CinemaSITE Installation
When I first saw the RBH Sound CinemaSITE at the 2004 CEDIA show I was instantly captivated by the sheer genius of the product. For years it was only possible to get the elegant look of a custom home theater by either a) having a one-off custom wood-worked cabinet designed and, or b) utilizing an existing furniture solution that allowed integration of speakers on shelves. The problem with either of these solutions can be summed up by a factor of cost, inconvenience and severely compromised sound quality. The RBH Sound CinemaSITE on the other hand has been completely designed from the ground up to serve as a custom install solution for housing their Signature Series line of in-wall loudspeakers. In addition to being sonically designed to hold the RBH Sound in-walls, the entire system is laid out in a way that makes installation a breeze. Try that with a custom product!
Just exactly
how
does one go about
creating a "custom" home theater system from scratch? Well, for starters it's important to have
solid goals. RBH Sound set out to craft a system that didn't just simply hold their in-wall
speakers. They wanted to address a complete custom solution that took into account a simple
installation process, speaker selection flexibility, and a design concept that would allow their
Signature Series in-wall speakers to closely mimic an in-stud installation without any CinemaSITE
cabinet resonance to produce optimal audio reproduction quality.
Our review system included components to put together a full 5.1 system, including the main front piece and two side surround columns. The CinemaSITE can be custom configured into almost any type of system - from an entry level SI-740-based 5.1 system to a full-scale T-2 equivalent 7.1 configuration. Here are the current loudspeaker options:
CinemaSITE 5.1 System
Starting at $17,900/system
System includes:
CinemaSITE front wall and two rear columns
5 each SI-740
2 each SI-12/P
Upgrades
Additional column (no speakers): $1,349/ea.
Upgrade 1 each SI-740 to a SI-760: Add $176/ea.
Upgrade 1 each SI-740 to a SI-6100: add $1,476/ea.
Upgrade 1 each SI-12/P to a SI-1010/P: add $370/ea.
The system configured in this review utilized three SI-6100s, two SI-1010P subwoofers (with dual SA-400 amplifiers), a pair of SI-760's for surrounds and a pair of 41-SEs for Back Surround channels.
Installation
In terms of steps, installation is a breeze. For those installers who will place several of these systems into their clients homes throughout the year this process will get down to about 4 hours - and almost mind-numbingly simple process that should save countless hours in fitting loudspeakers into custom cabinetry and hunting down vibrations and cabinet resonance issues.
I had the fortune to have RBH Sound's Designer, Shane Rich , and their M ark eting M anager, Daren Egan on hand to help me install this system for review. RBH Sound developed a DVD video that takes the custom installer through the required steps to install the CinemaSITE system. M y comment after seeing the video was "Is that all?" Nothing demonstrated the system's ease of setup better than the fact that the installation video was a grand total of two minutes and 30 seconds in length.
We began with the first column and loaded both the SI-6100 loudspeaker and RBH Sound's brand new SI-1010 subwoofer. Pins attached to the sides of the SI-6100's allow it to simply slide through pre-cut grooves and lock tightly into place within the column of the CinemaSITE. In addition the pins provide isolation such that the in-wall speaker, when knuckle rapped, didn't seem to couple with the cabinet at all. The sub slides neatly behind the main speaker and is held into place through the use of dampening material on the sides which also eliminates resonance from the CinemaSITE columns. Each sub is powered by a separate SA-400 (400 watt RMS) class AB/G amplifier. I opted to utilize 12AWG Velocity Bulk Speaker Cable from Impact Acoustics to wire up the entire system and we ran the speaker wire behind the SI-1010 subwoofer such that the CinemaSITE could mount flush against the wall. We actually used Impact Acoustics cables for the entire Reference System 2's analogue audio and video cabling.
Next came the SI-6100 center channel which, again using pins, was
attached to the center channel bracket so that it could be held in place as well as angled up
towards the listening position from beneath the projection screen. The bracket itself is then
secured to the CinemaSITE using the supplied bolts and allen wrench. All of this is done with the
lower part of the center section lying face down on the ground. At this point the center section is
lifted up and the CinemaSITE starts to really take shape. The grooves which are cut into the sides
of the front columns allow for a snug and secure fit of the center section pieces. In fact, when
the top section was added, you could barely see the seam even though it ran nearly the entire
length of the CinemaSITE.
Editor's Note
Possibly one of the most impressive aspects of the CinemaSITE system and the installation process is the fact that you NEVER need to get behind the unit during installation. Through the thoughtful inclusion of removable decorative panels and carefully placed holes in the top part of the center section, all wires and final connections can be made without ever having to worry about being able to access the rear of the unit. This saves a tremendous amount of time and eliminates an untold number of potential headaches.
We next
attached the other front column after inserting the speaker and subwoofer. Finishing touches of the
main piece included anchoring the entire CinemaSITE to the studs of the wall with supplied plumber's
tape and screws. This assured me that the system wouldn't easily tip over, though we found that Daren
could hang almost 200 pounds off the front of the unit before it began to tip. This is likely due to
the presence of some very heavy rear-loaded subwoofers. In any case, it's always better to be safe
and RBH is very specific about this particular step to ensure customer safety.
Finishing touches included putting on the grill covers which are simply beautiful. RBH Sound has them made using a door casing process in Utah and it really shows. The attention to detail in this system is nothing short of breathtaking, from the crown molding to the available finishes (the review sample was a very rich mahogany that my wife fell in love with.) Other than a few natural knots (and I do mean only a few) the maple-based wood was flawless and of a very high quality.
