# $3 million home theater, 4 years in the making



## keithlock

Home theater systems certainly aren't what they used to be. From unique entertainment sources (i.e. Internet streaming) to the Dolby experience at home, and now home theaters taking longer to build than entire homes, we are a far cry away from the giant tube TVs that were so big they didn't need a stand, and with enough room on top to house the top-loading VCR and radio tuner.








The home theater on topic here today is a 45-seater that cost around $3 million and 4 years to complete. It was ranked as the "Best Home Theater" Over $150k in the _Electronic House Home of the Year Awards_. The theater has seen more use in it's first year, requiring replacement of the 2,000 hour projector lamp, than most other home theaters see in their lifetime.

The room for the home theater became an 8,000 square foot addition to a 25,000 square foot home.

*The concept started with a tiny piece of red fabric*

The idea of how the home theater was to look and perform was not clear from the beginning. "Really big" was all they knew before the project got under way. A piece of lush, red fabric was held up by a home theater designer from Slayman Cinema, which is based in Laguna Beach, and the home owner reacted with: "I want my theater to feel like this piece of fabric." Finally the designers had a clear direction of how the theater was to be created.

*Top notch equipment to be used in the theater*

To match the exquisite look and feel of the theater because of the lush fabric, top of the line equipment needed to be used. The theater boasts a large supply of Genelec speakers. Recommended by the engineers from Genelec, based on the room's acoustics and other factors, were the use of 13 reference-grade speakers and 5 subwoofers to deliver 8,400 watts of audio. The speakers weren't to attract the eye, but to attract the ear, so they were tucked away in the studs before any of the red fabric was applied to the walls.

Diligent speaker diagnostics determined the placement of each of the speakers. Small holes were cut into the red fabric and covered with decorative grilles before being placed over the speakers so as not to dampen any of the sound.

Behind the 18-foot CinemaScope screen from Stewart Filmscreen are three of the Genelec speakers. Beneath the screen, a custom made proscenium houses one of the massive sub woofers.

Digital Projection International provided the 2,000 lamp hour Titan Reference 1080p 3D video projector which hangs in an equipment rack in a room outside the theater. To provide many sources of video content the gear also includes a range of devices including a Samsung Blu-ray player, the Apple TV rather than the Roku for some reason, an Autonomic media server, an Xbox 360, and a DirecTV receiver. Soon to be added is the Prima Cinema media server allowing the viewing of movies at the same time they are at the movie theater.

*A simultaneous 3D and 2D experience*








A second Lumagen video processor was included allowing some to view the video in 3D while others view the same movie in two-dimensions. The main projection screen would provide the content in 3D as expected. Then, in the balcony and bar area outside the theater, content would be projected in 2D on Samsung displays, thanks to some complicated manipulation of the native 3D image from the Lumagen processor.

*Advanced gaming experience*

The theater isn't just for movies, as it provides a unique gaming experience as well. After touching an icon on the portable AMX touch panel, the D-box motion actuators placed beneath the seats in the front row kick into motion. These motion actuators allow the seats to shake, shift and rumble in unison with the video game action on the screen.

*More features of the AMX system*

Other interesting features of the AMX system, besides the ability to control the lighting and the temperature in the theater, is the intercom function that it performs. If someone is to arrive at the front gate and ring the bell, the system will pause the movie and the owner can then see and speak with the guest through the touchscreen.

View the $3 million home theater slideshow here


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## JQueen

Wow... It is B-E-A-utiful


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## tripplej

Wow. must be nice to have millions to spend. But, if you do, might as well go all out!


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## Prof.

Incredible looking theatre!.. Absolutely stunning!!
Interesting to note that with all that expensive equipment, he's only using a Samsung blu-ray player! :scratch:


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## JBrax

While I'm sure the screen and sound are amazing it's way overblown aesthetically for my tastes. I suppose if you're into the whole royal palace look then so be it. I have seen countless rooms I'd take costing much less. Just not my taste I guess.


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## B- one

A little to much for me but to each there own. I do like to see how some people spend there money I find it very interesting.


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## tesseract

I'd love to hang out there, and would enjoy every minute. Good choice of speakers and the effort was made to get the most out of them.


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## hyghwayman

My question would be with all that money, Why didn't they install Dolby Atmos 62.2 Surround Sound system?

As for the theater, nice but just a little over the top for my taste.


