Big sound and picture of a high-tech theater
The theater in this Brecksville home shares a trait with the superheroes depicted in the movie posters on its walls: Both are endowed with amazing abilities that aren’t revealed until they’re called into action. The homeowners love Marvel movies and worked with Sound & Vision in Cuyahoga Falls to install a theater that would make watching “Avengers: Endgame” at home as epic as in the cineplex. We unreel the high-tech features that make this home theater feel like a trip to the movies — without the long lines and sticky floors.
Screen: For cinema-level clarity, the Screen Innovations 7 Series 110-inch screen is made of a coated vinyl-like gray material that absorbs light from the ceiling-mounted Sony 4K video projector and brightens the picture. It rejects illumination from surrounding lights left on while you watch. “On a more traditional white screen that [doesn’t] have these light-rejecting properties, ambient light would have a tendency to wash out your picture,” says Sound & Vision President Mike Woods, calling it “the new standard” for providing a crystal-clear high-definition experience.
Audio System: The three Paradigm front speakers and four surround sound counterparts are really versatile. “Whether [it’s for] watching TV, watching movies or listening to music, they do a great job,” Woods says. Two 12-inch JL Audio subwoofers complete the system the resident audiophiles love for cranking their fave tunes. The unobtrusive built-ins all but disappear around the screen, providing a clean, contemporary look that makes both spouses happy. “The husband would have probably loved to have big speakers standing on the floor,” Woods says. “But [the wife] wanted what we call ‘an invisible theater,’ where you have all the sound and experience, but you don’t see all the speakers.”
Processor and Amplifier: While many systems use one receiver containing a source-switching audio and video processor and speaker-powering amplifier, this system employs a separate Anthem Electronics processor and amplifier wired in from a utility room that save money in the long run. Woods explains that while a high-quality amplifier can be used for 20-plus years, processor technologies change rapidly. “Instead of somebody having to buy a whole new receiver, they can just upgrade their processor,” he says.
Finishing Touches: The Kinetics Noise Control ceiling, constructed of panels studded with tiny fiber-optic lights, makes the space look like an outdoor cinema under a starry night sky while working with a Kinetics wall system to soundproof the theater by 70 to 80 percent. “If someone’s watching a movie and wants to listen at movie-theater volume, [the homeowners] didn’t want the sound to go through the rest of the house and disturb everybody else,” Woods says.