One Sunday in 2004, Ryan walked into ListenUp’s Denver store and began a conversation with sales consultant Jeremy Gage. Ryan had already done his homework and was ready to buy a high-end receiver and DVD player from a well-known manufacturer. Wistfully eyeing some of the other equipment in the store, though, he asked Jeremy, “Is there anything better?”

Of course, Jeremy was only too happy to show him a whole lot of stuff that was better, and Ryan enjoyed the demonstration so much he ended up purchasing a high-end separates-based surround system.

Expanding the scope of the system
Ryan and his wife Jennifer later purchased the home of a well-known Denver businessman, and they asked Jeremy to consult with them. They walked the house together and decided to evolve the setup from a 4-room, satellite receiver/DVD player solution to a whole-house system complete with distributed audio/video, integrated security cameras, DVR and advanced control system.

A 12-inch Crestron touchpanel is the heart of the control system. Located in the kitchen, it allows Ryan and Jennifer to play music or watch TV on the 32-inch screen in the area.

They can also monitor the weather outside with the Vantage Weatherstation that’s integrated into the touchpanel, as well as control the temperature inside with the 9-zone thermostat control. Perhaps their favorite attribute of the touchpanel is that it gives them the ability to see and hear what’s going on in their kids’ rooms — a must-have feature in a 13,000-square-foot home.

Dedicated to home theater
Though the entire whole-house system is impressive, the dedicated home theater is the crowning glory. Jeremy spent a lot of time and effort with Rives Audio to make the room sound better acoustically. Once that was accomplished, the furniture and equipment came in. A Cineak 7-seat, 2-row seating arrangement was the furnishing highlight, with leather designed to match the wall paint and ceiling acoustic panels.

The Runco VX22D high-definition projector with anamorphic lens and Stewart 128-inch CineCurve screen allow the Bennetts to enjoy all their programming in the correct aspect ratio and without those annoying black bars. This unique screen has a slightly curved shape to enhance the super-wide image, just like the old Cinerama theaters of yesteryear! The CineCurve includes Stewart’s masking system, which creates the viewing area for any kind of image — widescreen classics in 2.35:1, today’s 16:9 HDTV, and even the traditional 4:3 format.

With 6100 watts of power (including three 500-watt monoblock amps for the front channels), the 7-channel McIntosh audio system delivers a thoroughly forceful and enveloping surround sound experience that perfectly complements the cutting-edge video.

Control yourself
The couple’s complete DVD collection (including every episode of the original Star Trek TV series) is stored on the Kaleidescape media server. When the server is turned on it brings up on-screen thumbnails of every disc; they can click on the thumbnail for more detailed info or make their viewing selection right then. It’s the fun and easy way to instantly access all their favorite movies and TV shows.

A Blu-ray Disc player provides the highest quality pre-recorded content, while three Dish Network receivers give the family multiple streaming options in the theater and throughout the home. The 8-inch wireless color touchpanel provides easy, intuitive control of all these sources, as well as thermostat/temperature monitoring for nine zones, camera control throughout the home and light control for the theater.

Entertaining with style
Ryan and Jennifer are currently in the process of finishing their basement and adding a third Middle Atlantic rack with even more audio equipment and space for future expansion — and of course they’re working with ListenUp. “I value ListenUp for the quality of its products and the staff’s knowledge about those products,” says Ryan. “Being an engineer, I appreciate that knowledge. A lot of other stores I’ve dealt with just don’t know as much about what they sell as Jeremy and ListenUp.”

When it comes to choosing a company to help you with your system, is there anything better?

Control it all