Mr.Poindexter's home theater under construction - 2.35:1 [Text View]

Mr.Poindexter

02-08-06, 01:03 AM

I am moving some of the information from the other thread over to this forum, where I think there will be a little more feedback.

Here is the description of the theater I am building:

OK, the room is 30x22x9. There is a full bathroom in the back corner of the theater, so we wil be squaring the wall off and putting the equipment in the other half of the back portion. This will leave a 22x25 room, give or take. Dennis Erskine is doing the acoustic calcs right now and we can hit all the room nodes underneath the platform in the back half of the theater.

The equipment I list will be for the primary system. I should be able to have as many as 5 concurrent audio & video systems in this room, as this will also be my main showroom for my business.

Equipment:

Screen Research ClearPix 2 in white, 2.35:1 aspect ratio, 150" wide with 4 way adjustable masking. The masking will be able to come in from the sides at any ratio down to 1.33:1 and once at 1.33:1, I will still be able to go down to 2.35:1 inside that fame so I can demo other projectors in that room. The screen will have the black backing with it in the event I am testing out speakers that are not dark. The entire screen will be tailor made with acoustically transparent masking and additional damping to quiet the masking motors and hand sewn velour covering on the frame. I will be using both RS-232 and IR to control the screen - RS-232 to tie into a control system and use the Kaleidescape to set aspect ratios automatically for each film's exact measured aspect ratio, plus the remote for TV and D-Theater sources.

Digital Projection Mercury 5000HD 3-Chip DLP: I wanted a 1080p 3-chip unit, but those are not shipping yet. I picked the Mercury 5000HD instead of the Mercury HD because I will use this unit outdoors in the park next door to my house and for that I will need the extra lumens.

Anamorphic Lens: I will be using the ISCO III fixed in place. At some point I would like to have a motorized option, but right now I will stick with the fixed system. Since this is also a showroom I plan on bringing in a Prismasonic H-1200 to compare for potential clients, but I plan on using the ISCO III as the primary lens. I also have an ISCO II and a Panamorph P-752 to do comparison demos with.

Cygnus Imaging IMX lens: I run a very large screen and will use this to allow me to sit closer without the pixel structure affecting me.

Genesis 6.1 series speakers: 6.1 mains, 6.1c center, 4 x 6.1sr surrounds, 2 x s2/12t subs, 1 s4/8 sub. This will be a 7.7 system technically, with each channel running full range and flat to 16Hz, plus using the 7.3 sub setting on the Lexicon MC-12b. It will incorporate the Genesis distributed LFE across the front 3 speakers. I will have lots of options for configuring this and assume that I will need to spend a lot of time dialing it in to see exactly how it sounds best. There will be 5 powered subs in the system.

Lexicon MC-12 Balanced V5 EQ w/mic kit: I don't think this component needs any explanation to this crowd. I will be building in 2 Lexicon calibration mics for the Lexicon Live feature.

Lexicon RT-10: For SACD/DVD-Audio. I will mount this in a table that sits front and center in the theater. From the back row center, I will be able to play discs directly, which will be great for high-resolution audio and for demo of discs not loaded in the Kaleidescape system.

Adcom GFA-7807 amp: 300Wx7 and beefy as can be. I have been running the Lexicon LX-7, their flagship amp, and it just didn't have the balls to drive my Genesis speakers. I haven't tested the Adcom with the new Genesis yet (cables too short and the Adcom is too heavy for me to move by myself) but the Adcom gear never had problems with the old Infinity IRS speakers, so this shouldn't be any different.

Lumagen VisionPro HDP: This will be doing the scaling for the constant height system and can handle the on-the-fly custom ratios from the Kaleidescape. We will have to do a little programming math to get it to do all I want, but it should be able to re-center titles that were not mastered with the film centered perfectly all automatically thanks to the information from the Kaleidescape.

Kaleidescape Digital Movie Player: I have already filled up my first server and am half way to filling up the second server. I will tie this into the screen masking control, lights and scaler so that I can fully automate the theatrical experience. I already have my movie night script made up with custom credits and an animated Cinema Wizards logo. In addition to playing in this room, I will have additional players in the master bedroom, family room and a second theater just outside the main theater. No way I am letting the little kiddies run around in this room.

HD-TiVo: No need to explain this one. Nothing like Lost on tap.

JVC D-Theater: Still the king of the hill for picture quality and it doesn't look like HD-DVD/BluRay format war is going to be worked out anytime soon.

HTPC: I won't actually need this, but if you want to play a video game or WM9 file, do it in style!

D-BOX Odyssee motion simulators: Series 3 controller, 4600p in the back row (formerly called the Odyssee XL) with vertical integrated Odyssee 3-axis system in the front row on both sides. I decided to move the Quest system into the second theater.

Fortress seating, premium leather with motorized recline and wood front panels that tilt out to reveal cupholders. I will also have light panels on the sides for aisle lighting.

Pronto Pro with RF extender for a back-up remote control.

Lutron GrafikEye: 6 zones, controlled by the Crestron system and also under partial command from the Kaleidescape. When the movie hits the final credits, a "raise the lights" command is automatically issued.

Crestron - I originally said "Just enough to integrate the Kaleidescape with the screen masking system, scaler and lighting. No $10K touchpads for me." Then I saw the TPS-15 running a Kaleidescape system. No way I can have a top-end theater and not have that thing. It makes a Pronto Pro look like a complete joke.

Sensio - When you have everything else, why not 3D? Well, maybe a lack of titles. This unit will wait until the theater is totally and completely finished or until they have a lot more titles. I am pretty sure the theater will be finished before they have 2 more titles, but again, why not have it all, right?

Power: Balanced power with either the Equitech 5Q or RGPC Powerhouse. I could actually run both if I want, as I have two 240V 50A dedicated circuits run to the theater for balanced power systems. One Equitech 5Q will not handle my system.

Racks: Middle Atlantic slide out racks will be in the back equipment room. I should have enough equipment to pretty much fill out two 43U racks once everything is finished. (I have to house the whole house distributed audio system in this location as well and I worry that the two racks won't be enough)

Anyway, that is it in a nutshell. I think I have all my bases covered. If I am missing anything, by all means let me know.

Mr.Poindexter

02-08-06, 01:04 AM

Finished the sheetrocking with Audio Alloy Green Glue.

http://www.cinemawizards.com/photos/DoubleSheetrock.jpg

Here we are starting to float the floor. We have Acousti-Mat down with 3/4" T&G Plywood on top. I hope to have the floor finished today.

http://www.cinemawizards.com/photos/FloatingFloor.jpg

Mr.Poindexter

02-08-06, 01:06 AM

Here is one side of the seating platform. It is filled with insulation and will double as a bass trap.

On the left side, you can see the entrance to the bathroom. I will have a widescreen flat panel HDTV with audio playing whatever is showing in the main theater. No need to miss any action for a bathroom break. I will not, however, be running surround sound in there. :(

http://www.cinemawizards.com/photos/SeatingInsulation.jpg

Here is the conduit we are installing to go between the equipment closet and the table that will have the Crestron control panel on top of it. I will have room in it for several game systems on shelves in the front and room for a universal player in the back facing the second row for playing SACD and DVD-A as well as single DVDs should we have a rental movie or to play some demo discs anybody might bring over. I will have connectors to have more than one universal player there if I need a second one hooked up for any reason.

There will be enough room undr the frame for the Odyssee to have the conduit make a straight shot from the racks to the middle of the theater.

http://www.cinemawizards.com/photos/Conduit.jpg

Mr.Poindexter

02-08-06, 01:07 AM

I was out of town for a few days, but progress was made in my absence!

The seating paltform is almost finished. All we need to do now is wire the power for the lights for the rear steps, the motion simulators and chair lights.

http://www.cinemawizards.com/photos/RearSteps.jpg

I also want to run a few wires to the 5th seat in the back row, so I think I need another small run of smurf tube. Just to the left of the motion platform in the back row I will have a single seat that can have several different tactile transducers attached so people can experience/demo them compared to the Odysee platform, Odyssee integrated and Odyssee extreme right next to them. I will try and get 4 tactile transducers into one seat - the Aura, Buttkicker, Clark and Crowson.

The front of the seating platform is seen here. I have a 4' wide step on each side, which will leave me enough room to put in 4 seats in the front and a table with some equipment in front row/center. I will probably put my old CRT there just for a reference display for a while and just mask down when I want to run it. I need to see if it can light up the screen enough from that distance first, though.

http://www.cinemawizards.com/photos/SeatingSteps.jpg

Here you can see the floating floor is almost finished. It will be done tomorrow and we will start on the stage. I hope for the stage frame to be done by the end of Friday, which will give me enough time to get the sand put in over the weekend.

http://www.cinemawizards.com/photos/FloatingFloor2.jpg

I think these are probably the most boring pictures to date. My next ones should have the stage ready for sand and then filled, topped with the screen wall being built and then soffits - all sound a little more exciting to me.

Mr.Poindexter

02-08-06, 01:08 AM

Front of theater coming along. Floor has been completely finished and the stage is almost ready to be put together. Here you can see the framing lumber has been cut to size.
http://www.cinemawizards.com/photos/StageFrame.jpg

Now a shot from the back row, center seat location.
http://www.cinemawizards.com/photos/StageFront1.jpg

Tomorrow I should have the stage frame finished enough to start filling sand in. That allow for the top to be put on Monday and begin work on the screen wall. Once the screen wall is complete and the front soffit is in, we will paint the back of the screen area black (in case there are visible gaps between treatments) and put up sound treatments.

Mr.Poindexter

02-08-06, 01:08 AM

I am very tired from dragging bags of sand upstairs.

Here is the stage partially filled. You can see the roofing felt underneath the stage as a damper, plus the black plastic we are lining the framing cavities with and then filling with dry play sand.

The blue tube is to allow me to run speaker terminals up front for the systems I will be testing or using for comparisons and demos. Each one will have 2 sets of speaker cables plus an RG6 for LFE or full range signal. I would like to put in a balanced connection as well - I just don't know if I can find some plugs that will fit in a single gang plate with all the other stuff.
http://www.cinemawizards.com/photos/StageFilling.jpg

Here is the stage about 2/3 filled. In the front center, right next to the center speaker demo terminals I will have a balanced power output, which will be nice should I want to drag a high-end 2-channel rig into the room and run all the equipment up front.
http://www.cinemawizards.com/photos/StageSand.jpg

Monday we will top the stage and then start on the soffits, working our way from the back of the room to the front.

Mr.Poindexter

02-08-06, 01:09 AM

On top of the stage, we first put down a layer of roofing felt, and then top that with the wood later. Here you can see my guys cutting the felt.
http://www.cinemawizards.com/photos/StageFelt.jpg

And now with the first layer of plywood on top.
http://www.cinemawizards.com/photos/StageTop1.jpg
The next two layers will be put on tomorrow, but they wanted to start the soffits first so I had something new to look over. Pictures of that tomorrow once I have them correct a couple things.

dc_pilgrim

02-08-06, 04:30 AM

Very cool and on a personal note, I am glad you moved it over from the 2.35 forum as I check here much more often. Not sure I will have much input to add that compares with your background and advisors.

Couple of questions - - I know this is partially a show room. What are the isolation needs for this? I saw you mention green glue. Did you do RSIC clips and the rest? Is this an addition or is this being built in to an existing structure?

Thanks for taking the time to post all this.

patrickwebb

02-08-06, 10:22 AM

Can't wait to see further progess, pretty exciting theater!

bmackrell

02-08-06, 10:28 AM

Mr. Pointdexter,

I'd be interested to get a general feel for the pricing of the equipment you listed up above. I'm not looking for specifics just general MSRP since it's hard to tell what items you are using will fit into my budget.

Regards,

Billmac

Mr.Poindexter

02-08-06, 11:42 AM

BillMac, this is from a spreadsheet I have been keeping. I took off the running total, since it is scary. Fortunately my wife doesn't read the forum.

I already have everything down to the Lutron Grafik Eye, but nothing below that on my list. The racks will be ordered by the end of the week. The IMX lens will be ordered when I am getting closer to hanging the projector. The seats will be ordered well after the rest of the theater is finished, as I am getting low on funds and I would rather finish out all the trim work and decor than have to come back later and fix them.

Make/Model MSRP
Genesis 6.1 $9,300.00
Genesis 6.1c $3,300.00
Genesis 6.1sr - 2 pairs $14,400.00
Genesis s4/8 $2,850.00
Genesis s2/12t - 2 subs $5,500.00
Phase Technology dARTS 7.2 1 $17,500.00 (full system with amp & software license)

Lexicon RT-10 $3,500.00
Lexicon MC12B EQ V5 $12,990.00
Lexicon LX-7 $5,996.00
Lexicon 2 Mic Kit $495.00
Lexicon 4 Mic Kit $995.00
Lexicon MC-12/B RMK $50.00
Lexicon RT-10 RMK $35.00
Lexicon LX/CX RMK $50.00

Adcom GDV-850 $1,200.00 (May have changed recently)
Adcom GTP-880 $2,600.00 (May have changed recently)
Adcom GFA-7807 $3,595.00 (May have changed recently)
D-BOX Odyssee 340c $3,000.00
D-BOX 4600p $27,000.00
D-BOX 11858 $4,000.00 (Platform frame for Odyssee 4600p)
D-BOX 4250i $10,000.00 (integrated vertical system for front row - lift equipment only - will handle 2 chairs. I will need another system for the last 2 chairs, but will probably get Odyssee Extreme actuators for those)
DirecTV HD TiVo $699.00 (probably much less now - perhaps $399?)
JVC HMDH-30000u $600.00
Samsung SIR-T165 $500.00
HTPC Callisto ~ $2,000.00 (estimate - includes cost of nice case)
Kaleidescape Base System 1 $22,000.00
KDISK-300 x 6 $5,100.00
Additional Server $12,700.00
KDISK-400 x 2 $1,900.00
KDISK-500 x 2 $1,900.00 (new 500GB drives sell for the same price as the 400GB drives were)

Screen Research ClearPix2 150" 2.35:1 w/ XMASK 4-way adjustable masking, black backing, IR & RS-232 control - tailor made $32,869.00 (Yeah, OUCH!)

