http://www.engadgethd.com/2008/02/06/a-look-around-the-6-million-kipnis-studio-standard-home-theater/

Thoughts?

This was featured in this months Home Theatre magazine, my thoughts are I like the look of at least a dozen of the dedicated Home Theatres in this thread over this theatre... that being said I'd certainly love to pick and choose from the gear he has to outfit my space.

it does nothing for me. i would rather have this one that was documented right here on AVS, The Pirates Cove (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=731215).

Wow. What an ugly setup. I would like to go there and just laugh at the place. What a collasal waster of money.

That guy is more into listening to music then watching movies the screen and projector are just a bonus

Proves some people have way more money than they need.

Not they way I'd have spent the money. It looks more like and equipment storage room to me.

Art

I think I could of done a lot better with 6 million dollars. To each their own, I guess.

I suppose it's 'whatever blows your hair back' :p. I have no doubt it sounds pristine, but I concur that the aesthetics must have come second on his 'to do' list.....

With the 'Stonehenge of McIntosh amps' like that, maybe he should replace the glass table with a marble slab (everyone start chanting and grab a cloak! We're gonna sacrifice some LP's and a goat!!!)

But hey - when you boil it down, he's really just another Audio/HT enthusiast doing the exact same thing as what we do around here (albeit his budget and scale is a tad bigger).........

Funny, no mention of Monster Cables, though ;)

IMO, it was a wste of $6M.....most of the money went into those crapintosh amps. I'm not knocking macintosh, but what he has goes about $5.9M beyond overkill.

With all those amps and subs, one has to figure and CD, DVD, Phono would skip more than Richard Simmons after his recently rediscovered fame in TV commercials.

Plus, like mentioned above, the screen and projector are just an afterthought for that room. He isn't even using HDMI to the projector, and that screen could easily be 2-3 time larger without any issues.

But to each his own.... That $6M could've gone to help some cancer research or feed millions of starving children and home less people here in the US of A...but then he wouldn't have such a crap-tacualr room would he.... *cue Dennis Leary song - I'm an A**hole*

Ah, come on, guys! He's one of us. Give the guy some credit. :)

Now if I had $6 million to spend, I have my eye on a actually theater from the late 20's that is currently being used as a furniture store. I think that just might cover a full restoration!

http://cinematreasures.org/theater/14610/

http://www.cinematour.com/location/usa/oh/wester.jpg

How about it - we could all go in and make it a group project . . .

Randy

All I can say is, I hope he has money left over in the budget for a maid to dust that room on a regular basis!:eek::D

I just can not figure out why the amplifiers are in front of, and partially blocking some of the speakers. Or why some of the speakers are so much higher than head height.

IMO, that may be the most garish, tacky theater I've ever seen.

Someone made a very good point in the blog post for it. Those tube amps are susceptible to microphonics and he has them up close to speakers and "16" subwoofers. I bet that sounds incredibly strange when you crank it up.

Whoever wrote this article doesn't even understand that "8.8" is totally wrong. You can have a zillion speakers for a channel and it's still 5.1, 6.1 or 7.1. I have 4 subs, but my system is not "7.4".

Can anyone figure out where the $6 million went?

About the only thing I like is that the space itself has non-parallel walls and nice high ceilings (20'). But then they used bookshelves as the acoustic treatment? What an echoey clusterfk that must sound like.

I nominate this theater for fubar of the decade.

Well, its source is a PS3 and lots of people round here dont think the PS3 is hi-fi so what does that say about the whole system :)

But is does speak for itself that the guy connects a ps3 to it :)

*cue Dennis Leary song - I'm an A**hole*

lol. I loved that song. have not heard it in about a decade. If you have never heard it, try to find it.

Edit: Here you go:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=552NcxKHufY

http://www.engadgethd.com/2008/02/06/a-look-around-the-6-million-kipnis-studio-standard-home-theater/

Thoughts?

For $6 million I'd build a full size multiplex.

