like the ones already being used in museums will up open an unexplored world of educational and entertainment experiences for domestic settings

versus ‘traditional’ art, at least from a philosophical perspective. There are the fundamentals of displaying the work and then there are factors related to how the artist intended it to be seen as well.”

That’s where we get to the curator role that many custom residential technology integrators may soon be adding to their skillsets. Savvy installers will be able to work with artists to realize the artist’s vision while also presenting clients with a beautiful experience of digital fine art at home.

Setting the Scene

We need to also think about the environment surrounding these works. Start with the lighting. Just as you would think about properly lighting a physical work of art, work with a professional integrator who knows how to ensure your digital art is depicted in a manner befitting its merits rather than receding into the background because it just looks like a TV.

Many digital artworks also have a sonic element, and some of them are actually entirely audio-based. But even for visual-only pieces, it’s important to consider acoustics and sound as part of the experience. To get some insight into these invisible-but-essential factors, I spoke with Steve Haas, CEO and Principal Consultant with SH Acoustics.

Especially because digital art might be installed in large open spaces in homes, you should be sure there’s not a lot of cacophony created by reverberant reflections. Think about the enveloping hush of a gallery and how that adds a luxuriously contemplative level to the viewing experience. The addition of some properly designed acoustic control can help to deliver that effect at home. Also, if there is a sound component, you might want to acoustically isolate the room to prevent the creation of—or distractions from—disturbances elsewhere in the home.

You might consider using some of the high-tech directional speakers that can precisely aim where sound is traveling—the kind they’re using at compelling new immersive-experience emporiums like the Illuminarium in Atlanta and Las Vegas. These spaces go beyond the usual multi-surface video projection into full-scale aural choreography, which together will make you forget all about the outside world.

“Having rooms like that, filled with unique content that updates regularly, I could really see that happening,” Haas said. His work in museum experience design and in high-end residential media and acoustic design have combined to give Haas a unique vision for how we might reimagine our homes.

“I see having these elements that are interspersed throughout the house in a very purposeful, creative way that introduce video and soundscapes and all the other elements that make that experience fully immersive,” Haas said. “And sometimes, if it makes sense, potentially adding informative or educational content, which can also change, of course.”

Going beyond home theaters or media rooms, you might add dynamic digital artworks to corridors, atriums (direct-view LED walls are bright enough to handle high-brightness areas), foyers, great rooms, or anywhere you want to experience additional levels of engagement. In recreational spaces, there’s even more possibility, with full-scale video, sound, and lighting activations in personal nightclubs, bowling alleys, patios, pools, and more.

From there, Haas takes it one step further, returning to the idea of immersive exhibits found in museums. “Think about having custom-produced media from any of the top museum content producers,” he suggested.

“How can you create this hybrid, totally unique world in somebody’s home that might even have didactic meaning, historical content, or educational content for their kids or anyone else?” Haas asked. “Each of these thematic experiences can represent something important to the family’s lives, the same way a museum presents media or physical content that’s important to the institution’s mission.”

That might also address the “these kids today and their phones” challenge—though it’s hardly just the kids. Every generation is now compulsively interacting with screens and content on a regular basis. What if the home was similarly compelling with ever-changing atmospheric elements? Maybe then we could get more people to look up from their screens and enjoy living together.

Steve Haas’s firm, SH Acoustics, did the acoustic and audio design work for the Statue of Liberty Museum, which features the kinds of video displays and interactive technologies that could be creatively deployed in a home environment

Kirsten Nelson is a Brooklyn-based writer, speaker, event content producer, and podcast host who writes frequently for technology brands, integration firms, and experience design agencies. She was the editor of SCN magazine, and before that, co-launched Residential Systems. Kirsten is also a co-founder, editor, and writerly salon host of CreativeStack, a newsletter for the experience design community.