Equi=Tech Model 5Q $5,849.00
Digital Projection Mercury 5000HD $24,995.00
Digital Projection HC Lens - 2.4-3.6:1 $2,000.00
ISCO Optic ISCO III $5,500.00 (approximate - fluctuates with exchange rate)
Lumagen VisionPro HDP $2,400.00
Lutron GrafikEye GRX-3506 $1,150.00
Cygnus Imaging IMX Lens $695.00
Crestron Pro2 $3,600.00
Crestron TPS-15 $8,000.00
Crestron ST-LT $700.00
Crestron CHV-TSTAT $500.00
Crestron C2ENET-1 $900.00
Crestron C2COM-2 ???

Fortress Seating Matinee - Premium Leather x 8 $28,800.00
Fortress Seating Motorized Option x 8 $4,000.00
Fortress Seating Aisle Lights x 4 $600.00
Fortress Seating Wood Pullout Cupholder x11 $4,400.00

Middle Atlantic ARX-43 x 2 $1,649.36
Middle Atlantic ARX-WT50 x 2 $132.94
Middle Atlantic Custom Shelves x 9 $1,506.69
Middle Atlantic TRACK50 $307.73
Middle Atlantic TS310 $246.17

Building the theater you want the way you want it: Priceless.

bpape

02-08-06, 11:53 AM

Looking pretty sweet. That's a really nice sized space you'll have.

Keep the pics coming.

chinadog

02-08-06, 12:41 PM

Mr. Poindexter,

Great sized room! I'm sure this will be another exciting build out to watch, especially with that equipment list. You've got me glued.

Bud

Mr.Poindexter

02-08-06, 12:52 PM

You've got me glued.

Bud

But do I have you green glued? :)

Soffit construction is continuing. There was some extra wood on the part they built yesterday that was just there for clamping. I will get some pics uploaded later this evening. My wife's birthday is today, so the theater photos will have to wait unless I want to move my bed in there. ;)

CaspianM

02-08-06, 01:28 PM

Glad to see a build of this caliber on this forum. Keep looking for more progress on this very exciting theater.

ronnie_jackson

02-08-06, 01:53 PM

patrickwebb

02-08-06, 03:12 PM

Of all the pricing that you listed, the screen with masking was the biggest sticker shock item! Can't wait to see how this all comes together, good luck.

Art Sonneborn

02-08-06, 03:22 PM

Mike,
That list is simply obscene.......................very nice !!! ;) :D

Art

Mark P

02-08-06, 03:34 PM

Mr. Poindexter,
Have you already purchased the Merc HD and when if you dont mind.

We have the same setup except Merc HD instead of the 5000 and we got nervous on the Screen Research which was only a mere 25K with masking 6 months ago and went with the Stewart StudioTek.

I read through your post and must have missed how far away your seating is, I have some pretty interesting things I have found with the Isco III , Merc and such on a 14' screen if your interested

Mark P

02-08-06, 03:54 PM

Oops , nevermind I just saw this : Cygnus Imaging IMX lens

GreySkies

02-08-06, 04:10 PM

I've got this page bookmarked. I don't know about your wife seeing that list, but I'm showing it to mine. Everytime I show her something like that, I'm able to up my budget a bit. :D

Mr.Poindexter

02-08-06, 04:12 PM

Mr.Poindexter

02-08-06, 04:32 PM

Mike,
That list is simply obscene.......................very nice !!! ;) :D

Art

I feel like that scene in Pretty Woman when Richard Gere tells the sales guy "We are going to be spending an obscene amount of money in your store." Sales guy: "How obscene are we talking here?" Gere: "Very Obscene."

Patrick, yes the screen is certainly a sticker shock item, but really the majority of that is not the screen but rather the masking system. That is also as good as it gets in screens. There is no "step up" from that screen that are made for the same application.

Snakehunter

02-08-06, 05:13 PM

Mr. Poindexter,

I started looking at your pictures and then reading your equipment list. I think I then passed out. All of the sudden...................

Snakehunter has a dream that he's building a theater just like Mr. Poindexter. In his dream, he tells his wife that he has already dropped over $300K on just equipment for his theater, and that won't be the last of it. Before he can get all of the words out of his mouth, Snakehunter's wife completely unloads a full magazine from a model 22 Glock into Snakehunter and is quickly reloading incase he reached for a remote control to show her how wonderful the theater will be. She quickly sells the $30K plus screen, replaces it with a piece of blackout cloth stapled to a pine frame, and pays the framers the $30K from the screen sale to bury Snakehunter in his stage filled with 6000 lbs of play sand, never to be heard from again.

Snakehunter wakes up in a cold sweat, jumping on line again to read Mr. Poindexter's equipment list and looking at pictures of his room, and saying to himself, Holy Sh*t, I might as well watch movies on a Sony PSP while sitting in an empty refridgerator box and call that my home theater.

All kidding aside..................WOW....................(followed by a long bout of silence due to being speechless at the awe factor)

Mark P

02-08-06, 05:33 PM

Mark,

Yeah, I knew I had to have that IMX lens. If the DLPs had a pixel fill factor like LCOS I might be able to skip it, but after the simulation tests I ran I decided that it was worth having.

The Screen Research system you were looking at was probably a better "deal" than mine but I had a custom 2.35:1 Supreme Ultimate XMask so I have adjustable top and side masking. Now I can mask for Ben Hur in 2.76:1 format, which I just got. I think that might be the first full film I watch in the theater. At any rate, why did you get nervous? You can make a trip down to my place in a couple of months if you want to risk buyers remorse. ;) We may have to go with the IMX, first row seating I can cetainly see Pixel but seem to be the only one probably because I know its there and now find myself looking for it, The Isco III was what changed everything stretching the image that last couple feet. Movies look spectacular though. It was more like 8 months ago we recieved our Clearpix samples and got the quote for full masking, custom 14' 2.35:1 with full masking, you are right though that the masking was the major chunk @ around 15 K back then. It will be fun to have someone else using the same equiptment to go over some subtle details with concerning setup. We are primarily HTPC and I have this dialed in pretty fantastic and always run in econo mode. Are you a Digital Projections dealer and giving MSRP on the 5000?

Where at in Cal? I would surely like to come check it out when its done and get some buyers remorse! Maybe even bring the ole Merc HD and do some comparisons

Mr.Poindexter

02-08-06, 06:21 PM

Mark, once you see something, you will always see it. The IMX should fix that pixel issue. I have excellent vision for detail and will absolutely be able to see pixels at my seating distance.

You can always add masking later.

I am a Digital Projection dealer and that is MSRP on the Mercury 5000HD. The 5000 is actually $5000 more than the Mercury HD, although I don't think that is what the number was supposed to represent. ;)

I am in Clovis, CA which is just outside of Fresno. Maybe you can come down this fall and catch a football game between the Oregon Ducks and the Fresno State Bulldogs. Then again, you might not be able to wait that long.

I should be tweaking the system in less than 2 months.

Mark P

02-08-06, 07:13 PM

I thought you might be a dealer and I thought I might have even spoke to you months ago about Digital Projections and the ole Isco III but maybe I am mistaken.

I talked to alot of folks back then and thought one of them was you.

Since your a dealer you foiled my good info I was going to pass on to you but I am sure you already knew right after Cedia ;) Great product and they kept their promises they made way back in June.

I was starting to wonder if the Mercs were as awesome as I thought they were since very few seemed to be choosing them around these parts but seeing your list it makes me feel alot better on the choice we made. Any particular reason the Mercury was your final choice?

Mr.Poindexter

02-08-06, 11:14 PM

I was starting to wonder if the Mercs were as awesome as I thought they were since very few seemed to be choosing them around these parts but seeing your list it makes me feel alot better on the choice we made. Any particular reason the Mercury was your final choice?

Can you name a better 720p projector?

I think the reason there are not a lot of people with Mercury HD projectors is that Digital Projection is more firmly implanted in the pro-video business and not as much in home theater. It is also a relatively expensive unit even for the upper half of the AVS surfers and never was a "flavor of the month" like so many other units. Having an MSRP of $30K for a while was pretty much the biggest impediment to it being that widespread and finally there are just way too many people hung up on resolution to the point they think it is the most important feature to the point of excluding anything that is of lower resolution from any list regardless of its other virtues. Not very smart, but reality none the less.

I was thinking very hard about getting a Mercury HD, but I want to run outdoor theater as well and will eventually get another projector for the main theater. I figure I will get a 3-chip 1080p DLP and relegate this one to outdoor events where I would need additional brightness.

Mr.Poindexter

02-08-06, 11:55 PM

OK, soffit is coming along. Here is a shot of the rear soffit:
http://www.cinemawizards.com/photos/RearSoffit1.jpg

You can see on the right the wood that is being used to attach it to the ceiling. Those were easy to run, as I can hit the trusses for support. The ones going the other way on the ceiling required some extra work to get blocking that would support it. No way I was going to rely on sheetrock to hold it up, even double sheets.

There is wood at the back of the bottom. This is to attach the GOM fabric. I will have wood on the front as well, which will also give me something to grip to when I get the crown moulding put up. I will have 1" of acoustic treatments on the bottom of this soffit.

Here is the soffit in the front of the theater by the entry door:
http://www.cinemawizards.com/photos/FrontSoffit1.jpg

You can see the power and control wires for the smoke detector. We are going to have to relocate that a few feet. Note the front soffit isn't as deep as the sides and rear. The motorized draperies will attach to the rear of the front soffit and so I need it to stop a 13 inches in front of the screen, giving me 6" for the drapes and 7" for the frame of my screen (very thick for a frame, but it houses the motorized masking system).

If you notice the air vent there, we will be using the soffit as a plenum to route the air into the room and this should also help to cut down any noise that may escape from the HVAC unit.

Now you can see the other front corner:
http://www.cinemawizards.com/photos/FrontSoffit2.jpg

You can see the power romex dangling back there. That will be for powering the motorized drapes and the screen masking system. The screen masking power is on the bottom near the left of the screen, so we will have to run some romex down to there behind the screen wall.

John Stockton

02-09-06, 06:17 AM

:eek: :eek: :eek: :eek:

Mr. Poindexter, my god you are going to be the envy of all the members here ;)

A very ambitious project indeed. I cannot wait to see the finished room.

Since your project is pretty much "money no object" may I make a suggestion:

If I were you I would add 2 more screen speakers on the front stage for a total of 5, Just in case in the future we will be able to play films with 5 screen channels, just like the SDDS-8 channel or the old 70 MM films with 5 speakers behind the screen for commercial theatres.

SVonhof

02-09-06, 09:41 AM

Mr P. I see the old IRS is but a memory now, since you are totally moving on from there. Unfortunatly, I didn't make it to the meet you had since I had come down with a cold. So, now, I would love to be invited to the grand opening of your theater! Clovis is only 120 miles from me, that's not a bad drive.

So, also, I was wondering how much of the work you are doing on your own? Or are you waiting until getting past a certain point before you start doing your thing? BTW, I assume at least some of this is being written off since it's business related?

thebland

02-09-06, 09:43 AM

GreySkies

02-09-06, 11:17 AM

... PLUS the huge tax write off as a business expense and you get excellence on the cheap!
I was thinking of calling my room a foley room for tax purposes, as its adjacent to my studio space, but that might have been a stretch. :D

I didn't see it in your list, but are you still putting a bose system in for comparison?

Mr.Poindexter

02-09-06, 11:24 AM

Since your project is pretty much "money no object" may I make a suggestion:

If I were you I would add 2 more screen speakers on the front stage for a total of 5, Just in case in the future we will be able to play films with 5 screen channels, just like the SDDS-8 channel or the old 70 MM films with 5 speakers behind the screen for commercial theatres.

We'll take an old phrase and reverse it a little:

If it comes, I will build it.

I seriously doubt that we will see SDDS-8 in the home. Movies kind of needed that just for the sheer size of the screen. At 12.5' wide I don't see much need for 5 speakers to get across the room. We have had 6.1 DTS and DD/EX for several years now. How much software is released with that encoded in it?

Mr.Poindexter

02-09-06, 11:40 AM

So, also, I was wondering how much of the work you are doing on your own? Or are you waiting until getting past a certain point before you start doing your thing? BTW, I assume at least some of this is being written off since it's business related?

I am not doing any of the construction on my own. I carried the sand upstairs, filled most of the stage and seating platform and helped get the lumber upstairs with a forklift I brought over from the nut plant. Aside from that, I have been doing my thing making money and leaving the construction to guys who are faster than me. I am just a foreman now - standing around and watching people work.

I will be doing the low voltage wiring, acoustical treatments, equipment installation, calibration and final tweaking. I know the trim out will take a long time but things are moving along at a pace I can live with right now.

Yes, there is some write off, but you cannot just write things off without turning a profit and the more you write off, the more the pressure is on to turn a profit so Uncle Sam doesn't come by looking for that deduction to be paid back along with interest and penalties.

Mr.Poindexter

02-09-06, 11:52 AM

This gotta be the best economical example of how to build a no holds barred theater I have ever seen.

Take special dealer demo pricing on the equipment PLUS the huge tax write off as a business expense and you get excellence on the cheap! though the total MSRP looks big as detailed above, actual cost would be a fraction..

I'm in the wrong field.......Looks great! I think I know what business I'm getting into after retirement....:D.

I'd never care if I ever sold anything...I'd just sit in my reference theater and to heck with the customers! :)

Looks fabulous!

Well, Jeff it is great on paper, but as I mentioned above you would need to turn a profit or have one hell of a tax penalty coming back to bite your ass off.

While demo pricing sounds great, it does come with some strings attached. I have had to attend training classes, which eats into my very few vacation days. They have sales requirements, often have back stock purchase requirements, etc. I have sold one additional units of nearly every high end piece I have brought in but they are not really easy to move. Sure, everybody want a Kaleidescape but not everybody is ready to plop down that kind of cash so even though it is the best thing since sliced bread it isn't an easy sale. I get absolutely no "demo discount" on the build out of the room, acoustic treatments and such and that is a huge cost as well.

