Six Million Dollar Home Theater - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

Cynthetiq · 02-08-2008, 06:04 PM

Quote:

Kipnis' outer limits theater, or what $6 million will buy.
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When it comes to home theaters, I thought I'd seen it all. But nothing's come close to this. First, I'm going to try to describe the sheer magnitude of Jeremy Kipnis' theater. His Stewart Snowmatte laboratory-grade screen is the biggest I've ever seen in a home, and in the back of the theater, there's a Sony ultra-high-resolution (4,096-by-2,160) SRX-S110 digital projector. I'm looking everywhere, jotting down questions, and Kipnis sounds almost giddy talking about his theater's capabilities. He refers to his baby, the Kipnis Studio Standard (KSS), as "The Greatest Show on Earth." And from the looks of it, he may be right.

While the KSS is technically an 8.8-channel audio system, it uses a lot more than eight speakers and eight subwoofers. Kipnis felt that a lone center speaker sounded a tad undernourished compared with the eight Snell THX Cinema & Music Reference towers, so he opted for three Snell LCR-2800 center-channel speakers. The original contingent of eight subs sounded "really good" but, unfortunately, didn't deliver the full earth-moving-under-your-feet effect he wanted. So, he wound up with 16 18-inch Snell subs! To balance the other frequency extreme, and for the ultimate in transient speed and transparency, the Snell speakers' treble has been augmented with MuRata ES103A super tweeters. Thus, from the deepest deep bass (10 hertz) up to the extreme high-frequency range (100 kilohertz), the KSS is the most full-range system I've ever heard—and felt. The speakers are fed by a well-balanced combination of audiophile solid-state and vacuum-tube amplifiers. The KSS is astonishing in the way it delivers power, but with 11,315 very high-quality watts on tap, that's hardly surprising. Not only can it play ungodly loud, the KSS sounds phenomenal while doing so and never hurt my tender ears. The theater is big but far from huge. Its vaulted ceiling ranges from 8 feet high at the rear end to 16 feet at the screen end of the room (which is 26.5 feet wide and 33 feet long). The 18-foot screen fulfilled my IMAX fantasies, and the projector's va-va-voom color and brilliant light were transformational. I just tried to take it all in as I scribbled notes, afraid I might miss some of the juicier details.

AC power conditioning for the KSS is, again, done to the max. Next to the garage, there are two mammoth General Electric 13,800-volt/800-amp step-down transformers; all of the cabling is audiophile-grade wire, and every aspect of performance and presentation is scrutinized, even down to the 40-amp cryogenically treated circuit breakers for each and every component in the system.

How It Came to Be
I first met Kipnis in the early 1990s when he worked for Chesky Records as an engineer/producer. And later in the decade, I followed his exploits when he started his own classical music label, Epiphany Recordings Limited. Hooked on video at an early age, he was the first on his block to buy a laserdisc player in 1980 and went on to amass a huge collection of players and discs. He watched them on one of the very first projectors in the market, the Kloss NovaBeam Model 1, with a 6.5-foot curved silver screen in his Redding, Connecticut, home, where he still resides. The projector's legendary inventor, Henry Kloss, was a neighbor and good friend of Kipnis' parents, so you might say the seeds of the KSS were planted long ago. The man's passions run deep. Kipnis tells me, "I've been watching movies since I was four on really big screens in movie theaters, and three years ago, those experiences inspired me to design a home theater with the absolute best picture and sound."

But it's more than that. Kipnis sees the KSS as a laboratory, an ongoing experiment to advance the state of the art. And it's not just for himself; he's dead serious about selling the KSS to movie-industry professionals and wealthy home theater aficionados. He sees his huge screen as an intrinsic part of the experience. "It's an unprecedented level of immersion that I'm looking for." The mix of brands and models for his customers' KSS systems will be site specific, and he imagines that, unlike his installation, the componentry and speakers will be stealthily deployed. The KSS pictured here is Beta Ciné, so yes, there's an even bigger KSS, the Alpha Ciné, in the planning stages. It's intended for much larger venues, such as screening rooms or perhaps even actual movie theaters. The Gamma Ciné will be a scaled-down KSS for smaller living rooms, bedrooms, or kitchens. The Gamma Ciné will likely utilize rear-projection techniques. (When not in use, the screen will look like a wall, and all of the equipment will live behind the screen.) The philosophy of all three KSS systems is the same—nothing but the best picture and sound. Price estimates will be site specific, but the cost of Kipnis' home system would be in the $6-million range.

