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RC Ljud & Bild AB, previously known as Radiocentralen (RC), was founded in 1949 and has found success offering a carefully curated selection of home theater and Hi-Fi products.
Magnus Svenmarker, Store Manager, RC Ljud & Bild, explains, “Our goal over the years has been to provide the best products on the market to our customers, with a focus on service and quality.
We have a local store in Umeå with several demo rooms, a home theater showroom, and our webshop www.rcljudbild.se. We are all passionate enthusiasts.
“Today, we are a team of three people. I have been working in the industry since my teenage years. I love film and music, built my first speakers at the age of 10 and my first dedicated home theater at 15. Today, I run RC after my predecessor Stig, who has worked for the company since the early 1960s. I primarily handle sales and project planning. Kenneth is our installer and technician who carries out our AV installations and manages our workshop. Peter, a hardcore audiophile and our golden ear, is our Hi-Fi specialist who has been with us since the 1990s.”
Project origins and Procella involvement
Magnus explains that the Hälleberga project came about for several reasons. The company’s previous in-store demo space was too small to be really effective and the team wanted to showcase a complete concept for customers with an acoustically well-designed room in a home environment featuring integrated and partially concealed technology. This coincided with Magnus’ dream of
a dedicated home theater with top performance in his own home which led to the inclusion of such a space when he constructed a new property in 2019.
Magnus says, “I have designed, built, and planned home theater systems for our customers for many years before the construction of our Hälleberga theater. The experiences we gathered from our previous builds and the curiosity to test new acoustic solutions led to one of the first things we designed in our house being the home theater. This became a 30m² room located in its own building on the property, integrated with one of the house's entrances. We wanted a room that was well soundproofed from the house, but still easily accessible.”
Magnus reveals that the plan from day one was for a Procella room designed by Procella co-founder Anders Uggelberg, so the room's speaker layout and baffle wall were dimensioned and drawn by Anders. The room's acoustic solution was designed by Karl-Johan Andrén, a specialist in acoustic design.
Magnus explains, “Throughout the build, several changes were made from the original plan. For example, the ceiling was rebuilt with a truss to provide space and extra height for the Atmos Procella speakers and the diffusors. The room's rear wall was perforated with an opening to the internal garage to further control the bass reverberation time.
“Both the electronics and acoustics were developed during the build. The first version of the room was completed in 2021. The room, as it appears today—with wooden panels covering the door and the black features on the ceiling—was completed in 2023, marking version 2.0.”
Procella: The heart of the theatre
Magnus says that the choice of Procella speakers in this high-performance space was based on their sound quality (with a clean, powerful, natural sound), compact design and home country of Sweden origin. According to the Procella manual and provided drawings, the baffle wall was constructed with Procella P610 speakers as the LCR channels and also dual Procella P15FB subwoofers.
Magnus says, “The speakers were selected based on the size of the room and the desire to build a compact a baffle wall to retain as much of the room's size as possible. We covered the wall with a black acoustically transparent fabric to conceal the subwoofers and absorption material.”
For the front wide channels, Procella P5Vs were chosen for the speaker’s sleek appearance. The team reports that the P5Vs perform excellently and blend well into the sound bubble. For the surround/Atmos positions, P5V were again chosen for their sleek design and sufficient throw distance and sound pressure.
The P15FPs were selected for the rear subwoofers to match the subwoofers in the baffle wall in a Waveforming layout, in consultation with David Meyerowitz, Technical Sales Manager at Trinnov.
Magnus enthuses, “Upgrading to Waveforming took performance to a new level, providing more tactile bass, better dynamics and pressure. The P15FPs, with their compact depth, will likely be recessed into the back wall or concealed behind a false fabric wall in the future.”
The Screen Research UWB 360 cm wide in 2.35 format was selected to create a width between the left and right front speakers and a nearly 45-degree viewing angle from the main position on the sofa. Magnus says, “The screen itself was an obvious choice due to its excellent image performance and low linear sound absorption. Surrounding the screen is an RGB LED strip to provide atmospheric lighting and enhance contrast in the image when the room is used with the lights on.”
A Sony XW6100 projector was chosen for its image quality, low noise levels and a brightness of 2700 ANSI lumens, which matches the screen. Sony's fine image processor, which provides smooth image flow, was also a factor in the choice. A MadVR Core unit has been ordered as the next upgrade to improve tone mapping and access the linear stretch functionality delivered by this product.
A Trinnov Audio Altitude 32 processor was chosen for its flexibility, smart, high-performing measurement system, high sound quality, and future-proof design. Magnus reveals that a Trinnov Audio AMP 16 has also been added as a replacement for the previous Blaze Audio amplifier. Magnus says, “An appreciated feature of the AMP 16 was its gain match between the preamp and amplifier, which lowered the noise in the speakers to undetectable levels. The AMP 16 also updated the sound quality, providing better detail and a more relaxed sound.”
A Procella DA08 powers and controls all the P15FP with control and power. The unit is connected via AES67 from Trinnov, which allowed us to use their digital +4 channels for the subwoofers.
Powergripp YG-3 manages power supply and filtering to all components except the AMP 16, which is powered by dual 16A outlets separately. The Powergripp is the latest addition to the room and has increased detail in both sound and image.
A Nuprime SW-8 network switch was chosen for its isolated ports that separate the products from each other, whilst a Nice based control system that makes the room easy to start and use. The equipment rack was placed in the adjacent garage to remove electronics and its heat from the room.
Sources for the room include the R_volution PlayerOne 8K to play ripped Blu-ray discs, an Apple TV 4K provides a backup primarily used for streaming series and sport.
Magnus provides some other detail the performance, “The room’s ceiling, with its horizontal beams and sloping shape, serves several functions. It acts as reflectors for ceiling reflections and reflects sound back into the absorption material.
“This is to avoid excessive sound absorption material in the room. It gives the ceiling a unique shape, contributing to the room's aesthetics. Embedded around the entire ceiling are RGB lights and spotlights to create atmospheric lighting or strong task lighting.”
The space has been calibrated by Magnus who is Trinnov certified and also by David Meyerowitz who performed the initial Waveforming calibration and provided several tips and improvements for the system.
Magnus says that the best thing about the space, besides being able to showcase the performance of the Procella components and other equipment to customers, is the relaxed feeling in the room. Magnus concludes, “It is a quiet, lovely space where one enjoys spending time. The room and system have the ability to completely immerse you in the film or concert being shown.”
Equipment List
Speakers
• Front: 3x Procella P610
• Front Wide: 2x Procella P5V
• Surround: 4x Procella P5V
• Atmos: 4x Procella P5V
• Subwoofer: 4x Procella P15 Waveforming
Image
• Projector: Sony XW6100
• Screen: Screen Research UWB, 360 cm wide, 2.35 format.
Processing and control
• Preamp/Processor: Trinnov Altitude 32
• Amplifier: Trinnov Audio Amplitude 16
• Subwoofer Amplifier: Procella DA-08
• Power Management: Powergripp YG-3
• Network Switch: Nuprime SW-8
• Cables: Supra, Bridgee, and Viborg
• Control System: Nice
Sources
• Sources: R_volution PlayerOne 8K (ripped film), Apple TV 4K (streaming), and Oppo UDP203 (Blu-ray)