This demo room is breaking me. I had to sell off my Infinity IRS system to get the seed money to move up into the next level and that cash didn't last long. I am betting on the come and while I am confidant, watching the money go out in large sums on boring things is pretty depressing. I just spent $1500 on speaker wire - and it was generic stuff (although it used oxygen free copper). Anybody who knows me knows I don't believe in the branded wire hype, but $1500 is still a lot of cash. I am dreading having to pay nearly $2K for a BOSE system that will do nothing other than show how crappy their systems are, but again I think it will be a wise investment for me. Only time will tell.

Mr.Poindexter

02-09-06, 11:58 AM

I picked out my sconces, but they are a lot pricey - $480 each on the Internet (MSRP $600 each) so I am staring at a potential bill of $2400 for 5 of them.

If anybody knows how I could save some bucks on these it would be appreciated.

http://www.minkagroup.net/productimage.asp?productid=8744&div=163

http://www.minkagroup.net/images/12566N6512-468.jpg

larryep

02-09-06, 03:15 PM

Man this theater is going to be a large one. how many seat will it have?
Good luck with this great project.

Larryep

SVonhof

02-09-06, 03:25 PM

Larryep:
I should have stadium seating for 9 with a 150" wide screen when we are finished.

This is from the first post of this thread.... :)

SVonhof

02-09-06, 03:27 PM

Mr.P. I know how you can get your sconces cheaper. Problem is, you are not gonna like it.

Don't buy those expensive ones.

See. Told ya you wouldn't like it! :)

Sconces are a hard beast to tame. Picking the right ones is very much a personal taste issue and once you found the right ones, you kinda have to either ignore the cost or move on and look for something different.

larryep

02-09-06, 03:49 PM

thanks Scott. Sometimes I zoom to the pictures. :)

Dodgeball_Dude

02-09-06, 04:15 PM

LOL! I need to figure out how to write off a $200,000 home theater so I can build a similar setup!:D:cool:

Mr.Poindexter

02-09-06, 04:40 PM

Yeah, I understand Scott. I have through about getting the cheapest ones I can find and just living with them for a year or so until I digest this but then again it would be one of the easier items to change over after the fact.

I actually saw some sconces I liked better but they were even more money. I also saw some that I liked almost as well and they were nearly the same price, so unless I find something either much better for the same price or that I like as well for much less it is likely that these will be the ones. Of course, last minute changes in decor could alter everything.

Larry, if I went with theater style seating and lower profile surrounds, I probably could have had seating for 25 people in the room, but really how often am I going to have that many people over for anything other than an open house party? I would rather just have it much more plush and for the open house events I can have people stand in the back row and we can pull in some backjack chairs or sit on the steps, etc.

Art Sonneborn

02-09-06, 08:10 PM

Larry, if I went with theater style seating and lower profile surrounds, I probably could have had seating for 25 people in the room, but really how often am I going to have that many people over for anything other than an open house party? I would rather just have it much more plush and for the open house events I can have people stand in the back row and we can pull in some backjack chairs or sit on the steps, etc.

Makes a lot of sense Mike but if you have teenage children you might be surprised. :) Also we in the HEMI group are going to start having movie nights so some nice big groups for those. Right now mine overflows about 8 to 10 times a year. Not by itself a reason for more seats perhaps.

Art

chirpie

02-09-06, 08:49 PM

Makes a lot of sense Mike but if you have teenage children you might be surprised. :) Also we in the HEMI group are going to start having movie nights so some nice big groups for those. Right now mine overflows about 8 to 10 times a year. Not by itself a reason for more seats perhaps.

Art

Yeah, and everytime you're worried the floor is going to cave in. (just kidding art ^_^ )

Mr.Poindexter

02-09-06, 09:55 PM

audiman

02-09-06, 10:26 PM

If anybody knows how I could save some bucks on these it would be appreciated.

http://www.minkagroup.net/productimage.asp?productid=8744&div=163

http://www.minkagroup.net/images/12566N6512-468.jpg

You must be joking. You have 600k-700k worth of HW and want to save $$ on these 600$ items ? :D

Mark P

02-09-06, 11:24 PM

Well, 8-10 more seats would be 8-10 more chairs to pay for. Of course the chairs would be a lot cheaper but given the choice between 9 plush seats that just scream money vs. 20+ seats that scream sardine, I will take the ride in style and just make extra trips.

Soffits about 60% done. Photos later tonight.

Thats the course we went with, at first we were bent on going with 15 seats on the risers but soon said 9 comfortable chairs, 2 kids can sit in one with ease. It seems we are in the same mindset on alot of things.

By the way, cool sconces. Majestic even

Mr.Poindexter

02-09-06, 11:24 PM

Yes. Funny, huh? I also buy the cheapest thing on the menu when I got to McDonalds or Taco Bell. That gives me more money to spend on the things I like more.

FusionRx

02-10-06, 12:30 AM

Mr. P. gets the hardware bill: "Damn, thats 670,480 fries."

Mr.Poindexter

02-10-06, 12:46 AM

Mr. P. gets the hardware bill: "Damn, thats 670,480 fries."

How about: "Damn, that's THREE Lamborghinis!"

Mr.Poindexter

02-10-06, 01:00 AM

OK, the soffit in the back is pretty much finished:
http://www.cinemawizards.com/photos/RearSoffit2.jpg

We just need to cover the screw holes and seams. Then I paint the ceiling and soffit, apply the insulshield, cover with GOM and attach the crown moulding. All of those steps will have to wait a couple of weeks.

The front soffit, while substantially less deep from front to back, doesn't look out of place with the much larger side soffit next to it.
http://www.cinemawizards.com/photos/FrontSoffit3.jpg

While I am looking forward to getting onto the screen wall, I am a little nervous about having to hang this beast of a screen. The side panels are in these boxes here that were shipped on a pallet. The boxes are just enormous and heavy to boot. For scale, those are 4x8 sheets of plywood behind them.
http://www.cinemawizards.com/photos/ScreenBox2.jpg

The top & bottom of the screen ships in another impressive box. While not as heavy, it is an awkward box that had to be brought into the room through the windows that are now covered up. That box is well over 14' long. Total shipping weight for the screen was 460 LBS according to the bill of lading. While I didn't weigh it, my back will believe what was written.
http://www.cinemawizards.com/photos/ScreenBox1.jpg

fidalgoisland

02-10-06, 08:53 AM

You must be joking. You have 600k-700k worth of HW and want to save $$ on these 600$ items ? :D

My prediction is the average person will notice the $600 sconce long before they notice all the equipment $$$$. Guess it depends on if/who you are trying to impress.

Art Sonneborn

02-10-06, 09:03 AM

Yeah, and everytime you're worried the floor is going to cave in. (just kidding art ^_^ )

It's been said that the first statement is your " I'm now telling the truth" the second is the " well maybe since I'm an adult I should have some tact" statement. ;)

I felt a lot better at my last meet with 23 adults in there at once one time and ,trust me, a few of them were very large. :D

Mike,
I want to thank you for this thread. There are lots of reasons but seeing a world class home theater being narrated by someone like you who has a great eye and ear and will get some of the best, integrated ,is a treat at least for me. I know there are other great theaters out there but usually we all just get to guess a little about the person who owns it, how it was done etc. Additionally as you go we can enjoy the process with you.

Art

the crane

02-10-06, 09:22 AM

There really is nothing more that can be said about this build. Simply phenominal.

The only thing I can say is...

...Mr. Poindexter, are you hiring?

I have a distribution center in Corona. Once this build is finished I think I will be stopping into said facility to make sure the guys are still on their toes. You know Clovis is only 4 and a half hours away...hint, hint!

Mr.Poindexter

02-10-06, 09:24 AM

Thanks, Art. I don't have any Joneses on my street, so I am just trying to keep up with the Sonneborns. You have most certainly set the bar quite high on this forum.

I am talking to my projector supplier to see if I can get something a little special for this theater. Screen Research made a 2.35:1 XMask for me - the first one ever (and maybe still the only one) so I am going to see if I can get something extra special there as well. More on that later - they are supposed to call me today.

My prediction is the average person will notice the $600 sconce long before they notice all the equipment $$$$. Guess it depends on if/who you are trying to impress.

I really want the decor to be reflective of the equipment in there. It completes the package and experience. Gourmet meals cannot be served on paper plates. I still wonder why we don't use our China for Chinese food, though...

SVonhof

02-10-06, 11:26 AM

Gourmet meals cannot be served on paper plates. I still wonder why we don't use our China for Chinese food, though...

Deep Thoughts... ;)

Mr.Poindexter

02-10-06, 01:32 PM

Well, no luck on the projector. I was going to attempt to get one of the Mercury 5000 HDI models, the ones being shipped to India. The theater chain over there co-funded the technology for the new FTP chipset, as far as I can understand, and so they own the IP that went into it.

So, I am officially going with the Mercury 5000HD.

chirpie

02-10-06, 03:25 PM

It's been said that the first statement is your " I'm now telling the truth" the second is the " well maybe since I'm an adult I should have some tact" statement. ;)

Art

True!

Sometimes I miss my unapologetic brazen impetuous youth...

but then my hot wife comes home, we watch a movie and I think... nah. ^_^

Art Sonneborn

02-10-06, 05:39 PM

True!

Sometimes I miss my unapologetic brazen impetuous youth...

but then my hot wife comes home, we watch a movie and I think... nah. ^_^

You stud ! :)

Art

Mr.Poindexter

02-10-06, 07:02 PM

Not much in the way of compelling new photos coming along in the theater today. They are still working on the soffits and doing a little electrical work.

I do, however, have a work-in-progress shot of the renders done by Reaper. Here is a mock-up of the room with the color scheme I am planning on along with the chairs and the sconces. The soffit isn't finished in this either, which I guess is sort of ironic.
http://www.cinemawizards.com/photos/Render1.jpg

Also, work is progressing in the park next door. I wanted this specific lot so that I can have outdoor events on a 20' wide screen.

Here is what they have so far. Pretty much all the areas that have dirt will be grass, but if they are putting in trees I will not know their location until they are finished.

This is directly to the west of my house. I should be able to hit the screen here without even taking the projector out of my house if I put the projector in the baby's room.
http://www.cinemawizards.com/photos/Park1.jpg

This one is catty-corner from my house. I can hit this from the window in my daughter's room. I also happen to have a dedicated 20A circuit in her closet - what an amazing coincidence!
http://www.cinemawizards.com/photos/Park2.jpg

Joseph15

02-10-06, 09:38 PM

I have to take my hat off to you sir! This is awesome and you have not even finished! This is the first first time looking in this section of avs and I am speechless.

Mr.Poindexter

02-13-06, 12:42 AM

OK, nothing much happened in the theater this weekend, but Reaper was hard at work rendering and now I have some pictures that show a lot better what we have coming up. This is coming into the theater:
http://www.cinemawizards.com/photos/Poindexter_Pass4_0002.jpg

Even a fly on the wall in the back row will have an excellent seat:
http://www.cinemawizards.com/photos/Poindexter_Pass4_0004.jpg

Of course, I will have a much better seat:
http://www.cinemawizards.com/photos/Poindexter_Pass4_0005.jpg

We still need to put in the trim and add another seat in the back row. The designs for the snack bar area are being finalized right now and I will have only a little bit of time until I need to finalize what I will do for the entry hall.

pinkfreud55

02-13-06, 12:48 AM

Love it!!

PF

power

02-13-06, 01:31 AM

mmm, yummy. Nice work!

miltimj

02-13-06, 01:33 AM

Mike, phenomenal theater! A quick question about your screen.. I didn't see anything about the screen being curved. Is there a reason why you opted not to go that route, given the 150" width?

Mr.Poindexter

02-13-06, 02:13 AM

Milt,

I didn't go with a curved screen. I instead opted for 4 way masking so I am covered on all aspect ratios - even those like Ben Hur's 2.76:1 and also when I mask down to demo projectors that cannot fill a 150" screen like my CRT.

One major benefit of curving the screen is to give a better uniformity across the screen and eliminate hot spots and color shifting - something I don't really need to worry about with the 0.95 gain. The only reason I would want to curve the screen would be to remove any pincushion I would get from the anamorphic lens and with an ISCO III that is fairly minimal.

miltimj

02-13-06, 03:40 AM

Thanks for the explanation.. Just curious since I've seen them used very often for extra-wide screens and your theater seems like cost is a minimal factor in your decision making.

rlindo

02-13-06, 09:50 AM

ebr

02-13-06, 10:18 AM

Holy @#*@ Batman!!

Um, but I think I mis-read something. I thought I saw you were spending $33k on a screen. I mean, I understand this is a showroom, but, Oh...My...Gawd...

Mark P

02-13-06, 11:03 AM

I think over 2/3 of that is an automatic masking system that will do any aspect ratio and then some, all controlled by the projector. Mr. P will give the details but I doubt theres a better masking system anywhere

Mark P

02-13-06, 11:09 AM

Art Sonneborn

02-13-06, 12:17 PM

Mike,
Very ,very pretty. Those renderings are just unbelievable ! When you get to the point of having a meet I sure hope you will invite Angela and me. :)

Art

Mr.Poindexter

02-13-06, 12:27 PM

No doubt the actual room will be fantastic and the equipment list seems incredible. I'm very impressed. However, how in the blue hell could the seats cost that much? 8 seats and a cost of over 30 grand? Come on...do they have built in heating/cooling, shiatsu massage and fridges and their own mini LCD screens?

Heated seats, massage and mini LCD screens are not standard, but they are options. I have not seen any cooled seats - I would think the condensation lines would be a pain to deal with. Still, I am intrigued and think that would be great for summertime viewing. If you have a link to some, please post it. ;)

There is NO WAY a simple motorized recliner with cup holder should cost over 4 grand each. Sorry but that is insane when you can get similar seats for less than half that and there is no way these fortress seats offer 2 times the build quality or comfort. I wouldn't be surprised if they aren't even all that comfortable. As for the cupholders...400 bucks a piece? Are you serious? Is the wood used some exotic wood from the last 3 trees of its type in the world?

