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Egyptian Home Theater - June 2004 - page 3  Controlling the gear, even with the doors to the equipment rack closed, is not an issue with the AMX, because the system is wired via RS-232. However, if you wanted to disguise your rack in a wall like this and use an infra-red remote, you would just need to have a small IR repeater eye exposed somewhere in the room where you have direct line of sight from the seating position. IR macros are not as reliable as those sent through a hard-wired RS-232 control system, so you’ll want to know how to manually get your system into the right mode should one of the commands accidentally get skipped when using an IR remote.A regular door a few feet to the left of the hidden equipment rack leads to a small hallway behind the equipment rack. Having easy access to the back of the equipment rack makes tweaking with the wiring of the gear and adding and removing pieces of gear a snap. This is becoming a very popular trend in home theaters today. The days of pulling out some of your gear and climbing in the bottom of a rack to change out a few components or change wires will be over if you can build in access to the back of the gear. Other methods that allow for an easy rack include pull-out racks that slide out and rotate and racks that are on casters (wheels) that allow you to roll them out manually. If you opt for casters, having hardwood or smooth tile floors is almost a necessity, since the casters will sink down into carpet as the rack is loaded up with heavy gear. Since this is a theater that is having gear changed out constantly, the crew at Elite had just sold the Runco VX 5000ci projector that was installed in a soffit in the back wall. A new Runco was being placed in the theater while we were visiting Elite, so we didn’t get to audition the picture in the theater, but reports state that the picture is astounding. In this controlled environment, with no windows and well-sealed doors, no light leaks in, which is a key element to getting the most from your projector. 
Across the front of the theater, a 130-inch Stewart Filmscreen dominates the wall and on each side of the screen, there are two large rounded wooden beams. A black fabric wall conceals some serious audio horsepower in the form of three Krell FPB 350 MCX monoblocks, powering Revel Ultima Salons and a Revel C32 center channel. Currently, the subs in the system consist of a Revel B-15 subwoofer and a Velodyne 15-inch subwoofer that can be easily switched in the back of the equipment rack. Each of the panels of black fabric wall can easily be removed to provide access to the gear, thanks to a few strips of Velcro. The pieces fit together like a small jigsaw puzzle and do a very effective job of keeping the front of the theater neat and tidy. All of the front speakers sit on a slightly floated platform to better isolate the room acoustically. This means that when someone is checking out “The Mummy” or “The Mummy Returns” on DVD at ear-splitting levels in the theater, the rest of the business complex that Elite is situated in won’t think the next big earthquake has hit Riverside County.Building an elaborate Egyptian tomb in your basement may or may not be exactly what you have in mind for your own ultimate home theater. However, this month’s feature is an example of the almost limitless possibilities of custom home theater installation. The sky (or your budget) is literally the limit when it comes to tricking out your own home theater system. In 1922, the legendary Egyptian Theater was built on Hollywood Boulevard. This was no doubt an inspiration to the homeowner who came up with the idea for the original East Coast version of the Egyptian Home Theater. Whether you want to have a retro 1920s-era theater with gold leaf walls and hire mini-skirt-wearing cigarette girls, or you want a groovy, mod 1960s-style Andy Warhol-influenced theater built into your home, the right design firm and interior designer can make it happen. See complete equipment list below...
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