Wow. What an ugly setup. I would like to go there and just laugh at the place. What a collasal waster of money.

My thoughts exactly. Money can't buy taste. The guy used 3 center channel speakers, what a joke and a waste of money. If he knew anything about HT he would know that ONE center channel is ideal - the absolute best is having all the front speakers be exactly the same to create the best sound field possible. What a tool. This is just a case of throwing a ton of money at something without thinking about it first. More money does not always = better.

I suppose it's 'whatever blows your hair back' :p. I have no doubt it sounds pristine, but I concur that the aesthetics must have come second on his 'to do' list.....

With the 'Stonehenge of McIntosh amps' like that, maybe he should replace the glass table with a marble slab (everyone start chanting and grab a cloak! We're gonna sacrifice some LP's and a goat!!!)

But hey - when you boil it down, he's really just another Audio/HT enthusiast doing the exact same thing as what we do around here (albeit his budget and scale is a tad bigger).........

Funny, no mention of Monster Cables, though ;)

He probably used Pear speaker cables. ;) http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/calling-********/james-randi-offers-1-million-if-audiophiles-can-prove-7250-speaker-cables-are-better-305549.php

Can anyone figure out where the $6 million went?


I hope there's at least $5.9M stuffed between the seat cushions.

But hey - when you boil it down, he's really just another Audio/HT enthusiast doing the exact same thing as what we do around here



Speak for yourself. I think most of us have a balanced look at performance in a room.

Art

Gross.
I haven't used that term in years but it seems apt.
Doesn't really look like an enjoyable place to hang out to me.
It's like a huge toddler's playpen with all the toys stacked around you rather than a place for people to enjoy an audio\video experience.
I bet it looks a lot better with the lights turned off:D

Wow, a reflective glass table located in front of the viewer so that he/she can get double of the greatest show on earth. :rolleyes:Build the room right, upgrade the equipment as you go.

I think his wife is blind or just doesn't care about looks.... because there is no way that would pass any Wife factor here haha

I think it'd be fun to have a lighting rig you could program sequences to, but in the end I'd rather watch the earth visualizer on the PS3 while listening to music in a much less cluttered environment.

I also agree with everyone else, it seems bizarre the amps seem to block the sound of some of the speakers.

I think his wife is blind or just doesn't care about looks.... because there is no way that would pass any Wife factor here haha

Hell, it isn't passing the husband factor here. ^_^;

Speak for yourself. I think most of us .....

Art

Sorry Art - my bad....I thought the sarcasm flowed ok from all four points I threw out there, but re-reading it after your post, I could see where someone may think I was actually serious :( .

I should've slapped one of these --->:rolleyes: before the Monster Cable dig...

:o

Cheers,

Hope he knows a good ENT doctor, he is going to need one.

i'll be positive:eek:.
i do like the model of cpt'n nemos nautilus (if that is what it is) on the table.

That's one hell of a setup but I would want something closer in decor to what I have now. But just imagine what could be done with that much money.

6 mil only gets you three seats?

Although, with his design sense, I could see why he wouldn't have many friends. :)

Ugh. Looks like he paid no attention to aesthetic considerations, and no attention to obtaining coherent sound.

Sorry Art - my bad....I thought the sarcasm flowed ok from all four points I threw out there, but re-reading it after your post, I could see where someone may think I was actually serious :( .

I should've slapped one of these --->:rolleyes: before the Monster Cable dig...

:o

Cheers,

No problem, sorry if I sounded testy.:o

Art

6,000,000 home theatre!!!

Let's see now, for six mil I'd have one hell of a house with a great home theatre/game room and be well on my way to retirement (if not retired already):p

Eric

6,000,000 home theatre!!!

Let's see now, for six mil I'd have one hell of a house with a great home theatre/game room and be well on my way to retirement (if not retired already):p

Eric

4 that 6m id have a house at lake tahoe and/or big sur or something like that. and still have enuff for a kickass ht!

and, pardon me, donate a whole load of cash to some sick kids, etc project. probably do this 1st.

we dont know, maybe this guy does just that with his extra cash!