Rooms for Improvement

the entertainment spaces in this Australian home are undeniably spectacular—but after a decade in use, they were ready for a major sonic makeover

by Michael Gaughn

October 31, 2022

This story could have easily just been about the Theo Kalomirakis-designed Art Deco home cinema. Or it could have focused instead on the jawdropping one-of-a-kind entertainment area, with its discreet stage, ability to accommodate 250 guests, and epic views of Sydney Harbor. But there turned out to be an even bigger—though not quite as showy and obvious—story to be told, about how these kinds of high-end spaces have become so elaborate and flexible and the trends and technologies influencing and supporting them are evolving so quickly, that we’re now being presented with an unprecedented array of opportunities—but also the continual challenge of staying ahead of the curve.

Every home cinema is a completely custom and unique machine. And the open-floorplan multi-use entertainment areas that are beginning to supplant dedicated theater rooms (like the one profiled in “Achieving Serenity”) are even larger and more complex machines that have to be able to handle a wider and wider variety of tasks. You don’t need to be a techie or have any interest in what’s going on under the hood to realize that creating something like that and keeping it functioning optimally means relying on massive processing power. The key thing to remember is that these systems are basically one-off computers and subject to all the thousand shocks and upgrades our digital brethren are heir to.

Because of that, this is also a story about not the visible but the invisible. As spectacular as these rooms are, they’re literally useless unless someone keeps a constant and careful eye on all manner of things that are never seen by their users. Acoustical designer Steve Haas has developed a reputation as a master of that unseen realm, one of a you-can-count-‘em-on-the-fingers-of-one-handful of people who know how to not just tame but maximize these intricate, individually crafted mechanisms so they can achieve and maintain peak performance. The portfolio of his company, SH Acoustics, extends well beyond private residences to museum and commercial venues as well, and Haas found himself having to draw extensively on that broader pool of knowledge in order to make this Australian homeowner’s exceptional mandate a reality.

A VERSATILE PERFORMER

The seven levels that constitute this 55,000-square-foot residence—let’s call it the Sydney Home—rest terraced in a rock face overlooking the harbor, with the iconic bridge and opera house prominent in the dioramic views from its primary living spaces and numerous terraces. It shouldn’t be a surprise to hear that a home of this caliber would hold a theater from a premier designer like Kalomirakis, nor that Haas, who has collaborated on some of Theo’s most ambitious efforts (including the legendary Paradiso) should have been called in to handle the acoustic and audio chores.

The entertainment area, with its spacious bar & lounge area and terrace with epic views of Sydney Harbor, can comfortably accommodate 250 guests

The stage area, with the main speakers hidden behind the fabric at the top of the proscenium. Steve Haas took the client to the Steinway showroom in New York to help him select the Model B grand piano.

The home has seen performances by numerous A-list artists, including Sting, Michael Bolton, and Australian native Delta Goodrem (above)

“Once I had some dialogue with the client, we realized there was a need to have me consult on other keys areas of the home,” says Haas, “especially what they call the Level 1 entertainment space.” It’s not unusual for a home of this size to have a place for holding parties, hosting events, and staging live performances, but you’d be hardpressed to come across another similar space as well realized or as chameleon-like as the one here.

The room gives few clues to its other capabilities when they’re not in use, feeling causal, comfortable, and domestic. Furniture groupings and large canvases help disguise the stage’s true identity, with the main speakers for performances hidden behind fabric panels in the soffit above the proscenium, and with a dropdown projection screen and monitor speakers tucked into the ceiling of the stage area.

The client’s desire to have the room provide exceptional sound for parties, fundraisers, and other large events as well as for both movies and live entertainment created a unique challenge for Haas since each use had its own set of not necessarily cross-compatible needs. The music for parties had to be able extend into the bar area, out onto the various terraces, and into other parts of the home as well, while the stereo sound for performances needed to match what you would expect to hear in a high-end nightclub, and the movie system had to supply satisfying surround for groups as large as you’d find in a commercial cinema—all in a wide-open room filled with glass, wood, and other structural and decorative enemies of quality sonic reproduction.

Haas was especially concerned about architect Alec Tzannes’s design for the ceiling, which used suspended elongated 3/4″ rectangular slats to create a barrel vault that would conceal the multitude of speakers, subwoofers, lighting cans, and ducts. “The client actually flew me over to Sydney to make the case,” says Haas, “because he had consulted with a local acoustic expert who had said there would be no problem. And I looked at it and said, no. This is absolutely wrong.” His solution was to use round dowels instead. “After we did our calculations and I created a physical mockup of the dowel system, we saw that the sound would bend around them in a way that would have a negligible effect.”

