Bud,
The theater looks great! I'm glad the carpet ended up working out too. How long until your seats will be in? :) When I first found this forum in Jan., SandmanX and your threads kept me reading. I was disappointed to see that neither of your theaters were finish. So you've kept me coming back. Congrats on a beautiful theater, and basement for that matter. Hopefully, whenever I start my HT I'll be able to help even half as much as you have with your thread.

As for the bathroom. I'd say if you don't manage to fill that gap at all I would keep it as far away from the corner as possible. You know something will get dropped between there and if it's too close to the wall you won't be able to reach in there and get it out.

Nelson

Bud,

I think you should pull the vanity away from the wall like you did in the second pic (and add a small piece of baseboard trim). With your vanity's "leg" style, it will look great.

BTW -- the carpet looks great.

Steve, thats what I was thinking. Plus it won't be such a big gap next to the toliet with it shifted some... the reason I went with the 48" to start. It would be like 4-5 inches off the side wall.

Bud

Bud,
The theater looks great! I'm glad the carpet ended up working out too. How long until your seats will be in? :) When I first found this forum in Jan., SandmanX and your threads kept me reading. I was disappointed to see that neither of your theaters were finish. So you've kept me coming back. Congrats on a beautiful theater, and basement for that matter. Hopefully, whenever I start my HT I'll be able to help even half as much as you have with your thread.

As for the bathroom. I'd say if you don't manage to fill that gap at all I would keep it as far away from the corner as possible. You know something will get dropped between there and if it's too close to the wall you won't be able to reach in there and get it out.

Nelson

Nelson, thanks. Glad you found this thread helpful. I found that many of the longer construction threads tend to fall off the face of the map once the theater is done and eventually get archived. Hard to believe this has been around as long as it has, but I'll continue to post after the theater is done to include the bar and gameroom, decorations, lightboxes, tickets window etc. Hopefully others will find it helpful as well. I could start other threads, but would rather have everything in one place.

I'm waiting on a response from Ben on the seats, I sent him an email today. His last email said the tentative delivery date for the seats is TODAY. Thats delivery to the local delivery group, He said up to three days after that for final delivery. So, I could have as early as tomorrow, but likely the end of the week unless something changed. I'll post when I get a response back from Ben.

On the vanity, I'm leaning that way. I think that's the best solution without a custom top.

Bud

WHOA!!!!!!!!

I hit enter and Berkline calls! Delivery is tomorrow between 1 and 5! Talk about mental telepathy! :D Or they read this thread, too.

Bud

Here's the bathroom vanity situation.

1st picture is about where it needs to be to get the drawer open. Would need to put in the base molding/quarter round down the side wall from the casing.


Second picture is if I scoot the vanity over a few more inches so it looks like I'm not trying to get it in the corner. Still needs the molding from the casing.


Bud

Can you return the vanity for one with the draws on the left side???

Greg,

They don't have them on the left side for 36" vanities, at least not where I looked. Might be able to get something custom, make it myself or order through a cabinet maker like Kraftmaid. I'm sure if I looked around enough I could find one, not sure what type of finish or style I'd find. Good point though.

Take a look at the Lowes site for bathroom vanities. I don't want to go any smaller than 36, otherwise I'd be OK. I think the 48" and the 60" ones have drawers on both sides.

Bud

I would build a small bump out made of 2 x 4 framing and drywall to push the vanity over so the drawer cleared the casing. I would make the bump out higher then the counter, so it looks like you planned it that way but not too high. You could top the bump out with a shelf to keep things off the counter or stuff you want to keep dry, or stuff that you plug in to the outlet.

This solution eliminates the cleaning problem created by having that small space between the wall and the vanity. Plus you will always be pushing stuff of the counter down into that small space.

The small space will always look unfinished.

Was just starting to think of my panels for the front of the screenwall again and although I think I have it all figured out, it dawned on me that I have some fabricmate track left. Although I don't have much left, I was thinking that it may be a good idea to use on a screen wall or proscenium if you have the case where you're limited on space. Instead of building panels, you could install the track on the screen wall and use it. This way you could get a clean look, not worry about warping furring strips and pull it off whenever required.

Oh well, may be too late for me at this point, but thought it may help someone out.

Bud

I would build a small bump out made of 2 x 4 framing and drywall to push the vanity over so the drawer cleared the casing. I would make the bump out higher then the counter, so it looks like you planned it that way but not too high. You could top the bump out with a shelf to keep things off the counter or stuff you want to keep dry, or stuff that you plug in to the outlet.

This solution eliminates the cleaning problem created by having that small space between the wall and the vanity. Plus you will always be pushing stuff of the counter down into that small space.

The small space will always look unfinished.

Greg,

Need to think about that. I'm not sure what I like pictured in my head, its almost as though you're trying to cover up the mistake.

Bud

Bud,

Glad the carpet saga got resolved - looking good and with the Berkline's on way you should be done in the HT (if thats possible).

I agree with 'swithey' - 2nd pic looks best - you will be forever fishing object out of the smaller gap.

Now I know your wife was unsure of you inviting strange men over to start with - If they start turning up with flowers that will send her over the top :eek:

Cheers,
Mark

Bud, I would have to agree..I think that pic 2 looks the best. The carpet looks great. You used black carpet on the stage?

Drew

Carpet looks great Bud... I know its on a puter screen but you cant tell any difference in color and it looks great with your trim in there too.

I have to agree that the second option in the bathroom is the one I would go with. Not only does it look better in my opinion but I think it will be more functional and allow for actual trim at the base.

Robert

Guys,

Thanks. The carpet saga is over, finally. Now to get the panels built to hid the bottom of the screen wall. I'll work on that this weekend.

Thanks for the comments on the vanity as well.

Drew,

The carpet is black. The color name is Blackmoor Matte. Its a little different shade than the black GOM, but it works. I had some concern initially about standard pile up against the frieze, but they did a great job and I'm really happy with the result.

They didn't use a pad on the stage, the carpet is pretty thick. They stapled it down (no tack strips). Actually, when he did the lip, he was having problems with the electric staple gun (1/2" staples), so I went and got my pnuematic stapler and 1" staples and he used that.

Bud

Bud,
Now I see what you mean, my ideas would have sucked. I like GPowers idea of a bumpout, then put a shelf on it. Of course that means more drywalling for you? :eek: Not that you mind. :rolleyes:
If not that, then second pic where you move it as far from the wall as feasible.

Everything is really coming together. I've enjoyed following your thread and look forward to the completion. I'll challenge you to have it all done by the time I get home. I should be back home by Sep 1. That's about when I'll be starting my thread.

Couple questions:
Have you actually tested out the acoustics of the room yet?
Where did you get the cotton for your bass traps and did you go with cotton for price reasons or some other reason?

Dave,

I accept that challenge, since the only thing I have now are minor construction items and then the lightboxes/ticket window.

I have not done any calibration or acoustic testing. I plan on calibrating audio/video in the next couple of weeks. I'm not up on the acoustic testing methodologies that others are using. I do have a SPL, but have not used it yet.

I got the cotton from bpape, since he did the calculated analysis and made the recommendation.

Bud

I think you should pull the vanity away from the wall like you did in the second pic (and add a small piece of baseboard trim). With your vanity's "leg" style, it will look great.

I have to agree with Steve. Those vanities w/ the feet look good out in space more than butt up against the wall.

Carpet and colors look fantastic!

Looking good Bud! ;-)

Thanks guys.

Seat delivery guy called, he'll be here in about 15 minutes.

Bud

Thanks guys.

Seat delivery guy called, he'll be here in about 15 minutes.

Bud

Okay, that was 45 minutes ago, where are the pictures? :D

Allen

I'm on a conference call. The boxes are in the gameroom. Want pictures of the boxes? :D

Bud

I'm on a conference call. The boxes are in the gameroom. Want pictures of the boxes? :D

Bud
Finish your call and open a box already!

I like seeing boxes....

No doubt you surmised I was kidding, as I didn't really think you had time to assemble them even if you went right to work on it. What is funny is that you replied during a conference call.

Allen

I'm on a conference call. The boxes are in the gameroom. Want pictures of the boxes? :D

Bud

YES!! :D :D

Example: This link (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=7836346&&#post7836346) in EBR's thread

YES!! :D :D

Example: This link (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=7836346&&#post7836346) in EBR's thread


Tough crowd.

Allen

Tough crowd.

Allen


Well he asked.. :)

Nelson

What is funny is that you replied during a conference call.
I take it you've never attended a Big Blue conference call.. ;)

Tim is correct. I bunch of overpaid yappers wasting comapny money (and my bonus).

I now have two chairs out and in the HT room. Thats all I had time for. The rest are in boxes. The other boxes have already been ravaged by 4,5,6 year olds making forts.

Pictures after the new conference call I'm on ( :D ). Got another one at 4:30 and at 5:00....

Bud

LOL.. Classic. Please tell me you're using a wireless headset w/built-in mute...

I have a ploycom speaker phone with a mute button. I tend to stay in my office rather than wander around the house, I don't think I'd getting anything done (work-wise) if I were wireless.

Bud

YES!! :D :D

Example: This link (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=7836346&&#post7836346) in EBR's thread

Here's your boxes...

http://images17.fotki.com/v324/photos/6/649633/3422362/100_1476-vi.jpg

Bud

DONE!

Want to thank Ben Harper for the seats. Everything worked out great! I've very happy with them. I highly recommend him.

Here are the picks:
http://images1.fotki.com/v321/photos/6/649633/3422362/100_1481-vi.jpg
http://images1.fotki.com/v321/photos/6/649633/3422362/100_1482-vi.jpg
http://images17.fotki.com/v322/photos/6/649633/3422362/100_1483-vi.jpg

Bud

We can see comand central. It must be the chair with the phone.

