I want my big TV

Ever dreamed of a movie screen in your living room? Now you can have one -- for $1.3 million.Why spend mere thousands on a home theater setup when you can break the seven-figure barrier?

The Newport Beach showroom of Cavalti Home Theater has been designed to show off what store co-owner Phil Dade said is a $1.3-million system. The display boasts a 140-inch screen, huge speakers, a leather couch and a bar. All together, it’s a pretty exclusive setup.

“The speakers here cost $225,000 a pair, so usually the people buying them are pretty interesting,” Dade said.

In Cavalti’s showroom, the speakers are teamed up with an $80,000 Runco rear-projection screen. With the lights off and an action movie playing, the showroom can feel like a mini-cinema. During a demonstration, audio effects like crashing metal and fierce sports car engines filled the air with a clean and clear sound.

Cavalti’s showroom was custom-made for quality acoustics, Dade said. When it comes to sound systems, high-end speakers are not enough to guarantee the best possible sound.

“One of the most common misconceptions with audio is if I buy really good speakers, it’s going to sound really good,” he said. “The most important component of home theater is the room itself.”

Instead of tearing down walls and completely rebuilding a customer’s entertainment room, Dade said his company has speakers specifically engineered for clients who spend more than $100,000 on a system.

An entry-level dedicated home theater system costs about $100,000, Dade said. The average Cavalti customer spends $60,000 to $80,000 on a system.

Though the store’s employees are not likely to be rebuilding anybody’s homes, Dade said they can do more than set up audiovisual systems. For example, if customers want a bar like the one in Cavalti’s showroom, they can make a deal for one.

“We can be as full-service as our customers want us to be. About 30% of the time, we’re doing the whole room.”

Cavalti is about 4 years old, Dade said. The company moved to Newport Beach from Irvine in October. Dade said his company is planning to open a second store in Scottsdale, Ariz. He also expects the company to begin making its own products.

For the moment, the store carries products from high-end brands like Runco International and California Audio Technology. Dade said he typically does not carry electronics from the “bleeding edge” of technology. He would rather wait to make sure something works.

“We generally try to use stuff that’s very high-end but tried and tested,” he said. “We’re not turning our customers into beta testers.”

* ANDREW EDWARDS covers business and the environment. He can be reached at (714) 966-4624 or by e-mail at andrew.edwards@latimes.com.

20060123itgzcencDON LEACH / DAILY PILOT(LA)Phil Dade of Cavalti Home Theater in Newport Beach shows off his store’s top-of-the-line system, which comes complete with bar and leather couch.