Designing a calibrated theatre and outdoor audio into a holiday home
A holiday home is where families slow down: films after dinner, music by the pool, guests drifting between the living room and the garden. That makes the audio-visual layer part of the experience of the house. It is also the part most likely to clash with the architecture if it arrives late. Here is what we learned on a private residence in Alibaug, completed in 2025.
1. Bring the AV team in at the design stage
On the Alibaug project we worked with the design team from the outset. Every speaker location, cable route and equipment position was resolved with the interiors rather than around them. That is what lets the technology be felt, not seen.
“Architects give us beautiful rooms. Our job is to make them perform, without asking the design to compromise.”
Ashish Hingorani, Managing Director, Avenue Sound India
2. Expect beautiful materials to fight the sound
Travertine, glass, timber and double-height volumes look wonderful, but hard surfaces and tall ceilings make rooms lively and full of echoes. Planning for that early means the room can sound as good as it looks.
3. Give the theatre the ease of a lounge
The Alibaug theatre pairs deep modular seating, tailored wall panels and a warm timber ceiling with a 120-inch diagonal projection screen by Screen Innovations. Speakers sit within the walls and ceiling, and the screen wall stays calm and uncluttered.
4. Don’t skip calibration
Our team, led by our MD Ashish Hingorani, measured the room with a microphone at the seats and tuned it until it sounded right from every seat, not just the best one.
“A room isn’t finished when the last speaker goes in. It’s finished when it sounds right from every seat.”
Ashish Hingorani, Managing Director, Avenue Sound India
It’s the step most installations skip, and it’s the one guests notice. See how we approach a home theatre in Mumbai and beyond.
5. Let the garden hide the speakers
Outdoors there are no walls to hide equipment in. In Alibaug the speakers are shaped like stones and tucked into the edges of the beds and steps, so music drifts across the deck without a single box in view.
“The best compliment we hear is when guests ask where the music is coming from.”
Ashish Hingorani, Managing Director, Avenue Sound India
6. Plan zones around how the family lives
The Alibaug home has 4 audio zones. Multi-zone audio lets each space play its own music, or the whole home play together, for a quiet afternoon or a livelier evening with guests. It works best alongside thoughtful home automation.
See the full project: A House That Listens: Alibaug residence case study
Hear it before you specify it
Architects and interior designers are welcome to visit an Avenue Sound Experience Center: sit in a calibrated theatre, walk through multi-zone audio and bring your next project along for a conversation. Weekends are by appointment.
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