Looks very nice.

We can see comand central. It must be the chair with the phone.

Looks very nice.
Bud,

I'm disappointed with you. I figured you'd have a nice Killians IRISH RED LAGAR in there :D

The seating looks great!

Well, don't be too disappointed. Watched Sharktales and Curse of the Were Rabbit and had a few Becks. My daughter fell asleep in the seat (she beat me to it).

Bud

We can see comand central. It must be the chair with the phone.

Looks very nice.


Thanks, need a few tweaks in positioning, but from the command central, looks to be the best seat in the house.

Bud

Congrats Bud, looking fantastic.

Gary

Thanks Gary. How are you coming along?

Bud

Looking very comfy there BigDog.
Just curious Bud, how do you feel about the effectiveness of the "soundproofing"
you did on your room.
Have you cranked it up and stepped outside\upstairs?

Damn, Bud and here I was thinking I was going to catch up to you ;) . Chairs look great. I am not quite ready for those just yet. Soon maybe.

Drew

Here's your boxes...

http://images17.fotki.com/v324/photos/6/649633/3422362/100_1476-vi.jpg

Bud


SEE! We never would have seen the bunny in pink if we didn't get pictures of the boxes too! :)

The seats look great Bud. Congrats again on a great looking Home Theater.

Nelson

The seats look good bud...its all coming together for you now....not long till your finnished

OUTSTANDING!!

Robert

SEE! We never would have seen the bunny in pink if we didn't get pictures of the boxes too! :)

The seats look great Bud. Congrats again on a great looking Home Theater.

Nelson

My daughter is buried in one of those boxes as well, she made that bunny at Build a Bear last week in Myrtle Beach. Not mine, I swear.... :D

Bud

The seats look good bud...its all coming together for you now....not long till your finnished

OUTSTANDING!!

Robert

Thanks. I'm going to try and get those front panels done this weekend, then I have to wait for the cabinets to come in for the bar/concession area. That's about it, except for some minor touchup, etc.

Bud

Looking very comfy there BigDog.
Just curious Bud, how do you feel about the effectiveness of the "soundproofing"
you did on your room.
Have you cranked it up and stepped outside\upstairs?

I have been upstairs during a movie and I think its fine. Actually, my office is directly above the theater room. I'm actually happy with the results. You can hear it at high levels. No doubt. But its muffled and usually low frequencies. Since there is no bedrooms in the vicinity, it works for us. If I had to do it again, I might have went for the GG sandwich at least, not sure about much else though, given my circumstances. Because I did the whole basement, I had to spread some of that wealth around, instead of putting all the money in one room. Who knows. If my original goal was to soundproof, I probably would have gone all out.

Bud

Damn, Bud and here I was thinking I was going to catch up to you ;) . Chairs look great. I am not quite ready for those just yet. Soon maybe.

Drew

I was thinking you were going to catchup as well. You'll get there. Keep in mind the seats will take at least 4 weeks once you order them....

Bud

Seats look very comfy Bud...and beautiful. How high is your riser again and how is your line of site from the back row? I'm building mine this weekend and was planning on 10 3/4" (2X10" lumber with 3/4 plywood). Looking great though!!! Looking forward to seeing your finished GOM panels as well.

Jon,

Very comfy.. I used 2x8s for the riser. With the 90s, the backs are a little high for the kids in the upright position. But if they're a little reclined, its fine. I have no problem, sat in the second row last night.

Bud

Jon,

Very comfy.. I ... sat in the second row last night.

Bud
Bud -- this must be MUCH better than the lawn chairs you had in there before. I bet the kids are having a blast sitting in these things too!

http://images17.fotki.com/v322/photos/6/649633/3422362/100_1469-vi.jpg
Bud

One question on your stage....In the picture above it looks like you have a huge roll of acoustical cotton layed down on the floor. Is that correct. If so what specific product is that and did you get it through bpape?? I didn't see the raw material on his website. Also how does it seem to work. I need to add more bass trapping to my HT. Is all your trapping for low frequencies behind your screen??

Steve,

Thats an understatement. Now I can get those damn things out of the basement. They served their purpose though. Just very uncomfortable for movies.

Bud

One question on your stage....In the picture above it looks like you have a huge roll of acoustical cotton layed down on the floor. Is that correct. If so what specific product is that and did you get it through bpape?? I didn't see the raw material on his website. Also how does it seem to work. I need to add more bass trapping to my HT. Is all your trapping for low frequencies behind your screen??
Jon,

Correct, its acoustic cotton for bass control. Got it through Bryan (bpape). One other thing we did besides the acoustic cotton is the scrim that I used on the lower 12 inches on the wall over the linacoustic to help control the low frequencies. You can't see it now, it's behind the fabric. The acoustic cotton is also in corners diaginally above the speakers (I couldn't get it behind them, not enough room).

I'm pretty happy with the way things sound (acoustically and the speakers). I have not done any analysis yet, so not sure what my numbers looks like. I have to figure out how to do all of that still.

Bud

Boy those seats look comfy - I could sure use one right now

Enjoy ;)

Boy those seats look comfy - I could sure use one right now
You'll get there... you just need to deal with that drywall problem of yours. :D

Bud

Not sure I mentioned it with all the "excitement" of the carpet installation and the Berks coming in, but my cabinets for the bar and concession have now been ordered. It'll take about three weeks for them to construct them and get them installed. I sent them a check for 50% of the costs and they should have it today.

Funny, the guy was here Monday to measure and he laid out the cabinets in the bar area on the floor using blue tape. I guess its a right of passage for just movie screens an more.

Bud

Bud, on the warped cabinet doors - was that a pricey fix? I assume they are going to just replace the doors? Is there a custom matching type service (up)charge? My POS builder-special kitchen cabinets are warping left and right. Not a priority, but eventually it needs to be addressed.

Dave,

FYI, just wanted to close the loop on the cabinet doors. The cabinet maker is replacing the two doors for free. Anyone you can call to get them to fix them for you?

Bud

...blue tape. I guess its a right of passage for just movie screens an more.

Bud

No doubt. So far I've used blue tape to layout my screen, stage, columns, and the steps into the theater. Not to mention using it for what its actually made for...

Bud,

We went with the low end "put together" cabinets from Home Depot (Mills Pride) for our small kitchenette, but in the end I'm not sure we saved all that much. Did you look at those at all?

I did look, I was looking for something dark though and a few base cabinets I wanted didn't come in the size I needed. Also, because I had to have the bar designed so I could build the kick wall for the plumbing, I kind of shot myself in the foot with off the shelf cabinets. I have the MP cabinets in the laundry room and used them in my old house. These cabinets for the bar will be about half the price of what I would paid through HD. I would have had to install the HD ones and these will be installed for me, so I'm not complaining too much about the price.

You should be able to just purchase a new door though, right?

Bud

Custom made for half the price? Certainly nothing to complain about there!

You should be able to just purchase a new door though, right?

Bud

I think you might have me confused with dc_pilgrim on this...

Steve,

Correct, sorry about that. Got too many things going on today.

Bud

Bud, thanks for the follow up on the doors. The sub who installed the kitchen are next to useless, so I'll probably go with some one else when I address it. It isn't a priority right now, just a point of curiousity.


Quote:
Originally Posted by chinadog
...blue tape. I guess its a right of passage for just movie screens an more.

Bud


No doubt. So far I've used blue tape to layout my screen, stage, columns, and the steps into the theater. Not to mention using it for what its actually made for...

No doubt, my best friend has actually been self employed making murals of tape for more than a decade. Here is an example of his work:

http://tapeart.com/blue/1998/301-bonfire/artallstate-wide.JPG

That's crazy silly... :-)

Thanks Gary. How are you coming along?

Bud


Coming along very well, check out my new pictures on my thread.

Thanks!

Gary

Man Bud, I fall behind a couple days and spend a half hour just getting caught up. How do you like the Berk's? I'm leaning toward the powerbuy Roman has right now, but I just wish I could find some 90's to sit in. I found one place that had 94's and they were sweet! Unbelievable though how much more they were than Roman, or even Ben's prices. Congrats on being nearly done!

Jerrod, well, you're only 5 1/2-6 hours from here, just start driving! Love the 90s. Very comfortable for me. Would get them again. I also enjoy the power recline (and so do the kids).

Bud

What model and size was the Rack you went with ??

I downloaded the Middle Atlantic catalog, but it's HUGE (130+ pages) and the racks all look the same !!!

What model and size was the Rack you went with ??

I downloaded the Middle Atlantic catalog, but it's HUGE (130+ pages) and the racks all look the same !!!

Its a Middle Atlantic Slim 5-43. Bought it at BSWUSA (http://www.bswusa.com/searchresult.asp?searchType=keyword&searchValue=slim%205). It was a great price at the time and included free shipping, but looks like you have to call them to get the price now.

Bud

That's crazy silly... :-)

I second Steve, that IS crazy silly.... and cool. I expect that'll take some time to do!

Bud

Hi Bud,

Your theater looks great ( along with the rest of the basement). I've been watching your progress for over a year. For the past year, as of today I have been living in China while my theater lives in Michigan! I was wondering how you got your name "Chinadog" I've got 2 years to go here so all of you guys on AVS forum need to stay real busy constantly upgrading :D so I can read these while your sleeping!

Bob

Most of his murals take about 10-12 hours to make, and are up for 24 hours. They tear down in about 5-10 minutes. All the figures are life size, to give you a sense of scale. It amazes me that he supports himself doing this. Its not a rich lifestyle (I do his taxes), but they get by. Pretty fun to do.

But enough of that digression.

