Hi folks,

I'm in the beginning stages of planning my basement HT. I have an unfinished basement, with typical basement issues - 8' ceilings, ducts to deal with etc.

The window in the planned HT room is a 2' x 4' window that will be treated with window coverings - so I expect to be in the "bat cave" scenario.

Only the exterior walls, and the wall around the stair case are studded currently. The interior partition walls are just my design at this point.

The dimensions of the HT section of the room are roughly 15' x 15'. The sofa is placed about 12' from the screen.

I don't currently own any components of the setup. I plan this HT to be more casual than some I see here, but I am picky about image and audio quality.

Comments and helpful criticism welcome on the design.

Some questions (I'm looking for ideas so that when I move to studding the walls, I can place the wiring in right areas):

-Is it ideal to place the center speaker behind the screen? It would seem so.
-One sub or two?
-What is the "correct" height/placement for the side and rear speakers?
-I plan to have lots of conduit, so I can pull wires latetly, but in the ceiling I plan to make so I can place projector whereever I choose after the room is finished.

Hopefully my plan uploads with this post.
Thanks looking.

Damon

Welcome to the forum. My right is just a little bigger than yours, so I'll be curious to see what kind of design elements you incorporate. Here's my 2 cents on your questions;

Ideal center speaker placement is behind the screen. If this isn't feasible, you can go above or below it. I would have liked to have hidden my center speaker with a false wall, but I didn't have the real estate to give away.

I'm going with 2 subs. Personally, I think this is all about individual preference. I've seen anywhere from 1 to 4 subs.

I'll let someone else chime in on the speaker placement. I installed my side surrounds 2 feet above ear level, as well as my rear surrounds.

Well time flies when you have a couple of babies :-)

Well I'm finally getting around to making this happen. I've changed things up a bit in the room - diagram attached.

I've decided on a few components:

-Totem Tribe 2 inwall speakers for the LCR. The surrounds will be the Totem Mask inwalls and I'll go with the Storm sub (1 or 2 of them).
-Panasonic PT-AE4000 projector
-120" wide 2.35:1 AT screen fixed - center channel behind the screen
-Pioneer Elite AVR - waiting for the new stuff to come out in July
-Probably an Oppo player

The room will be completely light controlled - i.e. no external light. The door will be soundproofed as well as the room. I've been thinking of 1 row or two of seating, but I think I'll start with one for now.

I'll do some kind of treatment on the walls - probably DIY.

The screen wall will have cultured stone around the screen and speakers.

I have a contractor working on pricing for the studding and drywall.

Can't wait to get started.

Anybody have any insights or comments before I get started?

Thanks for reading,

Damon

If soundproofing is your goal it starts with not attaching the stud walls with rigid connections, is your contractor knowledgeable of this technique? Have you isolated the HVAC system from the rest of the house? You can modify the existing ductwork fairly easily.

But these things need to be planned before you frame and drywall.

Is that a false wall or a drywalled wall on the screen wall? I would encourage you to consider a false wall covered with fabric hiding the speakers and front wall acoustical treatments. Skip the faux stone.

If soundproofing is your goal it starts with not attaching the stud walls with rigid connections, is your contractor knowledgeable of this technique? Have you isolated the HVAC system from the rest of the house? You can modify the existing ductwork fairly easily.

But these things need to be planned before you frame and drywall.

Is that a false wall or a drywalled wall on the screen wall? I would encourage you to consider a false wall covered with fabric hiding the speakers and front wall acoustical treatments. Skip the faux stone.

The false wall in my build will be similar to yours (I just went through your build thread again). Parts of the wall in front will be studded out and part of it will be hollow to make room for speakers. (I may end up getting the non-inwall speakers for the front - I haven't really priced anything, and have only been listening to them so far in listening rooms).

The faux stone is a bit of a concession for the wifey - It is a quite uneven product and some people have suggested this may not be horrible for the sound. Dunno.

My contractor is indeed somewhat familiar with sound dampening - The air return duct will be 100% isolated and using a quiet bathroom fan will exhaust into the room with the furnace. The fresh air supply will have some isolation as well - not exactly sure what yet.

For the framing - haven't really discussed that part with him yet - though I'll bring it up next time we talk. The drywall will either be quietrock 545 or double drywall with GG.

Making a bunch of design changes.