The seat is $2K retail in leather. They are $3600 in premium leather - think batting gloves. Yeah, that is plush. Add $500 for the motorized recline mechanism and you are at $4100 retail per chair. Now, if you want to debate over how much more one should charge for the premium leather, go for it, but I have sat in them and you haven't. I owned 2 Fortress chairs for a long time and prefer them over the Cinematech chairs that are so highly regarded. In fact, I think they are WAY better than the Cinematech seats.

As for the build quality, they are very well built. These are not berklines with a high price tag on them. They are certified for use with the D-BOX Odyssee motion simulators, which means they are designed to withstand the stress of multiple G-forces that would tear apart Berklines in a very short time.

As for the cup holders, that is the price of the cup holder plus the wood and the mechanism to allow it to fold back into the arm rest. They are not from exotic trees where only 3 exist in the world. Exotic woods are extra.

I mean really...I bet these seats cost basically the same to make as "lesser brands" yet bam, their price is jacked up so much simply because people have cash to toss away. I will forever see them as the MB of seats meaning good but vastly overpriced compared to the competition.

Speaking of extras, you left out the lighted side panels. I didn't opt for the motorized retractable flight control joysticks, but I might change my mind. I want to see them first. By the way, are these options even available on these "lesser brands" you refer to?

Drive a Mercedes Benz and then drive a Honda Civic and tell me they are basically the same. They are not.

As far as the pricing, you got me. I have boxes and boxes of cash sitting in that room and I have to spend it to make room for the equipment. You should have been here last week when I was just tossing it out the window. :rolleyes:

To each their own though. If you have cash to toss away and NEED 30+ thousnad dollar seating then good for you. If I had that much to spend on something simple like seating I'd go for a reasonable choice and put the extra money towards something more useful but that's just me. Or, I'd toss the money towards a struggling family and leave a nice mark/touch on their lives since I think that'd be more useful for me than knowing my ass is sitting on a 4+ grand overpriced seat. Again, to each their own.

Dude, you really have some issues with this. I would love to toss some money to a struggling family, but we moved into a nicer neighborhood and all of our neighbors are wealthy. We don't know any struggling families, but I know what it is like to struggle.

Kelly: Is it like when Daddy wanted to buy Shell Oil but said he couldn't afford it.
Woody: Yeah, it is a lot like that.

I went to the kaleidascape website and no doubt that thing looks neat but for that price I think I'd just get off my ass and get the dvd off the shelf or I'd build my own server system for probably half the cost.

I did build my own server for less than half the cost. I sold it when I upgraded to the Kaleidescape. You missed out on that deal, I guess - it was a steal. As far as getting up and getting the DVD off the shelf, I think you must have read something I didn't put in. You see, I don't have a DVD shelf or cabinet in my house. I don't have any budget for it I guess. By the way, where would that DVD be? We watch DVDs in 4 different rooms in the house right now - later that will jump up to 8. You see, the Kaleidescape system does a lot more than just load a DVD for you. You might want to look into some of the things it will do before you assume to know all that it does.

While I am capable of loading a DVD myself, I do like the fact that I can automate my system enough that a 2 year old can load her own videos up (or at least my 2 year old can - she's smart). My wife won't have to know anything about aspect ratios or anamorphic video - she will just touch the picture on the screen and the curtains will open, audio system will turn on, projector will warm up, lights will dim, the scaler will set the proper aspect ratio, the masking system will move into place and the movie will start without first forcing her to watch 15 minutes of ads for other videos we already own. When the end credits come up, the lights will raise. She will only have to hit the system off button and that's it.

I guess when people have cash burning a hole in their pocket they will throw it at expensive stuff just because they can even if it doesn't really make sense. I wonder if Bill Gates has a home theatre and if his simple power recliners with cupholders cost over 4 grand each.

Yes, Bill Gates does have a home theater, but mine will be much nicer. Not because I have more money than him, but because I care more about home theater than he does and have just enough money to do it right.

Not that it matters but I am not trying to come off as some guy who lives a very "low" lifestyle and has no concept of the luxurious lifestyle. I do as I am around that and have a pretty good lifestyle myself. I just simply can't fathom 4.5 grand power recliners and I could be worth BILLIONS and I'd still have problems understanding it.

Whatever the case, I can't wait to see pics of this room completed. Should be mind blowing.

No problem understanding that. I think it was Andrew Carnegie whose doctor told him to drink soda water to help make him well. He told him "I tell ya doc, I can't afford it!" He was one of the richest men in the world at the time.

I suppose I could get the standard leather, but I don't know for certain that it is dolphin safe or if it was made with baby seal pelts. I just feel better knowing I get my leather from safe, renewable sources like some kid's pet cow that he was forced to sell at the FFA/4-H auction to raise money for a school trip. "Sorry about your pet cow, little Timmy, but think of how soft my seats are going to be now. I'll make it up to you. You can come over for a barrbeque. We are having steak."

By the way, if you haven't had the pleasure of using a power recliner, I can understand your thinking. I thought the same thing until I used one. I will never use anything but the powered ones now. Unlike the manual recline seats that have 3 settings (closed, reclined and laying down) the power recliners have infinite settings so you can stop wherever you feel comfortable. They also raise the legs before reclining the back so you can get your feet up without changing your viewing angle.

And if it makes you feel better, I did use generic speaker wire for the job and am not buying any "upgraded" power cords. There will not be a single product from Monster cable in the room unless I put it on the Bose system as part of the comparative demo. Ironically, that is the only part of the whole process I personally feel like it is a wasted investment. :D

patrickwebb

02-13-06, 12:35 PM

As far as the pricing, you got me. I have boxes and boxes of cash sitting in that room and I have to spend it to make room for the equipment. You should have been here last week when I was just tossing it out the window.

Classic!

I was really waiting to see what your response would be and I truly was entertained, thank you.

Now, after this brief interruption, can we all go back to enjoying this great project by Mr. P????

Mr.Poindexter

02-13-06, 12:37 PM

Holy @#*@ Batman!!

Um, but I think I mis-read something. I thought I saw you were spending $33k on a screen. I mean, I understand this is a showroom, but, Oh...My...Gawd...

I think over 2/3 of that is an automatic masking system that will do any aspect ratio and then some, all controlled by the projector. Mr. P will give the details but I doubt theres a better masking system anywhere

I think the price for the masking is more than 2/3rds of the screen cost, since I only need the motor controllers for that and the IR/RS-232 interface as well.

There really isn't a better masking system in the world. It is adjustable on every axis and independantly controllable on each mask. This would allow me to mask off center should I ever need to do that. I can move the bottom mask up to slide the center of the screen up higher, which is good when using a projector that cannot light up a 150" wide screen. Remember, I am going to be bringing in lots of "other" equipment in here to test/calibrate/debug. I will also be able to take a client's entire system and put it up in my showroom without disturbing any of my existing gear - a very nice feature when you want to pre-tweak all the settings so you are not having to camp out at a client's house for more time and will allow me to work on it into the wee hours of the morning when a client might feel I need to leave and come back the next day.

Anyway, the screen masking system has extra quietening features put on it as part of the "tailor-made" option and the masking is acoustically transparent as well, which is VERY important since all of my front speakers will be behind the screen.

Mr.Poindexter

02-13-06, 12:44 PM

The seats hes talking about move precisely with the action on the screen, If your watching a car chase, you are in the car chase. Same stuff used at the major amusement parks on their rides. We checked into them as well and they are very, very cool!

I think some folks on here are looking at Mr. P 's Theater as an actual home theater, he stated its a demo room for his installer business and hes giving them every experience available on the planet. I wouldnt call what hes doing a Theater, I would call it an experience, a very amazing experience I am sure.

Actually (and shockingly) the seat price doesn't include the Odyssee motion simulators, although it does include the cost to prep them for the system and the labor to have them installed.

After owning an Odyssee for just over a year, I went to Universal Studios and Disneyland. To say that the Odyssee it the same stuff used at the major amusement parks is actaully an insult to the Odyssee system. The theme parks have great systems in regards to having a lot of displacement (i.e. long throw for large angular movement) but they do not have the finesse and their programming is not as good as the D-BOX system.

I looked at the system they use in the commercial theme parks. It is impressive but both impractical to implement in nearly any home theater (it is a bulky system and kind of loud) and they don't have the library of titles that the D-BOX does. In fact, the other system doesn't have a library of titles at all, so you can kind of see the dilemna - sort of like getting a Cray supercomputer for an HTPC, but it doesn't have a DVD player for it. All the power and none of the software makes for an expensive piece of furniture - and one that doesn't even have leather upholstry or motorized recline!

Bobbejaan

02-13-06, 12:47 PM

You tell him, Mr. P!

I feel if you can afford something and you like it, buy it. You worked your arse of for your own money, so why not spend it the way you want to. If anybody don`t like to see someone enjoy their money - STOP READING THIS THREAD - no one forces you to read this.

I also will never be able to have such a nice theater, but I am glad for Mr. P.

Can`t wait to see the final setup.

(Sorry if I just barged in, but I thought I`d get it of my chest.)

ebr

02-13-06, 12:51 PM

Mr.Poindexter

02-13-06, 01:01 PM

Bobbejaan, welcome to the thread. Yeah, I figure after working my butt off and having to endure getting my ass chewed out every so often, my rear end deserves a nice place to park itself.

SVonhof

02-13-06, 01:09 PM

SVonhof

02-13-06, 01:15 PM

Mr. P - a couple questions:
1) I understand this is a showroom and you want to show off the best that can be had. I'm just wondering what % of your client base will actually go this far? You are in CA so I'm sure there are some, but just wondered if most of your clients are this high end or if this is really the pinnacle.

I had never been to Clovis, Ca until last summer when on a long motorcycle ride with friends and we got lost on the first day (missed a turn) We came down the hill to get gas and ended up in Clovis. We rode through town (backroads) to get back to the mountains and I can say that based on the amount of really nice estate style homes as well as the high-end tract style homes, there are plenty of potential customers in the area. Since I don't know the area all that well, I don't know where all the money comes from, since I don't think there is a whole lot of industry in the area, but Mr.P may be able to clarify this. But when we were riding through the area, I was shocked at the sheer number of high-end homes.

Mark P

02-13-06, 01:27 PM

Actually (and shockingly) the seat price doesn't include the Odyssee motion simulators, although it does include the cost to prep them for the system and the labor to have them installed.

After owning an Odyssee for just over a year, I went to Universal Studios and Disneyland. To say that the Odyssee it the same stuff used at the major amusement parks is actaully an insult to the Odyssee system. The theme parks have great systems in regards to having a lot of displacement (i.e. long throw for large angular movement) but they do not have the finesse and their programming is not as good as the D-BOX system.

I looked at the system they use in the commercial theme parks. It is impressive but both impractical to implement in nearly any home theater (it is a bulky system and kind of loud) and they don't have the library of titles that the D-BOX does. In fact, the other system doesn't have a library of titles at all, so you can kind of see the dilemna - sort of like getting a Cray supercomputer for an HTPC, but it doesn't have a DVD player for it. All the power and none of the software makes for an expensive piece of furniture - and one that doesn't even have leather upholstry or motorized recline!My fault for skipping over cost figures, cost numbers in this thread gloss right through my small brain when reading in this thread because most here know your going top of the line and in my case we researched almost everything you are listing so when I see a dollar amount it just sort of exits the brain.

30k for seating in your room seems right in there too me after looking at literally hundreds of seating options, I and several friends weigh 250lbs and are 6'3" and when I plunked down into the more popular brands of theater seating I saw the salesman get wide eyed like " I hope that sucker doesn't explode in a million pieces" they also don't like when you tip the products upside down and start looking at the build quality. Like you said, the Oddessy system would tear most seating apart when you throw a heavy object in the seat.

I was just trying to explain to the poster that thinks your throwing money around what type of seating you were going to have as far as why so pricey and used amusement park rides as a description. I remembered scanning your list and seeing the Oddessy system and figured thats what he was upset about. I need to read more precisely.

We still haven't opted out on the DBOX but since we changed out seating to 3 per row instead of 4 we don't know how to make it work out right, 1 seat or 3? originally we were going to do a pair in the middle.

Back to the seating, ours were over 2K a piece and they are just nice chairs, no recliner or anything, they are big, and fabric but nothing fancy like yours so I am sure your seats are amazing, I would really like to come down sometime during the build process and watch some of the things being installed that we were sort of on the edge of getting just to get a feel for the installation and final result. Are you setting up any AVS construction tours? I promise I'll stay stay out of the way!

Mark P

02-13-06, 01:39 PM

Rob, chill man!

Mr.Poindexter showed he is the better man in taking the high road in his reply to you, actually making it fun again! Good for you Mr.P!

Now, back to the program....

No kidding, his response was graceful wasn't it?

I am confused as to what sort of theater builds we are supposed to be posting in the " Dedicated theater" forum according to the discruntled poster.

I wish this post was last year, it would have saved me hundreds and hundreds of hours of researching.

Looks like I will still learn alot by holding off on progress a little more, he appears to be moving right along

Mr.Poindexter

02-13-06, 01:48 PM

Mike,
Very ,very pretty. Those renderings are just unbelievable ! When you get to the point of having a meet I sure hope you will invite Angela and me. :)

Art

Art, you are welcome anytime, but I think waiting for the theater to be done would be prudent.

I do wonder how many people will actually come out to an open house. I don't have anywhere near the number of AVS readers you have within such close proximity.

FusionRx

02-13-06, 01:51 PM

Mr. P.: I think you'd be surprised the amount of people that would travel to your place to see a theatre of that magnitude. :)

Mr.Poindexter

02-13-06, 01:57 PM

Then I better find a way to pay for those chairs! I want the room complete - or at least have a few of them in place. The seats and the final Odyssee motion simulator system were the last things on my list to get, as they would be easiest to add on later. I either already have almost all the other equipment or it is on order. I still need chairs, one Odyssee system and then a whole lot of dough on decor.

