Case studies

Barn Conversion in Northants with Invisible Speakers (30/7/2008)

When choosing a place in the country, William had a few key criteria: it must be within an hour's drive from London, have the latest technology to make living comfortable, and be beautiful inside and out.

On discovering a run down barn for sale, William knew he had uncovered something special. As he explains, "When I came across the barn it already had planning permission to knock it down and build from scratch. But when I saw the wonderful Northampton Stone and beautiful original exposed beams I decided rescue it and make it a truly remarkable home."

The task was not only to renovate the building, but to marry the latest home entertainment technology to the interior, without compromising the design. The architect understood that safeguarding the integrity of the barn was important to the whole project.

At the heart of the converted barn is a large full-height open-plan living area with a floor-to-ceiling birch panelled 'living room' area. The panelling is one of the keynote design features of the building, and great care was taken over its installation. Each sheet of birch panel was laid out, assessed for overall effect, and then cut for positioning. The craftsmen looked at every detail to ensure the finish would be perfect. When doors were cut for the alcoves, the grain was studied and each piece matched so that the pattern would be seamlessly carried throughout the whole facia. This then left the quandary of how to install an audio visual suite without disturbing the elegant ambience.

The solution

With this much care and attention taken with the panelling, the imposition of audio speakers would have been an intrusion that disrupted the whole effect. The architect therefore recommended Amina plaster in-wall speakers, as these can be installed not only in the wall or ceiling and plastered over, but can also be installed behind wooden panelling.

Installation of the loudspeakers into the wood panels at the barn was straightforward. Once the position for the speakers in the room was decided, the appropriate panels were removed and the template of the speaker scribed on the back. The wood was then routed away from the back of the panel to accept the speaker whilst leaving a 2mm thickness of material behind the panel face. The loudspeaker was then glued into the space created with specialist wood adhesive, and pressure applied to ensure a good bond. Once the adhesive had set, the speakers were wired up to the amplifier, and the system was ready to go.

Amina speakers installed behind wood panelling.

The speakers are used across a wide mix of sound, from opera and classical to home cinema. According to William, "The sound we get from the Amina speakers is fantastic, the detail is unlike anything I've heard from conventional speakers, and the way they fill the whole space is truly phenomenal. But what we really love is that there is no intrusion into the room. The birch panelling really complements the original beams and stonework meaning the whole interior design maintains it's integrity."

The AV system that is normally hidden behind the wooden panels.

Conclusion

Until recently, the only option when recreating sound in a room was to install traditional pistonic speakers. The issue with these are that they project a cone of sound which often results in hot and cold sound pressures: meaning that at one location the sound may be intrusive while a short distance away audibility is impaired. In large rooms, accurate positioning and quantity of speakers becomes very important when providing appropriate coverage.

But because of the very different way that Amina plaster-in-wall speakers work, they make the process simpler. Rather than a tight cone of sound, they generate a diffuse sound wave in their complex vibrating structure. This means that the sound is not directional as it evolves in all directions - a hemispherical wave. So in a large room, the sound sweeps through the space and into the corners to give a more even, ambient coverage, in much the same way that a grand piano can fill all corners of a concert hall with music, yet not deafen the player.

Since the sound created is not so directional as traditional speakers, plaster-in-wall speakers also give greater leeway when positioning, and this flexibility comes into its own, particularly when placement of traditional speakers would present a conflict with a design or technical feature.

Equipment list

Teac AV Home Theatre AG H550.
Teac DVD player DV H550.
Sky High Digibox.
Hitachi widescreen TV.
4 x AIW5 80 Watt Amina plaster in-wall loudspeakers.

www.amina.co.uk