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## ALMFamily

I think the thing that stood out for me was that they built an addition onto the house to do this - and that addition is 4 times the square footage of my entire house...:rolleyesno:

And, I concur - it is nice, but way too ostentatious for my taste...


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## Greenster

I love it. i think it looks great. I would not spend that kind of money on it even if I had it but if I did that is exactly how I would have it look.


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## 8086

I still think Jeremy Kipnis Theater is the one to beat. It may not be as posh, lush, or lavish as the one featured in this thread, but Mr K's theater is certainly more technologically advanced and all those amps required that the power company installed two extra step down transformers at his home; which is energy enough to power an entire neighborhood.


http://www.kipnis-studios.com/The_Kipnis_Studio_Standard/Kipnis_Home_Theaters.html


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## Pav26

That is incredible. I personally agree with the others here though, aesthetically it's a bit flamboyant, but each to their own.


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## gorb

Yes, it is ostentatious, but it is beautiful and I'd love to experience a film there. If I had that kind of money, my theater would be quite different, but I'd happily take that one for free


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## brandon75173

ALMFamily said:


> I think the thing that stood out for me was that they built an addition onto the house to do this - and that addition is 4 times the square footage of my entire house...:rolleyesno:
> 
> And, I concur - it is nice, but way too ostentatious for my taste...


What I think you meant to say is that the addition is 1/4 of the entire house. Albeit closer to 1/3 the size of the original. 25000, not 2500.


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## tesseract

8086 said:


> I still think Jeremy Kipnis Theater is the one to beat.


That room just screams "Look at my gear!" Definitely way over the top for my tastes. I wonder if the system sounds natural or artificial with all that gear.


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## 8086

tesseract said:


> That room just screams "Look at my gear!" Definitely way over the top for my tastes. I wonder if the system sounds natural or artificial with all that gear.


I think he put his money in the right place; it's much better spent on equipment than decorations. I believe each channel is mono amplified with it's own McIntosh Amplifier. Guests who visit his home proclaim it's an experience that is far greater than going to your local cineplex. Oh, yeah; $6,000,000 (2008) and his Überhighend Blu-Ray player of choice is a mere PS3. That really says something about the ps3.


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## JBrax

tesseract said:


> That room just screams "Look at my gear!" Definitely way over the top for my tastes. I wonder if the system sounds natural or artificial with all that gear.


I agree just another example of way over the top. I would imagine it does sound really good though. I personally prefer clean lines and the uncluttered look.


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## bkeeler10

I am always amused when I read about and see theater designs showcased in magazines, and particularly Electronic House. Most of the time a lot of money is spent on how the room looks when the lights are up, and it is particularly funny when a room costing 250k or more has less than 10k in actual gear, all in-wall speakers and everything as hidden away as possible.

My focus when building a cost-no-object theater (or any theater really) would be to maximize performance. How things look and sound when the lights are out is much more important than how it looks with the lights up. Given unlimited funds, I would build a floating soundproof room, treat it acoustically to perfection, paint it dark and non-reflective, and then buy the best audio and video gear I could find and install it in the way that provides the best possible performance. When I want to be in a room that looks nice and pretty, I'll head to the living room. I don't mind compromising performance for aesthetics there, but in the theater performance is what matters.

Just my 0.02.


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## JBrax

^^^ +1


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## tesseract

8086 said:


> Guests who visit his home proclaim it's an experience that is far greater than going to your local cineplex.


1. This suggests that his guests' experience is limited to the local cineplex. Any layperson (and many enthusiasts) seeing this system are going to be influenced by expectation bias, leading them to believe it sounds fabulous even if it does not. There are distracting equipment lights and reflections everywhere you look, and then there is the matter of that big glass coffee table... 

2. Even my modest system blows the local cineplex AWAY.


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## tesseract

Pav26 said:


> That is incredible. I personally agree with the others here though, aesthetically it's a bit flamboyant, but each to their own.



I agree, it is a matter of personal taste and as long as the owner is happy, then it is time and effort well spent.


I would like to add that it is completely possible to have tinnitus, still have exceptionally acute hearing, and to be an audiophile.


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## 8086

tesseract said:


> 1. This suggests that his guests' experience is limited to the local cineplex. Any layperson (and many enthusiasts) seeing this system are going to be influenced by expectation bias, leading them to believe it sounds fabulous even if it does not. There are distracting equipment lights everywhere you look, and then there is the matter of that big glass coffee table...
> 
> 2. Even my modest system blows the local cineplex AWAY.



