"Can I do picture-in-picture?”

“No.”

“Can I record TV shows on this VCR?”

“No.”

A view of the Hale home theater. (Click image to enlarge)

You might think an electronics architect would scare away clients with a sales pitch like that. But for Jim Peterson and Mark Gleicher of Modern Home Systems, conversations like this are routine. How does Modern Home Systems gain clients by offering them less? By making its systems a snap to use. “We spend about 10 minutes showing a client how to use the controls, and we are done,” Peterson says. “We keep it simple, so the clients can work their systems without having to call us or read a manual. The fewer the buttons, the fewer the headaches.”

The Hales pool room contains a home theater system of its own, along with electronics to power the whole-house audio system. (Click image to enlarge)

Indeed, as I wander through client David Hale’s San Diego estate, I jab at the various Crestron touchscreen control panels and Audioaccess keypads, and only once have to ask which button to push. That is in sharp contrast to many custom-installed entertainment systems I have encountered; too often, I find touchscreen controls about as easy to navigate as the streets of Boston. “The Crestron is a real three-martini remote,” says Peterson. “Anyone—in almost any condition—can operate it. But only if it is skillfully programmed.”

What if the client wants to record a TV show on his VCR? “We will set up one of the systems in the house to make it easy for them to do that, but we will not clutter up other systems with excess features and capabilities.”

The rack in the main home theater. (Click image to enlarge)

Modern Home Systems’ fixation on making things simple for the client extends to reliability, too. “A lot of installers consider themselves artistes,” Peterson explains, “and they put in esoteric gear that never works right. We stick with products that we know, and that we know to be reliable. We keep a warehouse of backup gear, so if something breaks, we always have a spare out in the van.” Indeed, a quick tour of MHS’s warehouse reveals only one model of surround-sound processor, one model of receiver, one model of VCR, and two models of DVD players.

My favorite feature of the Hale home’s A/V system—besides the fact that I can actually operate it—is the extensive use of hidden subwoofers to augment the bass in this estate’s oversize rooms. “The client’s wife, Linda Hale, is an interior designer,” Peterson explains. “She gravitates toward overstuffed furniture from designers like Marge Carson. The architect, Don Edson & Associates, made the rooms larger to accommodate the oversize furniture. These rooms need extra bass reinforcement.”

MHS hides the home’s Velodyne HGS-10 subwoofers behind Reggio grilles, which make the subwoofers look more like antique air vents than the bass powerhouses they truly are. Peterson also specifies large in-wall speakers—Sonance D7001 three-ways with 8-inch woofers—in many rooms of the home to further enhance the bass output.

This Crestron remote controls the Hales. (Click image to enlarge)

The big Sonance in-walls boost the bass outdoors, too, where MHS used them extensively. “They are a lot better than rock speakers, and as long as you use a moisture-resistant model and caulk it up good, it is very dependable,” Peterson says.

The back patio of the Hales’ home features architect Edson’s trademark design and landscaping that is intended to create the look and feel of a tropical resort. Two waterfalls and a rushing creek create a feeling of cool and calm, but the relaxing noise of the water posed yet another challenge for the Modern Home Systems crew. “We put in as many speakers as we could,” Peterson says. “With so much ambient noise, you need a speaker close to every chair if you want the client to hear the music clearly from anywhere in the area.”

Thoroughly caulked Sonance in-wall speakers provide high-quality sound for the Hales. (Click image to enlarge)

From the in-walls to the advanced Revel speaker system concealed within the walls of the home theater, the Hales’ home sounds great. Combine terrific sound with outstanding home integration through the Crestron’s panels and MHS’s ace software programmers, and you have the kind of installation that every client wants to wake up to.