Kent Home Cinema

Kent Home Cinema is delighted to announce that we are now members of retra.

 retra is the UK’s leading trade association for independent electrical retailers and servicing organisations.

Formed in 1942, retra represents more than 1,400 members, operating from over 2,300 outlets in the UK today.   Members include; Electrical Retailers, Service Engineers, Custom Installers, Computer Stores and Electronic Music

 retra retailers pride themselves in providing excellent customer service. By joining retra, we sign up to a code of practice that governs the day-to day dealings with consumers, and with it the peace of mind that this brings.

I’m blogging on this concert as it reminded me why HiFi and AV enthusiasts get all excited about kit that brings the live concert into the home.  Over 88,000 people witnessed a spectacular performance from U2, on a stage that defied belief  and by the nature of a 360 degree stage,  gave the whole audience something to watch for two and a half hours.

I couldn’t wait to get back to work Saturday (can you believe that!!) to blast some old favourties in our top floor demo room, which houses some rather nice Definitive Technolgy Mythos Ones.  Pure stereo through an Onkyo TX-SR876  receiver,  it all sounded marvellous, not quite Wembley, but less distortion!

So I can’t wait for the concert on Blu-ray (when it’s officially released) presented in our main demo room with the RS900 Runco + anarmorphic lens, Beamax 2.35:1 ratio screen and Triad InWall Silvers and our forthcoming NAD amplification.

Actually a final thought – 3D!  This concert was presented as 360′,  ideal for putting on those indoor sunglasses and watching Bono & The Edge parade around the centre stage – in your living room?

Home Cinema Installations

Home cinema builds are on the increase!  It could be in a loft conversion, garage conversion, dedicated room, gym, swimming pool or the lounge.  What needs to be considered is the desired equipment, functionality and the physical fitting of the equipment.  The Kent Home Cinema Installation service is designed to provide our customers a clear path from initial thoughts to a satisfactory home entertainment solution.  This ensures that all of your home entertainment equipment can be integrated into one coherent system, and where possible seamlessly blending into your home environment.  This may include lighting, audio, and video and information technology. It may be that the system becomes a feature of the design of your home, or an invisible function – you decide.

Kent Home Cinema offers:-

-          Consultation & System Design

-          Residential and Commercial installation applications

-          Home cinema systems

-          Multiroom sound & video distribution

-          Home automation

-          Lighting control

Consultation & Design Service

There are three parts to the consultation and design process.

Lifestyle:               

The home entertainment journey starts at Kent Home Cinema with one of our Systems Designers, happy to discuss your home entertainment ideas.

Proposals:

We will recommend the best equipment available to the given budget, backed up by a quotation and where necessary arrange an on-site survey.

System Design:

On acceptance of the quote, Kent Home Cinema will produce a detailed system schematic prior to the installation process.

 Installation Stages

Once the proposal has been accepted and the site visit completed, we will undertake the following:-

Stage 1

On the first fix we work with your Project / Site Manager and Electrician (if you have already appointed these) using our detailed cabling schedule + marked up plans, to ensure correct placement of power sockets, cable positioning, along with speaker plates, wall boxes etc.

Stage 2

The next stage is placement and fitting of all of your component parts e.g. items that are to be fixed to the floors, walls & ceilings (e.g. plasma wall-mounts, projector ceiling mounts, sensors or brackets and any In-wall / in-ceiling speakers).

Stage 3

Once the room is in a dust free environment the electronics are installed and connected. The remote control is then programmed (where specified) and basic sound and vision adjustments made to ensure your system components are working to their optimum levels. A final test is made to ensure the system is functioning correctly.  We then ensure you are comfortable with operating the system.

And After That?

The service doesn’t stop there.  All the equipment used in our systems is guaranteed for one year at least (in some instances more depending on the manufacturer).  We also offer the option to take out our extended peace of mind warranty which will cover you for parts and labour outside the manufacturers normal warranty period.

We also provide ongoing telephone customer support.  Remember we are only a telephone call or e-mail away to resolve any problems on your current system and of course happy to discuss options for your system expansion or upgrade.

Look forward to seeing you.

Some of the larger subwoofers we sell; SVS PB13 Plus, Velodyne DD18 and MJ Acoustics Ref 1 MkIII kick out some serious bass and can be safely driven to very loud decibel levels in most rooms.  This prompted me to research what decibel levels are safe, what causes these noises in the domestic home.  Luckily the National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health (NIOSH) has compiled a list of the decibel measurements (dBA) for common noises you might be exposed to each day at home, work or during recreational activities.  A decibel is a unit that expresses intensity or power.  So to see what your exposure is to unsafe noises with some of the following examples:

Home: 

• 50 dBA – Refrigerator
• 50-80 dBA – Electric shaver
• 50-80 dBA – Electric shaver
• 60-95 dBA – Hair dryer
• 75-85 dBA – Flushed toilet
• 80 dBA – Ringing phone, Vacuum cleaner
• 110 dBA – Crying baby
• 135 dBA – Noisy squeeze toys

Work:

• 40 dBA – Quiet office/ library
• 65-95 dBA – Power lawnmower
• 90-115 dBA – Subway
• 105 dBA – Snow blower
• 120 dBA – Ambulance
• 140 dBA – Airplane take-off
• 180 dBA – Rocket launching from pad

Recreation:

• 70 dBA – Freeway traffic
• 90 dBA – Large restaurant
• 95-110 dBA – Motorcycle
• 100 dBA Personal stereo
• 110 dBA – Car horn
• 115 dBA – Night Club
• 117 dBA – Football game (stadium)
• 140 dBA – Gunshot
• 150 dBA – Firecracker
• 157 dBA – Balloon pop
• 170 dBA – Shotgun

Other:

• 0 dBA – Softest level the human can hear
• 10 dBA – Normal breathing
• 30 dBA – Whisper
• 60 dBA – Normal conversation
• 80 dBA – Shouting
• 105 – 120 dBA – Thunder
• 110 dBA– Shout in the ear, Climax to film Armageddon!!

And just for the record!

• 116-119 dBA – From 2 x SVS PB13 Ultra Subwoofers at Dolby Reference Level

But how much is too much?   

NIOSH states that the maximum amount of time a person can be exposed to 85 dBA without experiencing hearing damage is 8 hours; this is the average level of noise a person hears every day. However, continuous exposure to 85 dBA beyond the 8-hour limit will cause hearing loss. If a person is exposed to level above 85 dBA, the risk of hearing loss increases in a shorter amount of time. The maximum time allowed for 110 dBA (e.g. a crying baby) is 1 minute 29 seconds. If a person is exposed to a noise that has a measurement of 140 dBA (e.g. airplane departure), immediate inner ear damage would result.

Hope this proved insightful and useful.