Hi Bud,

Your theater looks great ( along with the rest of the basement). I've been watching your progress for over a year. For the past year, as of today I have been living in China while my theater lives in Michigan! I was wondering how you got your name "Chinadog" I've got 2 years to go here so all of you guys on AVS forum need to stay real busy constantly upgrading :D so I can read these while your sleeping!

Bob

Hey Bob. Thanks. About 8-9 years ago, we adopted a silver and black German Shepherd Dog from a GSD rescue in Raleigh, NC. At the time, there were no resues in GA, and I found the rescue online. We were going to visit my parents who used to live close to Raleigh (Lake Gaston) so we stopped in and picked her up. Her given name was "China". Great dog.

Bud

Most of his murals take about 10-12 hours to make, and are up for 24 hours. They tear down in about 5-10 minutes. All the figures are life size, to give you a sense of scale. It amazes me that he supports himself doing this. Its not a rich lifestyle (I do his taxes), but they get by. Pretty fun to do.

But enough of that digression.

Interesting!

Bud

Well, got some work done over the weekend. I spent a few hours behind the rack on Saturday organizing wires. I basically unplugged everything, installed some bulk cable wallplates, installed some rack organizers (the kind for zip ties), rerouted a bunch of wires and zip tied them to the rack itself. Took a lot longer than expected. I also installed a Furman power conditioner that I got off ebay, installed a 2 space drawer (also ebay) and a three space rack for misc. stuff, like Xbox games and controllers. OH, forgot to mention that I bought a Xbox 360 and a few games, hooked everything up and of course tried it out some). BTW, I saw the Toshiba BluRay player demo at Circuit City and its spectacular!

Today, I secured the vanity to the wall ain the bathroom, trimmed out the bathroom base and quarter round and touched up the gameroom walls where I had gone back and remudded some bad spots. I also finally got all my tools back in their shelves and organized my workbench. I also hung a few of my vintage signs in the concession area.

I didn't have a chance to finish out the screen wall panels, but will try and get to those this week.

Bud

Pictures?!?

Dave,

I'll take some tomorrow. Heading up to bed. I assume you're referring to the back of the rack? I'll take a couple of screenshots of the Xbox as well.

Bud

Bud,
All of the above. I need my weekly Chinadog Pics Fix.
Just giving you a hard time, keep up the great work.

OH, forgot to mention that I bought a Xbox 360 and a few games, hooked everything up and of course tried it out some). BTW, I saw the Toshiba BluRay player demo at Circuit City and its spectacular!
Bud

What a great purchase! I take the opportunity to congratulate you on an amazing project and excellent thread: I have learned a lot from your great posts. Which games did you pick with the 360?

What was being shown on the BluRay player?

What a great purchase! I take the opportunity to congratulate you on an amazing project and excellent thread: I have learned a lot from your great posts. Which games did you pick with the 360?

What was being shown on the BluRay player?

Neda,

Thanks. I'm glad you found it helpful.

I've been out of the game player market for a while. I was looking for something "kid friendly", but most of the 360 games that are are rated "E" are sports games. When I bought my PS1 a while back, then game that made me pull out the wallet was Tiger Woods golf, so I ended up getting the TW PGA Golf 2006. The graphics are pretty nice, the playability is OK, but my son and I both enjoy it. I also bought Project Gotham Racing and Ghost Recon. I'll probably pick up Madden NFL 06 and Major League Baseball 2006 as well.

As far as the kid games, I was expecting more back compatibility with regular Xbox games. I did find a list of games that are backwards compatible (http://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/backwardcompatibilitygameslist.htm) when a MS patch is applied (http://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/backwardscompatibility.htm) to the 360. I actually bought a few kids Xbox games on ebay yesterday like Spiderman, Scooby Doo, Sonic Mega Collection, and Sneakers. I think if these work, I'm in good shape. I already burned a DVD with the patch and attempted to install it, but it didn't work. I'll try again when one of the games comes in. We'll see what happens. Got my fingers crossed.

I may also go the PS3 route in the future because of the BluRay player, especially. I was looking at some of the threads about pre-ordering, but doubtful of the availability when they come out, so figure I've got another year there before there are sufficient quantities and where the HDDVD/BluRay war is. The demo I saw was not a movie, just a promotional disc that shows the capabilities of the player. The were showing some watchmatker put together a watch.

Bud

Bud,
All of the above. I need my weekly Chinadog Pics Fix.
Just giving you a hard time, keep up the great work.

Hard time? Nah. Need my own fix!

Bud

Here are some pictures from the weekend.

Updated rack:
http://images17.fotki.com/v326/photos/6/649633/3055203/100_1492-vi.jpg

Behind the rack. The flash makes the black wall paint pretty bad. Maybe I'll touch it up at some point.
http://images17.fotki.com/v14/photos/6/649633/3055203/100_1493-vi.jpg
http://images2.fotki.com/v327/photos/6/649633/3055203/100_1494-vi.jpg

Some of the signage:
http://images17.fotki.com/v325/photos/6/649633/3422362/100_1489-vi.jpg
http://images17.fotki.com/v14/photos/6/649633/3422362/100_1490-vi.jpg
http://images17.fotki.com/v14/photos/6/649633/3422362/100_1491-vi.jpg

Bathroom updates (walls still need to be touched up):
http://images17.fotki.com/v14/photos/6/649633/3422362/100_1488-vi.jpg
http://images17.fotki.com/v8/photos/6/649633/3422362/100_1487-vi.jpg

Bud

Hey Bud I don't see any flange on that supply line is it on your list of things to do? :)

Actually, I got lucky the supply didn't interfere with the molding, so I need to pick one up and cut it in half to fit correctly. The plumber should be out this week to do the rest of the plumbing. I bite my tongue every time I saw that since I can do it, but just don't want to deal with it at this point. I guess I'm slowing down.

Bud

Hi Bud,

Question on the power conditioner. I am not familiar with the Furman brand. Does that clean up noisy incoming power and also compensate for both low and high voltage? The power back home in Michigan seems pretty crappy from what I was used to in Indiana. I want to put something on my theater to help prolong the life of the components.

Bob

Hey Bob. Furman is a pretty popular brand of power conditioners/surge protection. If you google "Furman" you'll get lots of hits from online vendors. They have many types and a wide price range. I'm sure you can find something to meet your needs. The one I bought was a simple one, the Furman M-8 (http://www.furmansound.com/products/pro/pwr_cond_seq/cond/_merit/m8.php) and I didn't pay a lot for it. Check out their website for the specifics, you'll find it helpful I think.

Bud

Hey Capt'n, your cables are looking ship-shape there.

You probably already know this but:
The "flange" for the water supply is called an escutcheon.
You can get hinged ones for installing on existing pipes.
No need to breakout the hacksaw, etc.

Milt,

Thanks. Still a little more cleanup to do, but its getting there. Need to do the IR stuff next.

New word for me "escutcheon". I'll take a look. Thanks.

Bud

Hey bud, didn't Panamax buy out Furman? I saw that there is a deal on the Belkin power conditioners on the deals thread. The company is offering it for a ridiculously low price. Did you see that or even consider it? I was thinking of going that route or looking into a Panamax model.

Drew

Drew,

I'm somewhat familiar with Panamax, but no idea on them buying Furman. I didn't see the Belkin power conditioner deal. Was this the one you were referring to?

http://www.provantage.com/belkin-ap41300-12~7BELD011.htm

Bud

Milt,

On your hinged escutcheon, the reason I'll have to cut it in half is because the supply pipe actually sits right about the base molding, so it won't sit flush against the wall because the bottom half will be on the molding. top on the wall. I figured I'd just get a chrome one and cut it in half, then attach it to the wall, resting on the molding. That's a little ugly, but hey. One my father in law comes back to town, I'll have him move the supply up a few inches and that'll solve that.

Bud

Hey Bud,

What size doors did you put in (width) and did you have any trouble getting your Berkline's through them?

Thanks
Tom

Tom,

The theater entrance door is a 32 inch. The one to the concession area is a 36 inch. The door to the equipment closet is a 30 inch.

As far as getting the seats in, no problem there at all. I didn't even have to take the door off. The seat backs are not attached when they're shipped, so that makes things a little easier. I had to turn the seats on their sides to put them through the door (again, no backs installed yet) and they fit no problem.

Bud

I was wondering about that as I looked at the Berks at a local dealer. I could obviously put in 36" doors, but it's just that much more wall space...

Thanks!
Tom

nice cable management Bud.

Tom,

No problem.

Bud

Larry, Where you been man? Ahh, marathon movies for the last few weeks, huh? Your eyes must hurt. :p

The cable organizer at the top is an ebay purchase as well. It's a Gruber (not MA) item. Really helps to have something that moves the cables horizontally at the top since the cables cam in on the left side from the ceiling.

For those of you interested in this stuff, I bought it out on ebay pretty cheap. I'm sure MA has their own stuff but it works fine on the MA Slim 5.
http://i4.ebayimg.com/04/i/06/4d/00/5e_2.JPG
Item number: 5879874485
Store name: Gruber Industries

This is another one out on ebay, I have this one as well, but the one I have installed is a little different. I'm not sure if I'll use it or not, but I have it.
http://i10.ebayimg.com/03/i/01/51/2a/b2_1.JPG
Item number: 9743490724
Store name: Gruber Industries

Bud

Drew,

I'm somewhat familiar with Panamax, but no idea on them buying Furman. I didn't see the Belkin power conditioner deal. Was this the one you were referring to?

http://www.provantage.com/belkin-ap41300-12~7BELD011.htm

Bud

Yep, thats the one.

Drew

Holy smokes... we've surpassed Sandmans number of posts for his construction thread (not for views, not even close). Of course over a thousand replies were mine. :rolleyes: He must have a lot of activity on his screen forum though!

