The Clubhouse – The Ultimate Members Only Movie Paradise

When it comes to visualizing and creating a high-end cinema, The Digital Picture know how to impress. With a recent win at the CEDIA Awards for ‘Best Media Room Level 1’ with this stunning man-cave,  it comes as no surprise that a private members only movie cinema set within a Gold Coast Resort would turn into something special – introducing “The Clubhouse”.

Dark curtains adorn the walls of this luxury 120sqm cinema, which comfortably accommodates 40 leather recliners across five tiers of seating, each with motorised back and headrests. A custom-built 272″ 16:9 screen is the main focus at the front of the room, and is illuminated by a 10,000 lumen commercial projector. It’s easy to see that the room was designed with a luxury commercial cinema feel, with atmospheric step and curtain lighting providing a warm and subtle elegance to the décor.

 

The Clubhouse
A dark coloured room improves the visual experience for all viewers.

 

To further promote the use of the Clubhouse (not that we’d need much convincing) and to create a community feel, a members-only movie club has cleverly been created, where seasoned enthusiasts and newcomers alike can attend movies at multiple session times during the week and then discuss their thoughts on the films.

 

The Clubhouse
Installing a 272″ screen – this photo gives an appreciation of the immense size of the canvas.

 

One discussion point would surely be that of the soundtrack of the movie, as the audio performance of this room can bring out the very best in the film’s audio mix. Providing the brains (processing) is the class-leading Trinnov Altitude16, while the brawn (power) is provided by Yamaha amplification. A lot of time was spent tuning and configuring the Altitude so that the horizontal soundstage from front to back via the surround speakers was seamless and completely enveloping. This was achieved with three separate ‘channels’ being assigned down each side of the cinema, complemented by rear surround channels and additional subwoofer bass steering of the low frequency effects from front to back, making this quite a unique system.

 

The Clubhouse
The view from the second row, with a Kaleidescape providing the source material.

 

Two of Krix’s largest subwoofer, the Megacyclonix, were chosen to provide the bass for both the dedicated LFE track and also the low frequency component of the surround effects. Scott Sauer, Managing Director at The Digital Picture, mentioned:

“This system has exceptionally hard-hitting bass and amazing surround effects throughout the entire room. It meets all cinema-standard design requirements, resulting in a fantastic movie viewing experience.”

 

The Clubhouse
Three Flix and a Megacyclonix are hidden behind the screen – just like a commercial cinema.

 

To match the high-output of the subwoofers, high sensitivity front speakers were required from the Series X range. The Krix Flix were chosen not only due to their uniform constant directivity horn (for great dispersion across all 40 seats in the cinema), but also because they are capable of hitting 105dB reference levels in rooms up to 23m deep! With dual 15″ drivers and headroom to spare, the resulting sound is hugely dynamic and powerful.

 

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Krix Megaphonix line the perimeter for a seamless sound field.

 

The same principles of even dispersion and high output were also applied for the surrounds – ten Megaphonix mounted above the audience with 15° baffle are capable of delivering reference level sound across the entire width of the room – allowing the full dynamic range of the movie soundtrack to be appreciated by the audience.

 

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To maintain the aesthetic of the cinema room and to keep the AV equipment cool, a dedicated equipment room was built at the back of the cinema to house the projector and source equipment, all automated with RTI programming and controlled via iPad.

The end result is a high-end cinema room that thoroughly succeeds in style, comfort and performance. We hope to see the Clubhouse in next years CEDIA Awards!