Building a Reference-Level Listening Room in DC Ranch With McIntosh

For those who truly appreciate the art of sound, a reference-level listening room is more than a luxury — it’s a sanctuary. In the prestigious DC Ranch community of Scottsdale, Oasis Smart Homes recently designed and engineered a bespoke audio environment that blends timeless craftsmanship with cutting-edge performance. At the heart of this system: the legendary McIntosh — a brand synonymous with sonic purity, precision, and power.

At Oasis Smart Homes, we specialize in creating immersive media rooms, dedicated listening spaces, and luxury smart home systems that honor both design and performance. This DC Ranch project exemplifies our commitment to seamless integration, refined aesthetics, and world-class engineering.

What Makes a “Reference-Level” Listening Room

A reference-level listening room is designed to reproduce music exactly as the artist intended — with full dynamic range, depth, and emotion intact. Every element of the space contributes to the listening experience: acoustics, equipment selection, speaker placement, power management, and digital control.

For this Scottsdale residence, our team approached the project like a studio master engineer would — blending technical precision with architectural beauty.

Key System Components

• McIntosh Amplification and Processing – delivering effortless power and unmistakable warmth.
• Bowers & Wilkins 800 Series Loudspeakers – chosen for their accuracy and emotional depth.
• Savant Smart Home Integration – allowing the homeowner to control source selection, volume, and lighting scenes with a single touch or voice command.
• Dedicated Power Conditioning and Acoustic Treatment – ensuring clean energy delivery and balanced sound across the entire frequency spectrum.

The Role of Room Design and Acoustics

Even the finest components can only perform to their potential when the room supports them. Oasis Smart Homes engineered the acoustic environment with precise room geometry modeling, strategic sound absorption, and diffusion treatments to control reflections and resonance.

This careful attention ensures that every note — from a delicate piano solo to the full impact of a live orchestral performance — is rendered with lifelike clarity and depth.

Lighting, too, plays a critical role. We integrated Lutron lighting control to allow smooth transitions from focused listening to relaxed ambience. With motorized shades and custom dimming scenes, the environment adapts effortlessly to the moment.

Seamless Integration With Savant Smart Home Control

Through the Savant app, the homeowner can command the entire room — from audio source and volume to lighting, shades, and climate — all from a single, beautifully designed interface. This unification brings simplicity to sophistication, ensuring the technology enhances the experience rather than complicating it.

We also ensured the home’s networking infrastructure was optimized for high-resolution audio streaming and system reliability. From the power conditioning to the Ethernet backbone, every detail was considered.

Why McIntosh Defines the Benchmark

Few brands in high-end audio evoke the same sense of legacy as McIntosh. Known for its iconic blue watt meters and handcrafted American engineering, McIntosh components are revered for their ability to combine musical warmth with uncompromising technical precision.

In this DC Ranch project, the McIntosh system anchors the entire experience — providing not just performance, but presence. The result is a system that sounds as beautiful as it looks, and one that will inspire for decades to come.

The Oasis Smart Homes Difference

Designing a reference-grade listening room requires more than just great equipment — it requires expertise in acoustics, electrical design, automation engineering, and client care. Oasis Smart Homes brings all of these disciplines under one roof, ensuring each project is executed to perfection.

Our team works collaboratively with architects, interior designers, and homeowners across Scottsdale, Paradise Valley, Phoenix, and Orange County, delivering white-glove service, refined design integration, and 24/7 private client support.

Whether you’re building a dedicated listening room, home theater, or whole-home audio system, Oasis Smart Homes delivers performance and reliability worthy of the world’s most discerning ears.

Experience the Art of Listening

Transform your home into a true destination for music and performance. Oasis Smart Homes can help you create a custom listening room that reflects your passion, your design aesthetic, and your lifestyle.

Call our Scottsdale studio at (480) 907-7095 or our Orange County studio at (949) 210-9440 to schedule your private smart home consultation!