The curve of the ceiling was also a problem since it would tend to reflect and focus the sound from the speakers instead of spreading it evenly throughout the room. To help address that, and all the many reflective surfaces, Haas took advantage of the space above the dowels to apply extensive sound absorption.

Not only have the homeowners and their guests been impressed with the result, so have the numerous A-list artists who have sung there—Sting, Michael Bolton, and Australia’s Delta Goodrem among them. “Michael Bolton said it was one of the best-sounding places he’s ever performed in,” says Haas.

MIXED SIGNALS

Cut to a decade later. The homeowner tells Haas he’s concerned the digital signal processors (DSPs) tasked with handling all the various audio responsibilities are beginning to fail. It’s not that the gear is faulty—it’s just at the end of its lifespan. “It’s not uncommon to see DSPs fail after 10 years,” says Haas. “They’re essentially computers, of course”—which means they’re just as likely to start crapping out as any laptop or desktop PC. And they’re subject to the same rapid technological advancements, with all their inevitable upgrades. Staying a step ahead of the upkeep is just a fact of life with anything this diverse and complex.

Achieving Serenity

Inside the Ultimate
Home Entertainment Space

Million-Dollar Wall,
Hundred-Dollar Sound

Theo Kalomirakis: A Personal History
of Home Theater

The 7.1-channel surround sound system in this Theo Kalomirakis-designed home theater was recently upgraded to Atmos via the addition of eight Wisdom Audio ceiling speakers

PROJECT TEAM

acoustical designer

Steve Haas
SH Acoustics

theater designer

Theo Kalomirakis
TK Theaters

custom integrators
Datascene

architect
Alec Tzannes

Haas saw the task as not a chore but an opportunity to bring all the various types of DSP currently in the house under one brand and system. And while he was at it, why not upgrade the private cinema to Atmos as well?

With its 7.1-channel California Audio Technology speaker array, the cinema had been serving the homeowners well since its inception in the early ‘00s. But, having been impressed by Wisdom Audio’s ceiling speakers, Haas felt that adding eight of them to the room to create an Atmos configuration would significantly enhance the movie-watching experience. And the speakers were compact enough that he could have them installed without having to engage in a massive do-over.

Not that the upgrade wasn’t a challenge. Because they couldn’t dismantle the whole ceiling, Haas wasn’t sure what he, the contractors, and the custom integrators from Sydney-based Datascene would find when they attempted to tap into the preferred speaker locations. So they adopted a surgical approach, working their way carefully around the duct work and other impediments. And because there are bedrooms just above the theater, a tremendous effort had been made during the original construction to ensure none of the sound would bleed through the ceiling. Honoring this, they kept as much of the existing treatments in place as possible as they added the new speakers, also providing sound-isolation caps in each of the speaker locations.

Premium theaters like this one often rely on a tip-top-of-the-line sound processor from a company like Storm Audio or Trinnov. But Haas went with a Marantz AV8805 instead because it provided the desired sound quality without all the additional bells and whistles of the higher-end models and would more readily work in tandem with the QSC Q-Sys pro-audio DSP he was deploying throughout the other key areas of the home.

It was also time to replace the projector—and rebuild the projection booth, which, located near the cliff face, had been infiltrated by moisture. Haas helped the client pick the new projector, consulting with Barco and coming back with a recommendation for its Wodan model. But this required an acoustical makeover for the booth since the new projector was significantly louder than the previous one and the noise would have been distracting, especially for anyone sitting in the last row, which rests up against the booth wall.

Acoustical designer Steve Haas calibrating the sound for the Level 1 entertainment area.

At 38 feet, the room is unusually deep for a private theater. “In a room like that,” says Haas, “you can get so sonically disconnected from the front that by the time you get to the rear seats, it feels like you’re in a different space.” To address this, he used acoustical treatments to disperse the sound so that the experience would be the same no matter where someone is sitting.

