Onkyo audio expert home cinema revealed

Here at Inside CI we revel is showcasing home theatres and custom installations created by the UK's talented CI community. However, it's a rare and exciting thing to get a glimpse inside the home theatre of a leading Japanese audio engineer.

But Norimasa Kitagawa, senior audio engineer within Onkyo (pictured above), has thrown open the doors to his own private listening room for us, and how could we resist not peering inside?  Kitagawa-san has played a massively influential role in the success of Onkyo in the home cinema market. His designs now feature amongst the world's best-selling AV receivers, and his latest creation, the new Onkyo TX-NR929 mid-range THX flagship with integrated Wi-fi and Bluetooth compatibility, is now shipping worldwide.

Unsurprisingly, Kitagawa-san's listening room doesn't embrace the familiar design trappings of a typical custom install home theatre. Instead, it's more in keeping with the practical appearance of a hi-fi company listening room, as created by a true enthusiast. The space is dedicated to hardware - although there are also knickknacks to be spotted (golf anyone?).

Dominating the front soundstage are a pair of JBL S3500 loudspeakers and a JBL S1500C centre. Rear speakers are Onkyo's own D-407s. The projector is a JVC DLA-HD1 model, which projects onto an OS Screen Puremat2 Plus screen.

Providing the amplification for Kitagawa's room is an Integra Research RDA-7 7-channel power amp - the Integra line is Onkyo's high-end custom-install marque. It's joined by two pre-amps: the Integra DHC-80.1 for high resolution audio formats, and the RDC-7.1 for regular content. Kitagawa uses two media players, an Integra Research RDV-1.1 DVD deck and a Pioneer BDP-330 Blu-ray player. Other source components include a media centre PC and an Apple TV. How does it sound? Onkyo-tastic of course!

Onkyo CI distribution is handled by AWE Europe, for more on AWE's product portfolio and services visit our partner page.

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