I might have to leave my theater entry partially unfinished instead.

Or maybe I should log off AVS and go make some more money... Nah! ;)

reaper

02-13-06, 02:23 PM

Mr. P,

Is this along the lines of what we were discussing for that center table?

How does the baseboard look?

This space is really looking very cool :)

http://img117.imageshack.us/img117/1135/image19vm.th.jpg (http://img117.imageshack.us/my.php?image=image19vm.jpg)

Mr.Poindexter

02-13-06, 02:46 PM

Reaper,

Yes, that is kind of what I am looking for on the center table. It should be the same height as the arm rests for the seats. I don't want people to bump their elbows on the edge of the table - that would not be very humorous.

The arms of the seats are 24" high, so maybe the box is too tall or the chairs are too short.

Baseboard looks nice, although I would want to see how it looks in the front of the room before I commit on that.

By the way, the doors in the back open into the other rooms, not the theater. That will hide the nickel plated hinges on the other side of the door jamb.

reaper

02-13-06, 04:36 PM

Well, I am not sure I interpreted your request for the stage properly. You talked about liking it in black and you also talked about adding a wooden bull nose to the stage. You discussed that there should be blue curtains slightly showing behind the proscenium. Is this somewhat like your mental image?

http://img118.imageshack.us/img118/1371/image59vt.jpg

back to work *eek*

Mr.Poindexter

02-13-06, 07:22 PM

Yes, that is much closer. The proscenium side walls have an angle in them. It should match the angle on the side parts of the state and I was thinking of having wood between the bullnose on the stage and the floor, effectively making it wood on the front part of the stage all the way across.

There are recessed ceiling lights as well - 3 rows of 3. I don't know if those were on the floorplan I sent you - they may be on the electrical plan.

JohnTech

02-13-06, 09:37 PM

I don't mean to hijack Mike's thread, but if anyone would like to see the progress on my theater (which Mike is helping me manage) it has a lot of the same equipment that Mike's has. (Minus some of the speakers and other stuff). I just created a thread with a bunch of photos -- although my construction began several months ago:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=644460

Here's what my room will look like (at least very similar). Thanks to Reaper for creating the 3D image:

http://www.johnlife.com/display-image/rs-32622845.jpg

-John

Mr.Poindexter

02-14-06, 03:42 AM

OK, back to reality. :(

The theater is a long way from looking like Reaper's rendering.

The window for the projection booth has been added. This opening is just a few inches larger than the ISCO III. I don't currently have plans to cover this with optical glass, but it is a strong possibility that I will do so if I can hear noise coming from the projector. The hole is 8"x8" inside diameter and is dead center in the room, 18" from the ceiling to the center of the window.
http://www.cinemawizards.com/photos/Porthole2.jpg

Here you can see the 2x4 framing behind the wall. The inside of the opening has 3/4" MDF, which should give a surface that is easy enough to paint.
http://www.cinemawizards.com/photos/Porthole1.jpg

Here the proscenium column is going to be placed. You can see the shape it will be will match the shape of the stage. This will be covered with 3/4" MDF and then GOM on top of that. You can also see here how thick the top of the stage is. That is 2" solid of plywood. The black on the left is a little of the AcoustiBlock that I need to cut off. We placed that between the stage and the walls to keep the stage decoupled.
http://www.cinemawizards.com/photos/ProsceniumColumn2.jpg

Here you can see how it is positioned in relation to the soffit.
http://www.cinemawizards.com/photos/ProsceniumColumn3.jpg

And now the left one is finished. Once the right one is done and the screen wall is up, we will be ready to paint that part of the room completely black to minimize light reflection and improve contrast.
http://www.cinemawizards.com/photos/ProsceniumColumn1.jpg

reaper

02-14-06, 08:49 AM

Here is a view of the stage with wood along the bottom and the proscenium walls better following the angle of the stage. Also a view of the back of the room with the additional chair and projection lens:

http://img131.imageshack.us/img131/2737/image13tk.th.jpg (http://img131.imageshack.us/my.php?image=image13tk.jpg) http://img131.imageshack.us/img131/314/image24np.th.jpg (http://img131.imageshack.us/my.php?image=image24np.jpg)

FusionRx

02-14-06, 09:01 AM

I'm slightly confused. In your second pic, you have a projector behind the wall and then a second CRT projector on the bottom table in the middle also under the xboxes/ps2?

Am I seeing that right?

ebr

02-14-06, 09:05 AM

He's a dealer. Its a demo room.

chinadog

02-14-06, 09:11 AM

Question. Maybe its an optical illusion. On the supports for the proscenium, the framing looks relatively narrow together. How big will the opening be for for the speaker once you MDF it?

Bud

FusionRx

02-14-06, 09:13 AM

Yes, I realize that... But would a suboptimal placement of the second projector really provide an accurate comparison??

Just curious really... thats all.

Mark P

02-14-06, 09:55 AM

chinadog

02-14-06, 09:59 AM

I think his speakers go behind the screen

Ahhh, doh! Perfed screen! Thanks Mark.

Bud

Mark P

02-14-06, 10:00 AM

I still dont understand all this speaker behind the screen for optimum audio, the center of course I do but the fronts have always baffled me, no pun intended. When we were playing around inside of a 14' screen size it seemed to tighten the sound stage. I am guessing the particular speakers crossovers have alot to do with this because the fronts obviously dont sit right next to the frames and such, or do they?

Mr.Poindexter

02-14-06, 10:16 AM

Yes, I realize that... But would a suboptimal placement of the second projector really provide an accurate comparison??

Just curious really... thats all.

It is a CRT and that is a 0.95 gain screen so I am going to need to have an image size around there to get enough pop that people won't feel it is automatically inferior just due to lack of light output compared to the 3-chip DLP.

Mr.Poindexter

02-14-06, 11:38 AM

Question. Maybe its an optical illusion. On the supports for the proscenium, the framing looks relatively narrow together. How big will the opening be for for the speaker once you MDF it?

Bud

The proscenium columns are not quite right in the render yet, but as was already stated, I will be placing the speakers behind the screen and not the side columns.

At any rate, I should have the ability to get a 10" wide opening on the angled part of the proscenium column, which is wide enough for a large number of speaker models, but I think pretty much it will be for looks if I do put that two-tone fabric panel there.

kevivoe

02-14-06, 08:46 PM

Mr.Poindexter

02-14-06, 11:04 PM

Progress in the real world is so much slower than it can be on the computer.

Proscenium columns are finished except for the hole for speakers should I decide to put them in - that decision can wait. I am not certain yet if I want to run the two-tone fabric on them.

The left column:
http://www.cinemawizards.com/photos/ProsceniumColumn4.jpg

The right column:
http://www.cinemawizards.com/photos/ProsceniumColumn5.jpg
The wire in the corner near the soffit is for the smoke detector.

Tomorrow we start building the screen wall. Here is a shot of the front of the theater from the equipment room doorway. I hope to get the central vacuum system finished as well. There will be a port in the equipment room. There is already one across the hall from the entry to the theater, so between the two we should be able to get complete coverage there with a 30' hose.
http://www.cinemawizards.com/photos/ScreenWall1.jpg

Mr.Poindexter

02-14-06, 11:18 PM

Reaper's renderings with the Batman screen have got me thinking. I have always wanted a secret passage/room in my house and with the location of the door to the theater, I have been strongly considering putting a cabinet in the opening that will double as a secret door to the theater. This would go at the end of a roughly 15 foot long hallway that leads to the entry door to the theater.

http://www.hideadoor.com/images/door_renaissance1.jpg http://www.hideadoor.com/images/door_renaissance2.jpg http://www.hideadoor.com/images/door_renaissance3.jpg

I am looking into how wide I can make the door, since I lose a lot of opening depth due to the thickness of the cabinet. I think I can make it work, although I want to add weatherstripping and a threshold for acoustic purposes. I don't need a super high STC since I will have another door before I get into the theater and that door will have much better acoustic properties.

If I go this route, I think I will skip the ticket booth and marquees - or at the very least put the decor of the hallway on hold.

ebr

02-14-06, 11:36 PM

Too Cool!

But, why don't you make the "secret" door, the ticket booth...? That picture you just showed kinda looks like a ticket booth - make the mirror class with a curtain behind it...

Just a thought.

Mr.Poindexter

02-14-06, 11:57 PM

Problem with that is where it would go - in the hallway near the master bedroom and my wife doesn't want to walk past a ticket booth or theater marquee every day. That cabinet would look good there though and the mirror would be nice.

tannerjr

02-15-06, 12:29 AM

u know, I'm really enjoyin' this thread too! Thx for posting all your progress!

I was wondering - do you require an additional power transformer outside your home? I do not know how taboo aud.io.gon is to mention on here, but I saw a guys sytem on there that actually required a 26kva line transformer for his 12+ krell amps 200s, 300s and 600s. It's like the only other system I've seen that even aproaches yours/or your previous one :)

Mr.Poindexter

02-15-06, 01:39 AM

26kVa?!?! DAMN!

I have one 5kVa transformer right now and I need a second one. 10kVa is enough for my whole system right now, as I won't be running the multiple audio systems at the same time.

My room is wired to be able to run two seperate balanced power systems. I could actually demo Richard Gray's against Equi=Tech both coming off of 240V simultaneously, but that is a very hard thing to A/B due to needing to power down to switch. Besides, there isn't enough balanced power demand in this market to warrant two brands.

I would say that 26kVa certainly surpasses any system I have ever had or likely will have in terms of total power consumption, which by the way is not the object of the game - just an unfortunate requirement.

Mark P

02-15-06, 02:39 AM

The door looks very good

ebr

02-15-06, 09:09 AM

snatch

02-15-06, 11:28 AM

Art, you are welcome anytime, but I think waiting for the theater to be done would be prudent.

I do wonder how many people will actually come out to an open house. I don't have anywhere near the number of AVS readers you have within such close proximity.

Mr P, I just happened to stumble on to this thread and all I can say is wow! I would surely come to an open house with my wife if you would have me. I live right here in NW Fresno (West and Herndon) and would have no trouble. Awesome project you have!

BTW, I don't remember who mentioned it, but yes, Clovis and many areas in Fresno are filled with 'high end homes'. Perhaps because real estate *used* to be cheap...

Mr.Poindexter

02-15-06, 12:32 PM

I will have an open house when the theater is finished and anybody and everybody will be invited. I will actually have several open house events, but I will try and have one just for the hard core A/V guys from AVS Forum and other such people I have come across. I will try and do that one first so if anybody can't make it they can come to another without feeling like they are imposing.

Mr.Poindexter

02-15-06, 12:38 PM

I live right here in NW Fresno (West and Herndon) and would have no trouble. Awesome project you have!

BTW, I don't remember who mentioned it, but yes, Clovis and many areas in Fresno are filled with 'high end homes'. Perhaps because real estate *used* to be cheap...

I did a system right around the corner from you, same nearest cross streets, actually - although it was a media room + distributed audio system.

Lots of "high end homes" over there, too.

Mr.Poindexter

02-15-06, 11:38 PM

This will probably be my last update for the next 5 days. I am getting a little vacation time. Luckily, my guys are not getting a vacation and so I hope to see some good progress when I get back.

The screen wall is up although we need to put the top plate on it before it is totally locked into place.

http://www.cinemawizards.com/photos/ScreenWall2.jpg

The wood going from the screen wall to the proscenium column is temporary and will be removed when they get the screen wall nailed into place tomorrow. The gap between the columns and the screen wall are big enough for me to get in through. There will be curtains that cover this gap.

The opening goes up to above the soffit, but the screen will recess mount into it and the screen frame is 7.8" thick so the screen will not start until about 4" below the bottom of the soffit. The frame is 7" deep as well, so it will still have 2.5" protruding from the GOM facing of the screen wall.

For scale, the opening is 166.1" wide and 80" tall. The finished visible screen size will be 150" wide and 63.9" tall. That will give a 163.1" diagonal.

theirishgonzo

02-16-06, 12:48 AM

i have a few questons.
is your room a good dimenton? no nulls or peaks?

i am looking to buld a new house a ranch style but that has a sweet layout and design that is 3500 sq ft and will have a full 10 ft basement. and i want 3 sectons storage/work shop game room and theater now i have a nice theater equipment. alot of nice stuff and some hand made speakers.

i am a a.i.a. and i have a value planing company.

ps dont forget the post mix pop dispencer and popcorn machine. i have a cornelous 6 head with surflo pumps a mcanne big mack carbonator 20lb co2 and a 7 pass chiller mounted in a mini fridge<--- best idea i have ever thought of.

Mr.Poindexter

02-16-06, 02:47 AM

i have a few questons.
is your room a good dimenton? no nulls or peaks?

ps dont forget the post mix pop dispencer and popcorn machine. i have a cornelous 6 head with surflo pumps a mcanne big mack carbonator 20lb co2 and a 7 pass chiller mounted in a mini fridge<--- best idea i have ever thought of.

My room has good dimensions, however it is worth noting that there isn't a rectangular room that doesn't have peaks and nulls. Take the speed of sound in feet per second at your elevation and deisred room temperature and divide that by the length of the room. That number will be a frequency that will produce a full standing wave, (along with any multiple of that frequency, 2x, 3x, 4x, etc) and for that frequency if you stand in the middle of the room you will be in a null. At double the frequency you will have 3 nulls at 25%, 50% and 75% across the room on that length. You will even have a standing wave at half that frequency, but there will not be a null (actually you will have one at the wall, but nobody listens with their ear to the wall). Peaks will follow the same math. This is why all rooms need some form of sound treatment.

