Click to enlarge. A Sony flat-panel SXRD display provides video while Canton speakers and an Integra receiver handle audio in this sub-$10,000 system. Photo credit: Alexia Fodere.
Randy and Marta Paul of south Florida already had a pretty nice family room system. They had a 40-inch Mitsubishi TV with a great picture and some nice KEF speakers for the audio. But Randy felt it was time to upgrade. He called Fort Lauderdale–based Gregg Launer, whose company, SkyTheater, normally installs custom home theaters on private jets and who had helped Randy with his system before.
“Gregg gave me advice on what TV to get,” says Randy. “And we discovered it was also time to upgrade the receiver. I had a budget in mind, and we stuck to that. We also got new speakers, [including] a new center speaker, and a new DVD player"—all for a little upwards of $10,000.
The TV selected was Sony’s 60-inch flatpanel SXRD (Silicon Crystal [Xtal] Reflective Display), a form of LCoS (liquid crystal on silicon] technology that shows tremendous brightness and detail. In fact, many consider the technology a big improvement over DLP, plasma and LCD systems, “It has much better clarity in the video,” says Randy. “And I wanted the sound to have the quality of the picture.”
Launer selected Canton’s Ergo 690 DC front speakers and an Ergo CM402 center channel for the front channels, with Canton InWall 700 speakers for the two rear surrounds over the kitchen counter and a Canton subwoofer.
“The Canton 609s are very impressive,” says Launer. “They have extremely good response, and the range and detail is spectacular.” As Launer explains, the Canton speakers are designed for wide dispersion of sound, which in a small room like the Pauls’ is an advantage. The room’s vaulted ceiling could cause a lot of sound reflection, or cause what’s called a “live room,” but Launer used that to an advantage. “You don’t need that much volume, because the sound is bouncing in all different directions, and that makes the room sound bigger.”
Launer also tilted and aimed the front speakers, measured their distances from the seating area to THX specs, tuned the subwoofer to make the sound tighter and worked with cabinetmaker John Rinaldi of Rinaldi Kitchen and Cabinet to fit the wall unit to the equipment.
Integra’s DTR-7.6 THX receiver was chosen to replace a receiver that had failed. “The Integra receiver reproduces very high details that you don’t find in other all-in-one units,” Launer says. “You catch more realism in the performance, and you’re hearing more depth.” The effect is not lost on the Pauls. “The clarity of the picture and sound make it feel like you’re in a movie theater or at a sporting event,” says Randy. Whether the Pauls’ son is watching sports, their young daughter is taking in an animated flick or Randy and Marta are settling in for a show in the evening, they’re impressed by the performance. And best of all, they didn’t have to break the bank to get it.
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Electronics Design & Installation
SkyTheater
Fort Lauderdale, FL
954-392-0716
Ryan
If anyone is a great sound designer, they could take even a bathroom and make it sound phenominal.
I have worked with many major movie studio executives who are my clients
If anyone has a right to question my ability of professionalism they do >>not you.
Unless you are in this house and listening to this system, you are prejudging the system
People can be tought science and educated in technology and still not have the ear for sound
The only difference I see is that you are judging the article on cost. My feeling is that if this room were to be designed by you, we might actualy end up with a mess and the client wondering why he spent thousands and then call me in to fix it.
It seems that you are not realy a sound guy but a “designer"… Not caring about the art but the “assumed value”
At the end of the day my customers are happy and refer me to other customers. As with our aircraft customers, they no they will get the result they paid for. My point is give the customer more than his expectations . he may have paid 800 dollars but he got thousands of dollars worth of quality from us.
I am only curious of the quality of sound of “your"systems and then true professionalism could be compared
Ryan, comic book heros have superhearing, not you. So being anywhere else other than this room punches bigger holes in your judgement
I hope no one really reads this and determines this to be “professional”. I am a 31 year tech and the holes in this are amazing.
One: $800 labor?! Great, now customers will think this is about the “norm” for a “professional” installation. So, they are telling me this installation and setup took one day?
Two: It is stated that the vaulted ceilings required less power as the sound is bouncing all over the place. This IS the very definition of “live” and is not desirable. Those frequencies are accentuating and attentuating and everything in between, with an end result of terrible. This creates a high 
L;CONS, or Articulation Loss of Consonents (speech) This should have been damped.
Three: Measured the seating to speakers for THX? The speakers are fixed locations as I am sure the couch was. You can aim highs, yes, but, the distance in this room, especially with in-walls, to couch is fairly non-negotiable, and is irrelevent as to THX or any movie or musical sound quality of reproduction.
Sound leaves the speaker, and hits your ear, whether it is 10 feet, or 20 feet. The “sweet spot” can be created anywhere and is not determined by THX but rather the room, power, speakers, wavelengths, etc.
The ONLY physical adjustment of this sound you have control over is aiming of highs, which is not a measurement of distance. You also want to make sure that the front sound is in phase with each speaker, not cancelling by defraction of objects in the room, and is in phase with the ulitra lows from the sub.
Nice equipment, nice TV, nice end resulting look, but, and I am sure for the masses, this sounds just fine. But, please, if this is going to pass for “Home Theater on a budget”, don’t print superfluous fluff as if it has merit!
Your aritcles by nature of publication, are being taken as gospel truth to unknowing consumers, who now think sound “bouncing around” a room is good, $800 installations are the norm, and this is somehow THX stamped in some way. THX is merely glorified equalization and delay, with timbre matching, and Timbre matching is a manufacturer spec, not easily adjustable by installers without an RTA and powerful EQ.
Ryan Lee
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I am a small two man operation and have been in the custom installation busines for about 4 years now. It seems every day that I learn something new about products or installation tips or something. And today was no different, cuz Im learning from you guys. So Im putting my 2 cents in anyway.
I too have prejudged a sound system on this exact comment page about 2 months ago and ended up putting my foot in my mouth and apologized for it. Im sure you guys both know a lot about design and sound systems. But all the technical talk about wavelengths, THX and EQ’s , RTA’s, all that is a bunch of JIBBERISH crap to most customers. If the system sounds and looks great, then the customers are usually happy. And it seems the Pauls are very pleased.
The article said that the Pauls already had speakers existing and upgraded, ( I dont know if they were in-wall). So what should you charge to change out wall speakers Ryan? You cant charge much if you are only replacing speakers and replacing gear. Im sure Gregg made good money from the gear as well, not just labor. Sometimes I charge people not much for labor and move the profit to the gear. So what? The customer is happy and referring. And just because the price is $800, does not mean people will think this is a “norm”. EVERY SINGLE job is different, so how can there be a “norm”?
It just so happens that this install was worthy of being featured in a magazine. Unprofessional installtions dont make it to Electronic House. Must be something good huh? Where can I find a Ryan Lee Design? I may be small time today, but in the next 5 or 10 years It is my goal to have a system featured in Electronic House. But I will not bash another mans work until I have seen it and heard it with my own eyes and ears, and then only if there are problems with it.
“At the end of the day my customers are happy and refer me to other customers. As with our aircraft customers, they no they will get the result they paid for. My point is give the customer more than his expectations . he may have paid 800 dollars but he got thousands of dollars worth of quality from us.” Well said Gregg