A Home Theater Dream Come True Page 3

The three front speakers and screen sit in a custom wall unit designed to match the custom soffit in the back of the room that houses the Sony projector and the wainscoting around the lower perimeter of the room. Sitting just above the wainscoting is a quartz chair rail that adds yet another touch of elegance to the room. The rail matches the quartz used for the bar in the back of the room and the concession stand's countertop.

All of the Tekton speakers were painted with a special "Raiders gray" color selected by Meeker, and deliberately exposed to contribute to the room's high-tech vibe. Though the room embraces the Raiders' simple silver and black color scheme, Goldstein is quick to point out that the textured 3D tiles, exposed speakers, rope lighting, quartz chair rail, and patterned carpet add panache to the other- wise monochromatic space. "The pop of white really draws your eyes into the room," he observes.

Four KEF THX Ultra Certified Ci200RR-THX in-ceiling speakers—each of which mates an 8-inch woofer with a concentric 1.5-inch aluminum-dome tweeter—add an overhead dimension to complete the sonic bubble. The KEF speakers also bring the system's total driver count to 105—75 of which are tweeters!

621install.7concess

A/V gear in the "concession" area.

The cadre of Tekton speakers is powered by a pair of Parasound five-channel Halo A51 amplifiers, each rated to deliver 250 watts per channel into 8 ohms, with a 2x 250-watt Halo A21 dedicated to the B&C subwoofers. These John Curl-designed, THX Ultra2 Certified power blocks are built to deliver loads of clean power with head- room to spare. "The definition and clarity of the sound is phenomenal," Goldstein observes.

The installation pro deployed Denon's new flagship AVR-A110, a limited anniversary-edition A/V receiver on his client's "must-have" list, to bring state-of-the-art audio and video processing into the fold. In addition to providing an arsenal of surround processing, the A110 powers the KEF in-ceiling speakers.

Honoring Meeker's request to keep it simple, the Theater Monster crew capped the system off with Control4's EA5 entertainment and automation controller, a super-intuitive NEEO remote handset that brings the theater to life with a single button press, and DMX lighting control, which allows Meeker to change the color of the LED rope to match his mood. All system electronics are neatly organized and stowed away in an A/V closet/rack in the concession area space located just off the theater.

Does Meeker regret spending a quarter of a million bucks to realize his dream theater setup? Hell no. "Prior to putting this system together, I always thought you had to play a speaker loudly for it to be 'felt,'" he says. "I now know that that's not the case. I can feel a U-571 depth charge or Pacific Rim Jaeger blast in my chest without putting any stress on the system at all! It's now about the quality of the sound, not the volume." Oh, and it doesn't hurt that his wife and kids absolutely love their new home theater. "I really enjoy that it's something we can do as a family," adds his wife, Suzy. "I don't even miss going to real movie theaters anymore."

A/V Equipment List

  • Sony VPL-VW715ES 4K video projector
  • Screen Innovations Zero Edge 133-inch-diagonal projection screen with Slate ALR material
  • Video sources: Apple TV, DirecTV Genie, Sony PS5, Microsoft Xbox
  • Control4 EA5 system controller with NEEO remote
  • Denon AVR110A A/V receiver
  • Parasound A51 5 x 250-watt power amplifier (2)
  • Parasound A21 2 x 250-watt power amplifier
  • TektonDesign custom front left/right speakers (2)
  • B&C Speakers 15-inch subwoofers—integrated in front speakers (2)
  • TektonDesign Double Impact Wide Center speaker
  • TektonDesign Double Impact Surround speakers (6)
  • KEF Ci220RR in-ceiling speakers (4)
Accessories & Additional Gear
  • Seatcraft Diamante seating in black leather
  • Strong 37U A/V rac
  • AudioQuest Golden Gate cables
  • Vertical Cable 10AWG speaker wire and Cat6 cable
  • AV Pro Edge AC-EX40-444-PLUS-KIT HDBaseT extender
  • AC Infinity CLOUDPLATE cooling fans (to keep the amps cool)
  • WattBox WB-800-IPV-12 IP power conditioner
  • Engineering Solutions RS-232 Response Box
  • Elemental Neon Blaze RGB rope lights
  • Networking by Araknis Networks
Total system cost: $250,000

Photos: Jonathan Bloom, Advantage Media Inc. (@advantage_media)

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