Allan Staig, installation director from AVComm UK., was contacted by Cameron House Hotel back in 2017 to design and install a 12-seat Dolby Atmos cinema and private theater within the hotel. By December of 2017, Staig and AVComm UK were ready to begin the installation. Unfortunately, the project halted due to a fire accident. Almost three years later, Cameron House Hotel contacted Staig again after their fire restoration was complete.
At this point, the brief changed considerably. The space was originally set for a 42-seat cinema that guests, corporations, and private groups could use to view new releases and existing movies. Due AV needs and available space, the final theater accommodated 29 seats. The cinema also needed to be used as a meeting or conference room. Thus, AVComm UK created an entirely new design for Cameron House Hotel. They also worked with distributor Apex-Tech UK where Alan Briggs was a point of contact for AV products and support.
The Luxury Loch Lomond Cameron House Hotel
The Loch Lomond Hotel sits on the shore of Loch Lomond, a Scottish lake just under two hours west of Edinburgh. Per a statement, it is a five-star location for weddings, conferences, business trips, golfing and honeymoons. As part of the recent renovations, the Loch Lomond Hotel added the private cinema with 29 seats.
Client’s Needs
Cameron House Hotel requested the following of Staig:
- A proper, private cinema to show new releases or existing ones to corporate guests, private guests, or public guests.
- As much seating as possible, given the space constraint, while maintaining the best viewing and listening experience.
- The room must also function as a meeting space when not in use as a cinema.
Why MSE Audio PhaseTech?
Staig, early in the design process, decided to work with Apex-Tech UK throughout the project. The firm not only offered the required cinema products, it also had extensive knowledge and service to support the AVComm team. Staig thus worked directly with Briggs for most of the planning and product selection.
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Additionally, Neil Davidson, Apex-Tech UK’s managing director, recommended that Staig commit to the Phase Technology (PhaseTech) brand, knowing that the speakers had high reliability and excellent quality. In addition to this, Davidson knew that MSE Audio PhaseTech brand had high-performance in-wall speakers that could be concealed without taking up valuable space.
MSE Audio is of course, the Kansas-based manufacturer of high-fidelity and commercial audio featuring PoE solutions.
Product Selection
As mentioned earlier, Apex-Tech UK suggested the PhaseTech product lineup by MSE Audio for several reasons. Firstly, it offered high performance in-wall speakers. These would allow Staig to keep flush, smooth walls. At the same time, they would reduce the visual impact within the theater and provide full rich sound. For such a small space, it was paramount to keep everything compact and minimize the amount of equipment on the walls.
For the sound management technology, the team selected an Acurus Muse processor and two Acurus M8 power amplifiers. Recommended by Apex Tech UK, they matched the PhaseTech speakers.
Visual technology also included a Barco Athena projector, several components to reduce noise from the room’s projector and a Kaleidescape Strato player to manage the projected visuals and sound.
Full Project Product List of MSE Audio PhaseTech
- 1 x Acurus Muse Processor
- 2 x Acurus M8 Power Amplifiers
- 1 x Barco Athena DCI Certified Projector
- 1 x Display Technologies Frontier Acoustically Transparent Screen
- 2 x Display Technologies Mistral 200 Silent Fans
- 1 x Display Technologies Mistral Commander
- 1 x Kaleidescape Strato Player
- 3 x Phase Tech CI130
- 4 x Phase Tech CI120
- 4 x Phase Tech C7.3X
- 2 x Phase Tech IW210 In-Wall Subwoofers
- 1 x Phase-Tech P350 Subwoofer Amplifier
Installation
According to Staig, planning the installation was tricky since it had two designated fire walls (one in the original project) to work around. As a result, the team had to install the projector inside the cinema. Additionally, installation on the fire walls required an additional change to the walls themselves so that the infrastructure would allow installation into a 100mm deep stud partition. The projector itself was also placed into a custom-made hush box and fitted with a Mistral Airflow system that included silent fans and a control center. This emerged as a critical part of the design as the projector would be hanging above the viewers. Thus, it had to be quiet and discreet, all while maintaining proper aeration to avoid overheating.
According to a statement, the PhaseTech high-performance, three-way in-wall speakers installed easily. Moreover, the patented extruded aluminum positive clamping and patented bass extending enclosure ensured accurate control of low-end performance and a clear reproduction of the sound into the cinema.
Post-Install Testing
Staig expresses his pleasure on the ease of installation. He says, “The PhaseTech CI speakers sounded amazing, even before the audio tuning and calibration. The quality of the sound and the separation within the room is one of the best we have installed.”
He concludes, “My favorite thing about [this installation] is [that] the immersion of audio and the image quality is perfect in my opinion. I have been told indirectly, by [the] staff of the hotel, that the client just loves the whole room and is very happy with it.”
Click on “View Slideshow” on the upper-right corner to view photos of the cinema at Cameron House’s Luxury Loch Lomond Hotel.
