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New MadVR Labs Experience Center Demonstrates the ‘Pinnacle of Home Theater Performance’ with Help From StormAudio

2025, February 27

Home Theater Savants Partner Ryan Charpentier is what you would call the ultimate home theater enthusiast – so much so that he recently volunteered to build the highest-end showroom imaginable on behalf of video processor manufacturer MadVR in his own Kansas City-based home.

His goal was to create a space so enthralling, so immersive and so high-end that it would show customers and the greater custom install community what’s truly possible when using cutting-edge solutions and employing inventive design. “The MadVR Labs Experience Center is designed to show what can be done – with no expenses spared – to vendors, integrators, and enthusiasts when home theater audio and video is perfected,” Charpentier said. “This has totally reset what I know to be achievable in home theater; the sound and visuals experienced here are unlike anything that I’ve experienced anywhere else. It has reset the bar for possibility.”

Positioned at the center of the custom audio system is StormAudio, which Charpentier selected for its high-performing audiophile capabilities and ability to provide a granular level of control. “One of the most important facets of building a high-performing home theater is control,” Charpentier explained. “I need control of HVAC, lighting, audio insulation and audio isolation – just to name a few. StormAudio takes audio control and quality to the next level, which is why it was so well-suited for the space. It allows me to have my hands in as much of the audio as possible.”

A StormAudio ISP MK3 sound processor offers 24-channel decoding and up-mixing with 32- channel amplification, exclusively with cutting-edge Dirac Live Active Room Treatment. Charpentier can customize the audio experience with precise control – adding PEQ before or after Dirac; active crossovers for the bi-amplified, 2-way, Black Swan LCR speakers; and beyond.

The system’s eight ear-level surrounds and six top-level surrounds are all identical speakers with a 12-inch mid—providing ~70Hz extension, larger than your typical surround speaker. This allows StormAudio to take Dirac Live’s Active Room Treatment technology to the next level by utilizing every speaker in the room to support the system’s overall performance targets for each speaker group, including the LFE.

Speaking of LFE, the monstrous subwoofer package is comprised of six 21-inch subwoofers and two 32-inch infrasonic woofers behind the screen and two more 21-inch subwoofers as well as a 50-inch infrasonic woofer in a custom enlarged enclosure in the rear of the room. This amount of raw cone area supercharges the effects of the advanced correction technology compounding together in the room for an experience that has to be just that, experienced, to be fully appreciated.

Charpentier has full, independent control of the room’s robust Ascendo audio system featuring dozens of subwoofers, speakers and amps, including a massive 50-inch rear subwoofer. “Ascendo’s speakers are so versatile; they excel at music, home theater, and more,” he added. “I knew they would deliver the crystal clear, surround-sound audio experience I was looking for.”

Unfortunately, Charpentier hit a significant installation snag when the 50-inch subwoofer and its cabinet would not fit down the stairs. “Luckily, I was able to work with a cabinet designer to build around it into the rear wall and make the cabinet two times bigger than it was originally,” he explained. “The cabinet is now 72 inches tall, 68 inches wide and 48 inches deep, weighing 2,000 pounds! It’s even better than originally envisioned.”

The video component of the home theater is just as impressive; a MadVR Envy Extreme MK2 video processor offers visual clarity, detail and brightness via a 35,000 Lumens Christie Griffin projector and 165-inch Stewart Harmony G3 screen. Plus, a Control4 system automates and controls the room’s other subsystems, such as HVAC and lighting, creating a comfortable and high-end experience for all who enter.

Since the completion of the room, Charpentier noted that people are taken aback by the experience, exclaiming that it is the best home theater experience they’ve ever had. “Everything that was chosen was chosen because I believe it to be as close to the ‘end’ or perfection as possible,” Charpentier commented. “So all the equipment choices that I made – especially StormAudio – were based on that premise: the pinnacle of the home theater experience. This is as good as it gets!”

About StormAudio:

StormAudio designs and manufactures high-quality audio amplifiers and processors in France; driven by the passion to deliver superior audio electronics. With headquarters in France and worldwide presence through its US subsidiary and Hong Kong office, StormAudio aims to provide premium technical and customer support to its customers from fit to finish, at every stage of a project.

For more information about the StormAudio brand and products, visit www.stormaudio.com.