Theater Design Northwest was the AV contractor of choice to design a compact, high performance AV system for this loft-style bonus room. The design ended up as a complete transformation of the space from a playroom with on old armiore analog TV to a sleek high tech space with networked streaming, gaming and 3D BluRay capabilities. Other amenities include powered recliner seating for four, an integrated beverage cooler and a popcorn machine too!

Loft spaces can be a challenge as they are usually smallish with vaulted ceilings and pose some limitations for optimal viewing/listening conditions, as well as equipment installation concerns. We felt the solution here was to design a custom cabinet that flowed with and took advantage of the room’s shape. All electronics were rackmounted in a design using convection cooling and a thermostatically-controlled quiet fan system. The MK Sound 950 LCR speakers were integrated in the cabinet design using Kinetics Stretchtrak for a sleek appearance.

Project Photos

Before the transformation

THX sound + video in our custom cabinet design

Key Components

• MK Sound THX 950 speakers
• Artison freeestanding sub
• Pioneer Elite SC-55 AV receiver
• Parasound Power Amplification
• Panasonic VT 30 series plasma HDTV
• Panasonic BluRay
• RGPC 400 Pro power conditioner
• Kinetics Stretchtrak
• URC RF remote
• Lutron lighting control
• Middle Atlantic RSH custom faceplates
• Xbox Kinnect
• Wii
• Atlona Interconnects

]]> http://www.theaterdesignnw.com/2011/11/semiahmoo-thx-certified-high-end-3d-media-room/feed/ 0 http://www.theaterdesignnw.com/2011/10/on-the-fence-with-speaker-choices-have-a-close-look-at-mk-sound/ http://www.theaterdesignnw.com/2011/10/on-the-fence-with-speaker-choices-have-a-close-look-at-mk-sound/#comments Thu, 06 Oct 2011 20:10:08 +0000 THX Technician http://www.theaterdesignnw.com/?p=1916

Those of us who demand huge, lifelike and accurate sound in our rooms need look no further than MK Sound. No other speaker manufacturer receives so much enthusiastic praise for their designs from professional users, reviewers and end users in the home environment than MK Sound. Here is the latest email from our MK USA rep Aldo Filippelli, check out the “testimonials” link:

“As I was finishing a conversation with our MK Professional Director and a rep from Lucasfilm, I felt inclined to make some useful notes and share this info with you. In addition to the popular S150MKII, which is a bookshelf monitor, we also offer the IW150 (inwall) and MP150 (onwall) which are designed in the same format for similar performance, and to match the timbre of the S150MKII. These are available to view on our website: (I have more and better images of each available, if you are interested)

S150MKII – http://www.mksoundusa.com/home-products/150-series/s-150mkii/

IW150 – http://www.mksoundusa.com/home-products/in-wall/iw-150/

MP150 – http://www.mksoundusa.com/home-products/mp-150/

As I had mentioned, MK Sound is the speaker of choice of Lucasfilm for Star Wars and the coming Red Tails movie. Sony Blu-ray studios are also dedicated users and fans of MK Sound and along with Lucasfilm have remastered and recently released the Star Wars Trilogy, using MK Sound in the mixing, editing, and post production studios. I will be at Skywalker Ranch Oct 26 to meet with George Lucas and his staff to sign agreements for our use of their name, logos, and materials, as well as their latest testimonials and endorsements.

From our TESTIMONIALS page: http://www.mksoundusa.com/testimonials/

Visit AT THE MOVIES and see some blockbusters that have been mixed and edited in the studio using MK Sound speakers. The sound engineers and producers at these studios are truly experts in their craft and rely on the performance and reliability of MK Sound. Following are some testimonials from these accredited and award winning sound experts.

“We feel that high performance audio is essential in picture editing and the use of the MK 2510 system, with its excellent dialogue intelligibility, allowed us to catch production sound faults early in the process. In addition, high quality sound can affect an editor’s decisions by providing an enhanced emotional context to a scene. During the production process, our editors were so taken with the quality of sound that a full MK 2510 system was shipped to Leavensden Studios in England, to be used in the cutting of the production dailies.”

-        Paul Matwiy, sound engineer, Star Wars

“We’ve been using MK THX speaker systems on the Star Wars films in both the sound design and picture editing suites. The MK THX speakers’ accuracy and imaging qualities let us hear all the nuances of dialogue, music and sound effects at every stage of the creative process. This gives us the ability to create the powerful, yet subtle and persuasive soundtracks that are the hallmark of the Star Wars films.”