How would you ever keep the place clean. Can you imagine trying to dust the place with all thougths amp on the floor. How do you clean the floor. The design is totally impractical.

Buy shares in SWIFFER dusting products, I have a feeling sales will increase exponentially.

Eric.

Some other pictures... I didn't see them earlier in the thread but perhaps I missed them.

http://blog.audiovideointeriors.com/images/archivesart/208great.2.jpg
http://blog.audiovideointeriors.com/images/archivesart/208great.3.jpg
http://blog.audiovideointeriors.com/images/archivesart/208great.4.jpg
http://blog.audiovideointeriors.com/images/archivesart/208great.5.jpg
http://blog.audiovideointeriors.com/images/archivesart/208great.8.jpg

The interesting thing, is he is planning on marketing this set up to others. HT magazine talks about 3 different price points for his theaters. It says that the equipment would be "less visible" than in the prototype. Hummmmmm.

I do not get the hard wood floor? One would think it would be an acoustic nightmare.

Something seems off with this setup. There are no cables anywhere. There are no outlets in the floor to plug all those amps into. Does he just run extension cords to everything. You can clearl see the back of the 2102 amps in one picture and not even a power cable is plugged in. I guess 6 mil doesn't include the cables. Any chance this is just publicity and doesn't really exist outside of this photoshoot?

Well ,they are lit so I assume they are getting power from some place.

Art

What if this is one of those bose room setups where you think all the audio is coming these speakers but in reality they're just small acoustimass speakers and all of the equipment are just hollow props.

It would support the arguement of why cables (power or interconnects) are not seen but the amps and stuff are lit. lol

Well ,they are lit so I assume they are getting power from some place.

Art

The power comes from Photoshop!

I have to agree with the comment on the site "No xbox 360? No HTPC? Am I supposed to put my feet up on that glass coffee table? Dude, come on, spend some cash, get a recliner."

No HDMI/DVI.
My overall summary of thoughts.
One of the most wastefull ways to spend 6 million IMO. Yeah, that sums it up for me.

What about the "Suspending Disbelief" factor. There's no way that I could concentrate on the movie with all the other things in the room grabing my attention. The front of the room is just plain too busy.

How about the hydro bill or all that heat of all the amp's.

I think the bottom line is this and only this: Given an almost unlimited budget for equipment and room is this what you would build ? Easy for me ,the answer is no and not even close !

Art

I think the bottom line is this and only this: Given an almost unlimited budget for equipment and room is this what you would build ? Easy for me ,the answer is no and not even close !

ArtAgreed! The room doesn't look at all like it's close to acoustically perfect, nor does it look like much effort was made to control black levels.

First off if the guy has 6 mil to spend on a home theater I really doubt he gives a rats a$$ what we think about it. Opinions are like buttholes, everyone has one and they all stink. ;)

The interesting thing, is he is planning on marketing this set up to others. HT magazine talks about 3 different price points for his theaters. It says that the equipment would be "less visible" than in the prototype. Hummmmmm.

Even if I had that kind of $$$ I would never purchase a home theater that looks like a parts warehouse.

The guy clearly has way more money than taste.

I have way more taste than money ;)

If I got to choose between the two I would probably take his problem over mine.

I agree with Gregg.... the power comes from photoshop.

It does make you wonder as to the purpose of such a room and such an article. The first thing I did when I saw the article in my Home Theater mag was to check the date on the issue to see if it was the April (april fools day) edition. But it was not.

Now this is far more impressive, most impressive.:p http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/images/icons/icon14.gif

Makes Mr. $6million dollar, man’s look a retirement home. :D

http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee15/Evolution3417/THXstaghomecinema2.jpg

Johann Peters of Charisma Productions out of Washington built this custom home theater using George Lucas' personal "Stag" theater as a guide. Johann attended a THX certification session at Skywalker ranch for the Stag and was won over by the world class experience that the theater offers.