Rather than go with a soda dispenser, I am putting in a refrigerator with a glass door - this one here:
http://www.magicchef-ewave.com/images/products/MCBC580DBTlarge.jpg

And this popcorn maker (without the cart - I will get it for outdoor use but not lug it upstairs to take up room in the theater):
http://www.snappypopcorn.com/images/t8oz_both.gif

I will have a candy counter as well with the refrigerator built into it and the popcorn machine on top. I don't want to have to run plumbing for the drainage line I would need with a fountain drink dispenser. Besides, I can offer a greater selection this way. I could have as many as 36 different brands/flavors of soda with each one having a spot on display. I won't have that many, but I will have more than 6: Coke, Pepsi, Sprite, 7-Up, Dr. Pepper, Barq's, A&W - diet and regular of each is 14 options, plus I will have a few beers in there as well.

Stallion[DuClaw]

02-16-06, 09:24 AM

Mr.Poindexter

02-17-06, 10:41 AM

I sent off an email to the door maker to find out some specifics on the door. I want to make sure I still have a decent sized opening, since it becomes an incredibly thick door when you add shelves to the door.

Dennis Erskine

02-17-06, 01:00 PM

Mike:

We've used doors like that in the past. The "cool" factor is pretty high.

I'd advise some caution however. Typically the back sides of these doors are pretty thin and need some beefing up (here comes a green glue suggestion). As well, the cabinets move....frequently...and you don't want your Ming vases on the shelves and do use some caution about rattles.

the crane

02-17-06, 03:16 PM

If you are doing a batman secret door you need this...

http://shop.store.yahoo.com/wickedcoolstuff/shrecobujpr.html

mmmkam

02-17-06, 08:26 PM

Here is a link to another door company that you may have already seen... http://www.hiddendoors.com/

I was looking at them to see if I could do something similar, but I didn't end up having enough room to do what I wanted. I was also looking into the batman shakespear bust at the time and you can find them for around $200.

I picked up that exact same beverage center for my bar also. I stumbled onto it in home depot one day. The price was ridiculously cheap compared to anything else I could find and the guy told me that it was just a special shipment that they got in and not something that they were going to stock on a normal basis.

The room is looking great by the way!

SightSeeker1

02-18-06, 03:07 PM

Might as well one up it and put in a hidden keypad that opens the door on a motor.

Oh by the way will you send me some seeds to the money tree please.

Thanks

Rob_McArthur

02-19-06, 06:23 PM

I am making my own hidden door to my Lobby. Because of limitations in the size of the room and ease of automation I installed a solid core pocket door into a 6" wall. The 6" wall gives me room for the automation such as motors etc. On the outside of the door is my gym and to hide the door I will be mounting a full size mirror to it and surrounding it with a frame. It will just look like a large full size framed mirror until you punch in the correct code on the hidden keypad and then it will open.

Mr.Poindexter

02-19-06, 10:37 PM

Dennis, I thought about that, but this isn't the acoustic door to the theater - it is the door that opens into the hallway. Still, I want to beef it up a bit anyway and I will make sure it has nothing that will rattle on it or anything that will fall over and break.

Mr.Poindexter

02-19-06, 10:38 PM

If you are doing a batman secret door you need this...

http://shop.store.yahoo.com/wickedcoolstuff/shrecobujpr.html

Oh, now THAT is cool. Truly wicked cool stuff. I will have to see if I can work soemthing like that in.

Mr.Poindexter

02-19-06, 10:46 PM

Mike,

That is the exact door company I am going to use. Yes, I am going to install a door like that as long as I can get it to work in my installation. I think it will be just fine, as I have a decent width hallway.

I am now going to have to see about getting the Shakespear bust wired into that. It might be a little tricky, since I won't have a nice place to put it near the door and I don't want to have it on the door itself since the shelves will be somewhat shallow.

Yeah, that fridge is a great deal.

Mr.Poindexter

02-19-06, 10:47 PM

Oh by the way will you send me some seeds to the money tree please.

Sorry, but they only grow in California and Florida - must be something about the weather. ;)

Art Sonneborn

02-20-06, 02:26 PM

Mark P

02-20-06, 02:34 PM

Sorry, but they only grow in California and Florida - must be something about the weather. ;)Would you think that some grow lights would work in a place like East Leroy Michigan?

Mr.Poindexter

02-20-06, 02:44 PM

You guys grow a different kind of "money tree" up there in Oregon.

Mark P

02-20-06, 05:05 PM

Yeah and when they catch fire everybody feels a little slow and hungry. And wait a minute here, I think your thinking about Northern California. Look who your govenor is, I would say most of your state was sampling Oregon Money tree on election day

And actually I had to rib Art a little since hes possibly a Wolverine or a Spartan, and Im a Native Cornhusker

Mr.Poindexter

02-20-06, 06:18 PM

Time for another update. I was on vacation in Vegas for a few days and neither my wife or I lost any money. Life was good. Blue Man Group was even better. But, how would things be when I got home?

Well, to correct the accusation that my stellar equipment and well thought out room was going to look boring, we instituted a couple of changes. The front soffit was corved to match the curve of the stage:
http://www.cinemawizards.com/photos/NewFrontSoffit.jpg

It didn't photograph that well from here, but it looks very good. I will try and get a better angled shot in a later photo but my batteries died before I could get a new shot.

Here is a mock-up of the new step treads:
http://www.cinemawizards.com/photos/NewStep.jpg

The top of the seating platform will have a similar shape and you can see the outline on the tread near the back. It will be directly over the second line (the one that gives the largest space for the lower tread). There will be seats within 2 inches of the end of the step.

One of the columns for the subwoofers in the rear corners was finished:
http://www.cinemawizards.com/photos/SubColumn.jpg

Unfortunately, it wasn't made with enough clearance to put it in once the carpet is in and the sound treatments are up, so it will have to be made about 2" shorter - we will figure out the exact amount once I get word back from my carpet man on how thick the carpet will be.

It is a beast, but that is as small as an enclosure I could get to house one of the two rear subs that will bring my surrounds to full range. They will also be part of the more complex LFE system in the room. I will be set up to run either distributed LFE subs or Left/Right/LFE subs. I won't choose the system I want to run until I have played with each of them for a little while.

Finally, the projector window in the back was enlarged a little bit. I had it moved up to within 1" of the bottom of the soffit (when finished) and then increased the
aperature to 12" square, which will give enough room to set any anamorphic lens I want on the shelf for very easy comparison tests.
http://www.cinemawizards.com/photos/NewPorthole.jpg

Mr.Poindexter

02-20-06, 06:30 PM

Speaking of the ISCO III, I took a couple of photos of it.

First off, this lens is BIG. I put a soda can next to it to give you an idea of how large this beast is.
http://www.cinemawizards.com/photos/IscoIIIScale.jpg

The case on the left comes with the lens to prevent it from being damaged in shipping or to store it if you are taking your equipment on the road. The stand does not fit in the case and doesn't have its own case so I guess it has to fend for itself.

Here it is next to the ISCO II. It is easy to see how much bigger this lens is here.
http://www.cinemawizards.com/photos/IscoFronts.jpg

You will notice the silver inside the lens on the ISCO II - that ins't a glitch of photography - there is actually an area inside that isn't anodized black. I would think this has been fixed on later models of the ISCO II, but I haven't brought a new one in recently to check.

Now here is a shot of the back. They look closer in size since you are seeing mostly the mount, but look at how much bigger the opening is on the ISCO III for the entry signal. This will allow for shorter throw projectors to use it, or better yet, allow for longer throw projectors to have little pincushion, a form of geometric distortion.
http://www.cinemawizards.com/photos/IscoRears.jpg

Mark P

02-20-06, 08:36 PM

I dont know Mike looks awful similar to what I did with the steps coming down off the riser and I still look at it like " Hmmmm, I wonder if I like this?" not a good thought six months later.

I think you may see what I am talking about after you're done. I think the only way to fix it is to widen the step so that its not the same as the riser, a little fatter at the wall on the step

Art Sonneborn

02-20-06, 08:37 PM

And actually I had to rib Art a little since hes possibly a Wolverine or a Spartan, and Im a Native Cornhusker

Michigan alum Mark. :)

Art

Mr.Poindexter

02-20-06, 08:43 PM

I ordered my sconces today. I want to give a big thanks to Rob, (user ID: RedArt) who turned me on to Bellacor. They were a little cheaper than my supplier, but they gave 6% back on ebates. Free shipping and no tax is a big bonus. Final price - $412, which is a big drop from $600 MSRP.

Mr.Poindexter

02-20-06, 08:44 PM

Mark P

02-20-06, 08:47 PM

Kinda figured you had some " Go Blue" in ya, Hopefully next year we can hook up in a BCS, I doubt it would be much more exciting. Both programs dont belong slugging it out in Texas before New Years

Mark P

02-20-06, 08:54 PM

I might try a stained wood bullnose on the step to match the one I want to put on the stage. I would hope that gives it a little more pop as well.
Yeah , still tossing around doing the last 6" in a nice wood like a picture frame on each level and step of riser but those long curves really make me consider laziness, one little oops with a router and woodfiller doesnt work.

You might like the look when its done, for me its one of the main things that catch my eye frequently and I am not sure if its a good thing or bad.

reaper

02-21-06, 12:17 PM

Mr. P,

Did you get the second delivery I sent yesterday? I tweaked many of the items you mentioned based on the previous delivery but was hoping to see some direction on the soffits or curve above the stage in the thread or in a response. Just wanted to make sure you got it since I sent it from a different e-mail address. For those of you interested, here are the latest images:

http://img505.imageshack.us/img505/7055/poindexterpass1000014ho.th.jpg (http://img505.imageshack.us/my.php?image=poindexterpass1000014ho.jpg) http://img110.imageshack.us/img110/5920/poindexterpass1000023mu.th.jpg (http://img110.imageshack.us/my.php?image=poindexterpass1000023mu.jpg) http://img372.imageshack.us/img372/1566/poindexterpass1000030ya.th.jpg (http://img372.imageshack.us/my.php?image=poindexterpass1000030ya.jpg)

http://img52.imageshack.us/img52/252/poindexterpass1000041ra.th.jpg (http://img52.imageshack.us/my.php?image=poindexterpass1000041ra.jpg) http://img124.imageshack.us/img124/2268/poindexterpass1000057mn.th.jpg (http://img124.imageshack.us/my.php?image=poindexterpass1000057mn.jpg) http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/8346/poindexterpass1000064ss.th.jpg (http://img90.imageshack.us/my.php?image=poindexterpass1000064ss.jpg)

http://img491.imageshack.us/img491/4504/poindexterpass1000077dc.th.jpg (http://img491.imageshack.us/my.php?image=poindexterpass1000077dc.jpg) http://img455.imageshack.us/img455/9853/poindexterpass1000099yn.th.jpg (http://img455.imageshack.us/my.php?image=poindexterpass1000099yn.jpg) http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/3687/poindexterpass1000108kj.th.jpg (http://img228.imageshack.us/my.php?image=poindexterpass1000108kj.jpg)

reap

Mr.Poindexter

02-21-06, 12:26 PM

Yes, I got the second delivery yesterday. I will have some better photos for you tonight when I get home, but it will be late. My daughter wants to go to the mall and ride the carousel. Last time we went she didn't want to leave and we rode until the mall closed. I think it will be deja vu all over again.

I have a couple of things I want to look at - I will email you.

Mr.Poindexter

02-21-06, 03:27 PM

Yeah , still tossing around doing the last 6" in a nice wood like a picture frame on each level and step of riser but those long curves really make me consider laziness, one little oops with a router and woodfiller doesnt work.

You might like the look when its done, for me its one of the main things that catch my eye frequently and I am not sure if its a good thing or bad.

I think that it will be a good thing. I want to see it done right now, but I have to wait a little while longer still. I don't think I will do 6" of the tread with a wood trim though. That would leave about 5" for carpet and I think that would be silly. I am figuring on either 1" of wood not including the curved portion or having the entire tread wood and am leaning on 1" of wood with carpet on the tread - similar to what I want on the stage.

donb1948

02-21-06, 03:56 PM

WOW! :eek:

(The preceding comment is not intended to confer, convey or elicit either pertinent or useful information concerning “Dedicated Theater Design & Construction.” It sole self-serving, sophomoric raison d’être is to slyly establish the credentials of the author as one of the “hard core A/V guys from AVS Forum” and thus snag an invitation to the first open house. ;) )

SVonhof

02-21-06, 04:32 PM

Don, Michigan is a long way from Clovis, Ca!
In fact, about 2500 miles away!

Mr.Poindexter

02-21-06, 04:53 PM

Maybe he can try and tag along with Art and the Mrs. posing as their child for a free flight or at least a companion fare.

Mr.Poindexter

02-21-06, 05:13 PM

Actually, I suppose I should start thinking about the open house for the new theater. Here is how things are looking:

My projector is about 6 weeks out. Equipment racks are on order - all other gear is already here except the popcorn machine, IMX lens, one set of D-BOX Odyssee Extreme motion simulator actuators and my seats. I still have to order my secret door and it is 4-6 weeks lead time, plus a couple of days to modify, sound treat, paint and install. Unfortunately, I don't think I can order my seats yet and they really will tie the room together. The lead time is 8 weeks, so unless I commit today on them, I won't have them in 8 weeks.

I am fairly confidant that I can have the rest of the theater finished in 6 weeks, or at the very least be able to run by then with just a little bit of trim work needing to be finished. I would like perhaps 2 weeks to let things get broken in and calibrate/tweak all the gear. It should take about that long to get the Crestron guy out here to program the control system and have it all debugged. That will also give me a little time for a few trips I need to make.

The popcorn machine isn't critical and either it can wait or I can get it at the last minute. I am kind of leaving that out there for my wife to get me for my birthday since I am kind of hard to shop for.

Should I plan on the open house date now and just figure that I will probably not have my seats in yet, or should I wait until it is absolutely ready to rock and roll and totally finished & polished? I figure if I push out 8 weeks, I will be at the end of April, so perhaps an open house around there or maybe the beginning of May. My wife is due with our second child at the end of May and I don't want to cut it too close to that time either before or after the party.

Mark P

02-21-06, 05:17 PM

I think those that asked first should get choice of seating ( not that theres going to be a bad seat) This puts Art and I in pretty decent shape to be slurping on a pop and dripping sticky nachos and popcorn all over those sweet leather chairs.

