Home Entertainment System Installation - Case Study 1

The Brief

The client lived in a large modern apartment with a minimalist interior. He wanted an LCD screen, no larger than 32" as he didn't want it to dominate the room, and a home cinema system with speakers as small as possible. He didn't want to run any new cables into the wall. He also wanted Sky and a DVD R, as well as an additional amplifier to run an extra pair of stereo speakers in the master bedroom.

The Solution

A cabinet to house the Bose Lifestyle 35 DVD, Sky and DVD R was commissioned. The unit was kept deliberately low as the client did not want additional cabling to run in the wall, and with the LCD screen on a stand it was at the perfect viewing height.

AV Equipment

Bose Lifestyle 35 DVD
Sonance Ceiling Speakers
Sky plus box
Phillips DVD R
SA1 amplifier
Sharpe LC30 LCD TV

Bose floorstands were used and the bass box kept tight to the unit so as to avoid additional cables in the wall.

For the rear speakers, a pair of speaker cables had been run under the floor by the contractor at first fix cabling stage but left in the wall. A pair had also been run to the master bedroom. We removed various electrical fittings to locate the cables and then fed them through the walls to the rear speakers, and those in the bedroom.

Finally, a pair of Sonance ceiling speakers were installed in the bedroom and connected to an SA1 amplifier in the unit in the living room. This allowed independent sources in two separate zones. We gave the client the option of an infrared eye on the side of the unit to be able to control Sky and the DVD R without opening the unit doors. The Bose system works by radio waves and so will operate with the doors closed.