AWE autumn Expo: Review and Photo Gallery

AWE opened its doors once again this week for its second Expo event of the year, revealing that it’s added a Dolby Atmos enabled cinema room to its extensive showroom facilities. Naturally, Inside CI paid a visit with an excited film crew in tow, eager to see what the AWE team had created. The theatre room (pictured above) has been kitted out with the a cutting-edge Denon AVR-X5200W AV receiver, configured in a 7.5.4 Dolby Atmos layout (that’s a seven channel surround spread with no fewer than five matching in-wall active subwoofers and four in-ceiling speakers); loudspeakers include the superb KEF CI R series speakers. The image is cast using an Epson EH-TW9200 (pictured below). The lighting is discrete and controlled by a Philips Dynalite LED lighting controller. All the AV kit in the room is controlled via an URC system.

Once parked comfortably in the theatre’s expansive cinema chairs, it was time to enjoy an audio visual spin of the new facility. It was quickly apparent that the acoustics are superb and the attention to detail amazing, with luxurious carpet under foot and acoustic panels adorning the walls. The price is right too. The cinema as seen here sells between £20-£30k, which is where a lot of mainstream home cinema installs are pitched to clients.

“Our show apartment has attracted an ever increasing number of installers many of whom fit home cinemas, so we wanted to provide a space where they can bring their clients to demonstrate just what can be achieved,” explained MD Stuart Tickle. “We have paid close attention to the specification of typical set ups and the room reflects this perfectly, albeit evolved to incorporate the latest sound format.”

This autumn’s AWE Expo also marked the launch of AWE exclusively distributing the eagerly awaited HEOS by Denon multiroom wireless music system. HEOS comprises three active speakers, HEOS 3, HEOS 5 and HEOS 7, plus the HEOS Link which integrates existing audio components into the HEOS ecosystem, plus the HEOS amp which can be coupled to any existing stereo speakers to upgrade them to multiroom duties. HEOS works both wired and wireless, and supports dual-band 5GHz 802.11n for additional stability. An optional HEOS Extender wireless bridge is also available to extend the wireless network where required. So has SONOS finally got some serious competition? On the strength of this showing, I’d say so. Indeed, having listened to HEOS, I’d say it’s going to be a game changer for distributed audio around the home.

Other highlights at the Expo included a preview of the new Loewe Art 55 and Connect 55 4K UHD TVs, which launch in December. Paul Mott, director at AWE, explained: “The picture sound and design quality of these panels is what makes Loewe stand out from the crowd – and with RS 232 control across the range, integrators will have easy control of these TVs.” Mott also believes designers will like the fact that the Connect 55 has customisable trim and bezel. Having a close look at the picture quality I was suitably impressed, and the RS 232 control is a major selling point. Mainstream makers of TVs never seem to think of their panels as being part of a controlled system.

The AWE Expo is a great platform for installers to look at the latest in CI and AV products. The demo rooms are open to installers and their clients, which is a convenient solution for those smaller install companies who don’t have their own demo rooms.

In all, we rate this another great Expo event for AWE. In a nutshell, they smashed it. The Dolby Atmos enabled home theatre is a useful addition to AWE’s showroom facilities and the provision of an integrated control and multi-room audio solution in the form of HEOS should be welcomed. For visiting installer's there’s plenty to see and try here. Small wonder that AWE has garnered so many awards of late, as its service and training is second to none. To see more of AWE's latest Expo, fire up our Photo Gallery below,,.

For more on AWE’s product ranges and portfolio, visit our partner page here.