Here's to the next 2000 posts!

Bud

Bud - nice work on cable management.....I'll bookmark those.

Mark

Yep, thats the one.

Drew

Man, I just saw that and have been planning on getting the Belkin all along. How in the world can they sell that for the price listed? I wonder if you still get the warranty from Belkin?

Man, I just saw that and have been planning on getting the Belkin all along. How in the world can they sell that for the price listed? I wonder if you still get the warranty from Belkin?

I am going to look into it further and will let you know.

Drew

You are so right Bud. New lamp in projector and cleanup dust off of LCD's. Marathoning has been going on for the last 3 weeks. Have not done one thing to the basement. Wait I did bring down the cabinet filler (ordered from lowes)from the upstairs to the basement. :D

stargate has pushed my berkline order back to mid July dam!!
I guess it is for the best since I need to finish up.

Bud,
Could you walk us through each of the components in your rack? I'm curious as to what you all have there.

Dave,

Sure. Pretty straight forward. I'll start from the top.

1. Yamaha RX-V2600 (http://www.yamaha.com/yec/products/productdetail.html?CNTID=200003&CTID=5000300) - 7.1 Channel Digital Home Theater Receiver
2. Kenwood KR-9030 - Very old receiver purchase, will use it to power the Aura shakers
3. Kenwood VR-507 - Old receiver. An ebay purchase ($88.00). Was going to use it for driving the Aura Shakers, but decided to use it to drive the CD player.
4. XBOX 360 (http://www.xbox.com/en-US/) - I installed the XBOX patch to allow some standard XBOX games to play. More info here (http://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/backwardcompatibilitygameslist.htm)
5. Kenwood DP-M6620 - CD player. Another old purchase, has a six disc CD magazine and a single drawer. Will be used primarily for the gameroom and bar.
6. Motorola DCT6412 (http://broadband.motorola.com/dvr/dct6412.asp) HDTV STB with dual hard drive PVR
7. Panasonic DVD-S97S (http://www2.panasonic.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/vModelDetail?storeId=15001&catalogId=13401&itemId=71539&catGroupId=24988&modelNo=DVD-S97S&surfModel=DVD-S97S&cacheProgram=11002&cachePartner=7000000000000005702) - upscaling DVD player
8. Furman M-8 Power Conditioner (http://www.furmansound.com/products/pro/pwr_cond_seq/cond/_merit/m8.php)
9. Middle Atlantic 2 space locking drawer (http://www.middleatlantic.com/rackac/storage/drawers.htm) - for remotes, screws, instruction manuals, etc.
10. Middle Atlantic 3U shelf (http://www.middleatlantic.com/rackac/storage/shelves2.htm) for storage until I get my cabinets installed in the concession area.
11. Middle Atlantic EB6 6 space blanks (two) (http://www.middleatlantic.com/rackac/panels/bpanels.htm)
12. Middle Atlantic VT2 2 space vent panel (http://www.middleatlantic.com/rackac/panels/vpanels.htm) on the bottom.

The Kenwood KR-9030 and DP-M6620 I've had for about 17 years now. Sorry, no links. I was originally just going to use these in the gameroom and put them by the bar. When I started thinking about a rack and the IR control, I figured I might as well just put them in the rack as well. I ran IR to the bar and installed in ceiling speakers both in the bar and the gameroom. I also ran HDMI/component, RG59, RG6, CAT6 to the bar for a future plasma. I then bought the VR-507 to power the shakers. What I found out later is I can't use the Buffalo IR with the KR-9030. I just can't get it to work. So I decided to swap the purpose of the two. Once I get the shakers installed, I'll hook it up.

BTW, the Yamaha also has two zone compatibility and actually comes with a second remote. I still may use this feature and replace one Kenwood system entirely, but haven't thought through it yet.

Looks great:)

stargate has pushed my berkline order back to mid July dam!!

Larry, when was your original date scheduled for? Why did they push it out?

Bud

Yeah, Bud. And you've already surpassed my post count... :)

Bud,

Now that you have your seats in place how do you like your viewing distances to the screen? You listed 19' deep in your original post. I am assuming that's unfinished dimensions? What's your distance on the 1st row and 2nd row to the screen and how far off the back wall are you on the 2nd row?

It's looking like I will only have 20 feet of depth (was hoping for ~22) I want to make sure I can squeeze in 2 rows of Berk 90's and also 2 rear columns.

Thanks,
DrSung

DrSung,

That's correct. About 19 feet unfinished, so with the screen wall, that's 14 inches, but the head position is about a foot or so from the back wall (not ideal, understand) and the seats have the "wallaway", so they only have to be about 3-4 inches off the back wall. So I'm guessing the viewing position is about 16.5-17.0 feet. I've been watching back there when the kids are watching movies, I let those two sit in the front row there. The head position (upright at least) is about at 10 feet now. I had to pull the seats forward a tad in order to have the back seats recline fully when the front seats are reclined. In a recline position, closer to 11 feet.

I watched "Finding Neverland" myself last night and sat in the front left seat (facing forward) and I find it great. The AE900 has no screen door from that distance and I find the screen to be large, but not too big where you're turning your head from side to side. I think it's worked out well.

The screen seems a little high to me when reclined, but not too much. I have room to move it a few inches down if I decide later. It's in a great position from the second row.

Have you decided on the projector? The reason I ask if you end up closer than you intend, you have to consider screen door in your projector options. I think (not sure), that I could have gotten away with the Sanyo Z4 without screen door worries at my current from row position. Keep that in mind when you're making your choice.

Bud

Yeah, Bud. And you've already surpassed my post count... :)

I need to get a life, I guess! ;)

Bud

Thanks Bud, I was trying to figure out why there appeared to be three receivers in there.
I think (not sure), that I could have gotten away with the Sanyo Z4 without screen door worries at my current from row position.
What made your final decision between Panny 900 and Sanyo Z4? I'm still on the fence between these two, and since I won't be able to view them in person I'm not sure which I'm getting. I'm only leaning a little toward the Panny right now due to what appears to be popular choice. Hey, if lots of other people buy it at least it may end up with more support/service availability.

I need to get a life, I guess!
I thought remodeling was your life! Oh, then there's family. Oh drat, and that pesky thing called a job. I don't know what could be taking up all your time, I think you need more hobbies.

What made your final decision between Panny 900 and Sanyo Z4? I'm still on the fence between these two, and since I won't be able to view them in person I'm not sure which I'm getting. I'm only leaning a little toward the Panny right now due to what appears to be popular choice. Hey, if lots of other people buy it at least it may end up with more support/service availability.

There reason I went with the Panny was its flexibility of its throw, the lack of SD and the "out of the box" picture. The Sanyo is sharper, but takes more work to calibrate. I'm very happy with the PQ, especially at 1080i. There was one article that put me over the decision hump. I'll have to see if I can find that post. I think I sent it to Swithey or posted it in his thread. Will look.


I thought remodeling was your life! Oh, then there's family. Oh drat, and that pesky thing called a job. I don't know what could be taking up all your time, I think you need more hobbies.

I'd like it to be! I enjoy this stuff. I may have some time coming up for some hobbies now that I'm almost done.

Bud

A few quick updates.

Plumber is coming tomorrow to finish out the bathroom. I need to pick up the vanity mirror today at Lowes and install that once he's outta there.

We bought a leather couch and loveseat, some tables and lamps for the game room. Should be delivered next week.

Getting there....

Bud

Man it must be nice! I am so ready to be done with my basement. I used to love heading downstairs to work, but after more than a year, it's just getting old. Everything looks great Bud!

Thanks Jerrod. I can understand that. I have some mud on the ceiling on on part I fixed, haven't painted it though. Tired of painting... got two more doors to do as well ... tired of painting .... I wish I had just taken care of it the first time. I remember getting a paint in my shoulder when I was sanding and stopped. Never got back to it before painting. I'll need to get that done this weekend.

Bud

Bud,

I really admire your craftsmanship.

I have a question on the GOM, and I'm sorry if I missed it. Am I correct that there is about 3/4" of airspace between the GOM and the drywall on the upper half of your walls, or did you fill it with something?

[PHP]Larry, when was your original date scheduled for? Why did they push it out?

bud
they ran out of the promo leather and are giving me an upgraded leather.which is fine with me since I need to finish anyway.

Bud,

I really admire your craftsmanship.

I have a question on the GOM, and I'm sorry if I missed it. Am I correct that there is about 3/4" of airspace between the GOM and the drywall on the upper half of your walls, or did you fill it with something?

Thanks for the reply.

Actually, its an inch. I used 5/4 lumber for furring strips to accommodate the 1" linacoustic. I had to cut about a foot or so off the top of the linacoustic in order to accommodate the seam (beveled edge) and I did put that remaining foot above the beveled edge. So technically, there is some stuff on the upper portion of the wall, but only about a foot. The rest is airspace. GOM is pretty tough, you'd neve know there was nothing behind it.

This was done due to Bryan's recommendation. I had a roll of poly batting to use, but he recommended I not use it due to his room calculations.

Bud

I worked on my screenwall panels yesterday. I still have the "tops" to do and I didn't have the right material to do so, but will make a run and finish that today.

The panels took longer than expected. I didn't take a bunch of photos during the construction, but the angled ones had some funky mitre cuts and I had to rip a few boards to get the right angles. Overall, it came out better than I expected. Very clean looking.

