Odds are that your backyard is unlike Glenn Hogan’s backyard. Hogan is the founder, president, and CEO of Hogan Real Estate, and his grand Louisville, Kentucky home reflects the success of his business. A decade ago, Hogan hired the forward-thinking A/V integrators of Phantom Theater and Sound (West Chester, Ohio) to thread an awe-inspiring sound system throughout his vast home. When he hatched a wild plan for his 2.5-acre backyard, he again called on Phantom Theater and Sound to coordinate a spectacular outdoor sound system. With all constraints removed, the company built a 360-degree stereo system using four Danley Sound Labs SM-60F loudspeakers and one Danley TH-221 CineMonster subwoofer. Howard McGurty, the founder of Phantom Theater and Sound noted that in addition to the obligatory swimming pool, Glen’s backyard now contains: an artificial turf putting green; a large hot tub nestled amid boulders; several combination torch/fountain sculptures; a flat-screen television that retracts into a boulder; land- and light-scaping that make the backyard regal in daylight and otherworldly at night; and a sound system and dance floor situated front and centre. The dance floor is 40 feet in diameter and composed of interlocking patio bricks. The Danley equipment is located 20 feet away and hidden inside bushes and landscaping effects that are visually concealing, but not acoustically. The nearly 500-pound Danley TH-221 CineMonster subwoofer rests at the base of the array, and the four Danley SM-60F full-range boxes sit above it in an exploded 360-degree cluster. All five of the boxes are fully weatherproofed and ready for northern Kentucky’s meanest storms. The full-range boxes are oriented such that the dance floor and the putting green get a true left/right balance, while all points adjacent on either side get a reversed image. Three QSC RMX-Series amplifiers provide power. A testament to the raw fidelity of the Danley designs, Phantom Theater and Sound was able to install the system without any DSP. www.danleysoundlabs.com