For all the defining trends the Sydney Home represents, maybe the most significant is its extensive blending of consumer and pro gear. As high-end homes incorporate more elaborate entertainment areas like dance floors and live-performance spaces, they need to be able to provide sound on par with what artists expect in professional venues—along with the ability for DJs, sound mixers, and others to be able to jack in their gear.

Also, a multiform multipurpose system as flexible and complex as the one here can quickly exhaust the abilities of the hardware available on the consumer side of things. It often takes robust, function-specific professional gear to rise to these emerging challenges.

Haas, who is just as comfortable working on recording studios, concert halls, and galleries as he is on domestic environments, turned out to be the ideal fit for a project this ambitious. As a member in good standing of that previously mentioned acoustical elite, he was able to bring the necessary combination of expertise and experience to bear. Relying on someone whose knowledge is limited to the residential world to master something like this is a sure-fire recipe for disaster. Since entertainment areas are only going to get bigger, more versatile, and exponentially more complex, better to place them in the hands of people like Haas who not only think, but perform, well outside the home theater box.

Michael Gaughn—The Absolute Sound, The Perfect Vision, Wideband, Stereo Review, Sound & Vision, The Rayva Roundtable, marketing, product design, some theater designs, a couple TV shows, some commercials, and now this.

Cineluxe Showcase

Our in-depth looks at some of the most innovative, versatile, and just plain fun entertainment spaces in the world

achieving serenity

how an impossible private cinema came to bloom in the Palm Springs desert

“Serenity is a freshly minted 22,000 sq. ft. home nuzzling a golf course in Indian Wells, CA. Done in the kind of Mies-gone-wild style that’s become a signature look in expansive post-millennium west coast homes, it features a wide-open floorplan that’s as much about outdoors as indoors, and hinges its effect on a seamless flow between those two worlds. The whole is infused with a very contemporary sense of play, best evinced on the lower level, which gives off a distinctive carnival vibe, with guests free to stroll from the sports-car collection past a two-story rotating wine tower and onto an elaborate dance floor, then pass a Zen garden on their way to the private cinema—a cinema, by the way, that really shouldn’t exist. And yet there it is.” read more

secret cinema

tucked away in a manor house in the lush English countryside, this high-performance private theater proves to be something very much more than just an intriguing novelty

“It wouldn’t be unreasonable to expect this article to be all about how cleverly this room is hidden away. It’s not. Putting all the emphasis there would be doing the room, the home, the homeowners, and the team that whipped up this cool, gleaming gem of a theater a huge disservice because, while the whole ‘hidden away’ thing is definitely intriguing, leaning on it too hard would obscure that this is as much a serious cinema as a secret one.” read more

spanish treasure

an intense collaboration between the homeowners and their designer resulted in a cutting-edge Old World private cinema

“This is the story of a unique theater and of a unique collaboration—about how an all-star team had to muster all its expertise to get the square peg of a room to fit into the round hole of the area they had to work with without having any of the seams show. And about how they were able to turn a daunting number of liabilities into virtues, letting those challenges serve as inspiration to whip up a private cinema that dovetails neatly with the look of the rest of the home while exhibiting an appropriately theatrical flair that makes it a singular and dashing design statement of its own.” read more

rooms for improvement

the entertainment spaces in this Australian home are undeniably spectacular—but after a decade in use, they were ready for a major sonic makeover

“This story could have easily just been about the Theo Kalomirakis-designed Art Deco home cinema. Or it could have focused instead on the jawdropping one-of-a-kind entertainment area, with its discreet stage, ability to accommodate 250 guests, and epic views of Sydney Harbor. But there turned out to be an even bigger—though not quite as showy and obvious—story to be told, about how these kinds of high-end spaces have become so elaborate and flexible and the trends and technologies influencing and supporting them are evolving so quickly, that we’re now being presented with an unprecedented array of opportunities—but also the continual challenge of staying ahead of the curve.” read more

inside the ultimate
home entertainment space

this domestic entertainment complex includes not just one of the great home theaters but also a nightclub, a gaming arcade, and even a café