- reduce the screen size to 115" wide
- pushed the screenwall back, created a spot deep enough to hide the sub
- created a spot for the gear rack/shelves
- curved bulkhead over the screen

- Found a supplier for Berks in Ottawa
- Found suppliers for all the sound proofing

Home theater seats ordered.

Palliser Sequelle. I'll have a row of four like this:

http://ep.yimg.com/ca/I/htmarket_2108_173343983

however no center divider arm. I went with all leather in a nice shade of brown. Should have them in September or so. This means I'm officially underway - no stopping now.

Speaker selection

Ok - here is what I'm considering for speakers. I've heard the Totem series and they sounded good. At this stage they are the speakers to beat (I'll audition some more later this summer).

I'm considering:

Mains

3 Tribe II speakers for the L C R up front (or maybe the Tribe IIIs). I'm not going to go with in-wall speakers here now. I have a false wall and I'll mount these behind the AT screen. From what I understand, it is best to mount all these in the same configuration (i.e. vertically) since I'm not worried about trying to make the center fit above or below the screen. So Question 1) Mount the center speaker in the same orientation as the left and right?

Sub

the Sub would be the Totem Storm or Thunder - we'll see. This would also be mounted in an alcove behind the screen as well.

Surround Speakers

I was considering all inwall speakers (monopole) before for aesthetic reasons, but now I'm going to put the surrounds in columns inside the room for sound proofing reasons.

I want a 7.1 setup, and given the proximity to the row of seating (the ends of the row are only a few feet from the left and right surround speakers) - Question 2) should I go with bi-pole speakers here? For example the Totem Links? These speakers say they are Bi-pole and/or Di-pole with a switch - Question 3) What mode should I choose.

For the rear surrounds - these are all roughly the same distance from all seats in my theater (I only have 1 row). Question 4) Should I go monopole, or would I choose the same speakers as the side surrounds (bi/di-pole)?

Here is the current layout:
http://damonbrodie.com/hometheater/brodie-july3-2010.jpg
The lines converging illustrate the prime listening position - center of the seating row.

And here is a rendering in google sketchup of the screenwall (illustrating the false wall and the extra bump out for the sub and all three mains vertical)
http://damonbrodie.com/hometheater/ht-screenwall-3d.png
not even remotely to scale

Well a few months have passed since my last update. Progress has been steady though in the last few weeks.

I've chosen an excellent contractor that is quite willing to listen to my specific requests, and as it turns out he has experience with soundproofing rooms because of some work he had previously done with the NRC in Ottawa.

This summer I refined my floor plan and filled in a lot of details, down to the very minute. Most of my refinements of course came from reading literally thousands of posts in this forum - so a huge thank you to all those that contribute here.

First task was to clean out the space in the basement:

http://i1184.photobucket.com/albums/z321/damonbrodie/_MG_9311.jpg

Next framing. This is the playroom outside of the theater.

http://i1184.photobucket.com/albums/z321/damonbrodie/_MG_9313.jpg

Framing of the rack area (back left side of the room):

http://i1184.photobucket.com/albums/z321/damonbrodie/_MG_9315.jpg

Screen area with a cavity for the sub:

http://i1184.photobucket.com/albums/z321/damonbrodie/_MG_9318.jpg

After the framing in went 3" Roxul insulation in the ceiling, and the walls. The walls next to concrete stayed with the normal fiberglass insulation

For the HVAC the ducts have been decoupled with baffle boxes made from 1" ML board to trap the sound (both supply and return). I also have a duct fan that will draw air from the room and from within the rack area that is controlled by a cooling thermostat near the top of the rack area. The duct fan is sound baffled and empties into the return air duct.

10ga speaking wiring was run from the rack area to each of the 7 speakers and coax to two separate sub locations. 10 gauge speaker wiring is overkill, but I have some longer runs approaching 40 feet, and I've chosen Totem Tribe speakers which are 4ohm. The reading I've done suggests that 10 ga is appropriate though I imagine 12ga would have been fine. I had trouble finding 10ga locally, but eBay to the rescue and I got 200' cheaper than I would have paid for 12ga at Home Depot. I've decided against speaker plates on either end and instead will terminate the wires with banana plugs for the speakers and AVR.