Kippins himself worked professionally in the Audio Business, where he made his fortune.
http://www.kipnis-studios.com/The_Kipnis_Studio_Standard/About_Us.html


I don't know about you, but your local cinema must be lacking. We've got two IMAXs (one is a dome) and a few megaplexes in my area. I used to work at my local multi-plex. The one I worked at had a great sound systems in all 20+ theater rooms, which I would rate as better than my Paradigm Studio. $150,000+ projectors aren't found in every enthusiasts home. My local Imax dome has a very impressive sound system (If I recall they use 10,000 watt amps). Oh, I forgot to mention; we also have a fully preserved 1930s architectural gem of a theater palace designed by John Eberson which has remained in continuous operation since its grand opening.


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## tesseract

You're lucky and probably right about my local theaters, because I've never heard a good theater yet. They all make me cringe and long for home, audio and video wise, that's pretty bad considering I don't have anything special for an HDTV. I've also seen plenty of home theaters that excel, so have had ears and eyes on other decent systems.

Never had the privilege of attending an IMAX, yet. I'm gonna have to do that soon, cause I do understand that a lot of work goes into the audio/video calibration.


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## 8086

tesseract said:


> You're lucky and probably right about my local theaters, because I've never heard a good theater yet. They all make me cringe and long for home, audio and video wise, that's pretty bad considering I don't have anything special for an HDTV. I've also seen plenty of home theaters that excel, so have had ears and eyes on other decent systems.
> 
> Never had the privilege of attending an IMAX, yet. I'm gonna have to do that soon, cause I do understand that a lot of work goes into the audio/video calibration.


I've been to over a dozen IMAX theaters across the USA (east, west, Canada, & South) over the past 2.5 decades and it hasn't yet disappointed me. I know every morning my local AMC would run a full calibration suite on every projector in the building before business would begin.


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## Gregr

If you've got the cash and you decide to create a Home Theater and well, you have put the existing 25,000 sq ft to its best use..., I would guess the Palatial Theme is the overall character of the home and should be reflected in the Theater. 

I have to say I love the colors and textures, the pillars with Corinthian Capitals (I believe). I would love to believe all of the finishing touches are made with wood with a polished venetian plaster finish. That aside this theater is a jewel, $3,000 glass chandelier or is it brass in any case it is a little too distracting or gaudy.

So now all of this begs the question, "Why is it so popular to want to live like royalty?" I remember when I was very young I wanted to be a king with all of the gold and jewels that went with being king. I could be a policeman on weekends. If I had to make a guess I would say this house belongs to an American Politician. 

Bottom line for me I would not build one for myself but I would love it if I were the contractor, supervisor or one of the carpenters (in an earlier time) for this project. If I had the cash I would build a $6M two seat theater and when the construction is finished I would use Krell, Wilson Audio and Spendor with Furutech interconnects, cables and power cords and BSG Tech' QOL signal completion processor and I would definitely build a few hardwood diffusion panels etc etc etc for theater. But for two channel stereo I would love to try a pair of VTL monoblock tube amps but still with the Krell pre/pro. Really though nothing is perfect, I mean isn't it Home Audio that is, "The Never Ending Story......"


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## 8086

This thread has me thinking....

Much the same way we review amplifiers, projectors, plasmas, etc.. HTS or some other review site should travel to Cinemas across the land and anonymously review their experience with the theater's audio-visual equipment used at their multiplex.


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## ituriforest

I love it. i think it looks great.


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## EricJ

Wow! An amazing creation and great way to spend 3 million; I would love to design a system on this level.


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## tripplej

One positive aspect of spending on this type of scale is that it helps sustain jobs and helps keep the economy moving. Afterall, the money being spent here is not only used to acquire high end home theater equipment but it is also used to help ensure jobs for skilled workers as well - painting, carpentry, electricians, etc.


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## EricJ

Could not agree more.


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## bxbigpipi

Very nice!!!! I know your enjoying it.


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## paulster

The styling is way too ostentatious for my tastes but you can't knock the effort and the creativity that has gone into this. Amazing work.


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## macmovieman

Wow!


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## hwkn

If I were to spend that kind of money on a home theater i'd of gone with a 4k projector.


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## DjPerfectTrip

I would live in there. It's certainly big enough to...


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