We just want to help you break it in properly Mike and my vote goes strong towards anytime before May or...... if theres toobe more than one, sometime after July and before October, I dont ask for much

donb1948

02-21-06, 06:33 PM

In fact, about 2500 miles away!

Mr. Poindexter is part business and part (perchance, a really big part) hobby. I’m ALL hobby. To wit, paraphrasing Ms. Turner, What’s “miles” got to do with it..?

BTW, I’d calculated 2,464.66 miles from the end of my drive way to Bobby Salazar’s Mexican Restaurants & Taqueria on Clovis Ave. OTOH, what’re a few miles between friends.

Mr.Poindexter

02-21-06, 06:45 PM

Mark, you are welcome any time, but right now all I would do is put you to work. At any rate, I am fairly certain I would have to have more than one. I would like one really big one just to get as many people together as possible since that makes for fun events. I am thinking maybe an all day event with multiple theater seatings similar to how Art has handled his meets. Unfortunately my daughter will not be able to act as an usher - she is 2 and will insist that we only watch Elmo's World or Dora The Explorer.

Mr.Poindexter

02-21-06, 07:17 PM

don, that is around 3-5 miles or so from my house. I cannot use a map program as none of them have my housing development on them.

I suppose I should have a door prize for the farthest distance travelled.

SVonhof

02-21-06, 08:15 PM

I don't really care when the meet is, as long as I know in advance, so I can plan my golf around it. I am not addicted. I am not addicted. I am not addicted. If I say it three times, it's true, right? :)

Nah, I say have the party when you are good and ready for it and people will come. Heck, I am only 120 miles to the Taqueria, I could come help out on a weekend if needed. Sure am glad all the sand is upstairs already! Seriously, if you need help on a weekend, or maybe even a Friday, let me know and I will see what I can do. I have every-other-Friday off (this one coming up is my off Friday, but I need to replace the rotors on the car this weekend).

Mr.Poindexter

02-22-06, 02:12 AM

OK, steps are finished. Tell me what you think:
http://www.cinemawizards.com/photos/LeftSteps.jpg http://www.cinemawizards.com/photos/RightSteps.jpg

This is a better shot of the front soffit showing the curve that matches the stage:
http://www.cinemawizards.com/photos/ProsceniumSoffit.jpg

mmmkam

02-22-06, 09:39 AM

Not bad. Can you post a full shot showing the entire stage with the new steps.

Frank D

02-22-06, 11:13 AM

Your theatre is coming along excellently!

What is the white stuff on your steps edges and what is its purpose?

Art Sonneborn

02-22-06, 11:34 AM

Mr.Poindexter

02-22-06, 11:53 AM

Mike, I will try and get a photo of the whole seating platform, but I don't think I can do it. My camera doesn't have that wide angle capability. To get the whole front stage I have to back myself into the equipment room.

The white material was joint compound. I asked my guys about it and they said it was just to fill in the cracks. I don't think it is necessary since we will be carpeting over it, but it doesn't really matter either way.

Today the room is being cleaned again. Lots of sawdust on the floor. Then, the columns will be built. This weekend I will be running all the speaker wire, single ended and balanced interconnects for the speakers and subs, RS-232 and relays control wires for the screen masking system, drapes and projection booth ventilation system, Crestron wiring and motion simulator control wiring. I will hold off on the audio/video wires going to the equipment in the front console until that unit is built and ready to install.

I will have to see what I can do about getting some ushers locally. I don't know what my wife would say about me hiring a couple of "booth babes" for a home theater meet but if I did that, I would have to look at what kinds of uniforms I would be using. ;)

chirpie

02-22-06, 12:10 PM

I don't know what my wife would say about me hiring a couple of "booth babes" for a home theater meet but if I did that, I would have to look at what kinds of uniforms I would be using. ;)

Aww man, they'll be wearing something?! I'm disappointed already...

Mr.Poindexter

02-22-06, 12:27 PM

Even if it is something like one of these:
http://www.clicket.com/images/16541.jpg
http://www.clicket.com/images/uw28042.jpg

Keeping with the Batman theme:
http://www.clicket.com/images/56019.jpg

You gotta have somebody serving drinks!
http://www.clicket.com/images/56100.jpg

Working the candy counter:
http://www.clicket.com/images/15918.jpg

No smoking in the lobby, but why not have a cigarette girl?
http://www.clicket.com/images/ch1806.jpg

Cleanup after the party:
http://www.threewisheslingerie.com/images/sexyfrenchmaid.JPG

Sometimes you don't even need an explanation:
http://www.clicket.com/images/15520.jpg

Mr.Poindexter

02-22-06, 12:35 PM

Seriously though, I tried to find actual theater ushers uniforms and haven't seen any yet. The latest ones that Art's wife made are stellar, much better than I have seen at any theater. Unfortunately I do not see anywhere online that I could buy something even remotely similar. The ones above are nice to glance at, but a little too hoochie for an event although the French Maid could clean as long as she wanted. I wouldn't help, as she would finish sooner, but I would supervise.

Any idea on where I could find some great theater uniforms that don't make the ushers look like bellhops?

Art Sonneborn

02-22-06, 02:01 PM

Mike,
Let me know what the ushers will be this will determine if I want to bring Angela or not. :D

I didn't say that, I didn't say that. :D :D

Art

thebland

02-22-06, 02:11 PM

How about if I call one of my bunny girlfriends for a job??

http://www.winglake.com/images/components_current/party2.JPG

Mr.Poindexter

02-22-06, 02:16 PM

Just one?! Bring them all. I will only have 9 seats, but I am sure there will be guys willing to share their chair.

Stallion[DuClaw]

02-22-06, 03:13 PM

OK, steps are finished. Tell me what you think:
http://www.cinemawizards.com/photos/LeftSteps.jpg

Have you considered taking the bottom step and continuing with the curve instead of squaring it off? It would continue curving back to the platform and would only extend maybe a foot further. Just a thought.

Mr.Poindexter

02-22-06, 04:04 PM

']Have you considered taking the bottom step and continuing with the curve instead of squaring it off? It would continue curving back to the platform and would only extend maybe a foot further. Just a thought.

Yes, I did consider that, but I don't have room to do it. I will have seats starting there. I have 22' of width to work with. I lose nearly 2" to the double sheetrock and green glue. Each set of steps is 4' wide, leaving me with 13' 10" left. My front row seats will be 5' 2" wide and I will have a console in the center spot taking up about 36." I will need a few inches between the seats and the console and the steps to allow for the motion so that nothing rubs.

I agree it would look a little nicer, but that part of the step is going to be mostly hidden by the seats anyway.

Stallion[DuClaw]

02-22-06, 04:21 PM

I agree it would look a little nicer, but that part of the step is going to be mostly hidden by the seats anyway.

If thats the case, it should look just fine.

You know, this thread is becoming very much like an interactive version of a reality TV show. We get to see something being built day by day, and better yet, we get to talk to the guy doing it. Very cool.

Mr.Poindexter

02-22-06, 05:14 PM

Hell's Theater? Survivor - Audio/Video room?

I think maybe Extreme Makeover: Home Theater Edition. Unfortunately I don't have a tear jerker of a story from a life that sounds like the inspiration for a half dozen country & western and blues songs.

I am getting my seat order together. I will very possibly have motorized retractable flightsticks on one of the seats! How cool will that be? Every time I think about that, I think I should have themed the room as the bridge for some sort of starship.

Mr.Tim

02-22-06, 05:22 PM

I have 22' of width to work with. I lose nearly 2" to the double sheetrock and green glue.

You're killing me :D

hehe all kidding aside, the theater looks great. Thanks for all the great pics & information.

Tim

greighn

02-22-06, 05:48 PM

Art Sonneborn

02-22-06, 07:20 PM

How about if I call one of my bunny girlfriends for a job??

http://www.winglake.com/images/components_current/party2.JPG

Those are nice ! :D

Art

Art Sonneborn

02-22-06, 09:31 PM

Mike,
Where did you say you got your screen and masking system ?

Art

Mr.Poindexter

02-22-06, 11:14 PM

Hey, watch it! This forum's not big enough for two starship bridges!! :)

-Gary.

Oh come on now, we can have a 1701-D to go along with your 1701-A, can't we?

I lost the link I had to your theater. Good to see it again. I was just on the 1701-D bridge less than a week ago, although they wouldn't let me take any pictures. It looks very different in real life vs. on TV - the perspectives all change and there isn't as much room between the communications and weapons stations as one would think from the show just by the way the shots are framed.

Mr.Poindexter

02-22-06, 11:26 PM

Art, it is a 150" wide Screen Research 2.35:1 screen with their X-Mask Supreme Ultimate, which is a 4-way masking system that is independantly adjustable on each panel so I can run anything from 3.13:1 down to 1.33:1. The reason for 3.13:1 isn't that I will use that, but I wanted to be able to take a 1.33:1 screen and mask that down to 16x9.

Since it is independant on all 4 panels, I can also mask just the bottom and sides to mask for a projector that cannot fill the screen due to lumen limitations.

Art Sonneborn

02-23-06, 10:13 AM

Very very cool. I'm looking ahead. Right now I'm very comfortable without masking with the PJ technology I'm using but down the road I will likely require it. Thanks!

Art

Mr.Poindexter

02-23-06, 11:50 AM

Well, you should be able to see it in action soon should you want to make a trek to sunny California.

Allen

02-23-06, 06:34 PM

And it is sunny today in the Carmel area. Cloudless sky, about 66F, but I digress. :cool:

Allen

P.S. I am here on business. Business is good.

Art Sonneborn

02-23-06, 09:51 PM

Well, you should be able to see it in action soon should you want to make a trek to sunny California.
Mike,
Let me know when you open for business, I will bring a drool bag I promise ! :D

Art

Mr.Poindexter

02-25-06, 01:19 AM

And it is sunny today in the Carmel area. Cloudless sky, about 66F, but I digress. :cool:

Allen

P.S. I am here on business. Business is good.

Funny you should mention it. I was in Carmel on business yesterday as well. VERY nice weather.

Mr. Welsh

02-28-06, 01:34 PM

While we're waiting for the next update, what are your plans for the distributed whole house audio system?

Mr.Poindexter

02-28-06, 03:07 PM

Wow, it has been a while since my last update. I will upload some pictures after lunch.

Whole house audio? Originally the plan was for Russound with the CAV6.6, ST2-XM and SMS3, but now I would like to see about putting some Crestron throughout the house. Still, that will have to wait.

I would like to get the audio from the Kaleidescape sent through the distribution system but major rooms are going to have their own dedicated system anyway.

I think that once the rack is in place and equipment is loaded into it, I will start mounting the whole house audio speaker systems and get them running. Then it will be off to do the back yard and set up the 20' wide outdoor theater screen.

But first, Wendy's. Gotta get a frosty!

Opiate

02-28-06, 11:50 PM

Surely, with your infinite amounts of wealth, you could afford to send your private jet 'down under', to provide me a means of inspecting your ushers... uhhh... I mean.. "home" theatre? ;)

Mr.Poindexter

02-28-06, 11:51 PM

OK, columns are taking longer than expected. This is because the shape follows the complex shape of the Genesis speakers. While the back subwoofer columns are pretty boxy, I am starting to be happy that I didn't try and follow the complex shape of the rear subs, as they would be really hard to match.

You can see how large they are here and also how much they look like the beginnings of a sarcophagus.
http://www.cinemawizards.com/photos/Coffin1.jpg

Here you can see how they look in back:
http://www.cinemawizards.com/photos/ColumnBack.jpg

We will add some additional bracing in the back, as I made the decision to mount the surorund speakers to the columns rather than the wall. This gives me a lot more control and ease in setting the speakers in just the right place while at the same time allowing for some better bracing in the columns.

Here are all the columns on one wall. You can see the electrical outlets on the bottom at the back side of each column. There will be a plate near that with the speaker connectors for temporary set-ups to test, evaluate, review and/or compare speakers.
http://www.cinemawizards.com/photos/WallColumns.jpg

Mr.Poindexter

02-28-06, 11:56 PM

The front steps are finished here. (Actually they need a small piece of plywood to thicken up the lip to 2" on the transition to the platform) There is a small curve that takes the step back into the seating platform without a hard corner on the top step.
http://www.cinemawizards.com/photos/FrontStepFinal.jpg

Now we are looking at what we want to do to the steps back into the equipment room and the bathroom. The black is just roofing felt stapled in place to get a feel of how they would look.
http://www.cinemawizards.com/photos/RearStepIdeas.jpg

I didn't want to have the back of the room transition to a cubist look while the front of the room was curved on the steps. Tell me what you think about these steps in the back.

Mr.Poindexter

03-01-06, 12:06 AM

Now the seating platform has been cleaned off. We will start working on getting the seating platform finished up once we put the last column up. We need to put some access panels in there and then shim up the system so that it is flush with the floor. I also need to have a power plug on the surface for the seats.

Sadly, it is looking like I am going to have to pass on the motorized retractable flight controls. They were going to be in my primary seat, but I was going to have to lose my cupholders to have them. Unless we can figure out a way to get the tilt out cupholders, flight controls and the motors to engage and retract them all in the armrest I will have to skip on them.

http://www.cinemawizards.com/photos/Platform.jpg

Here I have the wiring in the front of the theater. The left channel is finished and the center is half way done. I am waiting on one more spool of wire so I can run all the cables at once. Once the speaker cables are run, I will tighten them up and cut the excess from the zip ties. They will then be painted black along with the rest of the screen cavity prior to putting up the insulshield.

http://www.cinemawizards.com/photos/FrontWiring1.jpg

And the first two sconces came in. I opened one up to see how they would look. Sorry, but I couldn't hold the sconce up and take a photo at the same time. I did convince my wife to snap a shot of me holding one for scale.

http://www.cinemawizards.com/photos/Sconce1.jpg

Mr.Poindexter

03-01-06, 12:08 AM

Surely, with your infinite amounts of wealth, you could afford to send your private jet 'down under', to provide me a means of inspecting your ushers... uhhh... I mean.. "home" theatre? ;)

You know, I would except that my jet is booked on a trip to Europe to pick up the Swedish Bikini Team. :D

Opiate

03-01-06, 12:13 AM

You know, I would except that my jet is booked on a trip to Europe to pick up the Swedish Bikini Team. :D

So you've decided on who to use for your ushers then?
Nice choice - they come with a uniform, too! :cool:

Mr.Poindexter

03-01-06, 12:20 AM

Oh, they aren't the ushers. Those are just some of the guests. I heard they have some great projectors that I would want to see up close. I am going to check them for color uniformity.

ronnie_jackson

03-01-06, 12:21 AM

And the first two sconces came in. I opened one up to see how they would look. Sorry, but I couldn't hold the sconce up and take a photo at the same time. I did convince my wife to snap a shot of me holding one for scale.

http://www.cinemawizards.com/photos/Sconce1.jpg

Those things are massive. Very cool though.