The custom theater took eight months and $100,000 to build.

THEATER STATS
* 18W x 13H x 30L
* Runs about 12,740 watts
* 16 seats

EQUIPMENT LIST

Audio Components
* Buttkicker BKA1000-4A Amps (4)
* Buttkicker II Tactiles (8)
* Liberty THX Interconnection
* Mackie DF.6 Mixing Console
* Marantz DV-9500 THX SACD/DVD Player
* Marantz MA-6100 Monoblocks (2)
* Marantz SR-14EX THX AV Receiver
* Monster HTS-3600 MKII Power Conditioner
* Panamax MAX 4300-EX Power Conditioner
* Toshiba HD-XA2 HD?DVD Player

Control
* Philips TSU-9600 WiFi Remote

Speakers
* JBL MP418S Subwoofer w/ Crown Amps (2)
* Klipsch KA-1000-THX Subwoofer Amplifier
* Klipsch KL-525-THX Monopole Rear Surrounds (2)
* Klipsch KS-525-THX Side Surrounds (4)
* Klipsch KL-650-THX LCRs (3)
* Klipsch KW-120-THX Subwoofers (2)
* Liberty THX Ultra 2 Speaker Wire
* Sunfire Mark IV Subwoofer

Video
* JVC DLA-RS1 Projector
* Stewart Filmscreen 150-Inch Studio Tek 130 THX Microperf

He even has video promoting it, now that’s more like that’s hoarse of different colour.

Skywalker Stag Theater Shrine
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2pkqv_skywalker-stag-theater-shrine_shortfilms

Now this is far more impressive, most impressive.:p http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/images/icons/icon14.gif

Makes Mr. $6million dollar, man’s look a retirement home. :D

http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee15/Evolution3417/THXstaghomecinema2.jpg

Johann Peters of Charisma Productions out of Washington built this custom home theater using George Lucas' personal "Stag" theater as a guide. Johann attended a THX certification session at Skywalker ranch for the Stag and was won over by the world class experience that the theater offers.

The custom theater took eight months and $100,000 to build.

THEATER STATS
* 18W x 13H x 30L
* Runs about 12,740 watts
* 16 seats

EQUIPMENT LIST

Audio Components
* Buttkicker BKA1000-4A Amps (4)
* Buttkicker II Tactiles (8)
* Liberty THX Interconnection
* Mackie DF.6 Mixing Console
* Marantz DV-9500 THX SACD/DVD Player
* Marantz MA-6100 Monoblocks (2)
* Marantz SR-14EX THX AV Receiver
* Monster HTS-3600 MKII Power Conditioner
* Panamax MAX 4300-EX Power Conditioner
* Toshiba HD-XA2 HD?DVD Player

Control
* Philips TSU-9600 WiFi Remote

Speakers
* JBL MP418S Subwoofer w/ Crown Amps (2)
* Klipsch KA-1000-THX Subwoofer Amplifier
* Klipsch KL-525-THX Monopole Rear Surrounds (2)
* Klipsch KS-525-THX Side Surrounds (4)
* Klipsch KL-650-THX LCRs (3)
* Klipsch KW-120-THX Subwoofers (2)
* Liberty THX Ultra 2 Speaker Wire
* Sunfire Mark IV Subwoofer

Video
* JVC DLA-RS1 Projector
* Stewart Filmscreen 150-Inch Studio Tek 130 THX Microperf

He even has video promoting it, now that’s more like that’s hoarse of different colour.

Skywalker Stag Theater Shrine
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2pkqv_skywalker-stag-theater-shrine_shortfilms

Yep, that's a proper home theater. The monstrosity that started this thread is just a complete waste of money.

Tube amps? WTF!? Only 3 seats? WTF!? Not using JBL or Klipsch for speakers? WTF!?

And the room is a bit too square if you ask me...definitely not set up well at all from any perspective other than "most expensive home theater in teh world! pwned!" perspective.

