We are often invited to visit home cinemas — sometimes high-value installations, sometimes flagship installations, invariably rooms which showcase the skills of the installation team, as well as the quality or value of equipment therein. It’s a privilege to visit what are usually private homes, and often wildly impressive homes too, in which the owners value privacy and anonymity. Sometimes there are compromises from budget constraints, or room design. But it’s always a pleasure. Well, if there were compromises in this theatre, we couldn’t pick ‘em; it’s among the best we’ve ever seen, and ever heard. It’s in Melbourne, with Steven Spurrier of Studio Connections responsible for the concept and design, working with a team that included Paul Kutcher of Visual Fidelity (the Australian distributor for Stewart Filmscreen) and Andrew Steel of Ultrafonic. It features a reference-quality audio system fronted by a Genelec speaker system, and a 212-inch Stewart Filmscreen Cinecurve Jumbo screen filled with the native 4K brilliance of a high-end Sony projector fitted with an automated Schneider Kreuznach anamorphic lens.
