OTHER TECH

While the garage installation might have the bigger "gee whiz" factor, there's nothing shabby about Young and Tomblin's work in the main house. The home theater setup in the family room off the kitchen, which also supplies the sound and images for the other rooms in the house as well as music for the backyard, is pretty straightforward. Like the garage gear, it's made up of affordable components from well-known brands. A Zenith DVD player supplies the movies while a second Sony digital satellite receiver sends its signals to the 52-inch Sony XBR rear-projection TV as well as the plasma TV in the bedroom. The speakers here, throughout the house, and in the backyard all get their music from a 100-disc Pioneer CD changer and the tuner in an 80-watt-per-channel Yamaha receiver.

The family-room speaker complement consists of three a/d/s/ compact two-way speakers in the front, mounted above the TV, two a/d/s/ ceiling speakers in the back corners, and a 12-inch sub from RBH Sound mounted beneath the floor and vented through a radiator grille behind the couch. Their location inside the cabinet that houses the TV would seem to put the three front speakers at a disadvantage, and if they were played at the movie-theater levels preferred by videophiles, they would likely sound boxy and too tightly focused. But this system is meant for casual viewing, most often by the daughter, and at restrained volumes the setup sounds fine.

All of the family-room components are controlled by a Marantz integrated remote, while volume is adjusted via Sonance wall controls in each room and on the patio. The a/d/s/ ceiling speakers are also used in the living and dining rooms, master bedroom and bath, and the two home offices. Boston Acoustics outdoor speakers are mounted in the eaves on the back of the house, while Sonance SoundHenge rock speakers are inconspicuously intermingled with the real boulders placed around the pool.