“Designer Theo Kalomirakis and acoustician Steve Haas have collaborated on a number of cost-no-object home theaters, but probably none of those efforts has been as ambitious, versatile, or well-realized as the Paradiso. Seventeen years in the making, this Southern California gem is actually an entire home-entertainment complex built around an Italianate piazza. The reference-quality 15-seat home theater doubles as a fully-fledged concert hall. The nightclub features a hydraulic stage and can handle anything from a rock band to a jazz group. Next door to the club resides an arcade, containing the homeowner’s extensive collection of pinball machines and video games. There’s even a g-force flight simulator.” read more

a tribeca trendsetter

the desire for a casual movie-watching space in this apartment’s main living area led to the creation of a high-performance hideaway theater

“Ed Gilmore casually bringing some shots of a project he’d done in Tribeca up on his computer monitor was a major “a-ha” moment for me. The first shot showed a stylish, obviously comfortable living area that also served as a billiards room, dining room, and kitchen. The second showed the same room transformed into a home entertainment space a lot of people would die for. That, a completely intuitive part of me screamed, perfectly represents the new paradigm. Others apparently agree with that conclusion because people just won’t leave Ed alone about the Tribeca space. Ironically, even he admits it’s not perfect—but it’s getting there, as the client invests more and more in turning what was initially a whim into a room that can blow a typical movie theater out of the water.” read more

luxury made easy

a prefabricated premium theater that not only met but exceeded the client’s high expectations

“Seeing the interest in dedicated theater rooms decline over the past few years, legendary designer Theo Kalomirakis has helped form Rayva, a company devoted to dramatically simplifying the process of designing, engineering, and installing high-end theaters. Rayva recently completed a signature installation in Westchester County, north of New York City, that’s meant to show that the company’s streamlined approach to theater design can yield a luxury result.” read more

music for art’s sake

the desire to have an expansive art collection on display made filling this Manhattan apartment with sumptuous sound a challenge

“The one inescapable truth of Manhattan real estate is that, no matter how prodigious the space or the wealth of resources at hand, getting what you want requires being a master of the art of compromise. The trick is making it all happen without feeling squeezed—space-wise, convenience-wise, performance-wise, pleasure-wise. Everything about Hudson Yards would be considered generous, even by Manhattan standards. A gleaming-new city within the city resting above the railroad yards in midtown, its opulent living spaces offer heart-of-the-island convenience, killer views, and, when it comes to square footage, a decent amount of room to roam. But there are limits.” read more

Luxury Made Easy

Showcase

Inside the Ultimate
Home Entertainment Space

Achieving Serenity

A Tribeca Trendsetter

A prefabricated premium theater that not only met but exceeded the client’s high expectations

by Michael Gaughn
December 19, 2019

Legendary designer Theo Kalomirakis not only created the concept of home theater but has been the standard-bearer for luxury home cinema for his entire career. His two best-selling coffeetable books—Private Theaters and Great Escapes—are filled with lavish theaters created in every imaginable style.

Seeing the interest in dedicated theater rooms decline over the past few years, Theo has helped form Rayva, a company devoted to dramatically simplifying the process of designing, engineering, and installing high-end theaters. Rayva recently completed a signature installation in Westchester County, north of New York City, that’s meant to show that the company’s streamlined approach to theater design can yield a luxury result.

I talked to Theo about some of the challenges and triumphs of creating this strikingly contemporary space.

Did this begin as a Rayva theater?

No. The client saw a custom theater I had designed for a friend of his and said, “Let’s do something similar for my house.” I told him, “We can come up with something based on one of the designs we’re developing for Rayva. I think there is one that would fit your house very well.”

The room was above the garage, in a new space, and it was ready for the theater. But it was perforated with windows on three sides. So I said, “It’s not good to put a home theater in a room with windows. The light creates a problem, and, more importantly, the sound will bounce off the glass.” He said, “I don’t mind if you want to cover the windows. It’s the garage. We don’t need to touch them from the outside. You can close them from inside.”

That was an interesting challenge. I wanted to cover the windows, but I wanted the client to still be able to have access to them. So, the windows dictated the design. And because Rayva panels are in increments of four feet, I could place one in front of a window and have it removable if access was needed.