Scaling the Heights
Setting up the Sony SRX-R110 digital cinema projector is a demanding job, and Kipnis has invested a lot of time into maximizing its potential, all in an effort to advance the state of the art. He's an Imaging Science Foundation–certified technician and studied with video-tweaking legend Joe Kane.

The Sony projector doesn't have HDMI inputs that are HDCP compliant, but it upscales Blu-ray and HD DVD players' component outputs to its native 4K resolution. So sure, it might look even better if he could use his HD player's digital outputs, but Kipnis feels the picture quality he's getting right now is "far more outstanding and realistic than any other movie theater I've experienced on the planet." Pressing the question about keeping the KSS' video all digital, he admits that he's also considering commissioning a custom-built scaler from Silicon Optix or Snell & Wilcox. The ultimate goal is to produce a picture that's an open window to the world.

With a bit of luck, Kipnis will get to play the KSS for the likes of George Lucas, Peter Jackson, Steven Spielberg, and Martin Scorsese. And who knows—they each might be so thrilled, they'll buy one on the spot. That would be great, but I wonder out loud, "Would you have done all of this if you didn't hope to turn it into a commercial enterprise? Would you have done it just for yourself?" Without hesitating, Kipnis says, "Just to see what's possible? Yes, I would."

For more information about the Kipnis Studio Standard, please visit www.kipnis-studios.com or call (203) 938-3767.

Partial Equipment List for the Kipnis Studio Standard Beta CinE:

Picture Elements:
Sony SRX-S110 Professional Video Projector
Stewart 18-by-10-foot Snowmatte 1.0 Gain Laboratory-Grade Motion Picture Screen

Players and Sources:
Sony BDP-S1 Blu-ray Player
Sony PlayStation 3 Gaming Console
Toshiba HD-XA1 HD DVD Player
JVC HMDH-5U D-VHS Recorder
SATA Drive (72 HDTV Hours Total)
Mark Levinson N° 51 DVD/CD Media Player
Pioneer HLD-X0 Hi-Vision HDTV MUSE Laserdisc Player

Surround Processing and Decoding:
Theta Digital Generation VIII 32-bit 8x Oversampling Dual Processors (13)

Amplification:
Mark Levinson N° 33h Amplifiers (2)
McIntosh MC-2102 Amplifiers (30)
Crown Macro Reference Gold Amplifiers (3)

Speakers:
Snell 1800 THX Music & Cinema Reference Subwoofers (16)
Snell THX Music & Cinema Reference Towers (8)
MuRata ES103A Super Tweeters (10)
Snell THX Music & Cinema Reference LCR-2800 Center-Channel Speakers (3)

Holy crap!!!! First it is an amazing collection of equipment, second, SIX MILLION Dollars of electronic yummy goodness. Of course it is a horrible depreciated item, but wow, it must be amazing to sit and watch a movie or play any PS3 game in this room.

Willravel · 02-08-2008, 06:08 PM

JESUS FUCKING CHRIST!!!

If I had the money...

noodle · 02-08-2008, 06:47 PM

How'd you find a picture of my house?!

n0nsensical · 02-09-2008, 04:14 AM

How do I get his job?

fresnelly · 02-09-2008, 06:38 AM

At what point does the technology (and cost) surpass our ability to perceive a any qualitative difference? Couldn't you get an appreciably good setup for say, $100,000? I imagine the studio rigs that actually record and mix music and videos cost LESS than this outlay.

I hope he feels it was money well spent the next time he puts in his copy of I Now Pronounce You Chuck And Larry.

Allow me a little scenerio:

Guy: "So this is my $6 million home theatre!

Girl he picked up at a bar:"Ooo, it's so amazing! The vibes just make me want to take my clothes off."

Guy: Oh yeah?

Girl: Oh yeah. Let me just put down my drink and..."

Guy: GAH! DON'T PUT THAT THERE!

Girl: What?