Here's looking at it from the top down on the sub side. If you look close you can see the detail of the cuts (covered by GOM of course).
http://images17.fotki.com/v322/photos/6/649633/2875265/100_1515-vi.jpg
http://images17.fotki.com/v326/photos/6/649633/2875265/100_1516-vi.jpg

A front shot:
http://images17.fotki.com/v322/photos/6/649633/2875265/100_1513-vi.jpg

I actually built 5 panels (two sub panels, two angled panels and the large one covering the front channel under the screen). The sub panels slip into the grove in the wall (I did this for the upper panels for the LR channels) and a friction fit to the angled panels. The angled panels are attached using 2" brads to the screen frame. I was going to friction fit the larger frame in order to get to the center channel, but decided to use brads on it as well. I can get to the center channel by removing the screen, so no harm there. The panel wood was slightly warped, so this allowed me to get a clean line.

I'll build the little angled tops today and that'll wrap that up.

Bud

[PHP]

bud
they ran out of the promo leather and are giving me an upgraded leather.which is fine with me since I need to finish anyway.

Gotcha, well that works out then.

Bud

Looks great Bud. Are the top panels the last thing you need to do to complete the construction?

Hey Mike,

For the screenwall at least. I still have the front panel for the hush box and wating on my cabinets for the concession area and some minor misc stuff for both the HT room and the rest of the basement.

Bud

Bud, the panels look great. Did you just use 408 Black FR701-2100 series of GOM to cover them. The pictures don't look anything like the 408 sample I have.

Drew

This was done due to Bryan's recommendation. I had a roll of poly batting to use, but he recommended I not use it due to his room calculations.

Bud

So it would seem that a little "liveness" is desirable.

Bud,
In attaching the panels with 2" brads;
Am I correct in that you just shot the brads through the "face" of the GOM into the screenwall framing and that the brads are basically hidden behind the GOM?

The reason I ask is that I am treating my door like the rest of the room and will be building GOM covered frames to cover it.
I bought a roll of the industrial velcro but shooting brads would be simpler.

As usual - prefect finishing on thos panels. Great job!

Cheers,
Mark

Bud,
In attaching the panels with 2" brads;
Am I correct in that you just shot the brads through the "face" of the GOM into the screenwall framing and that the brads are basically hidden behind the GOM?



That worked for me. Just make sure the brads countersink a bit. The GOM is pourous so the holes from the brads are un-noticable. I couldn't even find where I put brads in my ceiling with a bright light after I was done.

Looking good Bud!

Ruben

the brads countersink a bit Yup. Cranked up the air about 25lbs to the Senco. Seemed to work.
Thanks.

Bud,
In attaching the panels with 2" brads;
Am I correct in that you just shot the brads through the "face" of the GOM into the screenwall framing and that the brads are basically hidden behind the GOM?

The reason I ask is that I am treating my door like the rest of the room and will be building GOM covered frames to cover it.
I bought a roll of the industrial velcro but shooting brads would be simpler.

Milt,

That's correct, through the panel frames (covered with GOM) and into the framing of the screenwall. The frames we're about an inch thick, maybe a little more. Is your door solid?

Bud

Bud, the panels look great. Did you just use 408 Black FR701-2100 series of GOM to cover them. The pictures don't look anything like the 408 sample I have.

Drew

Drew, thanks. Yes, black 408 FR701-2100. I had it left over from the screen wall and the soffits. It could be just the picture.

Bud

So it would seem that a little "liveness" is desirable.

That's correct, you definately don't want it too dead.

Bud

As usual - prefect finishing on thos panels. Great job!

Cheers,
Mark

Mark, thanks. My wife saw the panels for the first time today and asked me if I bought the panels! I guess she was figured since they looked good I must have bought them, go figure!

Bud

Looking good Bud!

Ruben

Thanks Ruben. Love your blue lights. Now you've got me thinking about trying them out.

Bud

Yeah, those blue lights look cool as hell. I think I'm back to doing a tray or at least crown and putting in blue rope lights!

Good lookin stage Bud! I'll bet you had fun with those mitre cuts....

Bud,

Real nice job on the panels. They do take longer that expected to cut and assemble.

The front stage looks awesome. Hope you won't be spending too much time vacuuming it. We'll just name it "The HTLM" (HT Lint Magnet) :D

Hey Bud, I just got back into town and I am catching up on everyones threads.

Things are looking great. You can never go wrong with good cable management.

Isnt it great when you hear comments like your wife made? You know all the hard work is worth it once you hear something like that.

Ronnie

Bud,
Are you using 5/4 boards again for these panels? It looks like a nice size to work with for that purpose.

Is your door solid? Yup. A 36" 1.75" mahogany solid core exterior door.
After asking the question, I stapled some GOM around the pine framing material and shot some brads through it. 125 psi countersunk the brad nicely.
Another good tip Bud. Thanks again.
BTW your screenwall looks killer.
Did you contract out those panels? ;)

Bud, looks good so far. Looks like you did some planning ahead on those front panels and the cuts on them. Keep up the good work.

Good lookin stage Bud! I'll bet you had fun with those mitre cuts....

Jerrod,

Took some thinking on my part for sure. I had to pull out the table saw to get the right cuts for the vertical pieces. I need to put on another blade, I think I ruined it with the laminate flooring.

Bud

The front stage looks awesome. Hope you won't be spending too much time vacuuming it. We'll just name it "The HTLM" (HT Lint Magnet) :D

Steve,

With the dogs, I'm constantly picking hair off of it. Its not the dogs themselves, its the the kids going up and down on it and they pick up dog hair on their socks. Oh well, the price we pay for perfection!

Bud

Hey Bud, I just got back into town and I am catching up on everyones threads.

Things are looking great. You can never go wrong with good cable management.

Isnt it great when you hear comments like your wife made? You know all the hard work is worth it once you hear something like that.

Ronnie

Ronnie,

Welcome back. I hope you're well rested. I could make the back of the rack a little cleaner, I didn't cut any cables since I initially hooked everything up. I have some slack, but figured I'd wait a while in case I rearrange some components. I'd hate to then be short. Probably overthinking it....

Bud

Bud,
Are you using 5/4 boards again for these panels? It looks like a nice size to work with for that purpose.

Steve,

Yes, Its the 5/4 lumber I had left over for the furring strips. its 5/4x4 and I had ripped it in half. when I made the beveled edges for the seams. I used full width pieces (not ripped) around the ceiling and floor for the crown and base molding. They sell it at Orange in 9 foot sections for about 5 bucks. It's no by the 2x4s and that lumber, its over where the hardwoods are. You may have to ask someone (if you can find someone or rather if you can find someone that might have a clue).

I had to search through a bunch to get the good ones....

Bud

Yup. A 36" 1.75" mahogany solid core exterior door.
After asking the question, I stapled some GOM around the pine framing material and shot some brads through it. 125 psi countersunk the brad nicely.
Another good tip Bud. Thanks again.
BTW your screenwall looks killer.
Did you contract out those panels? ;)

Ha. Thanks for the comments. Glad it worked out for you.

Bud

Bud, looks good so far. Looks like you did some planning ahead on those front panels and the cuts on them. Keep up the good work.
Thanks man!

Bud

That screenwall looks amazing Bud. Quite an inspiration for the rest of us.

That screenwall looks amazing Bud. Quite an inspiration for the rest of us.

Thanks!

Bud

You did a really great job on your room.

You did a really great job on your room. Well thanks and welcome to the forum.

Bud

Bud - was looking for the 5/4 lumber in HD. Couldn't find it - have you got a SKU or pic?

Cheers,
Mark

Mark,

Sorry, no SKU, but next time I'm there I'll get it for you. All the furring strips in these pictures (everything but the screenwall) is 5/4 lumber. They sort of look like 2x4s, but not as thick. In our store, it's stacked vertically in the same row as the hardwood, but across from it.

http://public.fotki.com/bketterl/early_construction/blazing_ridge_cinema-1/gom_fabric_linacous/page2.html

Bud

I did some work in the basement today, mostly painting doors in the gameroom, but that's done now. I worked on the top panels tonight to finally complete the screen wall. I used 3/16" masonite (I think its called that, its peg board material without the holes). I put a piece on top of the sub box, traced it out, then cut it with Ronnie's circle (dremel) tool. I then sanded it down to a smooth finish with a drywall sponge, used 3M spray adhesive and black GOM to finish it out. I then used 1" brads to secure it to the screen wall.

Pictures are a little dark, even with all the lights on and a flash!

Left side:
http://images17.fotki.com/v322/photos/6/649633/3422362/100_1518-vi.jpg

Right side:
http://images15.fotki.com/v233/photos/6/649633/3422362/100_1519-vi.jpg

Finished shots:
http://images17.fotki.com/v323/photos/6/649633/3422362/100_1520-vi.jpg
http://images17.fotki.com/v325/photos/6/649633/3422362/100_1521-vi.jpg

I'm very happy with how the panels came out. Oh and I see that white speck. I'll take care of that tomorrow. That's the end of the roll of the black GOM. I forgot to remove that. I just saw it in the pictures.

Next step is to finish the projector box.

Bud

I put a piece on top of the sub box, traced it out, then cut it with Ronnie's circle (dremel) tool.


LOL, thats a nice little tool huh?

Looks excellent. Whats the sku # for those panels? :D

Ronnie

LOL, thats a nice little tool huh?

Looks excellent. Whats the sku # for those panels? :D

Ronnie

Yes, and I still need to do the rings for the 4" cans. I used it tonight for the first time. Seems the bit had a semi-rough time getting through the 3/16 stuff. Did you use 1/4" for your rings?

Bud

Bud - was looking for the 5/4 lumber in HD. Couldn't find it - have you got a SKU or pic?

Cheers,
Mark

I take that back. Here is the SKU: 567180 . I found it browsing the lumber section of my HD store. I can't believe I actually found it!

http://images17.fotki.com/v326/photos/6/649633/3402899/fivequarter-vi.jpg

Bud

That stage looks real stealth Bud! Awesome job on the panels, and yes, I'm always watching :)

Ruben

Thanks Ruben.