-        Rick McCallum, Producer, Star Wars

We are also working on a POS display to feature the S150MKII in a cabinet and driver cutaway, highlighting the technology and features, as well as a backdrop on the display of either Star Wars or Red Tails along with licensed endorsements and testimonials from George Lucas and engineers at Lucasfilm. We will also show the logos and list of other studio users.

While the S150MKII and 2510P are used mostly in film studios, the New York Philharmonic, Danish Broadcasting, and others are using for music mixing and editing applications. We soon will be able to add Cirque du Solei and Blueman Group to the list of professional users for music.

I share this information as I feel that it may be useful for you and your efforts. Please feel free to share with your associates and customers, and let me know if you would like any additional information, images, or technical details. Thank you for your support!”

Best regards,

Aldo

The beautiful new Elite HDTVS

Last week Karrie and I went down for our annual Pioneer Elite Dealer training session which is always great, but there was an increased level of anticipation for the event this year; it was the first chance to evaluate the recently unveiled Pioneer Elite HDTV display line. Videophiles who demand the best have been a little perplexed that the new Elite displays will feature LED technology and we have to admit we were quite curious over the last year to finally see how the next gen LED sets compared to the revered KURO plasma displays, which remain an industry benchmark to this day.

Keep in mind that we weren’t able to evaluate the set for an entire day as we performed an ISF calibration on it, so this article is our first impressions. The 60″ Elite used for the classes was hooked up using out of the box settings in the “PURE” pic mode and it certainly impressed! Unbelievable black levels, detail and color saturation. Long story short, we would agree with the handful of early reviewers out there who call the new Elite sets the best looking LED display on the market.

Visit the Elite HDTV website here. Or, enjoy this early evaluation review by legendary calibrator Kevin Miller, who was also involved in the development of the Elite displays. The new Pioneer Elite LED displays are a collaboration between Pioneer and Sharp Electronics, are available in 60″ and 70″ sizes and are currently in stock at the distributor if you want one now. Our customers are welcome to take a trip with us to the distributor’s showroom where they already have one on display for you to experience……… until we get our own that is!

Theater Design Northwest was hired by expert multimedia consultants 8th Day of the Week Studios to handle the large format projection system with audio for the multimedia/POS makeover of the Anchor Pub at the Historic Waterfront in Everett. We installed a 120″ motorized retractable widescreen behind the stage with a 3500lumen Sharp presentation projector that will instantly convert the band venue into a viewing area for films/multimedia content with stereo sound through the quite substantial PA system. The projection system is fed by an Apple Mini Mac as the HD video source and is part of a very ambitious multimedia makeover of the space that includes: linked POS system using iPads and at-table credit card processing, motorized cameras in the venue that network to the projector and custom bar/trivia gaming for the patrons to play. Once 8th Day of the Week has the software programming complete, Anchor Pub clients will be able to play games with competing neighborhood pubs over the web! This is the first networked venue of it’s type to be completed in our partnership with 8th Day and similar venues are already in the planning. Of course the system is ISF calibrated to give the clients optimal picture quality possible with a projection system that fits their budget.

Project Photos

The Anchor Pub Hewitt Ave, Everett,WA

 Key Components

• Grandview Crystal Screen
• Sharp PG-D3500 multimedia projector
• Chief Mounts
• Panamax power protection
• Smartech Interconnects
• Apple

Summary

The clients were thrilled to see the first video content display on the screen and the projector we spec’d did an excellent job of delivering a bright image in the varying time of day lighting conditions in the venue. We are eager to stop by for a follow-up when the entire MM system is complete to see it in operation. The collaboration between our companies to complete by the deadline was seamless and we would have to recommend 8th Day of the Week to businesses that would like to expand their “connected tech” horizons. Call Clyde at 425 420 6886.

Theater Design Northwest is contracted as the home theater and AV designer for this gorgeous bayview custom home in Anacortes. The substantial home theater will comfortably seat eight and features full THX Certified audio/video design and Kinetics acoustic treatments for accurate and engaging sound. The room design includes a stretch track acoustic screen wall built by us to keep viewer’s attention on the reference Stewart Filmscreen 120″ diagonal screen. Lutron lighting control and custom Tuscan-style faux columns set the mood with a beautiful themed interior design.

The rest of this great home built by Strandberg Construction will have 12 zones of Sonos music with speakers from Revel Architectural and  MK Sound. All of the HDTV installs are spec’d by us for future-proof designs that are easily upgradable to future technologies. 