GuyYou might spill it or something. Geez!

Girl: Oh. Um. Sorry. I didn't...

Guy: That's imported 100% pure sahara desert glass. It scratches very easily.

Girl: Oh. Okay. Um, so do you still wanna...

Guy: I'm gonna go find a coaster.

Hain · 02-09-2008, 02:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fresnelly

At what point does the technology (and cost) surpass our ability to perceive a any qualitative difference? Couldn't you get an appreciably good setup for say, $100,000? I imagine the studio rigs that actually record and mix music and videos cost LESS than this outlay.

I hope he feels it was money well spent the next time he puts in his copy of I Now Pronounce You Chuck And Larry.

Exactly what I think.

Quote:

Allow me a little scenerio:

Guy: "So this is my $6 million home theatre!

Girl he picked up at a bar:"Ooo, it's so amazing! The vibes just make me want to take my clothes off."

Guy: Oh yeah?

Girl: Oh yeah. Let me just put down my drink and..."

Guy: GAH! DON'T PUT THAT THERE!

Girl: What?

GuyYou might spill it or something. Geez!

Girl: Oh. Um. Sorry. I didn't...

Guy: That's imported 100% pure sahara desert glass. It scratches very easily.

Girl: Oh. Okay. Um, so do you still wanna...

Guy: I'm gonna go find a coaster.

Please, this guy isn't prepared with coasters in that room?

buttless1der · 02-09-2008, 04:19 PM

That's a bit much for Family Guy reruns if you ask me.

Charlatan · 02-09-2008, 05:37 PM

When does the ear stop hearing the difference between a $1 million system and a $6million system?

Martian · 02-09-2008, 05:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Charlatan

When does the ear stop hearing the difference between a $1 million system and a $6million system?

Nuts to that. When does the ear stop hearing the difference between a $20 000 system and a $6 000 000 system?

Give me ten large, I can build a decent home theatre. Give me fifty, I'll build the best goddamn home theatre you could want. Give me a hundred, I will build an actual cinema in your home. Anything above that is just wasting money.

LoganSnake · 02-09-2008, 06:08 PM

I came.

buttless1der · 02-09-2008, 10:29 PM

Three words: Full Tilt Bozo.

Lucifer · 02-09-2008, 11:26 PM

I bet his neighbours hate his guts on movie night!

Delirious · 02-10-2008, 05:34 PM

I think stuff like the Batcave is much better. Functionality and looks is just as important. That theater looks too damn cluttered. And you can only seat 3 people and not very comfortably. Whats the point of all that if you can't show it off???

vancityboi · 02-10-2008, 06:11 PM

WOW, but did he really need to spend $6mill on that. I would assume that for $100,000 or a lil more you can get a good enough set up. Would you really be able to hear the difference that much. Oh well his money...

Quote:

Originally Posted by fresnelly

Guy: "So this is my $6 million home theatre!

Girl he picked up at a bar:"Ooo, it's so amazing! The vibes just make me want to take my clothes off."

Guy: Oh yeah?

Girl: Oh yeah. Let me just put down my drink and..."

Guy: GAH! DON'T PUT THAT THERE!

Girl: What?

GuyYou might spill it or something. Geez!

Girl: Oh. Um. Sorry. I didn't...

Guy: That's imported 100% pure sahara desert glass. It scratches very easily.

Girl: Oh. Okay. Um, so do you still wanna...

Guy: I'm gonna go find a coaster.

hehe that made me giggle.

MSD · 02-17-2008, 09:30 PM

Wankery. The only word for this is wankery. Young men spend their hard-earned fast food wages on flashy parts to make their slow econoboxes look fast, this guy dumps it on redefining overkill in home theater systems.

Quote:

Originally Posted by vancityboi

WOW, but did he really need to spend $6mill on that. I would assume that for $100,000 or a lil more you can get a good enough set up. Would you really be able to hear the difference that much. Oh well his money...

When you spend the money you'll be able to hear the difference. There will be no quantitative difference that can be measured by any scientific instrument, but if you spend that much money, you will hear a difference.

biznatch · 03-17-2008, 02:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MSD

Wankery. The only word for this is wankery. Young men spend their hard-earned fast food wages on flashy parts to make their slow econoboxes look fast, this guy dumps it on redefining overkill in home theater systems.

