View Full Version : Small private HT room


mjg100
12-05-08, 08:52 PM
I bought a second projector Planar PD7130 and am making a small HT room for the wife and I. The room is real small 11'-5 1/2" wide, 13'-4" deep with 8' ceiling. The room used to be an exercise room right off of our master bedroom. The floor has the black foam rubber floor tile. I painted the walls and ceiling flat black. I installed black sound panels and bass traps across the front and gray sound panels and bass traps on all the other walls.

I got a good deal on some RBH WM30's and made brackets so that I could mount them in front of the panels and traps. The sub is an old NHT 10" ported that I already had and I am using an A35 HD DVD player for DVD's. The screen is a 106" fixed frame. I was surprised at how good the on-wall RBH speakers sound when mounted in front of the panels. I took a couple of pictures. One is of the front right corner and the other is of the screen. Please excuse the spots. They are from the camera. My wife could not find where she stuck our camera and I used my daughter's underwater camera.
http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff112/mjg100photo/Upstairs%20dedicated%20HT%20room/P1010335.jpg
The Planar produces a very nice image using DVD or HD DVD. For BD I use my other system.

Added:
I am now using three small sealed subs (NHT 116 drivers) and a pro crossover to convert the three front speakers to a 3-way design. This allows me to cross to the on-wall speakers at 100Hz. I run the front three channels full range + LFE. I use the small sealed subs have an F3 of 31Hz and I run them up to 150Hz. I have also added a 6.3CF ported sub (Shiva-X) in one back corner and a 2.0CF sealed sub (2-10" drivers) in the other back corner. Now this room sounds better and has more impact than my downstairs room that uses RBH Signature speakers all around.

mjg100
12-13-08, 04:10 PM
I finally got around to taking some pictures of the back wall and a picture showing how I mounted the RBH WM-30 in front of the 2-3/4" thick sound panels. The corner bass trap is 4" thick. This small room does not have near the quality equipment (audio or video) of my bigger room, but it has better acoustics. I have been doing most all of my movie watching in this room now. Picture taken with the lights on full.
http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff112/mjg100photo/P1010163.jpg
http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff112/mjg100photo/P1010164.jpg
Last picture is with lights off, but open doorway. http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff112/mjg100photo/P1010172.jpg
I made all of the sound panels using beveled wood frames, 2" and 4" Roxul and acoustic fabric that I bought from Fabricmate. Projector is mounted on a shelf about six feet above the floor. I wrapped the shelf with molding, but the room is so dark you can't hardly see the shelf.

SteveMo
12-13-08, 04:36 PM
Nice looking panels. Reminds me of a screening room in there. Looks like you have acomplished yourself a cozy setup.

mjg100
12-13-08, 05:04 PM
Thanks Steve. The panels make a huge difference. I am glad that I came up with the idea of mounting the on-wall speakers in front of the panels. I am really pleased with the image and sound in this room. It sounds fantastic. The Planar throws a wonderful image.

I like the image that the Planar PD7130 throws, but I wish the throw on my Marantz VP-12S4 would work in this room. The 12S4 has blanking, which means when I am showing movies in 2.35 I can blank out (make black) the top and bottom bars on the screen. In other words built in masking. It is a great feature. The 12S4 has three memories so I have one set for top and bottom bars a second set for side bars and a third for letterbox. The 12S4 can only throw a 92" image in my small room and I did not want to go that small.

VA HDman
12-13-08, 08:36 PM
Lookings like a great setup. Are the wall panels accoustic treatments?

mjg100
12-13-08, 09:42 PM
Lookings like a great setup. Are the wall panels accoustic treatments?

Yes. Small rooms are more of a sound challenge than big rooms. 2-3/4" sound absorption on the walls and 4" thick panels for the corner bass traps.

mjg100
09-19-09, 11:02 AM
Thought that I would update this thread. I am now running five subwoofers. Three sealed up front and a large ported and sealed in the back. I have also moved the center speaker behind the screen and installed a Center Stage XD screen. This room provides a great cinema experience. http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff112/mjg100photo/Upstairs%20dedicated%20HT%20room/IMGP0571.jpg I do have grills on the subs, but you can see the Aluminum drivers in the picture because of the flash. To see more pictures, click on the link labeled "Upstairs Dedicated Room"

mjg100
02-05-10, 07:27 PM
System update. I have been running three Klipsch RB-35 speakers up front and two RBH WM-30 surround speakers.

Right front
http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff112/mjg100photo/Upstairs%20dedicated%20HT%20room/P1010410-1.jpg


Left Front
http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff112/mjg100photo/Upstairs%20dedicated%20HT%20room/P1010409.jpg


I now have a mechanical masking system on the screen. You can see the bottom masking panel in the pictures. Picking up three JTR T8 speakers for the front stage Wednesday. I will get pictures once I get them in place.

mjg100
02-15-10, 08:22 AM
Reworked my front wall to install the JTR T8 center. Here is a picture with the masking screen removed.
http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff112/mjg100photo/Upstairs%20dedicated%20HT%20room/P1010451.jpg
Blocking shown is what spaces the screen out from the wall. The shaft mounted in two pillow block bearings is what keeps the masking system level and so that the panels move together. The shiny black is wet paint.

mjg100
02-15-10, 08:37 AM
Moved two of the Klipsch RB-35's to surround duty.
http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff112/mjg100photo/Upstairs%20dedicated%20HT%20room/P1010433.jpg

mjg100
02-17-10, 10:40 PM
Front stage all in place and everything calibrated. Picture turned out dark so I overexposed it. So glad that I got the three JTR T8's for the front stage.
http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff112/mjg100photo/Upstairs%20dedicated%20HT%20room/P1010454.jpg

mjg100
03-16-10, 09:13 PM
Picture of the new twins that will be replacing the drivers in two of the subs up front.
http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff112/mjg100photo/Upstairs%20dedicated%20HT%20room/IMGP0660.jpg

mjg100
03-16-10, 09:14 PM
Picture of the front stage with the new drivers in place.
http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff112/mjg100photo/Upstairs%20dedicated%20HT%20room/IMGP0670.jpg
Picture adjusted so that speakers can be seen in my black room.