Post more pictures of Jenna and I'll be watching your thread full time and abandoning mine (and my HT)! :D

Bud

Yes, and I still need to do the rings for the 4" cans. I used it tonight for the first time. Seems the bit had a semi-rough time getting through the 3/16 stuff. Did you use 1/4" for your rings?

Bud

Ya, I used 1/4" for my rings. The dremel is not much good for the thick stuff or big jobs.

Ronnie

Bud, your work continues to impress.
Every DIYer here,
If you don't already own a Rotozip you should. I've owned mine for four years now and love it. It has a circle cutting attachment and has no trouble going through 3/4" plywood, 5/8 drywall, or even 1.5" plaster. I also have the disc cutting attachment which has come in handy more than once. This tool is not just infomercial hype.

Thanks for the SKU Bud.

And great job on that Stage - looks awesome!

Thanks guys.

Bud

Looking great Bud! I'm slow going but getting somewhere finally. I'll have pics up tomorrow.

Gary

Stage looks awsome Bud....

You did a great job on those pannels...everything fits together so clean...looks great!

Robert

Well done Bud! A beautiful job. I hope you get to put your feet up and enjoy it with the family soon!

Cheers,

Geoff

Looking great Bud! I'm slow going but getting somewhere finally. I'll have pics up tomorrow.

Gary

Thanks Gary, looking forward to seeing your progress.

Bud

Stage looks awsome Bud....

You did a great job on those pannels...everything fits together so clean...looks great!

Robert

Thanks. We had some neighbors over yesterday for a BBQ, I pulled off the sub panel to show someone the sub, it fits nice and snug in there. No need for magnets or velcro. Worked out great.

Bud

Well done Bud! A beautiful job. I hope you get to put your feet up and enjoy it with the family soon!

Cheers,

Geoff

Thanks Geoff! We've been enjoying it for some time, in various finished states, but it's definately nice to finally say its done (well, mostly).

Welcome to the forum.

Bud

Bud,

Again -- nice job! I like the look of the stained trim along the top of the screen wall. I was wondering how it would look (in my room) and now I know it will look great.

BTW -- Did you buy your solid pine doors from HD or a local door store? I planned on buying one nice mahogany, cherry or maple 2 or 6 paneled door for the theater entrance. For the equipment closet, I planned on a cheap "flat" solid-core (since it will have a fabric panel hanging on it anyway) and putting maple veneer on the HT side with paint on the other. Depending on the cost, I may just buy (2) flat doors and add the veneer and panels to the entry door myself.

Steve,

Yes, Home Depot for the doors. On the trim, I wasn't sure I liked it originally, but I'm good with it now. It completely disappears during a movie too.

Bud

A few things yesterday. We had some furniture for the gameroom delivered. Also, my poster frames (ebay store: Hollywoodposterframes or www.hollywoodposterframes.com) arrived. I think I mentioned I picked up some repro vintage horror movie posters to scatter around the basement. I may put some in the concession room as well. All these are 11x17 and I bought these on ebay. Twenty posters for like 60.00, although I don't like all of them and only plan on using about half maybe.

Here are eight that I had frames for:
http://images17.fotki.com/v324/photos/6/649633/3422362/100_1528-vi.jpg

Furniture (still needs area rugs, blinds and paint on the windows, but this gives you an idea.
http://images17.fotki.com/v313/photos/6/649633/3422362/100_1526-vi.jpg?800600

Bud

C-Dog

In your spare time (lol) it would be great if you could update us with a list showing your original projected items, budget, actual item used, and real cost. For example:

Projected----------Budget----------Actual----------Cost
Pergo--------------$3,000----------Armstrong-----$3,250

Even just the last two columns would be awesome.

hltr,

I have all my receipts and I need to put them in a spreadsheet. Many of the item costs will be blurred across the basement and HT room. For instance, I bought speaker wire for the whole basement, so I won't be able to break out just the room itself. When I can, I'll work on that spreadsheet. I did post a while back some planned versus actual costs, I can probably modify that sooner than looking at individual receipts.

Bud

I for one am interested in the whole basement, so I'll take whatever you have, even if the numbers are rough. Product list is really what I'm after.

Here's an update of what I did before. As you can see, there were a few extras that I didn't really budget for and that through me over. I also went with 6 seats instead of 5. Overall, if you factor in those things, I wasn't too much over. maybe 1750.00 before you factor in the other things. About 1K of the over budget was concession area related.

http://images17.fotki.com/v323/photos/6/649633/3402899/HTcosts-vi.jpg

Bud

Here's the basement costs minus the HT room, except for those blurred items. There is an overlap in lumber, drywall, flooring, etc. You can't just add the two together. Also, I had the HVAC and electrical service put in when the house was built. I included these in the costs here, but those items were rolled up in the overall cost of the house.

http://images17.fotki.com/v324/photos/6/649633/3402899/basementcosts-1-vi.jpg

EDIT: Made a few changes.

Bud

Great documentation. I didn't see any first aid supplies. That must be a first. And you can't count beer as first aid. Ibuprofin yes, beer no.

I left the beer costs blank for that very reason. I'm happy I didn't loose any digits during the process. My neighbor (the builder) lost a few tips during his laminate floor install last year when he did his!

Bud

http://images17.fotki.com/v323/photos/6/649633/3402899/HTcosts-vi.jpg

Bud

You forgot "Having one sweet looking kick a$$ home theater that will give you and many visitors the WOW Factor for years to come"...........Priceless

Well done Bud. Very few people have a basement that you would actually like to spend more time in than the actual house. You have accomplished that.

Thanks Jon. We had neighbors over on the 4th and boy, was the HT a hit. A few people knew what I was up to but didn't realize to what extent. People hear you talk about it and see pieces of it, but if they don't understand this stuff it. Goes in one ear and out the other until they see the final result. There are a few others now talking about doing HT rooms, looks like I'll have my fingers in some other builds as well now ;) ....

Bud

Be careful, Bud. I have people all over the neighborhood asking me to help them with this or that for a HT - and none of them have even seen the new room yet. One of my friends has a small home building business "on the side" and I have now helped him put a room in two of his spec homes. Not done to the extent of my rooms but still big hits with the "Homearama" crowds.

This stuff can snowball on you so you might have to start charging a fee - at least a six pack or two anyway...

Eric,

Understand. I was thinking more in line "what to do", not actually "helping to do". I would expect I would get roped some into the later. Answer questions, that sort of thing. Of the 4 male neighbors that were here, I would expect that one was halfway serious about a HT room as part of a whole basement finished and he's at least a year off from what I understand. For now, I'll be hiding away in my HT room.

Bud

Thanks for the list!

Appreciate the budget updates. Very helpful to me. I am sure you said so, but what's the total SQ FT for the basement?

Dave,

I'm thinking I finished around 1200. Had a hard time finding the posts with the measurements. I drywalled my storage room as well (included in that total), just did not do the ceiling since it allows me to run cables/electric in case I need something later. The storage room also has heat/AC/return and I move the return in the concession area to get some additional airflow, although the fan in the closet does a great job. That room also has a larger supply and I may swap them out eventually if I need to.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=7239316&highlight=1200#post7239316

Bud

Well I have spent at least 20 hours reading the entire thread but it was well worth it. You have done an amazing job with this project Bud, and I was most impressed with your budget. You have now officially inspired me to build my own home theater someday (don't know if thats a bad thing or not yet). The depressing thing was that I kept on thinking that you were blowing away 10's of thousands of dollars on this. You have done a marvelous job of keeping costs down while maintaining quality, and for that, I present you with.... drum roll............................................ THE THUMBS UP SMILEY
http://reddingcomputers.com/images/thumbs_up_smiley.gif
Your an ispiration, keep it up.

Sorry bout that, double post, not sure what happened

armystud0911,

Thanks and welcome. The idea was to try and get the best bang for the buck, doing most of the work myself (with a little help from my father-in-law and Dad when required). I'm sure the room itself would have cost me a lot more if I had hired it out and there is just no way I would have done that.

As for the rest of the basement. I'm hearing from neighbors of quotes around 75K for a basement finish (no HT room, no bar - just finished rooms and a bathroom) and my costs would have been around 25K (with no HT room, if you compare apples to apples). Three years ago, the builder wanted about 50K. Katrina hit, materials went through the roof and everything is more expensive now.

Bud

armystud0911,

Thanks and welcome. The idea was to try and get the best bang for the buck, doing most of the work myself (with a little help from my father-in-law and Dad when required). I'm sure the room itself would have cost me a lot more if I had hired it out and there is just no way I would have done that.

As for the rest of the basement. I'm hearing from neighbors of quotes around 75K for a basement finish (not HT room, no bar - just finished rooms and a bathroom) and my costs would have been around 25K (with no HT room, if you compare apples to apples). Three years ago, the builder wanted about 50K. Katrina hit, materials went through the roof and everything is more expensive now.

Bud

I got estimates ranging from $75-95,000 to finish mine. And that was just regular old stuff... I'm at half that cost and have included all my electronics and everything else. Like you, me and the rest of us DIY'ers, you can certainly get more bang for your buck if you are willing to take the time to do it..... and if your wife is willing to spend less time with you for a year or so! :D

Yeah, I would think it would easily be three times what you spent to contract it out. I would imagine your house would now command top dollar in your neighborhood, no?

Yeah, I would think it would easily be three times what you spent to contract it out. I would imagine your house would now command top dollar in your neighborhood, no?

I certainly hope so!