I felt very vindicated that this process we’ve developed allows even difficult rooms to become theaters, because you don’t have to touch the structural elements in the room or the engineering elements. And, because of the flexibility of our design elements, we can deal with difficult design challenges.

What did the client tell you were his expectations for the room?

He just wanted to have a great theater. He said, “Cost is not the issue. I just would like to have the best technology, the best design, the best seats.” I shared with him brochures with Cineak seating. And, sure enough, he selected one of the best-looking seats and picked the softest, more plush leather, which is what he got.

And then we selected the carpet. Usually that happens at the end of the design process and the clients are overwhelmed with all the expenses of equipment and woodwork and everything. So, I automatically suggested just a plain grey industrial-quality nylon carpet that in a room like that would cost, at most, five, six thousand dollars. But I also showed him something that was plusher, like wool. He immediately went with the wool. He said, “Listen—I’m not going to use a nylon carpet. I spent so much money on the theater, I want the carpet to match the quality of the rest.”

I was trying to protect his budget, but clients who know what they want are different from ones who do things just because they want to save a penny here and a penny there. With such clients, I respect the focus on the ultimate quality rather than focusing on sticking to a certain budget.

photos | Phillip Ennis

Theo Kalomirakis:
A Personal History of Home Theater

What was the installation process like?

Rayva doesn’t do the actual installation, so when we started the project, we reached out to Nick Di Clemente from Elevated Integration. When Nick introduced himself to the client, he found out the client had additional needs. This was a newly renovated home and he needed whole-house audio as well. So Nick got the contract for the rest of the house, which he was very happy about.

What, for you, are some of the highlights of this space?

The client selected our Origami design. The good thing about the triangles of this design is that they allow flexibility of placement. We were able to use Wisdom Audio speakers—and there were lots of them and they’re big—without any conflicts with the room design.

This theater has a very different, outside-the-box design. In home theater, you expect to see columns and panels repeating themselves. You expect moldings that are gilded and wall panels that upholstered with brocade fabric. With Rayva, we tried to move away from that aesthetic because we wanted to change the perception of what a home theater can look like.

That’s why we bring in artists and architects that aren’t related to home theater to create the Rayva designs. With our guidance, their visions can be turned it into something that’s functional and can work with a variety of room sizes.

Also, this theater is designed with wall-to-wall acoustical treatments specified by Steve Haas’s company SH Acoustics. Steve worked hard to get the best possible distribution of acoustical treatments within the limitations of the design. When the theater was finished, he spent two days calibrating the Wisdom Audio speakers to the room specifications and made the theater sound unbelievable.

What was the client’s reaction when he saw the finished theater?

The client is very happy. He told me his kids practically live in that space.

Was there anything else you wanted to mention?

I want to tell you something—we put pictures of the theater on Houzz, where we can monitor which ones resonate with end-users. And we were surprised to find out that we got a lot of likes for the interior but got more likes for the marquee outside. Go figure! I didn’t take that as an insult but as an indication that people still relate to having a marquee outside a home theater. So, we will be creating a marquee as a Rayva product and will make it available as an accessory.

Million-Dollar Wall, Hundred-Dollar Sound

“The subjective result of bouncing sound off the screen is a very profound distortion. The sound isn’t crisp and tight and clear. It’s smeared in time.”

Video walls have become a big status thing—and an even bigger investment—but getting them to sound good isn’t as easy as you might think

by Steve Haas
June 24, 2022

While most companies don’t yet heavily promote that they sell their video walls for residential use, you’d be hardpressed to find a luxury integrator who isn’t installing them in high-end homes. But they present an interesting challenge. They can often take up an entire wall, but you don’t have the option of putting speakers behind them like you do with a projection screen. Acoustician Steve Haas of SH Acoustics has checked out many of the existing audio solutions for LED walls and found them all wanting. But realizing that video walls are quickly becoming the likely future of viewing in premium home entertainment spaces, he’s been more than motivated to try to determine who has the best approach and how it can be optimized.

—ed.