I also have run what feels like miles of cat 5e cabling. Several runs back to my main wiring closet for ethernet (AVR, game consoles, wifi access point, blu-ray player etc). In addition I ran cat5e from the AVR to the projector for 12V triggers, as well as some to behind the screen. I also ran USB cables from the rack area to the screen location - for game console purposes. My plan is to have a keystone wall plate with the USB, ethernet and an HDMI input. Of course I also ran HDMI to the PJ location as well as from the AVR to the plasma TV location in the adjacent playroom. I ran a cat5e cable to a future thermostat location so that I might zone the room into the thermostat. Lastly I ran a cable from the rack area to the screen area for the IR repeater.

For electrical I have a dedicated 20A circuit for the rack area. Lighting will be small 2" pots around the room and rope lights in a tray. These will be controlled by Lutron Maestro IR switches that I'll run from my universal remote.

After the wiring was completed - time for sheetrock. Two layers of 5/8th inch drywall with Green Glue in between. The ceiling has resilient channel as well.

Screen wall:

http://i1184.photobucket.com/albums/z321/damonbrodie/_MG_9423.jpg

Rack area:

http://i1184.photobucket.com/albums/z321/damonbrodie/_MG_9424.jpg

Back wall (with the speaker wires hanging down through the sheetrock):

http://i1184.photobucket.com/albums/z321/damonbrodie/_MG_9425.jpg

Entrance to the theater:

http://i1184.photobucket.com/albums/z321/damonbrodie/_MG_9426.jpg

In the interest of soundproofing there will be no cans in the ceiling. All of the cans will run around the perimeter of the room in false bulkheads.

Lots more to do but at least we're moving again :-)

Nice progress....you're probably getting more pumped up now that the drywall's up:) Speaking of drywall, are you going with 1 or 2 layers?

Nice progress....you're probably getting more pumped up now that the drywall's up:) Speaking of drywall, are you going with 1 or 2 layers?

2 layers of 5/8" with GG in between all the way around the room.

I'm planning on doing the GPowers fabric frame look for my HT:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=487747

I believe Greg put mineral board in the bottom half of the theater and poly batting in the top half, all the way around the room.

Would people recommend this technique? I have a lot of 1" mineral board, and I'm curious what is recommended for what treatments go where... I know there is a tradeoff between price, too dead sounding and too much echo. What do people recommend?

The soffits are in.

http://i1184.photobucket.com/albums/z321/damonbrodie/_MG_9497.jpg

http://i1184.photobucket.com/albums/z321/damonbrodie/_MG_9498.jpg

Looks incredible. Great work on the curve and the edges, they look absolutely perfect.

Sorry if I missed it, where are you located?

Looks incredible. Great work on the curve and the edges, they look absolutely perfect.

Sorry if I missed it, where are you located?

Thanks for the comments! I'm in Ottawa Canada. Should have lighting in soon and then paint, floor, and wall treatments. I'm forcing myself to wait on the equipment until the room is complete as incentive to finish :-)

How'd the resilient channel work out for you?

Nice looking build

How'd the resilient channel work out for you?

Nice looking build

Well the channel is in the ceiling and there are two layers of 5/8" drywall with GG. I feel as though I've taken every reasonable step, but I haven't yet really tested to see how well it works.

The Safe and Sound door is on order (That's not it in the pics, that's just something temporary). Once I get the real door in, I'll blast some music and listen to how much I can hear in the rest of the house... I won't have any way to blast with real bass until I buy the equipment though...

Looking good so far. Nice progress. Good idea to claim unused space from the other room for space to place your sub. When I first saw the framing, I thought you were planning for an IB sub.

Good luck

Soon I'll be ready to build the support for my fixed AT screen. I plan on having a roughly 12" fabric mask all around the screen. These will likely just attach with 2x4 studs or something as a false wall.

Behind the screen will be the 3 on wall LRC speakers and a sub. I'm tossing around ideas to make behind the screen accessible - for example I've thought of having the screen on some heavy duty hinges and some kind of clasp at the bottom to keep it from vibrating. I'm not sure how often I'll need to get in, but I assume I'll want some kind of access early on, so I can adjust the settings on the sub...

Thoughts?

Looking good so far. Nice progress. Good idea to claim unused space from the other room for space to place your sub. When I first saw the framing, I thought you were planning for an IB sub.

Good luck

I haven't really read up on IB subs - must do that sometime :-)

Your room size is roughly the same as mine so I am really curious to see the final product when you are done. It looks great. My wife really likes what you did with the soffits (especially the front) and wants me to incorporate it into our room somehow.

Are you planning on having a stage up front? Curious to see how the spacing between the soffit and the floor looks.