Bud

Like you, me and the rest of us DIY'ers, you can certainly get more bang for your buck if you are willing to take the time to do it..... and if your wife is willing to spend less time with you for a year or so! :D

A year is about right for a full basement. Mine took a little more since I had to do the storage room and workshop first. I really had some marathon weekends, my wife sure put up with a lot. Team effort!

Bud

Bud,
Coming along beautifully. Thanks a bunch for the budget sheet also. It's helping me compare my budget sheet. I've got 15k budgeted specifically for the HT. Probably another 5-10k for the rest of the basement. Doing everything ourselves except for cabinets, and I'm still tempted to do those myself. I might be able to talk my cousin into helping me do those.
The big advantage I have is that my wife enjoys remodeling projects as much as I do. So she will be downstairs helping. And we have the only grandchild on my wife's side, so there is no shortage of babysitters. Woohoo! I'll be off for a couple months when I get back, plan to use that time to make major progress on the build. Hope to have the whole basement done in less than six months. Wish me luck!
Again, your thread continues to be an inspiration to the Quality Conscious DIYer.

Cabinets are a piece of cake.. certainly not one of the last things I'd do.. there are much more difficult tasks than that. Go for it!

Got a question for you guys. Since organizing my equipment closet and putting the plates on the outlets in the closet, I get an occasional sound from the sub, even though there is no source playing or equipment even on. It's a short 1 second burst, only on occasion, sometimes two or three in a row, then I won't hear anything for a while. Once in a while it does it during a movie as well.

I mentioned the wall plates because I had one outlet that was not screwed into the box. I was experimenting with grounding the IR for the gameroom (long IR run) at one point and I'm thinking that I might have a loose ground. I'll have to double check. The equipment is on its own dedicated circuit. I have two circuits in the equipment rack, the second is also the circuit that is sub is on. I don't think its a ground loop issue.

Anyone else have any suggestions? Again, this never happened until I organized the rack, added to power conditioner (sub is not on connected to it) and secured that outlet in the box and put the plate on it. I've tried different outlets (on the same circuit), same thing.

Bud

How is the sub hooked up to the source? Do you have any head-end equipment (like a BFD or something)? As long as the outlet the sub is on is truly on your dedicated circuit, I doubt its a power line issue because its not constant. It is probably something being generated by the source equipment or the sub amp itself.

Eric,

Its a simple connection. I ran RG6 and connected it to the output sub connection. I double checked the connectors and after hearing the problem, I went ahead and replaced the connector on the sub side, just in case. I am using crimp on RCA connectors for now, until I get a decent compression tool. Not sure that's it.

http://www.yamaha.com/yamahavgn/Images/YEC/AV_Receivers/Views/BP_RX-V2600.jpg

The outlet the sub is connected to is not the same circuit as the equipment, it's on the the same circuit as the room outlets.

Bud

Just as a quick test you might want to run an extension cord to get that sub on your power conditioner.

I was thinking about that last night. It's pretty infrequent, but it is annoying. I'd have to sit in the room for a while and listen for it.

Bud

It will only take you a minute and you'll at least know a little more. If it is still there I would take the sub to the rack, plug it in there and check again. If it is gone at that point you'll at least have it narrowed to your cable run.

I'll definately have to try that tonight. I should pull the outlet cover off and check the electrical connections in the closet.

Bud

Of course, could be the sub. Would be a drag. My first goal in any case would be getting that thing plugged/patched anywhere the behavior would stop, if it will.

I did work on some this weekend. I started painting the sashes in the gameroom. I also hung a ceiling fan, pendants for the bar and and a light over an old kitchen table we put in the basement for now. I 'll replace it with a pub table or a homemade poker table eventually. I expect the cabinets for the bar will be in this week. Its been three weeks, although the holiday was in there, so not sure how that'll impact the schedule. Worst case, it'll be next week.

Couple of shots of the lighting:

http://images18.fotki.com/v328/photos/6/649633/3422362/100_1530-vi.jpg
http://images12.fotki.com/v2/photos/6/649633/3422362/100_1531-vi.jpg
http://images1.fotki.com/v7/photos/6/649633/3422362/100_1534-vi.jpg
http://images1.fotki.com/v7/photos/6/649633/3422362/100_1532-vi.jpg

Bud

...
The outlet the sub is connected to is not the same circuit as the equipment, it's on the the same circuit as the room outlets.

Bud

Aha - and who knows what else... Okay, like everyone else said, get that thing on the dedicated outlet and see if it goes away. It could be anything in the house - like the AC unit going on or off...

The thing that irks me is it didn't do this before I messed with the rack/outlet, so that's what I why I was thinking its a loose ground. I'm not electrician, but the outlets in the room and are all downstream of the outlet in the closet. I would think that if it was a ground issue, the GFCI would have tripped.

Bud

Well, not to beat a dead horse, but I've done my share of tracking down hum, etc. Imagine your surprise if you carry that sub to the rack and patch/plug it there and it STILL behaves that way. That has to be your first move imo. If it is fine in that position then you can come back and tell me "I told you so" but at least you will eliminate that possibility and can move on to more time consuming tests. :-)

Damn, you've come too far on this project to have sound issues!! Get that sucker solved!

Damn, you've come to far on this project to have sound issues!! Get that sucker solved!

Thats for sure!

Bud

How about trying this device:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00023XDYA/002-7306030-7259246?v=glance&n=172282

It's a ground loop isolator.

From the Manufacturer
Ever wondered why sometimes your stereo speakers start to hum when you plug certain components in?
The most likely cause of humming in audio equipment is due to a ground loop in your home or apartment mains power wiring. A ground loop occurs through differences in resistance in the electrical system. When you connect your computer to your stereo, a path is provided for electricity to flow from one wall socket to another as the electrical system tries to balance itself. This causes your speakers to hum.

Xitel’s ground loop isolator has been fully designed, built and tested to exacting standards for high fidelity audio applications. It works by breaking the earth between your computer or audio components and stereo so there’s no path for current from an electrical imbalance to flow. This prevents your speakers from humming! It’s a simple and effective way of eliminating ground loop issues without having to resort to an electrician.

Turn the power of your computer or audio component and home stereo system off. Plug the cable end of the ground loop isolator marked stereo directly into your stereo RCA input. Plug the RCA cable running from your computer or audio component into the RCA connectors on the ground loop isolator marked input. That’s all there is to it! No more ground loop hum!

Product Description
Xitel Ground Loop Isolator - The most likely cause of speaker hum is due to something called a ground loop. A ground loop occurs through differences in resistance in the electrical system. When a computer or audio component is connected to an amplifier, a path is provided for electricity to flow from one wall socket to another as the electrical system tries to balance itself. This causes speakers to hum! The Xitel Ground Loop Isolator goes between your audio equipment's connection, breaking that ground loop and stopping the annoying hum!

Bud - I have a question for you on that power conditioner - looks good and inexpensive. I ran 2 dedicated 20 amp lines to my rack. I have not terminated them yet. If I were to buy a power conditioner, do you know if could I use a 15 amp conditioner in a 20 amp outlet?

Gary

How about trying this device:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00023XDYA/002-7306030-7259246?v=glance&n=172282

It's a ground loop isolator.


I'm not convinced I have a ground loop problem yet since its not a consistent hum. Thanks for the link. I have an outlet tester and the closet one tested OK. I just did that. I also pulled out the sub and the little red light was on in the back. I have no signal driving the sub, but need to go investigate that. Normally its green.

Bud

Bud - I have a question for you on that power conditioner - looks good and inexpensive. I ran 2 dedicated 20 amp lines to my rack. I have not terminated them yet. If I were to buy a power conditioner, do you know if could I use a 15 amp conditioner in a 20 amp outlet?

Gary

Gary, no electrician here, but I think it would work fine. It does have a fuse, so I would think that that would protect it and the equipment attached to it. Again, not an electrician....

Bud

IANAE either, but I know for a fact that it won't be a problem. If the device you're plugging in is UL listed and shows less or equal amperage (and the same voltage of course) than the circuit you're plugging into, you're good.

If I were to buy a power conditioner, do you know if could I use a 15 amp conditioner in a 20 amp outlet?

Gary

I'm no electrician but as far as I know, you will be fine. I have two 15 amp conditioners plugged into two 20 amp circuits in my own rack.

I'm no electrician but as far as I know, you will be fine. I have two 15 amp conditioners plugged into two 20 amp circuits in my own rack.

Thanks miltimj and Toxarch! Gotta love this thread!

I'll be picking one of those up for sure,

Gary

Gary, no electrician here, but I think it would work fine. It does have a fuse, so I would think that that would protect it and the equipment attached to it. Again, not an electrician....

Bud

Thanks Bud - with all the electrical work you have done, you should have an associates degree at least...

gk

I'm not convinced I have a ground loop problem yet since its not a consistent hum. Thanks for the link. I have an outlet tester and the closet one tested OK. I just did that. I also pulled out the sub and the little red light was on in the back. I have no signal driving the sub, but need to go investigate that. Normally its green.

Bud


Bud,

The red light makes me think of the auto-on feature that many subs have. If they receive no signal for a period of time they turn off to a wait state. If you send signal to it does the light turn green? If the sub is going into and out of a wait state, it can make a noise.

As you can often not tell whether a signal is going to the sub or not, they can switch off in the middle of a program, only to switch back on when some signal reaches them. Some people recommend keeping the sub at it's on position rather than auto for this very reason.

Allen

Allen,

Thats what I was going to double check. When I looked and it was red, there was no signal. I saw that same recommendation in the PDF user manual, although I don't see an on/off/auto switch, just an on/off switch.

I just doubled checked, switch is not there. Light is green when a source is applied. Not a peep out of it all day (when idle) from what I can tell.

Bud

Thanks Bud - with all the electrical work you have done, you should have an associates degree at least...

gk

You would think.. I don't like to mess with it much. Been shocked one too many times, I guess.

