While many custom installation dealers sell many of the same types of products, how they present them to customers is often very different — and very creative. To celebrate these outside-the-box thinkers, we present our fifth annual showcase of dynamic showrooms.
ARLED Cinema
Website: arled-cinema.de/en/
Location: Stockelsdorf, Germany
Movie Core Room:
- Brands Featured: BARCO Residential, Trinnov Audio, ASCENDO Immersive Audio, Christie, MAG Cinema, madVR Envy, Futurestone, ARLED PRO Series LED-Screen, Vorwerk
- Fun Fact: Features the largest infrasonic subwoofer in the world (ASCENDO). World’s first 8K 144 Hz LED screen with 92% REC.2020 and BARCO Nerthus. ARLED Cinema won 2023 CEDIA Awards for Best Showroom, EMEA, and Excellence in Innovation, EMEA, as well as ASCENDO’s award for Best Showroom worldwide.
Oasis Theater Room:
- Brands Featured: BARCO Residential, Trinnov Audio, ASCENDO Immersive Audio, madVR Envy, Futurestone, artnovion, JAB Anstoetz, ARLED Cinema Screen with DreamScreen X1 Studio Fabric
- Fun Fact: The room feaures hand-sheared carpet that looks like a dune in the desert. European premiere of the BARCO Heimdall+ CS. Two ASCENDO THE32 Sub Pro Passive Sealed infrasonic subwoofers in combination with 8x THE21 Sub Pro Passive subwoofers.
JPRO
Website: www.jpro.co.nz
Location: Auckland, New Zealand
Showroom Dimensions: 35 square feet
Brands Featured: JBL Synthesis, AMX Muse Automation, AMX Varia touch panel, Crown CDi 4300N amplifier, Netgear Pro AV switch, Apple 4K TV, Samsung 4K UHD Smart TV, Panasonic Blu-ray Player
Fun Fact: The concept for the room size was to put together an epic-sounding, small-format solution with minimal equipment that you can fit into a spare bedroom or smaller media room. The room’s limited size required strategic speaker placement to maintain an expansive soundstage while mitigating room nodes that could interfere with bass response. The JPRO team used five JBL Synthesis SCL-7 speakers for LCR and five more for surrounds, along with two SCL-8s. For subs, a JBL Synthesis SSW-3 was used in the front, and an SSW-4 was used in the rear. Processing and power come from a JBL Synthesis SDR-38 AV receiver.
Flashback: Showroom Showcase 2024
Chelsea Audio Video
Website: www.chelseaaudiovideo.com
Location: Portland, Oregon
Showroom Dimensions: 3300 square feet
Brands Featured: Pro Audio Technology, Theory Audio Design, Sony, Stewart Filmscreen, Salamander, DMF Lighting, Anthem, Kaleidescape, Control4, Vicoustic, Tributaries Cable
Fun Fact: Chelsea’s showroom includes a stunning theater room featuring a floor-to-ceiling, 185-inch 16:9 Stewart screen, Kaleidescape streamer, Anthem processor, and six Theory DLC loudspeaker controllers (a whopping 10,500 watts of power) that run the 7.4.6 PRO and Theory Dolby Atmos system. The theater also features a custom-made starlit ceiling that took one of Chelsea’s employees about 40 hours to build.
Millennium Sounds
Website: www.millenniumsounds.com
Location: Westfield, Indianapolis
Showroom Dimensions: 4300 square feet
Brands Featured: Control4 and Triad
Fun Fact: This showroom was built to enjoy electronics and provide a fun environment.
Lutron’s Toronto Design Studio
Website: experience.lutron.com/us/en
Location: Toronto, Ontario
Showroom Dimensions: 2200 square feet
Brands Featured: Lutron Ketra D2 and Rania D2 downlights
Fun Fact: Located in the Queens Quay neighborhood in the Daniels Waterfront building, this studio is designed to support the design and trade community, offering immersive experiences that showcase the future of light in the built environment. The studio’s design, led by a Toronto-based architectural firm iN STUDIO, reflects a strong connection to the landscape, with curved wooden walls and expansive views of the sky and water, creating a calming, natural environment.
