Australian integrator Sydney Hifi Mona Vale makes us discover this incredible home theater featuring a 9.4.6 Krix system and powered by an Altitude16 processor.
Over the years, their confidence in Trinnov has only reinforced, delighting customers with best-in-class home cinema immersion. The unmatched quality of Trinnov support team and the performance of the products are as close to "modern-day magic" as it gets.
Can you tell us a bit about Sydney HiFi Mona Vale?
We are a small, focused team centred around providing best-in-class experiences for our clients. We have a retail HiFi showroom in Mona Vale and a more dedicated Home Cinema Experience Centre in Warriewood just a few minutes from our retail showroom both of which are on the beautiful Northern Beaches of Sydney. Our ideals over the past nearly 25 years have remained the same, everyone deserves great music and movie systems. Our mission it to always provide best-in-class for value and performance.
Please tell us more about this project
I remember when our client first came to our experience centre, it was in final stages of completion in our new location. He came in with his family to discuss his future plans for a dedicated home cinema. It had been his dream to have a dedicated space for many years and was already a stout fan of the brands we represent, with extensive research leading him to the Trinnov / Krix combination for cinema.
After our demonstration, the best way to describe his reaction was jubilation. About 12 months later, we started to design his AV System. His request was quite simple: "I want the same experience we had in your demo room."
The room was built as part of a larger basement project by Trade A Management to create a dedicated cinema with joining bar entertainment / karaoke room, indoor lap pool and gaming room.
What challenges did you face completing this project?
The build was quite straight forward, there were still supply issues at the tail-end of Covid, so materials and some products took longer to arrive but overall it was a smooth build. The biggest issue we had was that there was dampness across the basement level. This part of the house is under ground and a fancy air circulation system Stiebel Elton HVR was installed by Air We Care for the games / bar and cinema which keeps the rooms fresh and at constant temperature. This air system keeps the air circulating, preventing any build up of dampness and is deadly silent which is great for the cinema. You would not know it was working. The room was designed from ground up by Trade A Management including all the joinery, our responsibility was the AV Design and product specification.
Can you please explain your choice of speaker layout and system?
The system is a 9.4.6 configuration, with Krix MX-30 for the front stage, Krix Hypephonix for front wide / surround & surround back, Krix IC-80 and IC-52 making up the 6 overhead speakers. An additional 2 Krix Cyclonix 15 Subwoofers were placed in the rear.
The system is powered by a Trinnov Altitude 16 and a MadVR Envy Pro for video processing. A Parasound A31 power amplifier drives the front LCR and Electra power amplifiers drive all other speakers. The Yamaha PX-10 drives front MX-30 subwoofers which are 18” and the Yamaha PX-8 drives the rear Cyclonix 15 subwoofers. We have 2 Cambridge Dac Magic 200’s for the additional 4 digital channels of processing for a total of 19 channels. The only electronics we did not supply was the projector. Due to the product shortages, our client ended up sourcing this himself. The Sony projects onto a 150” Cinemascope Acoustic Transparent Screen. Finally, there is an Oppo 203 UHD player, a Zappiti Reference Media player and an Apple TV for TV streaming content.
For dedicated home cinema we exclusively use the Krix cinema range, which covers any level of home cinema: the SX series for smaller room, the MX series for infinite baffle behind screen dedicated rooms and the X series for larger spaces. Krix have a cinema solution for almost any budget and room size, we have been partnering with them for 10 years and from our first installation have never looked back.
Why did you decide on Trinnov Altitude16 for this project?
There really is no other choice for us. I own an Altitude16 and an ST2 for my personal cinema and stereo setup. Trinnov is as close to modern-day magic you will find. The ability to remove the room and craft the ultimate cinematic experience to create customization making each and every room sound unique and tailored to the client's preferences.
What brings you back to using Trinnov on multiple successive projects?
Our philosophy is simple when you find great products stick with them. Trinnov is one such product. We have created some amazing spaces that just would not have been possible without the Altitude processing. If a room lets you down you can count on the Altitude to get things back on track, and when you have a great room the end result is just movie audio immersive perfection. We have great local support in Australia, but it’s the accessibility to Trinnov engineers directly that installs in us the confidence to present Trinnov Altitude for projects and tackle complex systems designs.
Constant training and communication from Krix who is our Trinnov distributor in Australia and Trinnov directly shows their commitment to building the best network of integrators. This investment in our business has earned our loyalty and our respect.
What do you like about Trinnov's Optimizer?
The Optimizer is the secret sauce, the final equation that binds it all together. Measurements and control of the environment with the ability to make every seat special. Rooms are very personal, there is what we believe to be technically correct and there is what our clients want. With the Optimizer we can have both.
What does using a Trinnov product add to the overall end user experience?
All that matters is the user experience, the customization makes for a special room. When we hand over a project, what we want to hear from our clients is “that’s perfect”. Trinnov is the key to perfect.
What has your experience been with Trinnov support?
We have on occasion required support, in the early days. It was some hand holding, as projects became more complex with many outside elements. The support team was present and engaged, often resolving issues that go beyond their scope relating to control systems or source signals.An involvement inspiring confidence and at all times professional.
What has been the end user's experience with this project?
We have fulfilled his long-term dream to have a dedicated home cinema. Our client is very proud of his room and has become a wonderful ambassador for our company and the brands. “I cant believe it, this is what I have always wanted” a direct quote. That to me says it all.