The question of how to achieve good sound with a video wall isn’t a new one but the latest version of the problem of what to do with sound when you’re dealing with any kind of solid screen. While many projection screens are created with holes that allow the sound to come through when speakers are placed behind them, many are not, in order to maximize light gain and other aspects of video reproduction.

LED and Micro-Tile video walls have existed in commercial spaces like museums for quite some time. Between our work with those and with multimedia theaters with solid screens, we’ve had to design plenty of workarounds to match the quality of the ideal “speaker behind acoustically transparent screen” approach. When the video contains dialogue with talking heads, we’ve achieved decent success by placing the speakers above and below and then using vertical panning techniques for the audio. If there’s no dialogue, we have a lot more liberty to simply deliver sound from above or below, or even reflect it off the screen. But these approaches definitely result in some degree of compromise. So when a leading speaker manufacturer developed a system for reflecting the sound from speakers mounted to the ceiling off the LED wall, we had a good understanding of the challenges involved in making that work efficiently.

We have several issues with this approach that stem from the fact that speakers radiate sound off the sides and rear of their cabinets differently at different frequencies. Higher frequencies will be directed right at the LED wall, but lower frequencies will reflect from most speakers boxes and combine with the same frequencies that are also projecting from the front of the speaker. In museum installations, we often have the room to put big barrier clouds below the speakers so the sound coming off their cabinets isn’t audible over the sound of what’s being reflected.

Steve Haas

Having a solid screen in this exhibition area at the Kennedy Space Center Exploration Space gallery meant speakers couldn’t be placed behind the screen but had to be positioned above and below it instead.

photo | BRC Imagination Arts

Even if you can ignore having three large speakers hanging from the ceiling shrouded in multiple layers of plywood sandwiched with other damping materials, the listener can still hear those lower frequencies coming from the backs of the speakers before they bounce off the screen along with the upper midrange and treble. The subjective result is a very profound distortion of the sound. It’s not crisp and tight and clear. It’s smeared in time.

A number of speaker manufacturers are developing reformatted speakers that fit into a tight space below or above a video wall, and Wisdom Audio, Ascendo, and others have come out with completely new products that are meant to address the LED wall market. The issue is: Do you place those speakers above the screen, below the screen—or both?

There are times when a bottom placement would work, mainly in a media room with a couch and no second row. Then there are times when top placement could work by itself, if the speakers aren’t jammed up against a hard ceiling and creating strange reflections that cause comb filtering and other distortion if not properly treated. In either case, it’s difficult with only one set of speakers to optimally localize the sound at the proper image height without employing processing techniques developed by the manufacturers. We’re still evaluating the effectiveness of those techniques.

CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO ENLARGE

In this proposed solution, the sound is directed at the primary listening position from speakers placed above and below the video wall and then blended to create a phantom sonic image

The UK-based company TPI offers a variation of the above systems, called the Movement system, which uses speakers designed to fit within very tight boundaries below and above the video wall—something like 8 inches of height for each of them in their smallest configuration. That approach is similar to what other companies are doing, but TPI has also developed a black box that allows you to sit in the primary listening position and change the combination of level and time delay between each pair of top and bottom speakers so you can adjust the height of the sonic image.

This approach—which is much easier than doing the hard calculations of time delay and relative levels between top and bottom speakers—is appealing even to us at SHA, who specialize in that sort of thing. It just takes away one task in an already complicated calibration, and there aren’t too many variables you can mess up.

Our role is to minimize the compromises, and that’s true whether you’re using a projector and screen or an LED wall. It’s really a matter of everybody involved—the display manufacturers, the speaker manufacturers, the dealers, the installers, the calibrators—working together to find an optimal solution. You can’t have a movie without picture and sound, and the picture and sound need to work together. So we have to make them work together and not have either element be an afterthought.

No matter which approach one entertains for delivering audio with a direct-view wall, the experience at all seats in a theater or media room won’t be the same without being able to locate the sound sources directly in line with the image. Fortunately, some variation of sound/image localization can be accepted if all other aspects of the room and system are designed effectively. Advanced calibration of each of the audio system types mentioned above can at least ensure that the row with the primary listening seat(s) will be optimized with the exact sonic image height, while the other rows in front and behind will have as little deviation as possible.