Michael

Your room size is roughly the same as mine so I am really curious to see the final product when you are done. It looks great. My wife really likes what you did with the soffits (especially the front) and wants me to incorporate it into our room somehow.

Are you planning on having a stage up front? Curious to see how the spacing between the soffit and the floor looks.

Michael

I have opted not to do a stage up front, I plan to paint the soffits black (for contrast with the screen) and the floor will be a patterned black carpet. I decided against a stage, so that I had more open floor space for the kids to do Wii etc, without tripping on a stage....

Just curious how the build is going? Any more work done?

Just curious how the build is going? Any more work done?

My contractor has been focused on other parts of the basement. He tells me though, that he'll be done the theater by the end of this week, which means I can start priming and painting (mainly the ceiling). Subfloor (Orvx Barricade) will go in next week. The fabric and ML board for the acoustic panels has arrived. Carpet is scheduled for install Dec. 4.

A local shop is having a sale on the Amp and speakers on Thursday, so I'm going to go take advantage of that.

So lots going on, just nothing that warrants a new photo yet :-)

Any new updates for us?

Driving to completion now! Updates since last time:

1) I got in on the Oppo BD93 pre-release - it's still sitting in its box :)
2) I purchased the audio components and they are in - I just need to pick them up, but I'm not in a huge hurry until I have a place to hang them. I got the following on a great sale from a local shop:

- Pioneer Elite SC-37
- 3 Totem Tribe III On-wall speakers for L C R
- 4 Totem Lynks for the surrounds
- 2 Totem Storm subs

3) I installed the Orvx Barricade subfloor. It took a LOT longer than I expected, but the result is well worth it. Floor is nice and toasty, and it feels great to walk on

4) I have painted two coats of "Wild Manzanita" Behr paint on the ceiling and around the light tray. I need one more coat to get the coverage right. the paint is a flat paint though it definitely isn't as flat as Benjamin Moore's. I couldn't match the color very well with them though, so I decided to go with the Behr. the color should go very well with the theater seats.

5) The stone around the screen went in as well. I think it looks great!

6) The carpet was installed today

7) My Seymour AV screen is on order. I went with a 119" by 56" custom aspect ratio to maximize viewing area for both 16:9 and 2.35:1

And now for the pictures:

The under-bulkhead lighting with the trim kit installed. These lights are a 2" low voltage model - installed on a Lutron Maestro IR dimmer.

http://i1184.photobucket.com/albums/z321/damonbrodie/_MG_9500.jpg

Here is the Orvx Barricade going down:

http://i1184.photobucket.com/albums/z321/damonbrodie/_MG_9502.jpg

http://i1184.photobucket.com/albums/z321/damonbrodie/_MG_9504.jpg

These are the finished alcoves on either side of the theater door:

http://i1184.photobucket.com/albums/z321/damonbrodie/_MG_9507.jpg

The stone and the carpet:

http://i1184.photobucket.com/albums/z321/damonbrodie/_MG_9787.jpg

Carpet pattern:

http://i1184.photobucket.com/albums/z321/damonbrodie/_MG_9785.jpg

The tray ceiling. The color is darker, the photo is overexposed a bit to show the color a bit better:

http://i1184.photobucket.com/albums/z321/damonbrodie/_MG_9789.jpg

http://i1184.photobucket.com/albums/z321/damonbrodie/_MG_9790.jpg

And one final shot showing it all together:

http://i1184.photobucket.com/albums/z321/damonbrodie/_MG_9791.jpg

Next up are getting the door cut down to size and installed, finish the black paint on the walls (which will be under the sound panels) and black paint under the bulkheads.

I still have to build the columns for the surrounds, finish the rack area, build the acoustic panels.

The theater seats arrive on Tuesday!

Lastly, I'm waiting (almost) patiently for the Epson 21000/31000 projectors to arrive. I want to see how they compare vs. the Panny 4000. I expect the Epson to be great, but time will tell. Hopefully they come out before I finish the room, otherwise I might do something foolish....

My theater seats are in! I chose a Palliser Sequelle with a nice brown leather. I'm happy with them, though it looks like I'll have to have the reclining mechanism looked at by the store - it isn't very smooth in one of the units.