Bud

Allen,

Thats what I was going to double check. When I looked and it was red, there was no signal. I saw that same recommendation in the PDF user manual, although I don't see an on/off/auto switch, just an on/off switch.

I just doubled checked, switch is not there. Light is green when a source is applied. Not a peep out of it all day (when idle) from what I can tell.
Bud


Bud,

This picture of a HSU sub shows an on - auto - off power switch. It is a VTF2 Mk 2. IS it different than yours? (I realize you just told me you checked and your switch is only on off, I'm just stumped)



Allen

Allen,

I think I have the original VTF2. I bought it used, so I assume that's the difference.

http://images2.fotki.com/v332/photos/6/649633/3402899/100_1536-vi.jpg
http://images18.fotki.com/v331/photos/6/649633/3402899/100_1537-vi.jpg

Bud

Got a call from the cabinet place. The cabinets will be installed on Monday, the 24th. They'll actually deliver them on Sunday the 23rd.

Bud

The thing that irks me is it didn't do this before I messed with the rack/outlet, so that's what I why I was thinking its a loose ground. I'm not electrician, but the outlets in the room and are all downstream of the outlet in the closet. I would think that if it was a ground issue, the GFCI would have tripped.

Bud

When I first connected my sub it had a hum. Boy was it ticked. Just like you "All this work and a hum....". The first problem I though was the rack/sound processor and the sub were on two different circuits.

So now what? I started with an extension power cord to connect the sub to the same circuit as the sound processor. Still got a hum. I then though maybe it is the in-wall low voltage connection from the rack to the sub. So I built a new from scratch sub cable from bulk RJ59 cable and screw on RCA connectors, so that could be reused, after the test. The HUM was gone.

As it turned out the in wall wiring and connections were just fine. BUT the patch cable, that I bought, was bad. I did all the in-wall and rack cables. The one cable I purchased was the problem.

So the hum came down to a bad professionally built cable

Greg, thanks for the reply. If I change the phase, I'll get a hum, but it seems to be fine when one phase is selected. The sound is like a one second "BRRRFFFFFTTT" (if that sound could be described in a pseudo word).

Your post made me think. I don't have a means for replacing the cable in the wall, but I might have enough slack from the right corner cable I prewired for. I could even attempt to move the sub to that corner if it wasn't long enough. If I had to, I could open up the side wall of the equipment closet and that would allow me to get to run another cable, so if tis definitely the cable, I can get around it. I was down there last night watching a little HD and did not hear it stray sounds at all. I'll have to keep an ear out and see if I continue to get the sound.

Bud

Well, I hooked up the right side sub cable to the sub tonight. Same outlet and same result. Need to run an power extension to the conditioner to check that out still. My guess is there is a sub problem, although I'll do some more testing. I may call Hsu in the morning as well.

EDIT: I posted in the Hsu forums about the problem. Hopefully I get a response over there.


Bud

Certainly starting to sound like the sub is the culprit. Some sort of weird discharge.

Just got an email back from Hsu technical support. They said if the sound still occurs without the cable connected (only power), its the subs amp. I noticed it did this the other day, hence the faulty ground conclusion. Maybe the timing was coincidental with the equipment organization. Who knows. I replied back to their tech support to see how much it would be to fix it. Shipping alone will be 50.00 to get it there and back I'm sure. Probably at least 100.00 to fix it, so I might just bite it an order a new one. I went down to make sure the new VTF2 would fit in my sub box.. looks like I have about 1/2 inch to spare! The new model is about 3 inches higher than the older one.

Bud

I bet they have a darn good idea what would cause it. I wonder if they would send you a part.

I received back a response from Hsu technical support and my options are to spend 100-150 (not sure this includes shipping) or buy the new MK2 amplifier for 200.00 and retro fit it. Apparently there a few things required to make it fit.

Sounds like I'll be purchasing a new sub today.

Bud

I received back a response from Hsu technical support and my options are to spend 100-150 (not sure this including shipping) or buy the new MK2 amplifier for 200.00 and retro fit it. Apparently there a few things required to make it fit.

Sounds like I'll be purchasing a new sub today.

Bud
Bud,

That is a real bummer on your sub. It does not seem like you have had it that long -- like less than 1 year? How long was the original warranty?

Steve,

Bought it used through Audiogon. Tried to save a few bucks. It was the previous model, I recently realized (not the MK2). I got it in December I think. $hit happens...

Bud

Bud, did you ask Hsu if you could just carefully remove the amp only and send it back instead of the entire thing?

Just curious...

sux to hear that happend.

I would buy a PE plate amp of similar power and retrofit it on there. Other than size, it doesn't really matter. You could also get something like a Crown XLS series rackmountable amp which gives you more flexibility in the future to use it elsewhere, and convert your HSU to a passive configuration, by taking off the existing amp and running wires to the outside. A dual-jack connector is like $4 at PE. That'd be a cheaper and better (IMO) alternative to buying new. I just hate to see an otherwise good sub go to waste..

Bud, did you ask Hsu if you could just carefully remove the amp only and send it back instead of the entire thing?

Just curious...

sux to hear that happend.

I didn't ask and yes, it sucks!

Bud

I would buy a PE plate amp of similar power and retrofit it on there. Other than size, it doesn't really matter. You could also get something like a Crown XLS series rackmountable amp which gives you more flexibility in the future to use it elsewhere, and convert your HSU to a passive configuration, by taking off the existing amp and running wires to the outside. A dual-jack connector is like $4 at PE. That'd be a cheaper and better (IMO) alternative to buying new. I just hate to see an otherwise good sub go to waste..

Tim, I follow your logic, but not sure I want to mess with it.

Bud

Tim, I follow your logic, but not sure I want to mess with it.

Bud

Hey Bud, I hear ya and understand you not wanting to mess with it, but those crown Amps kick butt, are cheap, and are easy to work with. I have one (602) running my mains and LOVE it. It would be pretty easy to do actually and will cost you less than $300 or closer to $200 if you go with a 402 series and bridge it. On the 602 you could run one channel for the SW and another for your center. Your center will sound better and it will also relieve some of the stress of the Yammy which could help the all around sound to the rest of your speakers. Or you can just say F*&% it and buy a new sub which we would completely understand. Just an option though.

Bud, I like your Avater Picture, Kinda makes you look like the Dr. Phil of HT

Kermie,

Uh, thanks ... I think. :D

Bud

Hey Bud, I hear ya and understand you not wanting to mess with it, but those crown Amps kick butt, are cheap, and are easy to work with. I have one (602) running my mains and LOVE it. It would be pretty easy to do actually and will cost you less than $300 or closer to $200 if you go with a 402 series and bridge it. On the 602 you could run one channel for the SW and another for your center. Your center will sound better and it will also relieve some of the stress of the Yammy which could help the all around sound to the rest of your speakers. Or you can just say F*&% it and buy a new sub which we would completely understand. Just an option though.
Jon, Didn't realize you were doing this with yours. What sub did you end up with?

Bud

Bud, I like your Avater Picture, Kinda makes you look like the Dr. Phil of HT
I don't see the resemblance ;)
http://swithey.gotdns.org/swithey/ht/avs/Bud-DrPhil.jpg

I don't see the resemblance ;)
http://swithey.gotdns.org/swithey/ht/avs/Bud-DrPhil.jpg

Hmmm... I was thinking more like Jesse Ventura...

http://cfserv.dickinson.edu/news/pics/Web-Ventura%20J.jpg

:p

Jon, Didn't realize you were doing this with yours. What sub did you end up with?

Bud

I have the Axiom EP500 so I am not doing it with mine, I just know people do. At 4 ohms it's 600 watts per channel so one channel can easily power a sub. I plan on eventually getting another one and running my center and a DIY sub off of it after my wife lifts the ban of me spending money.

Geeez, didn't mean to start something........lol.

It is all good Bud.

By the way. Is there anything you can do to help out the psychology of an audiophile......

just kidding


K

I was in Myrtle Beach the other week and the woman at the store told me I looked like Stone Cold Steve Austin.
http://www.tuttowrestling.com/austin98.jpg

Seems to be a lot of bald guys out there I look like!

Bud

LOL, you DO look like him!

Maybe Mad Money's Jim Cramer?

https://secure2.thestreet.com/images/optimost/aap_c_jiminfo_c.gif

LOL, is it me, or do they just all look alike? :D

Hey, all those guys have fame and fortune, but I'll bet they don't have a HT like Bud!!!

Warning too all of us - don't post pictures or avitars with you in them......LOL

Or don't post pictures if you look like Bud. Hey, if you can't laugh at yourself ....

Bud

This thread is getting silly - but funny! I vote for Jesse V. Gotta put it back on track...

Bud - and anyone else,

I see the Furman power conditioner you have purchased and it is inexpensive. I got (2) FREE APC Back UPS USB 500VA surge protection and battery backups from work. They have an 18 minute backup if I lose power and have many outlets in each.

I planned on using these for the backup feature and the ability to shut down my equipment slowly in a blackout.

Does anyone know if the power conditioner has any additional benefits for my scenario? I have a rack so I could rack mount the Furman.

thanks for any thoughts!

Gary

Hey Gary. Thanks for the vote.

Here's my two cents and I'm sure others will pipe in and tell me I'm wacked if I am.

Power conditioning is a continual process while the equipment is running, whereas the UPS is only used on occasion. I would think you'd get more use out of a power conditioner. The one I got is cheap, no doubt, sort of like a cheap insurance policy I thought. I don't need fancy LED readouts of anything, so I went cheap. Others have their own wants and needs. You can always plug a power conditioner into the UPS or vice versa and get the best of both worlds.

Bud