The 3 screen Dolby Atmos cinema showcases Flare Audios own eco-friendly loudspeaker Zero® delivering groundbreaking sound to its customers. 

With many cinemas under fire for excessively loud and ‘uncomfortable’ audio, the venue’s technical team were tasked with finding a way to ensure the clearest, most enjoyable, immersive sound achievable. The cinema which originally opened in November 2019 - just months before the UK went into its first lockdown - features one 30 seat and two 80 seat screens offering comfortable reclining seats, an underground bar and food on demand. The luxury experience needed to continue when it came to audio.

For this, the technical team brought in over 100 Speakers by Flare Audio. Renowned for ripping up the traditional audio reproduction rule book, scrutinising sound at a molecular level, and using their findings to reinvent speaker design, this approach has enabled Flare to develop a range of audio products that produce undetectable distortion. That means alleviating the often uncomfortable audio experienced by many cinema goers, due to high sound volumes during screenings.

Zero not only sounds impressive, but is also the world’s first loudspeaker to fabricate its exterior using recycled paper, while continuing to impress with both its audio and design features. It has a compact structure with an enclosure just slightly larger than its driver, making it perfect for cinema installations. 

Zero’s pure sound comes from Flare’s unique Vortex technology, featuring layers of rigid paper sheets which form hundreds of vortices. These act like tiny sieves, to encompass the driver and trap sound, but letting air through to release pressure slowly, enabling the driver to move freely.

The result is crystal clear, accurate sound reproduction, as if hearing the artist in the room first hand, without the distortion and unwanted effects of traditional speaker designs. The listener experiences minimal distortion and a much more comfortable experience, also enjoying the state-of-the-art DOLBY ATMOS® surround sound incorporated into the system.

“The cinema experience has evolved in recent years, with very high definition visuals becoming the norm along with multi-channel surround sound,” explains Chris Kimsey; cinema technical advisor and renowned record producer, mixer and engineer. 

“With so much sonic information being delivered to the audience we wanted to ensure that we used the highest possible quality loudspeakers. Flare’s Zero technology is unique, it delivers incredibly high quality immersive sound combined with the use of layers of recycled paper sandwiched between two plates of aluminium, which itself is 100% recyclable. This combination is very powerful both ecologically and aesthetically.”

 

Great audio... with a conscience.

“We wanted people to see how truly different and elegant these speakers are, so I have made a feature of them rather than hiding them away,” continues head of project Stephen Burdge. “Cinema at Selfridges is delighted to be the first to showcase this exciting audio advancement.”

 The facility is co-directed by the renowned Olympic Studios, which already runs boutique cinemas in Battersea and Barnes. These also feature Flare’s speakers.  Olympic uses another Flare system, the X3C full range speaker and the SB21C bass. These also have slimline boxes, the 21C being less than half the size of a conventional 21” sub.

 Read more about Zero here