Also the rope light is in the tray though only temporarily. I'll have to wedge it in place so that it is nice and straight in the tray and does a nice even light wash on the ceiling. Also having it in place really shows me where my third coat of ceiling paint is needed :rolleyes:

http://i1184.photobucket.com/albums/z321/damonbrodie/_MG_9977-1.jpg

http://i1184.photobucket.com/albums/z321/damonbrodie/_MG_9980-1.jpg

http://i1184.photobucket.com/albums/z321/damonbrodie/_MG_9982-1.jpg

Looks great. The chairs and ceiling color really go well together. Can you give us a little more info on your lights? Do they work well on the dimmer?

Looks great. The chairs and ceiling color really go well together. Can you give us a little more info on your lights? Do they work well on the dimmer?

I have two kinds of lights:

Under the soffit I have 2" ceiling cans (14 of them) from Contrast Lighting. Here are the ones I have (in black):


http://www.contrastlighting.com/en/prodlowT5000.htm

With the IT5000CM can.

In the tray I have a generic rope light I picked up from one of my local electrical stores. It isn't LED, so it is dimmable, and can be cut every 2'. I needed exactly 50'.

I'm using the Lutron Maestro IR dimmers. One of them is a low voltage version for the pot lights and the other is a regular line voltage one. Both in black of course. I haven't wired the rope light into the dimmer yet, so I don't know how well that works, but the cans dim perfectly with that dimmer. My four year old loves to play with the switch/remote to make the lights come on softly and then turn off softly (and then do that over and over for seemingly a 1000 times)

The Lutron Maestro only seems to have one IR code (I knew that going into it) so from my Harmony remote, the only thing I'm going to be able to do is turn the lights on or off, increase the brightness or decrease the brightness - for both lights at the same time. During a movie I would use the harmony remote to turn off both sets of lights. It might be possible to set the "one button program" that these switches support to do something fancy, but I don't think it will work out for me:

My potlights go all around the room, including over the screen. I guess ideally during a movie, I would probably have the rope light on dim, and the pots turned off. If I could program the one touch button setting for the pots to be "off" and the rope light to be "dim" then that would be ideal, but somehow I doubt I can set the one touch favorite button setting for the pot light switch to be "off". Again I knew all this going into it, and one of the concessions I made was to not go all out on the light switch setup (i.e. Graphic Eye) and live with this.

The lutron maestro switches are in the $30 (CDN) range each.

Looks great! Can't wait to see the finished HT!

One question, why did you switch from Totem Tribe in-walls to Totem Tribe III On-Walls? I am planning to put Tribe In-walls for LCR soon, and in-ceiling for Rears, with either Totem Thunder or Tribe sub, and was told by the dealer that Tribe In-wall LRs are close in design to Tribe II On-walls.

The reason for me to go for in-walls is these speakers will be in a family room, not in a dedicated listening room/HT.

Appreciate your comments!

Looks great! Can't wait to see the finished HT!

One question, why did you switch from Totem Tribe in-walls to Totem Tribe III On-Walls? I am planning to put Tribe In-walls for LCR soon, and in-ceiling for Rears, with either Totem Thunder or Tribe sub, and was told by the dealer that Tribe In-wall LRs are close in design to Tribe II On-walls.

The reason for me to go for in-walls is these speakers will be in a family room, not in a dedicated listening room/HT.

Appreciate your comments!

I listened to both the inwall and onwall, and they indeed sounded about the same (though in fairness they were in two different rooms in the store and that made it hard to A/B test them). I decided against the inwalls only because I didn't want to deal with what that does to my sound envelope. The Totems are sealed, but I just didn't feel as though I would have end up with as sound sealed room with them.

I listened to the whole lineup from Tribe I to Tribe V and while I liked the V the best, the cost line was more than I was willing to spend. The difference between the Tribe I and II wasn't very big, but there was a nice improvement in clarity from II to III so that's where I made my cutoff.

I listened to both the thunder and the storm subs, but not the tribe sub. The thunder is very nice, but I decided to get two storms instead of one thunder...

I still haven't picked them up from the store, I still have quite a bit of painting to do before I'm ready to hang them. (My project is a whole basement which is why I have long gaps where I don't do any work in the theater....)

Your room is looking great. I love the design of your carpet. Keep up the good work.