We look forward to continuing this exploration and seeing the variety of manufacturers work to perfect their offerings.

a rendering of the Movement L center speaker, part of the TPI Movement system designed specfically for video wall installations

Deschamps on Design: Origins

Deschamps on Design | Origins

“I not only loved movies.
I loved the experience of
moviegoing.”

Maria’s retail design work for Montréal Luminaire & Quincaillerie

Maria initiates her column on home entertainment design by tracing the path that led to her decision to specialize in theaters & media rooms

by Maria Deschamps
March 2, 2022

I’m an interior designer who focuses almost exclusively on home theaters and media rooms. Since that’s not a typical career path, I thought I’d begin this series of columns by describing the moments in my life that inspired me to take that journey. Those diverse experiences have given me a unique perspective on entertainment spaces—one I’m eager to share here going forward.

I was 11 when I decided I wanted to be a designer. It was one summer during my first trip to California, a breath of fresh air for an upstate New York girl.

I loved Hollywood and Disneyland, and especially enjoyed the Missions, the Danish town of Solvang, and the famous Madonna Inn. But Hearst Castle was the place where it really hit me. The immense entrance, the high opulent ceilings, the oversized chandeliers, the multiple rooms, the magnificent carpets and prominent artwork—everything was impressive!

I had so many questions: Who lived here? How much time and money does it take to build a home like this? How do they get the lights to work in that pool? The first thing I did after I returned home was draw a floorplan of my bedroom. I wanted to start designing right away.

At that time, we lived within walking distance of a movie theater, the Riviera in North Tonawanda, where I spent many Saturday afternoons. We would arrive early and I would absorb the design and architecture with my box of Cracker Jack in hand. I not only loved movies, I loved the experience of moviegoing.

Ever since that summer, I’ve paid attention to things like detail, lighting, space planning, and strategies for traffic flow. I’ve been inspired by architects throughout the United States and around the world, and have had the chance to travel across the US and to visit Central America, Europe, and Asia, where I’ve experienced some amazing spaces.

My education in San Francisco was an experience in itself. What better city to start building a foundation for a design career? After college at the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising, I began my career in Reno, NV but soon followed my heart to Montréal.

There, I focused on commercial design. I began as a pencil-pusher for a retail design firm, which gave me the basic footing for learning how to customize anything in an interior space. I went on to manage and direct design departments for three major international retailers. This allowed me to understand roll-outs, budgets, branding, and the importance of design impact and the environmental effect on consumers.

The turning point came when I designed my own dedicated home theater. That theater became my escape room. I was totally immersed in the environment and really appreciated and absorbed whatever I was viewing. I wanted to be able to design that same kind of environment for others. I wanted to design exclusive environments.

It was while I was submerging myself in home theater design that I discovered Theo Kalomirakis. I became an admirer and followed his work. We met a few years ago at the custom integrators trade show, CEDIA, and soon after decided to establish The Theo Kalomirakis Group (TKG). It’s an honor and pleasure to be part of TKG with both Theo and Steve Haas, who is a master in his specialty of acoustics. This is truly an exciting new venture.

I look forward to offering design insights here on new trends in home entertainment, including things like circadian lighting and video walls, as well as sharing experiences on my projects, which I hope will motivate and inspire your own ventures.

Maria Deschamps is a certified Interior Designer, IDC, NCIDQ, APDIQ and has been designing home theaters and media rooms since the year 2000. She also designs high-end residential, restaurant, and commercial spaces, and is a partner at TKG, the Theo Kalomirakis Group.

The Riviera Theater in
North Tonawanda, New York

The Roman pool at Hearst Castle

“The turning point came when I designed my own home theater.
That theater became my escape room.”

Steve Haas

Great Video Wall Sound Is Here

Bringing the Gallery Home

Rooms for Improvement

Cineluxe Showcase

Luxury Made Easy

Million-Dollar Wall, Hundred-Dollar Sound

Deschamps on Design: Origins

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