When you spend the money you'll be able to hear the difference. There will be no quantitative difference that can be measured by any scientific instrument, but if you spend that much money, you will hear a difference.

Yes, a sort of Placebo effect for the ears and eyes.

Jesus Christ, the guy is insane, but hell, his cash, not mine. And I wouldn't mind being invited to see or movie or two there.

This thing is kind if an investment though. If you check out his website, he's actually setting up extremely high priced (~$6 million) set-ups for other crazy rich people.
And I'm sure people who have the money will want to get it, and will claim they can hear and see the difference.

troit · 03-18-2008, 02:24 AM

I'd like to see the bedroom.

02-09-2008, 06:38 AM	#5 (permalink)
fresnelly Functionally Appropriate Location: Toronto	At what point does the technology (and cost) surpass our ability to perceive a any qualitative difference? Couldn't you get an appreciably good setup for say, $100,000? I imagine the studio rigs that actually record and mix music and videos cost LESS than this outlay. I hope he feels it was money well spent the next time he puts in his copy of I Now Pronounce You Chuck And Larry. Allow me a little scenerio: Guy: "So this is my $6 million home theatre! Girl he picked up at a bar:"Ooo, it's so amazing! The vibes just make me want to take my clothes off." Guy: Oh yeah? Girl: Oh yeah. Let me just put down my drink and..." Guy: GAH! DON'T PUT THAT THERE! Girl: What? GuyYou might spill it or something. Geez! Girl: Oh. Um. Sorry. I didn't... Guy: That's imported 100% pure sahara desert glass. It scratches very easily. Girl: Oh. Okay. Um, so do you still wanna... Guy: I'm gonna go find a coaster. __________________ Building an artificial intelligence that appreciates Mozart is easy. Building an A.I. that appreciates a theme restaurant is the real challenge - Kit Roebuck - Nine Planets Without Intelligent Life Last edited by fresnelly; 02-09-2008 at 06:50 AM..

02-09-2008, 04:19 PM	#7 (permalink)
buttless1der Tilted Location: Willamette Valley	That's a bit much for Family Guy reruns if you ask me. __________________ The measure of any government is how they allow their citizenry to defend themselves. -Ted Nugent

02-09-2008, 05:37 PM	#8 (permalink)
Charlatan Getting it. Super Moderator Location: Lion City	When does the ear stop hearing the difference between a $1 million system and a $6million system? __________________ "My hands are on fire. Hands are on fire. Ain't got no more time for all you charlatans and liars." - Old Man Luedecke

02-09-2008, 06:08 PM	#10 (permalink)
LoganSnake We work alone Location: Cake Town	I came. __________________ Maturity is knowing you were an idiot in the past. Wisdom is knowing that you'll be an idiot in the future. Common sense is knowing that you should try not to be an idiot now. - J. Jacques

02-09-2008, 10:29 PM	#11 (permalink)
buttless1der Tilted Location: Willamette Valley	Three words: Full Tilt Bozo. __________________ The measure of any government is how they allow their citizenry to defend themselves. -Ted Nugent

02-08-2008, 06:08 PM	#2 (permalink)
Willravel ... a sort of licensed troubleshooter.	JESUS FUCKING CHRIST!!! If I had the money...

02-09-2008, 04:14 AM	#4 (permalink)
n0nsensical Junkie Location: San Francisco	How do I get his job?

02-09-2008, 11:26 PM	#12 (permalink)
Lucifer Husband of Seamaiden Location: Nova Scotia	I bet his neighbours hate his guts on movie night! __________________ I am a brother to dragons, and a companion to owls. - Job 30:29 1123, 6536, 5321

02-10-2008, 05:34 PM	#13 (permalink)
Delirious Crazy Location: Queens, NY	I think stuff like the Batcave is much better. Functionality and looks is just as important. That theater looks too damn cluttered. And you can only seat 3 people and not very comfortably. Whats the point of all that if you can't show it off???

03-18-2008, 02:24 AM	#17 (permalink)
troit Transfer Agent Location: NYC	I'd like to see the bedroom. __________________ I've yet to dephile myself...