Creating Elegant Home Theater Design

Nov 19, 2007 11:22 AM

The following information is courtesy of the 2007 CEDIA Electronic Lifestyles Designers' Choice Awards. For more information on how to become a member of CEDIA, or information on its awards program please visit www.cedia.org or call (800) 669-5329.

2007 CEDIA Electronic Lifestyles Winner
Designers' Awards: Best Large Home Theater,
Level VI ($347,000 - $415,000)

We created the ultimate environment in this room employing techniques to maximize the elegance, performance, and value. Extensive effort went into hiding the technology so that the aesthetics of the theater were not compromised since the customer wanted the best of both worlds.

The wall panels completely dampen any sound resonance while disguising all of the speakers from view. Overall, the room has a real elegant and theatrical feel to it. Words or pictures really cannot even come close to the experience sitting in this theater. The client was more than ecstatic to show off his private home cinema.

One challenge was the limitation in the placement of equipment. The room was round and solid concrete, which made for an abundance of reflection directed towards the center of the room. Also, because of the shape of the room, the calibration of the JBL Synthesis speaker system was very difficult to calibrate. Speaker placement then became critical.

The SPL reading was 125dB, and the projector was calibrated to ISF standards. The center chandelier obstructed the line of site of the projector.

Equipment list

1 Parasound C1 Surround Sound Processor 7.1 w/ 5in. display

1 Parasound A 51 Power Amp (5 channel)

1 Parasound A 21 Power Amp (2 channel)

3 Snell AMC2000THX Speakers

4 Snell AMC900THX

2 Snell ICS Sub 24mk3 (12” subs)

1 Marantz DV7500 DVD Player

1 Samsung BP-1 Blu-Ray DVD Player

1 Panamax M5500 AC Regenerator, Surge, Filtration

1 Marantz VP 11S1 1080p Long Throw Projector

1 Vu-Tec 132in. Pearl Brite XWF 3.0 Gain Screen

1 Crestron TPS-3000 lsys 6.4in. touch panel

1 Crestron CP2E Control Processor

1 Crestron CHV-TSTAT Thermostat

2 Crestron CLS-C6 Lighting Controls

1 Crestron CNX-B4W Keypads

1 Middle Atlantic AX-S Rack System

8 Middle Atlantic RSH Custom Rack Faces

1 Parasound HDMI Switcher

Time and Expertise Worksheet
Task	Hours
Client Interviews	4
Electronic Design and Engineering:	20
Proposal and System Documentation Preparation:	15
Project Management:	25
Pre-wire/Rough-in:	18
Trim-out:	10
Shop Time for Racking and Testing:	24
Programming:	40
Final Installation and Calibration:	30
Client Instruction:	3
Interior Design and/or Architecture by your Company:	0
Interior Design and/or Architecture by Others:	260
Project Management by Others:	32
Other time: builder's interior designs, drawings done on paper:	0
Total Hours to Complete:	481