Step from an adjoining hallway into this space, and you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

Despite the sloped ceilings, this attic space houses an entire and inviting-looking home theater. There’s a 92-inch Draper screen, a JVC 1080p D-ILA (Direct Drive Image Light Amplifier) projector, a 5.1-channel surround-sound system, Blu-ray and Apple TV capability, plus some kick-back seating options.

“It’s not super high-end, but it’s really nice,” says Kevin Hourihan, a custom electronics installer from Cyber Home Networks of Stormville, N.Y. Also in the attic is a billiards area, so the home theater was limited to a space of about 22 feet long and 18 feet wide, with sloped ceilings and knee walls. “Due to the size of the space we had to work with, we had to be quite creative,” says Hourihan.

The space for the screen was limited, but Cyber Home found enough room on the gable wall to house a 92-incher from Draper. Cyber Home also chose an acoustically transparent screen so that three in-wall SpeakerCraft Tantra speakers for the front left, center and right channels could be mounted behind it, saving more room. “[The homeowner] didn’t want to see any speakers in a room that was already tight for space,” Hourihan explains. A 12-inch SpeakerCraft Tantra subwoofer is also mounted in the wall beneath the screen, and two in-ceiling Tantra speakers provide the surround sound.

Something also had to be done about containing and controlling the acoustics in a room like this, as sloped walls can reflect sound in unpleasant ways. So the walls were lined with acoustical absorption panels that actually make it seem like a warmer, cozier environment. Thick rubber carpet padding and a ¼-inch-thick sound barrier on the floors and walls prevent sound leakage to other rooms and the master bedroom below.

A Denon AVR-3808ci receiver provides the necessary punch. That, and a Samsung Blu-ray player, an Apple TV hard drive, and a Furman power conditioner, are housed in an equipment rack in a knee wall near the entrance. With heat in the attic being a concern, a vent was installed for the equipment rack.

A Universal Remote Control MX-3000 remote operates the system and a one-switch Lutron lighting control system, saving the investment of a larger home control system. Hourihan reports that it was also easy to program macros, or a series of remote control commands, onto the remote.

One of the homeowners’ favorite toys is the Apple TV set top box, which allows them to download movies and watch them on the big screen, as well as to sync their digital music collections with their computers. Sweet.

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About the Author:
Steven Castle - Contributing Writer

Steven Castle is a writer, editor, and humorist who recently completed Filthy Rich Things, a savage satire on our thirst for success and wealth. He also is Electronic House's senior editor and co-founder of GreenTech Advocates.