It all began when the owner of a home in North London attended a Burna Boy concert.

After becoming interested in the sound system used, he discovered L-Acoustics and began exploring the possibility of bringing that same listening experience into his home. The project ultimately took shape as two very different spaces, each designed with a distinct approach tailored to its specific requirements.

A client with a clear vision

By the time the client arrived at the L-Acoustics showroom in Highgate, he had a very clear idea of what he wanted. He was looking to recreate the physical and emotional impact of live sound, rather than simply reproduce it, explains Nick Fichte, Global Business Development Lead, Hospitality, Home & Yacht at L-Acoustics.

The client arrived with a carefully selected playlist, specific ideas about loudspeaker placement, and a clear vision of how each room should feel. He even returned to the Highgate showroom for a second visit to fine-tune his choices as the project progressed.

Two spaces, two design approaches

The two rooms required completely different design solutions. Working alongside the wider project team, Hill House Interiors determined how the audio systems would be integrated into each space.

In the cinema room, the client wanted the loudspeakers to remain completely out of sight. Hill House Interiors developed a solution that concealed them entirely behind fabric-covered walls, while the acoustic treatment and construction work were carried out by specialist contractor Desmond & Sons. The result is an immersive listening environment where the system's performance is fully experienced without the technology being visible.

Bringing the design and acoustic engineering teams together from the outset allowed the audio requirements to shape the room from the very beginning, from wall construction and material selection through to the ceiling design. Working with L-Acoustics enabled us to achieve a high level of performance while keeping the technology discreetly integrated, so the cinema still feels like an elegant, intimate interior rather than a purely technical space, explain Helen Bygraves and Jenny Weiss, Co-Founders and Directors of Hill House Interiors.

By contrast, the games room followed a completely different concept. Here, the client wanted the loudspeakers to remain visible and become a deliberate feature of the interior design. The acoustic challenge was considerable: floor-to-ceiling glazing, hard flooring, a bar running the full length of the room and glass doors opening onto the swimming pool left very few surfaces capable of absorbing sound reflections.

"To integrate the Syva loudspeakers, we customised them with a RAL finish matching the joinery, making them a deliberate design feature within the space", explains Fichte. "Given the complexity of the acoustic environment, we also brought in one of our L-Acoustics application engineers to calibrate the system. Their expertise was essential to achieving the performance the room required".

Syva and X Series at the heart of the project

The cinema room features three X8i loudspeakers handling the left, centre and right channels, supported by ten X4i units covering the surround and height channels, together with two Syva Sub units providing low-frequency reinforcement. The entire system is powered by an LA7.16i amplified controller.

In the games room, the main system consists of two Syva loudspeakers with two Syva Sub units, complemented by four ceiling-mounted X4r loudspeakers powered by an LA4X amplified controller.

Bringing live sound home

The project's goal—to bring the quality of live sound into a residential environment—was realised in the completed installation. Once the system had been calibrated and the client had become familiar with its capabilities, the response was overwhelmingly positive.

What made this project special was the journey the client had already been on before walking through our door. He knew exactly what he was looking for because he had already experienced it in a live setting and wasn't willing to accept that the same emotional impact couldn't be achieved at home. He was the kind of client who pushes you to deliver something exceptional, and these two rooms are the result of that ambition, concludes Fichte.

Image captions:

• LA_Hill_House_1 – L-Acoustics Syva and X Series bring concert-grade sound to a North London home.
• LA_Hill_House_2 – Musical Images and Hill House Interiors integrate a L-Acoustics sound system into a private residential installation.
• LA_Hill_House_3 – The client first experienced L-Acoustics at a live concert and wanted to recreate the physical and emotional impact of live sound at home.
• LA_Hill_House_4 – The two spaces required different design approaches, with Hill House Interiors overseeing the integration of the L-Acoustics audio systems into each room.
• LA_Hill_House_5 – The result is an immersive listening environment where the full power of the L-Acoustics sound system is experienced without the technology being seen.