Make no mistake, we've seen some fairly fascinating home theaters, but the Italian Village Theater exemplifies overkill. Dreamed up by Tony and Penny Caciolo, this amazing creation took some $150,000 and six months to construct, and it engulfs an 18- x 30-foot room. Within, you'll find yourself immersed in old world Italy, and just in case you start to long for a bit of America, there's a separate New Orleans-themed room with a 170-inch screen a full bar. We can't even begin to list off the incredible equipment list, but be sure and take a look at the full rundown (pictures included) right there in the read link.

[Thanks, Chuck]

Though not nearly as extravagant as the $6 million Kipnis Studio Standard, Ivan Messer's AV lair is quite impressive -- particularly for fans of McIntosh. This installation tallied up to a cool million when all was said and done, and a staggering 100 McIntosh components were used in the build. Aside from that, you'll also find a heavy reliance on wooden cabinetry and a real touch of class overall, but we won't spoil it for you. Head on down to the read link to take a look at what seven figures can net you.

We fully expected that Ferrari logo and lacquered paint job to add a stuff premium to Meridian's F80, but this is undeniably insane. The "transportable home entertainment system," which has been hovering about since last March, is at long last ready to be purchased. Finding prospective buyers, however, will likely be challenging. The unit is now available in silver, yellow, white, black and the obligatory red, and each one will set you back a dumbfounding $2,995. We're thinking the unit itself would go for around three bills sans branding, but apparently Italian ponies aren't cheap.

Nothing says sexy like a sleek wood trim, wouldn't you wholeheartedly agree? Vita Audio obviously does, as it's £499.99 ($980) R4 integrated music system just screams lavish. The all-in-one unit packs an iPod dock, slot-loading CD / MP3 / WMA-music disc player, USB port, DAB and FM tuner with RDS, front and rear auxiliary ports, built-in display, alarm clock function and the firm's detachable RotoDial remote. For those not feeling the rich walnut veneer, there's also a high-gloss white (surprised?) version available for £50 ($97) more. Sadly, the "coming soon" tidbit leaves us clueless as to how long you actually have left to save up for either of the pricey systems.

[Via ShinyShiny]

Though we're not exactly sure if Marantz will be a wholly owned subsidiary of D&M Holdings for much longer, the boutique brand is still planning to strut its stuff at the upcoming Audio Karma Fest in Michigan. Reportedly, the outfit will be showcasing a number of luxurious components from its Reference Series, include the $3,199 SC-11S1 preamplifier, $4,199 SM-11S1 power amplifier, $3,699 SA-11S2 SACD player and the all new $2,599.99 AV8003 Networking AV Preamp / Processor. For those lacking the requisite scratch, the slightly less magnificent SA8001 SACD player ($899.99) and PM7001 integrated amp ($599.99) will also be around. Word has it that all of the items will be demonstrated on Snell loudspeakers, which all in all should deliver a fairly blissful experience.

Sony's towering NHS-130C broke cover a few months back, but now this piece is getting set to ship to those able to cough up the $40,000 to $85,000 it typically costs to have one installed (with varying components already loaded in). Just to give you an idea of what it's packing, we're told to expect a DA3300ES receiver, CAV-CVS12ES Component via CAT5 Video Switch, BDP-S300 Blu-ray player, DVP-CX777ES 400 DVD changer, CAV-M1000ES A/V Switchers and a Control4 HC500 controller with 160GB of space for a skimpy audio library. In essence, having this in your crib will enable you to pipe audio / video to 12 separate zones, with the main rooms having outputs for HDMI, IR out and 7.1-channel sound. You'll be able to control it via ZigBee and the on-screen HD menu and integrate it with existing Control4 setups; there's even a trio of empty racks with component / HDMI hookups (Xbox 360 / PS3, anyone?). Chances are fairly high you'll spot one of these in 2009's Home of the Year, but 'til then, check out some sneak peeks in the gallery below.

[Thanks, anonymous tipster]

Personally, we can only imagine what a $300,000 speaker setup sounds like. But you -- we know you're eager to pick up the Epilogue Speaker System (previous edition shown) and rub it in the faces of everyone else, right? Regardless of whether you answered that truthfully or not, Goldmund (those same cats who actually had the nerve to create a $17,000 Blu-ray player) has introduced the latest version of the aforesaid system, which will now be built specifically for integration into the Goldmund Media Room. Pretty though they may be, we have a sneaking suspicion you won't be getting much bang for your buck with these -- but then again, what do our virgin ears know, anyway?

We know, not just anyone can afford to drop $6 million on a new home theater (not to mention a new home to house it in), but the mastermind of the utterly extravagant Kipnis Studio Standard has reportedly suggested that folks need only spend one percent of that in order to enjoy the same HT bliss (almost). For just $60,000, Mr. Kipnis suggests that movie aficionados can enjoy a top shelf home theater experience, and curiously enough, he doesn't even make mention of exactly what brands / models are needed (save for the pricey JVC DLA-RS2 projector). Instead, he lays out a laundry list of guidelines that primarily deal with placement and arrangement. Curious to know more? Tag the read link below -- just don't be too surprised to see that most of the work is still on you (including keeping things within budget).