I bet he sells 100s of setups just like it to the Donald Trumps of the world.

My opinion?

It looks like what a college student's studio apartment would look like one week after he won the lottery.

While I can appreciate the guy's desire to have a "state of the art" experience, his aesthetics leave a bit to be desired.

If he wanted "state of the art" he would have used better, more modern amps.

He certainly does have some workable elements in there, the projector, the Snell speakers, but the way it's all put together just doesn't make sense at all from a HT design perspective.

If Tomlinson Holman were dead, he'd be rolling in his grave.

I see he has an LDS2 laserdisc player in his rack:)

With all those speakers wouldnt you have blood comming from your ears. Maybe all the speakers are fake and he just has some overpriced bose cubes hooked up.

With all those speakers wouldnt you have blood comming from your ears. Maybe all the speakers are fake and he just has some overpriced bose cubes hooked up.

You do not have to turn up large speakers very loud if you dont want to.....

The Command Performance Ultimate Theater IMHO is still the best unlimited budget home theater that I have seen.

http://www.command-performance.com/gallery/index.htm

i'm also trying to stay positive even though this kind of waste sickens me like watching the rock of love on vh1. i really like the nautilus. i wonder what the story is? he put it right in the middle of the $6M equipment pile like it is really special. i wonder if it is an actual prop from the movie or something. it has some kind of plaque in front of it.

greg

The guy clearly has way more money than taste.

I have way more taste than money ;)

If I got to choose between the two I would probably take his problem over mine.

Probably the funniest thing Ive read all night.

Honestly though. I didnt really like the look of the room. But whatever.
I think that it is funny how a lot of folks are on here bashing the guy. Who cares if he overpaid for the thing. I do somehow doubt that some folks could get just as good a sound out of 100k like they claim. Maybe. I dunno. But the fact remains that if 99/100 of us were in this room it would be better then anything we will ever have.

As far as price goes...who knows. He has like what 6 sets of McIntosh amps...thats like 25k right there.

I know that my goal is to be able to afford some McIntosh gear someday. (At which point Ill probably also be able to upgrade my Klipsch rf82 speakers) Not to say that Klipsch rf82 isnt a fine speaker. I mean, for a normal guy. Normal guys want the best sound for the money. Name is important, but it isnt totally necessary. If it were, eD, SVS, HSU, Axiom, Epik wouldnt be in business. But this guy isnt a normal guy. He isnt a mechanic at the local Jiffy Lube. This guy is like P Diddy rich. So for him. eD isnt even on his radar. He wants the best sound, but it also has to have the best name. IF he has to pay 500% more for the name, then he does it.

Like, why do celebrities spend $500 on True Religion or whatever when they can get the same thing from Old Navy for $29.99?

Like, why do celebrities spend $500 on True Religion or whatever when they can get the same thing from Old Navy for $29.99?
It's all about the horseshoe pockets! :confused:

It's all about the horseshoe pockets! :confused:

I suppose your right. After all, who wouldnt want a horse shoe pocket. Only an extra $479 a pair to get it. Sounds worth it to me. :rolleyes:

But if thats the case, apple bottoms :eek: should be like $500 as well. Considering as though I saw them on a a girl at an airport in Bloomington IL makes me think that they arent on the same playing field as True Religion.

But honestly, I think I could see a pair of true religion and never even know it. Does $500 denim look different...? (maybe only on a sales receipt) Who knows. I didnt even know that they had horse shoe pockets. Oh well. Ill stick to American Eagle, Old Navy, and Abercrombie. Even some of that is getting fancy.

At any rate, I thought that it looked ok. The decor and the set up could be better, sure. But it is WAY nicer then probably any of us have or ever will have.

I guess it is nice to imagine what we would do with $6 million though. But, if it would have cost $145,323.48 would people still put him down? Would people say that they could have done better for only $73,965.33? All I can say is, I hope he's happy with his set up. If he isnt...thats a crappy way to blow $6 million.