Date design began: 02-04-04
Date installation was completed: 04-20-07
Feature Essay:
Elegant, fun, comfortable and simple were priorities of the homeowners, and Frankentek obliged their every wish. A marquee flanks a wall of the game room, inviting guests to an incredible experience beyond the ticket booth. Enter through one of the dual soundproof vestibules and you’re greeted with a fully stocked concession stand and soft leather loungers that repeat down four escalated rows. Each seat has a bird’s eye view of a massive 18-foot high front wall and 144-inch Stewart screen.
Reference quality audio was a must; however, the sound of 130dB explosions could not disturb people in adjoining rooms or library above. To create the perfect acoustical environment, the room dimensions were altered. The left and right speakers are aesthetically encased in the columns of the proscenium, and custom back boxes were built with a 10-degree offset allowing the drivers to disperse sound precisely per the required design. To achieve the correct platform radius between the isles, Frankentek customized seating by combining single seats together into “love seats” with individual reclining.
The ultimate goal was to make every seat in the house the perfect seat, so the interior design includes all acoustical components and speakers concealed in detailed millwork and imported fabric. A “grandmother-friendly” touchpanel adjoins a display telephone and temperature sensor, and integration to the security and CCTV system alerts users in case of emergencies.
An impressive 29, precisely positioned custom speakers provide near-perfect acoustics to all 19 seats, and a unique subwoofer balancing system is used to cancel out the lowest frequencies so base response is very fast and accurate. Not only is the sound awe-inspiring, the silence is perfect—nothing but the sound of your own breath.
Equipment from the following manufacturers was used in this project: Runco, Chief Manufacturing, Stewart Filmscreen, CAT/MBX, Symetrix, ATI, AMX, Panamax, DirecTV, Yamaha, Active Thermal Management, Lutron, Middle Atlantic, AudioQuest, Irwin Seating Company, Home Automation Inc. (HAI), EWC, APC, and System Sensor
Time and Expertise:
- Client Interviews: 28
- Electronic Design and Engineering: 98
- Proposal and System Documentation Preparation: 86
- Project Management: 152
- Pre-wire/Rough-in: 133
- Trim-out: 88
- Shop Time for Racking and Testing: 40
- Programming: 52
- Final Installation and Calibration: 105
- Client Instruction: 2
- Interior Design and/or Architecture by your Company: 18
- Interior Design and/or Architecture by Others: 300
- Project Management by Others: 60
- Other time: 80
- Describe Task: Fabric Stretching and Application
Total Hours to Complete: 1242
*CEDIA 2007 Industry Award Winner