Every so often, a projector hits the market that's just so delectable, it's hard to stop fantasizing about what pieces of your kids' rooms could be auctioned off in order to procure it. Enter the $14,995 Meridian MF10, which is most certainly one those units. Packin' a totally familiar black chassis, three 0.7-inch 1080p D-ILA chips, a native 30,000:1 contrast ratio, 700 lumens, and a 2x zoom lens (2:35:1 Cinemascope is optional), this PJ exudes confidence. You'll also find a pair of HDMI 1.3 ports along with component, S-Video and composite (saywha?), an RS-232 control terminal and the ability to play nice with the firm's $3,995 DVP2351 digital video processor (shown after the jump). Yeah, they're both available as we speak, but can your Centurion Card really handle it? [Warning: PDF read link]

We'll be honest, we can't exactly recall what the going rate on rare Betamax tapes was soon after VHS took over, but it seems that one HD DVD fanatic was willing to shell out quite a bundle in order to take home a presumably canceled version of Bee Movie. In a war that saw some 23 bids fly in, one particularly fortunate eBay seller was able to move a copy of Seinfeld's latest on the now-deceased format for $400 -- we think. Curiously enough, the seller didn't specifically mention that it was the HD version in a publicly answered question, and even more suspicious was the fact that he / she chose to end the auction early despite the chance of it soaring even higher. Here's to hoping the winning bidder both reads this and gets the film they purchased, but let's see some actual pictures as soon as it arrives, cool?

[Thanks, Mack S.]

Granted, the $6 million Kipnis Studio Standard is still apt to blow minds (and fuses) more quickly than Donny Hackett's "ultimate multipurpose room," but for folks looking for a way to squeeze a bona fide home theater into their existing den / living area / etc., this one provides some excellent food for thought. Aside from the 12-foot-wide custom-built screen, 7.1-channel audio system and InFocus SP777 three-chip DLP projector, this room also boasts a unique seating arrangement -- one that rotates 180-degrees at the touch of a button. The installation enables the front row to swirl around and face the second row, essentially creating a conversation pit for times when board games are preferred over catching a BD flick (and that's when, exactly?). There's no mention of how much dough was coughed up in order to make this happen, but we're confidently guessing it wasn't even close to cheap. Hit up the read link for a slideshow of pictures and a construction video to boot.

C'mon, deep down in your soul, you knew even the White House had a home theater, right? Granted, we've all ideas (or, at least we hope) that it's used more often to impress foreign visitors than to sneak a peek at the latest Blu-ray release, but we digress. Truth be told, we're still entirely more enamored with the $6 million Kipnis Studio Standard, but then again, the president's own isn't half bad for what used to be a cloakroom. Check out another look after the break.

[Via AudioJunkies, thanks Lukas G.]

At first glance, we didn't really believe anyone would create a Blu-ray player with a $16,900 sticker. Then we saw it was produced by Goldmund. Continuing its long heritage of offering up grossly overpriced wares for those with more money than sense, the firm is now trumpeting a Blu-ray player more pricey than most low-end automobiles -- and we're not even sure it's Profile 2.0. What we do know is that the Eidos 20 BD includes an AC-Curator power supply circuit, the outfit's own Magnetic Damper for lowering read errors and a chassis only a mother could love. To each his / her own, we guess.

[Via CNET]

With a name like BlackWing, it's gotta be good, right? At least that looks to be the case with Cineversum's latest trio of BlackWing Three projectors, as these bad boys sport a design eerily reminiscent of something straight out of the Star Wars galaxy and a specs sheet that impressed even Yoda would be. The entire trio gets blessed with a 30,000:1 contrast ratio, 1,920 x 1,080 Full HD resolution, two HDMI 1.3 inputs, Color-Select filters for wider color reproduction and a motorized zoom / focus. As for the Pro model, you can expect everything you see above coupled with an optional SD-SDI input and 12V triggers board, professional color management tools and VGA compatibility. Finally, the Ultimate ups the ante a touch further with two more HDMI 1.3 sockets, Mosquito Noise Reduction technology and Theater Mode for 2.35:1 anamorphic setups. 'Tis a shame these start at £8,199 ($15,955), isn't it?

[Via AboutProjectors]

Make no mistake, we've seen some pretty astounding home theaters in our day, but it seems as if Jeremy Kipnis has not only pushed the envelope with his Kipnis Studio Standard (KSS), but flat out destroyed it. Sure, anyone with $6 million laying around could amass an impressive array of hardware, but this ISF-certified technician went the extra mile by assembling the entire system with an eye for detail -- with the intention of selling setups just like it. Just to give you an idea of what he's working with, you'll find a Sony BDP-S1 Blu-ray player, Toshiba HD-XA1 HD DVD player, Mark Levinson N° 51 DVD / CD Media Player, 30 McIntosh MC-2102 Amplifiers, 16 Snell 1800 THX Music & Cinema Reference subwoofers, 8 Snell THX Music & Cinema Reference towers, a Sony SRX-S110 4K projector and a 18- x 10-foot Stewart screen. If you think reading about it is mesmerizing, just wait 'til you hit the read link and take a look around.