The Lutron Maestro only seems to have one IR code (I knew that going into it) so from my Harmony remote, the only thing I'm going to be able to do is turn the lights on or off, increase the brightness or decrease the brightness - for both lights at the same time. During a movie I would use the harmony remote to turn off both sets of lights. It might be possible to set the "one button program" that these switches support to do something fancy, but I don't think it will work out for me:

My potlights go all around the room, including over the screen. I guess ideally during a movie, I would probably have the rope light on dim, and the pots turned off. If I could program the one touch button setting for the pots to be "off" and the rope light to be "dim" then that would be ideal, but somehow I doubt I can set the one touch favorite button setting for the pot light switch to be "off". Again I knew all this going into it, and one of the concessions I made was to not go all out on the light switch setup (i.e. Graphic Eye) and live with this.

The lutron maestro switches are in the $30 (CDN) range each.

I just put these switches in, and you can set the favorite to be off. So I have the front pots set to off for their favorite, and the rear pots on 30% as their favorite.

I picked up and unboxed my equipment today. Looks like everything survived shipping ok. One of the main speaker boxes was crushed a bit, which is why I have unboxed it all. The holiday break will be productive. Paint, columns and fabric panels are next up.

First the now painted entrance to the theater. The adjacent room to the theater is the playroom for the two girls:

http://i1184.photobucket.com/albums/z321/damonbrodie/_MG_0159.jpg

Electronics. The Pioneer SC-37 and the Oppo 93:

http://i1184.photobucket.com/albums/z321/damonbrodie/_MG_0161.jpg

The main speakers (Totem Tribe III):

http://i1184.photobucket.com/albums/z321/damonbrodie/_MG_0163.jpg

And the whole lot:

http://i1184.photobucket.com/albums/z321/damonbrodie/_MG_0165.jpg

I mounted the left, center and right speakers. I have 10ga wire run in the walls, and I bought spade and banana plugs for my on-wall speakers, but I won't be able to use them:

Tribe III on-wall:

http://i1184.photobucket.com/albums/z321/damonbrodie/_MG_0299.jpg

Banana plug - sticking way too far out the back:

http://i1184.photobucket.com/albums/z321/damonbrodie/_MG_0307.jpg

Ditto for the spade:

http://i1184.photobucket.com/albums/z321/damonbrodie/_MG_0312.jpg

The speakers mount flush to the wall, so the plugs stick way too far out. I wish Totem was smarter about how they position the plate on the back. My solution is to apply solder to the ends of the wire, and then use the screw down terminal on the speakers. Seems to work fine.

I had my contractor fill the gap around the door jamb with drywall compound to help seal up the room:

http://i1184.photobucket.com/albums/z321/damonbrodie/_MG_0314.jpg

It needs another coat and sanding.

Finally, tonight I painted the whole room black including under the soffits: The walls will be covered with fabric panels - the black paint on the walls is to help hide the white walls peeking through the inevitable gaps between panels. The paint will need another coat, possibly two more coats:

http://i1184.photobucket.com/albums/z321/damonbrodie/_MG_0324.jpg

http://i1184.photobucket.com/albums/z321/damonbrodie/_MG_0328.jpg

http://i1184.photobucket.com/albums/z321/damonbrodie/_MG_0330.jpg

The doors are hung, and I closed the door to the theater, and the door to the playroom (you have to go through the playroom to get to the theater) and played some music somewhat loudly on my little blaster setup. From the second floor I could hear nothing - even if I stuck my head in the duct registers. On the main floor, I could just barely hear it. The real test will be when I get the real amp hooked up and those speakers a blasting. I'm encouraged so far though....

Looking good, can't wait to see finished product!

Look great, I like the stone work. I'll be doing something similar. With an AT screen you may want to paint out the sub cavity, you might be able to see it.

I think that stacked stone is going to be a nice touch. Never thought of something like that before, but I really like it.

Look great, I like the stone work. I'll be doing something similar. With an AT screen you may want to paint out the sub cavity, you might be able to see it.

Actually I plan to cover all the surfaces behind the AT screen with absorptive panels so it should be hidden anyway, I was mainly painting it last night around the brick so that the edges aren't as visible around the velvet panels that will surround the screen. I just kept going around the speaker mounts because it was easy to do.

I think I will paint the sub cavity anyway though - when I do the second coat under the soffits (hopefully tonight)

The stone really looks good now that the white walls are gone - the stone really stands out in the room now.

I have hung all 7 speakers and hooked them up temporarily to the SC-37 to make sure that they all work. So far so good. I have one of the two subs hooked up too. I need a Y cable so that I can hook up both subs at the same time.