Project Photos

The nice 3D dedicated theater under construction after millwork completion

Key Components 

• MK Sound
• Pioneer Elite
• Parasound
• URC remotes
• Lutron lighting
• JVC THX Certified projection
• Stewart Filmscreen
• Richard Gray’s Power Company
• Panasonic
• Middle Atlantic
• Kinetics Noise Control
• Revel
• Sonos

]]> http://www.theaterdesignnw.com/2011/08/under-construction-anacortes-9-1-3d-home-theater-sonos-whole-house-audio/feed/ 0 http://www.theaterdesignnw.com/2011/08/cask-and-schooner-public-house-and-restaurant-in-friday-harbor/ http://www.theaterdesignnw.com/2011/08/cask-and-schooner-public-house-and-restaurant-in-friday-harbor/#comments Thu, 04 Aug 2011 06:32:51 +0000 THX Technician http://www.theaterdesignnw.com/?p=1876 Project Overview

Theater Design Northwest was hired to design and install multizone commercial audio and HDTV for this great new eatery in Friday Harbor with our great partner Island Communications on San Juan Island. We  chose the intuitive and powerful Sonos system as the source for a 5 zone system capable of playing separate audio in each zone and controllable from anywhere in the establishment with the wireless remote. 4 of the zones provide quality background music for dining patrons using Pinnacle Black Diamond and Monitor Audio speakers. The clients had us design a powerful audiophile quality system for the bar zone using Sonos, MK Sound S150 speakers powered by a reference Parasound amp. The Cask is not really a TV bar, so we installed a Panasonic Plasma in a back room where patrons can gather privately to watch sporting events, etc.

Project Photos

Key Components

• Sonos
• MK Sound
• Pinnacle Speakers
• Monitor Audio
• Parasound
• Panasonic HDTV
• Engenius
• Smartech HDMI

Summary

Sonos is the reliable and simple way to have CDs, internet radio, Pandora, iPod and more in a multizone system- the Cask and Schooner owners/staff love it. And we seriously love their food and excellent bar selection and highly recommend you stop in for a taste.  

Theater Design Northwest was hired for the challenging design task of converting a 12′ X 13′ spare basement bedroom into a dedicated 3D home theater with a 92″ widescreen, seating for 4 and surround sound. In addition to the 3D projector with drop-down screen the room will also use the client’s existing plasma display for “regular” TV watching with great surround sound. The client had a clean/vivid color sceme in mind and was looking for a modern space with lots of detail. With seating requirements and uncluttered floor space a primary parameter, we made the excellent decision to re-purpose the room’s wardrobe closet as a flush mount rack system for gear. The finished design will also include CD/BluRay storage, conceal the subwoofer and allow for some actual storage space in the now-concealed former closet.

To give the room some dimension we added a soffit feature to create a black try ceiling which will feature rope lighting behind crown molding. The soffit provides an easy route for the AV wiring, the perfect space for a custom projector housing and to install the 92″ motorized drop down screen as well. The furred out screen wall using Monitor Audio speaks adds clean dimension and detail to the space, while only using a total of 3 1/2″ of valuable floorspace.

Project Photos

Theater Design Northwest was hired as the acoustic designer for this high end listening room in the Magnolia neighborhood of Seattle. The client’s design requirements were for mostly high quality music listening, with some jam sessions and a small amount of TV watching. The room will have a great stereo system with B&W speakers, Vincent integrated amp, JL Audio sub and a VPI Classic turntable. We designed the room’s wiring infrastructure and came up with a custom acoustic design that would improve system accuracy while remaining visually appealing.

First off we added a measure of noise control to the upstairs by installing quietbox isolation enclosures to house the recessed lighting. Next we installed an additional layer of  Type X sheetrock on the ceiling using Green Glue viscoelastic compound and Green Glue acoustic caulk at all seams and openings. The black panels are acoustic fabric using Kinetics Stretchtrak to conceal the room treatments which we designed to control the reverb times in the space and tailor reponse across the full frequency spectrum. We also installed and calibrated the Panasonic plasma display.  The room is awaiting furniture, moldings, final paint touchup and the stereo system before it is complete.

Project Photos

A full view of the Magnolia listening room

Custom acoustic treatment built into the room design

Listening room under construction showing the vintage art deco sconce fixtures

 Key Components

• Kinetics Acoustics
• Green Glue
• Atlona Cabling
• Richard Gray’s Power Company

]]> http://www.theaterdesignnw.com/2011/07/under-construction-seattle-mediajam-room-acoustic-design/feed/ 2 http://www.theaterdesignnw.com/2011/04/new-mk-sound-s150mkii-thx-ultra-system/ http://www.theaterdesignnw.com/2011/04/new-mk-sound-s150mkii-thx-ultra-system/#comments Wed, 06 Apr 2011 22:11:07 +0000 THX Technician http://www.theaterdesignnw.com/?p=1778