For a collector of limited, special-edition cars in New York, music is an essential element in creating a gallery atmosphere in which to enjoy his rare treasures. The collection itself is housed in two combined garages in an inconspicuous location in Queens. To surround himself with music throughout the entire space, the collector wanted an audio system consisting of two zones that could be played individually or together.

Requirements for the system included pristine audio, whether playing at a low background level or cranked for entertaining. In addition, the installation itself needed to match the quality and aesthetics of the car collection and the impeccable standards of its owner. Finally, the system had to be exceptionally simple and intuitive to control. To meet these criteria, the collector called on NYC AV specialist and consultant Mattera Design Inc.

For audio sources in the garages, Mattera included a Denon HEOS Link wireless preamplifier, Sonos CONNECT wireless streaming receiver, and a Marantz CD player. The system includes two subwoofers, two 2-channel amplifiers, and 20 loudspeakers — all from QSC. Each speaker is supported by cement anchors and aircraft-quality metal cables. To ensure full sound from anywhere in the garages, meticulous measurements were made to keep them all equidistant from each other. For control over the audio system, Mattera relied on solutions from RTI.

“I utilized RTI for this installation because their products deliver high quality at a reasonable price point, and make even the most complex system easy to use for my clients,” explains Joseph Mattera, owner of Mattera Design. “In addition, with the company’s Integration Designer APEX programming software, there are endless options for easily building an interface custom-tailored to each project.”

The garages’ control system is powered by RTI’s XP-8s control processor, in combination with the company’s AD-4 audio distribution system. The collector is in complete command of his audio experience through a KX7 7-inch in-wall touchpanel and an iPad mini running the RTiPanel app, which is used for roaming between the two garages. Two-way drivers for the AD-4 and Sonos player allow for metadata such as album, song, favorites, and more to be viewed on either control device.

“Our client is very pleased with the design of the system and its exceptional sound quality,” says Mattera. “And he loves how easy it is to control, especially the ability to walk between the garages and use the iPad mini to make any changes on the fly. The interface we provided is very simple to use, relying on icons that show what device is being controlled and in what zone. The music in each garage plays at a preset level when its icon is touched, so really, all our client has to do is select the music and sit back and relax.”