You know you will get a better hit ratio if you take the picture and have the wife hold the sconces :D :D

Ronnie

Opiate

03-01-06, 12:26 AM

Oh, they aren't the ushers. Those are just some of the guests. I heard they have some great projectors that I would want to see up close. I am going to check them for color uniformity.

And there I was thinking you'd invented this 'team'!

http://www.swedishbikiniteam.com/images/cannes.jpg

Mr.Poindexter

03-01-06, 01:02 AM

Sorry, I stick with the originals:

http://us.news3.yimg.com/us.i2.yimg.com/p/afp/20050727/capt.sge.pnc01.270705193027.photo00.photo.default-384x267.jpg

HO HO HO! HO HO HO! What a Merry Christmas!

Opiate

03-01-06, 01:43 AM

No wonder I got nothing from Santa last Christmas... he's too.... "busy".

PS: Please do keep the Swedes away until the system can play. Don't want you getting too distracted, I am enjoying this thread.

mmmkam

03-01-06, 08:52 AM

looking great!

Just make sure your remote works with those accessories....

Mr.Poindexter

03-01-06, 11:48 AM

looking great!

Just make sure your remote works with those accessories....

And people think Crestron is expensive. Haha.

Mr.Poindexter

03-02-06, 11:01 PM

Progress is steady, but in smaller chunks now. The rear steps have been mostly finished. Tomorrow they get the final touches and then they will be ready for carpet.
http://www.cinemawizards.com/photos/RearSteps2.jpg

Below you can see the steps down to the bathroom. They are finished except for a final sanding. Notice the step light just above the first tread.

http://www.cinemawizards.com/photos/BathroomSteps.jpg

And the steps to the equipment room are very close to being finished - tomorrow morning they will get the final touches. Notice the step light hasn't been installed totally yet - there is a little wood that needs to be put back in there.

http://www.cinemawizards.com/photos/EquipRoomSteps.jpg

Unfortunately, the steps for the equipment room and the bathroom had to be a little different as the equipment room door is a full 3' door while the bathroom door isn't. We also had to get the curve to come back out to give more room as people maneuver around the rear column.

Speaking of columns, here is the inside of one of the subwoofer columns in the back of the room. The power box has been surface mounted so that we do not cut a hole into the sheetrock and ruin the effort put into soundproofing and the power will go back to the equipment room to draw current from the balanced power system.

http://www.cinemawizards.com/photos/RearSubPlatform.jpg

Mr.Poindexter

03-03-06, 12:07 AM

I picked up another motion simulator for the room. I will have a Quest Extreme single seat in addition to the Odyssee platform, and the two Odyssee vertical integrated dual recliners.

Only problem now is that I am over on my power budget. The sum of all my equipment now exceeds 10kVa. It is quite possible that I will have to either install a larger EquiTech wall panel or I will have to put in a RGPC PowerHouse for the second balanced power transformer.

Mark P

03-03-06, 03:03 AM

Has your carpet guy seen all these changes? Boy, is he gonna be happy. I would say you can figure on some "pricing" change orders

SVonhof

03-03-06, 09:01 AM

Mr.Poindexter, I assume that is bondo they are using to fill in and help shape the steps?

Mr.Poindexter

03-03-06, 11:09 AM

Mark, I plan on running a wood bullnose on the steps and stage. While that is pricey, it will reduce the carpet labor a lot and that will help offset the cost.

Scott, yes that is bondo. It's not just for cars anymore. ;)

Mr.Poindexter

03-07-06, 12:53 AM

I did a little juggling and was able to get my power back to under 10kVa of balanced power systems. I felt a little like Gary Senise in Apollo 13, trying to figure out what to plug where to get my power consumption covered without overloading any given circuit.

I have picked out the doors I want, but they do not come in the size I need. I want these:
http://www.homedepot.com/cmc_upload/HDUS/EN_US/asset/images/eplus/030151088237_4.jpg

They are at Home Depot and have a display with a speak easy and a grill. I do not want those extras, but the door is still very expensive, an 8 week wait and they are made in Guatamala according to the guy I spoke with.

I found a VERY similar door at a local specialty wood shop here. They are going to get 3 of them in the sizes I need (2 x 32" and 1 x 30") and do the woodworking to put in the grooves and distress the door so it matches the one I like and it will be substantially cheaper to boot. They are made with knotty alder, which it just happens is what our cabinets in the entire house are made of. The door will be stained much darker than our cabinets however. That picture just doesn't do the door justice - check it out at Home Depot if you are in one. I hope that my doors come out looking as nice.

I also chose knotty alder for the baseboards and crown. Now I need to pick a stain.

Mr.Poindexter

03-07-06, 01:04 AM

I got nearly all the low voltage wiring finished. I only need to run a couple RS-232 cables to the front of the room for the screen masking system and the drapery controls, plus the balanced and unbalanced connections for the subwoofers.

Here are the bundles of speaker wires and coax cables just run for speakers (sorry it is blurry):
http://www.cinemawizards.com/photos/Wirefall.jpg

They filled up two 2" thinwall PVC conduits completely. I had to put another conduit in just to get the last cables run. For scale, here they are bundled:
http://www.cinemawizards.com/photos/TheBundle.jpg

The dark green cables are 4 conductor cables - used for the Phase Technology dARTS system and for the terminal plates for additional system testing. The brighter cables are 12 ga. two conductor cables for the Genesis system, while the white cables are the single-ended RCA runs for testing locations.

I still need to run video cables to the bathroom for my TV in there, plus all the wires to the table in the front of the room, but those can be run after all the equipment is in place and the room is closer to being finished. I will probably wait for the carpet to be done first.

Mr.Poindexter

03-07-06, 01:12 AM

The Odyssee in the back row is nearly finished. The black under the actuators is the wood we used to bring the platform up to grade. You can see the trough we cut for the smurf tube to get past it. Once we get the power kicked on, we will make sure it is level with the rest of the floor and lock it down into its final position.

http://www.cinemawizards.com/photos/OdysseeActuators.jpg

You can see the aluminum frame here as well as the black rubber I used to keep the wood from squeaking against the platform frame. The top is two layers of 3/4" plywood. I used to have only one sheet, but once I felt how nice and solid the seating platform is with its 2" top of plywood I decided I had to increase the thickness of my platform top. If I ever decide to make it thicker, i will probably get rid of my entire top and make it with 3 layers of birch - 3/4 + 1/2 + 3/4, as it is lighter and stiffer than plywood but I think I am fine with the weight and it is plenty stiff now from what I can tell.

XorCizzle

03-07-06, 01:19 AM

2.35:1

03-07-06, 01:36 AM

Big Worms

03-07-06, 10:47 AM

Coming along real nice! What brand of cables did you use?

Mr.Poindexter

03-07-06, 11:36 AM

I like your columns it is somewhat curved. I like sandman's as well but I don't want completly round colums either. I may borrow your idea if you don't mind. How heavy is each column?

Each column uses just slightly more than a full sheet of 3/4" MDF so they are not too light but still can be maneuvered by one person. We are going to put a thin sheet of masonite on the bottom which will make the very easy to slide around on the carpet when it comes time to pull them out and do anything to the speakers.

Totally round columns have a lot of problems associated with them. You cannot run fabric over them without a lot of structure to hold the curve and that structure is bound to create some problems for the audio. While pretty, curves aren't an ideal solution for a speaker column, IMO. They do work very well for diffusors, however.

Mr.Poindexter

03-07-06, 11:40 AM

Coming along real nice! What brand of cables did you use?

I used Genesis cables. I am not big on speaker cables, having watched people fail in a blind A/B/X test on my own equipment in my house when comparing a $1900 pair of cables to a $6 pair of cables.

Still, should anybody be able to pass such a test at my house, I have all the wiring set up such that I will be able to run new cables without tearing into the walls.

I have some Straight Wire balanced interconnects and I will be using those, but I haven't put them in yet. Those will go in some time in the next couple of days.

Mr.Poindexter

03-07-06, 11:41 AM

holy crap...im glad i found this thread....amazing stuff...didnt think anyone in the fresno/clovis area actually cared this much about audio/videophileness....im glad i live on sierra/maroa....might have to check it out when its done....

Send me your contact information in a private mail and I will contact you when I have an open house. The theater should be finished in less than 2 months.

2.35:1

03-09-06, 12:57 AM

Each column uses just slightly more than a full sheet of 3/4" MDF so they are not too light but still can be maneuvered by one person. We are going to put a thin sheet of masonite on the bottom which will make the very easy to slide around on the carpet when it comes time to pull them out and do anything to the speakers.

Totally round columns have a lot of problems associated with them. You cannot run fabric over them without a lot of structure to hold the curve and that structure is bound to create some problems for the audio. While pretty, curves aren't an ideal solution for a speaker column, IMO. They do work very well for diffusors, however.

Thanks for responding. Do you have any pictures showing how each column was put together or can you just give me a description?

Mr.Poindexter

03-09-06, 01:48 AM

I will see if I can take some photos and get them to you later. We still need to cut out the holes for the speaker grills and I will take some close-ups then.

2.35:1

03-09-06, 01:52 AM

I will see if I can take some photos and get them to you later. We still need to cut out the holes for the speaker grills and I will take some close-ups then.

Awsome thanks

larryep

03-09-06, 07:54 AM

very nice. I love the columns!!

Art Sonneborn

03-09-06, 07:59 AM

Mike ,
It looks like things are coming along nice but in this shot I think you need to have a tablet in the other hand and a wear a robe. :D

Art

Mr.Poindexter

03-09-06, 11:42 AM

In which shot, Art?

Art Sonneborn

03-09-06, 08:44 PM

In which shot, Art?

Sorry ! :o

This one:

http://www.cinemawizards.com/photos/Sconce1.jpg

Mr.Poindexter

03-09-06, 10:27 PM

Mike ,
It looks like things are coming along nice but in this shot I think you need to have a tablet in the other hand and a wear a robe. :D

Art

What, no crown?

rsberg34

03-10-06, 05:56 AM

Art Sonneborn

03-10-06, 08:11 AM

What, no crown?

I was holding out on that till you completed the project ! :D

Art

Mntneer

03-10-06, 10:17 AM

What, no crown?

No, not until you finish, only a Tiara until you finish. ;)

http://www.daileycreative.com/Fun/Tiara.jpg

Alan Gouger

03-10-06, 02:55 PM

Ive cleaned up the last few posts. This is not needed. Please keep this stuff off the open forum.

Thank you.

rsberg34

03-10-06, 03:00 PM

Lol

Mark P

03-10-06, 03:21 PM

Ive cleaned up the last few posts. This is not needed. Please keep this stuff off the open forum.

Thank you.Oh Man! I always miss the good stuff.

Mr.Poindexter

03-10-06, 08:01 PM

Mark, if you sub to the thread you will get the post for posterity in your email unless the moderator is pretty fast with the cleanup.

Mr.Poindexter

03-10-06, 08:20 PM

My first "chime in" here on your thread and I must say...quite the inspiration....probably even for the individual who tried to minimalize your accomplisment by resorting to the "feed the poor" speech. Jealousy can be a heavy burden to bear at times!!

I wish I only had the required space and money for a project of this magnitude...
I would ask however (simply because I didnt notice it the first time), how much is the Odyssee system and all it requires as far as components to make it work properly. Also what are its power requirements? Does it have a weight capacity limit? Etc Etc Etc..If you dont feel like answering all this I understand fully as I should probably stop being lazy and research it for myself. I just figured since you have one you mihgt know the basics off the top of your head.

Kep up the good ...uhhh...management..it looks fantastic!!!

Robert

Robert, there are several capacity Odyssee and Quest systems. There are a lot of seating options and weight capacities. The system requires a controller and there are two:
340c - a stand alone controller for $3200 (includes entire library of codes and a 12 month subscription for new motion codes).
PC3 - an interface box, software and the library of codes and a 1 yr. sub. This requires a user supplied PC. Cost is $1000.

The seats can range from as low as $6000 for a single 2-actuator seat (with 2 degrees of freedom and 1" of travel) in NuSuede with motorized recline up to $16,700 for a two-seater with the extreme actuators (3 degess of freedom and 1.5" of travel) in leather/nusuede with motorized recline. Remember that this price includes the seats with motorized recline (a wonderful feature and really something one should have for a theater recliner).

The actuators by themselves are available for platforms from $20K to $27K depending on the weight capacity (1600-2400lbs total lift, 5/8 to 7/8 total lift). An aluminum extrusion frame would cost around $2-4K depending on size.

Actuators for putting into the armrests of approved seats run from $4400 for a 2-actuator set for 750lbs of total system capacity, 2 degrees of freedom and 1" of travel up to $15K for a 4-actuator set for 1600lbs of total system capacity, 3-degrees of freedom and 1" of travel.

Getting the actuators for inclusion into approved seating is great, but don't plan on putting them in some Berklines or other seats of comparable build quality. While for normal use they might seem fine, those chairs are not able to withstand the multiple G-Forces the Odyssee system can put on them and will start to fall apart from the strain. Even some of the best built seats have to be reinforced for use with Odyssee systems.