Essential Install May 2017 | Page 54

Essential Install | Pulse Cinemas Pulse Breaks The Price Barrier Pulse Cinemas was out in force at EI Live! with a demo that set out to do nothing short of change the market perception of what is possible at a sub £20K price point. Pulse Cinemas showcased the abilities of the BenQ 4K W11000 and its new affordable packages at EI Live! 2017 Charlie (right) and Simon celebrate at the Smart Building Awards Home cinema was a major theme of this year’s show and Pulse Cinemas in the run up made it clear that its presentation was going to be bold and challenge the market perception of the company. For a long time established as one of the top players in the mid to higher end of the market, Pulse wanted to prove that at lower price points it could still present a stunning result by offering a series of packages designed to deliver performance and a price accessible to a wider audience. The products chosen to represent this new approach included a full set of Definitive Technology loudspeakers presented in a 5.2.2 Dolby Atmos arrangement, powered by Audio Control AVR 7 (the active Definitive Technology subs took care of themselves). Also involved was the Kaleidescape Strato Server, BenQ’s W11000 4K projector with an anamorphic lens by Prismasonic, a CLF-100-235-S1W screen from Screen Research – all contained within a complete acoustic treatment by new Pulse brand Vicoustic. The stand was busy for most of the show so it was not until towards the end of the second day that EI got a chance to check the system out. Simon Schino from Pulse, despite manning the stand for two whole days, still looked energised and excited to show EI and a group of installers just what the system can do. So, following clips including from Deadpool and Star Wars: The Force Awakens, how did the system perform? Well it certainly has all the power you would need, but it’s not clumsy with it; everything is tight and precise, the loud things are loud, but not jarring and the detail is there too in image and sound. High octane scenes like the violent combat/ car chase in Deadpool can get really tiresome and messy, but the system had just the right amount of impact to deliver the emotional responses the film maker was going for without it being an assult on the senses. Then the clincher: this system goes to the dealer for £10K complete and with a RRP of £17K to the end user. Now EI is not going to say this is the best home cinema it has ever heard, it is still an ‘affordable opt