The Manhattan star ceiling range is designed from the ground up to address our own observations as well as concerns that our dealer network raised with us about competitors products and indeed our own earlier generation panels.
Some of the key concerns we heard were:
- Panels not sitting flat and visible lips where panels join
- Long delays having to have products made to order to fit a room
- Visible screws for installation
- Fragile flocked finishes that are damaged easily during installation
- Difficult process to install atmos speakers with star panels
- Messy wiring or fibre kits hanging off the back of the panels
- No genuine acoustic benefits despite marketing
We have engineered our panels to address all of these concerns and more with one unified product range. Here are some of our products key design features:
- 50mm thick 96kg / m3 sound absorbing fibreglass
- Built in light source and concealed fibre kit in each panel
- Varying size and colour stars for a realistic finished appearance
- Premium fabric wrapped finish (highly resistant to marking)
- Easy interconnection with tails on each panel and included extension cables
- Completely concealed (and super fast) mounting system
- Beveled edges for easy installation (no visible lip)
- Integrated hidden 'light shelf' for easy installation
- Two convenient size panels, 800mm or 1000mm square
The approach with our panels is to install them to the centre of the room with a small perimeter gap to the walls. This can be achieved with ease given our two panel sizes and has several benefits. The first being you do not need to worry about walls being out of square, corners not being 90 degrees, having to wait for panels to be made to order or having to cut panels on site. The second being this allows for 'halo' effect lighting wash (reverse coffer style lighting) as shown here:
The installation process is very smooth with the included Rotofast snap on anchor system from Canada. Here is a video on the process:
Helpful Tip: As the tiles are square and have the same star pattern punched into them, the optimal process is to turn each tile 1/4 of a revolution as you fit them to the ceiling. The panels are simply pushed up against each other for positioning and then installed.
When it comes to ceiling speakers for cinema and dolby atmos channels, the process couldn't be easier. We have an atmos version of each star panel size which has a pre-cut 222mm cutout. This means all of Origin and B&O's 6" and 8" speakers fit the panels out of the box giving you a huge range of options. Because our tiles are square, and the hole is towards a corner you can optimally place your atmos speaker exactly where you need it by orienting the panel to suit your project.
The Origin installation system comes into its own here - the zip clip tabs push up through the star panel and into the ceiling above and clamp down on the plaster - essentially the speaker bayonet holds onto the plaster and holds the panel around it up rather than weighing down on the panel. Origin's factory black grill option also helps here - no painting needed! How easy is that!
Helpful tip: Need atmos speakers and dont have a ceiling cavity? We've got a solution for that too! Origin's ThinFit range of 36mm thick speakers are also compatible with our panels. These ultra thin speakers are actually thinner than our star panels and install with traditional 'dog leg' mounts. We designed the panel cutouts to be 222mm at the front but larger at the rear allowing the ThinFit speakers to mount directly to the panel! This means you can even mount panels onto a concrete slab and still have atmos!
So that's the process to design, specify and install Manhattan star panels. One final helpful video is below showing the entire process of install with a pre production set of tiles:
If you have any questions or concerns please don't hesitate to reach out to our sales team!