I've also glued up 1" ML board insulation everywhere behind the screen. I don't have it for underneath the front sub - still not sure if I should or not.

Next up are the MDF columns around the subs.

Progress pic:

http://i1184.photobucket.com/albums/z321/damonbrodie/_MG_0439.jpg

Need to get the rope light attached to its dimmer too - it's way overexposed in this photo...

I cranked the volume last night to test the soundproofing. First without the sub - the results were awesome. In the family room directly over the theater: result almost inaudible and easily overcome with the tv on a very low volume.

With the subwoofer - result: I could make out the subwoofer two floors away as a very low rumble. It isn't waking anybody though I would have liked more I guess that's where going the full distance would have helped.

The test was done at -12db on the amp with music. That was much louder in my room than I found comfortable ( at least for a long listening session)

All in all about what I expected.

damonbrodie,

So, what AT screen manufacturer and type of screen are you going to go with?

What size screen and what is your eyeball to screen viewing distance?


...Glenn :)

damonbrodie,

So, what AT screen manufacturer and type of screen are you going to go with?

What size screen and what is your eyeball to screen viewing distance?


...Glenn :)

Funny you should ask - my screen arrived the other day, and I've got it assembled and ready to hang:

http://i1184.photobucket.com/albums/z321/damonbrodie/_MG_0531.jpg

It's a Seymour AV screen:

http://i1184.photobucket.com/albums/z321/damonbrodie/_MG_0535.jpg

The screen is a custom aspect ratio - 2.1:1. In the photo it has the masking panels to make it 2.40:1 installed. The size is 120" wide x 50" in scope format, and 115" x 65" in HDTV format. The distance from the screen to the eyes is about 145" - though this is an estimate - I'll know for sure when I get everything in place.

Not much of an update... I built a 2x4 frame that I have inserted into my opening upon which I can mount the screen. The frame will also support the velvet panels that I'll make to fill the gaps left, right and below the screen outwards to the stone.

As soon as the velvet arrives from Seymour AV (it was missed in my original order) I'll be able to get those built. I'm really happy to have the screen up - but it is giving me the urge to go and get a projector and I know what that will do to the progress of my room.

Here is a pic of the screen without the masking panels (AR 2.1:1)

http://i1184.photobucket.com/albums/z321/damonbrodie/_MG_0540.jpg

http://i1184.photobucket.com/albums/z321/damonbrodie/_MG_0545.jpg

Nice job on the screen. What is your plan for the panels on the side walls? Size? Color scheme?

Nice job on the screen. What is your plan for the panels on the side walls? Size? Color scheme?

Yep, next up on the punch list is the rack area, and the panels for the walls. My room wasn't intended to be square but after adjusting the false wall and pushing one of the side walls in a bit, that's exactly what has happened - my room is almost perfectly square. (14.5' per side)

I've read this is a big no-no, but well - that's where I'm at right now. I've known all along that I wanted to have treatments on the walls, but once I came across gpowers' thread I knew that's what I wanted:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=487747

So this is the look I'm going after. My panels will be 27" x 19" where possible, but there will be some other sizes around the back of the room where I have to go in between the surround speaker columns.

For fabric I'm going with color "Berrywine":

http://www.acousticalsolutions.com/soundsuede-reds-oranges

Now back to my square room. When I listen to music in the room with no treatments on the 3 walls (the screen wall has 1" of mineral wool insulation glued up) The speakers sound great, but after about 5 minutes of listening, I get an almost disoriented feeling. Listening volume doesn't matter too much btw. Its very strange. All I can attribute it to (without doing some more detailed research) is that reflections in the room are pretty bad.

My plan now is to put up some temporary treatment, build some bass traps and re-test. If it makes improvements, then great, otherwise keep looking for the final solution.

The speakers sound great, but after about 5 minutes of listening, I get an almost disoriented feeling.

Maybe it's the paint fumes:)

Maybe it's the paint fumes:)

lo, probably not far off. It seems I've done nothing but painting these days... almost done now though!

I love it!

What did you use for test material when you were checking the sound proofing? Music or Movie? I kept playing the near opening scene of Master and Commander when the ships duel it out...over and over and over! :D

Really nice job, looks amazing. I am excited to see what you do with the rack area.

No update is killing me here...

Wow! That is going to be a fabulous room. The stone work in front is really a unique touch that works suprisingly well. AT screens might have some challenges but can't be beat for a wonderful clean looking install.