Coastal Source Lighting Experience in the D’Asign Source Outdoor Showroom
Website: dasignsource.com
Location: Marathon, Florida
Showroom Dimensions: 25,000 square feet
Brands Featured: Coastal Source, Lutron Lighting & Demonstration Automation System, Lutron Ketra Lighting, True Appliances, Olmstead Beer Tap, Zahbuilt Outdoor Cabinetry, Summer Classics Furniture
Fun Fact: Most clients visit during the day, which makes it challenging to showcase all the benefits of outdoor lighting, including how expert lighting design enhances safety, security, and beauty from every perspective: inside the home, from the street, and throughout the outdoor space. The Lighting Experience Room brings it all to life. Here, clients can see the impact of various lighting techniques, explore different applications, and truly appreciate the performance and durability of Coastal Source fixtures in a controlled setting. It’s an invaluable tool that helps them visualize the possibilities for their own outdoor spaces.
Crestron NY Experience Center
Website: https://www.crestron.com/How-To-Buy/experience-centers-and-showrooms/NYC-Experience-Center
Location: The New York Design Center, New York City
Showroom Dimensions (square feet): 7500
Brands Featured: Crestron Electronics
Fun Fact: “I can tell you that I call it my NY marathon, because there are 26 miles of cable.” —Jonathan Garcia, lead technical solutions director, Crestron Electronics
AV Express
Website: avexpress.net
Location: Houston, Texas
PowerHouse Alliance Member
Showroom Dimensions (square feet): 1100
Brands Featured: CSL, No. 8 Lighting, Diode LED, Proluxe LED
Fun Fact: The “Dealer Bar” isn’t just a stunning LED lighting display — it’s also a real bar where dealers can grab a drink. The 162-inch 4K direct view LED video wall is not only used for top-tier dealer training but also as a high-impact demo space where dealers bring their clients to show products.
Related: Clients in Control
Harman Luxury Audio Updated Eargle Theater
Website: www.harmanluxuryaudio.com
Location: Northridge, California
Showroom Dimensions: 18 x 25 x 9 feet (w x d x h)
Brands Featured: JBL Synthesis
Fun Fact: Recently upgraded to showcase the latest in JBL Synthesis innovation, the dedicated home cinema and lab now features a complete “Certified Elite” multichannel system anchored by the next-generation SDP-80 36-channel immersive surround processor and a full rack of new high-performance SMA amplifiers.
Configured as a 13.4.13-channel system, the 10-seat Eargle Theater now integrates three SMA-8300 and six SMA-4750 amplifiers, delivering audiophile-grade Class D amplification across an array of 26 loudspeakers and 10 subwoofers. The acoustic arsenal includes three flagship SCL-1 dual 12-inch loudspeakers for LCR, along with eight SCL-2 and two SCL-4 loudspeakers to complete the lower-level surround channels. Two SCL-4 (L & R) and one SCL-3 (center) are deployed as screen height channels, with two SAM3HA for rear height channels flanking the projector in the rear soffit. The remaining eight SCL-3 height channel loudspeakers are custom installed behind the fiber optic star ceiling panels. Deep bass is delivered via two flagship SSW-1 dual 15-inch subwoofers in the front left and right corners below the screen and eight SSW-3 dual 10-inch in-wall subs arranged in two groups of four in the left and rear corners of the room. This 4-channel “.4” subwoofer configuration calibrated with Harman’s Soundfield Management creates a stunning low-frequency experience that can be both heard and felt.
Fusion Audio + Video
Website: www.fusionaudiovideo.com
Location: Greenville, South Carolina
Showroom Dimensions (square feet): 17,000
Brands Featured: DMF Lighting, McIntosh, Bowers & Wilkins, Focal, Control4, SnapOne, Josh.ai, Origin, Screen Innovations, Sony, Samsung, Leon, Lutron Homeworks/RA3/Ketra, Naim, Modus VR, Full Swing Golf, WAC, Artnovion, Kinetics, VPI, Pro-ject, Sonos, Bluesound, Kaleidescape, Crestron, Yealink, Ambisonic, Audio Control, AVPro Edge, Alarm.com, Epson
Fun Fact: “Starting from a Rubbermaid shed in my backyard, Fusion has grown into a thriving company with over 50 employees, all united by a culture of caring. Our mission is to prosper our team, clients, and community with the resources God provides. Both residential and commercial clients come to us for exceptional experiences, but they stay because of the outstanding quality of our people.” —Aaron Cowden, partner, CEO, Fusion Audio + Video
