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An MSE Audio PhaseTech Case Study: Cameron House’s Luxury Loch Lomond Hotel, Scotland

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, Allan and AVComm UK were ready to begin the installation. Unfortunately, a devastating fire destroyed the space that they were going to be working in. Almost three years later, Cameron House Hotel contacted Allan Staig again after their fire restoration had been completed.

At this point, the brief changed considerably – the space was first slated to be 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. For these reasons, AVComm UK created an entirely new design for Cameron House Hotel, working with distributor Apex-Tech UK with Alan Briggs as a point of contact for AV products and support.

The Luxury Loch Lomond Cameron House Hotel

The name alone speaks to the beauty of this destination hotel in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland. Surrounded by beautiful, crystal-clear water, the Loch Lomond Hotel sits on the shore of Loch Lomond, a pristine Scottish lake just under two hours west of Edinburgh. The Loch Lomond Hotel is, undeniably, a five-star location, desirable for weddings, conferences, business trips, golfing, and honeymoons. As part of their recent renovations, the Loch Lomond Hotel added a private cinema with 29 seats. In this case study, we will discuss the aforementioned project, the equipment used to complete it, and the outcome of the project.

Client’s Needs

Cameron House Hotel had requested the following of Mr. Staig and the 10 x 7.8-meter room:

  • 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 for when not in use as a cinema.

Why MSE Audio’s PhaseTech?

Allan Staig, early in the design process, decided to work with a local distributor, Apex-Tech UK, throughout the project. Apex-Tech UK not only offered the required cinema products, they also had the extensive knowledge and service offering to support the AVComm team when needed. Allan Staig worked directly with Apex Tech UK’s Alan Briggs for most of the planning and product selection.

When Mr. Staig described the project’s scale and high-profile nature, Alan Briggs knew that Apex-Tech UK could deliver products with the quality and reliability that they were looking for. Neil Davidson, Apex-Tech UK’s Managing Director, recommended that Allan Staig commit to the Phase Technology (PhaseTech) brand, knowing that the speakers had high reliability and excellent quality. In addition to this, Neil knew that MSE Audio’s PhaseTech brand had high-performance in-wall speakers that could be concealed without taking up valuable space.

Product Selection

For the entire speaker collection, Apex-Tech UK suggested the Phase Technology product lineup for several reasons. First and foremost, since the PhaseTech product line offered high performance in-wall speakers. These would allow Mr. Staig to keep flush, smooth walls, reducing the visual impact within the theater while providing full rich sound. For such a small space, keeping everything compact and minimizing the amount of equipment on the walls was paramount.

For the sound management technology, an Acurus Muse processor and two Acurus M8 power amplifiers were selected. These came recommended by Apex Tech UK, and they were a great match for the PhaseTech speakers.

Visual technology included a Barco Athena projector, several components to reduce the noise from that projector (since it had to be placed in the room), and a Kaleidescape Strato player to manage the projected visuals and sound.

Full Project Product List

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

1 x Display Technologies HB-L Hushbox

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 Allan Staig, planning the installation was a bit tricky since there were now two designated firewalls (one in the original project) to workaround. Due to this and other factors, the projector had to be installed inside the cinema. Additionally, installation on the firewalls 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 was fitted with a Mistral Airflow system that included silent fans and a control center. This was a critical part of the design because the projector would be hanging above the viewers – it had to be quiet and discreet, all while maintaining proper aeration to avoid overheating.

The PhaseTech high-performance three-way in-wall speakers were simple to install, and 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. Allan was impressed by the ease of installation for the speakers.

Post-Install Testing

“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,” said Allan. “It was very good before calibration, but that took it to the next level. Value-wise, for a high-end product, I don’t think you could get a better speaker package for the cost.”

“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,” concluded Allan Staig, A.V. Comm, U.K.

About MSE Audio

MSE Audio strives to provide its integrators and end-users with exceptional sound quality in a diverse product catalog, with engineering and systems assistance always available while delivering a world-class level of customer service.

Headquartered in Lenexa, Kansas, USA, MSE Audio is the parent company of seven speaker manufacturing brands, SoundTube Entertainment, Soundsphere, dARTS, Phase Technology, Induction Dynamics, SolidDrive and Rockustics. With multiple US design and manufacturing centers across residential and commercial markets, MSE Audio’s synergistic, cross-platform design and engineering ensures exceptional durability, superior sonic performance, and refined aesthetics.

MSE Audio is one of the few vertically integrated speaker manufacturers in the US with many products manufactured at our facilities in Lenexa, Kansas and Jacksonville, Florida. MSE Audio holds over 70 patents that exemplify their dedication to audio technology innovation.

Media Contact
Coleen Sterns Leith
Marketing Matters
Office: (954) 925-1511 x1
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Email: [email protected]

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