marcusj50
02-08-08, 11:32 AM
Thanks to everyone who posts and provides feedback here. I would have been totally lost up till now had it not been for this forum.
I’ll be as brief as possible in the background here as I am ready to start framing and I have a few questions that I could use some advice on before I go buy material.
· I will be finishing a basement area that already has a few framed walls, electrical and plumbing roughed in. We built the house four years ago.
· Finished space will include a bedroom with small closet, powder room, gaming area for poker table and pool table and of course a theater area
· In the theater area will also be a wet bar and cabinets.
· Approximate dimensions of viewing area: 18’ x 17’
I realize this is not a true HT but rather a “theater area” with the back of the room to be used for gaming. For this reason I am taking what I have learned from reading these forums and tailoring it to fit the room and my budget.
A couple areas where I need advice are:
Surround, back and sub-woofer speaker placement for the 7.1 set up.
· I can either mount one surround at ear level in front of the window (toward the tv) and the other on the opposite wall (ear level) but this brings my couch (and viewer’s eyes) in to about 9.5 feet from the tv if I want the speakers on either side of the listening area. The tv will be a DLP widescreen somewhere between 60” and 73”. The other alternative is to mount the first speaker behind the window (far side from the tv) and the other on the column on the opposite side. If I were to move the couch back so the speakers were on either side then the viewer’s ears the viewing distance would be about 14.5 feet. Not the end of the world but that’s pretty far away and it starts to encroach into the pool table area. Another alternative is to go up with the speakers so that one was above the window and the other above the threshold of the stair landing but this is not desirable. Comments/suggestions?
· This leads to the back speaker placement. There is no natural location so I either have to mount the speakers on stands behind the couch, not good with kids ages four, two and nine months plus a Golden Retriever with a powerful tail, or go up to the ceiling. Ceiling height will be approx. 8’ 7”. I obviously will have to sacrifice having these speakers at ear level for this option. Also, I have come to understand that in wall/ceiling models are not the best speakers to use (is this true for surrounds/back speakers or only for center and fronts?). So I am thinking I will need to use ceiling mounts to suspend the back speakers in place above walking height. FYI, I will be using soffits along either side of the viewing area from the front to the back. I have not determined how or where these will end (before the gaming area or continue all the way around the perimeter of both rooms). Any comments on placement for these speakers?
· For the sub-woofer I was thinking in the area between the tv and the door (the area behind the tv’s wall is unfinished and contains the HVAC, etc.), between the tv and the bar or between the bar and the stair landing. The two areas near the bar are not desirable due to the proximity to the glassware. The other location I think might work but I hate to have the woofer just sitting on the floor. My question is can the woofer be placed on the other side of the wall (HVAC side) in a “box” so that the opposite side (theater side) is covered with GOM FR-701? I know heat would have to be managed. I do not know the acoustic repercussions of this. Another slim possibility is underneath the stair landing as that area is accessible but there is only about one foot of clearance. Comments/suggestions/ other areas that might work based on my layout so far?
I am a novice at best when it comes to room acoustics. Because this is a multi-purpose room I am not planning on using acoustical treatments on the walls. However, I would like to learn more about reflection points and bass traps, two terms I have read about but do not understand. Can anyone recommend a thread that explains what these are and what other acoustic considerations I might make given the room I am constructing?
On the subject of sound, the only “sound proofing” I am planning on is using 5/8” drywall and lots of thick insulation. I am not as concerned about sound getting in as I am sound and vibrations getting out and upstairs to the main level as well as the upstairs. The HVAC is not a concern and I know there will be some/lots? of sound transmission as I am not going the GG/clips/ etc. route. My question is given my lack of soundproofing would it be worth using a solid core door at the top of the stairs? There is also a landing at the top of the stairs with the door threshold at a 90 degree turn to the stairs. I believe it would be fairly easy as the weather stripping is already there. The builder put it there because the basement is a walk out style and unfinished with no insulation on the walls (there is and will continue to be insulation between the joists). The existing door is a six panel interior door with some amount of insulating properties.
Last but not least, can anyone recommend a good magazine for reading current information/trends/ideas etc. in this industry: HT, AV equipment, etc? This forum is the best but I was also looking for something with photos/evaluations etc. on new equipment. I like those glossy photos. I have not purchased any of my components yet because I would like to learn more about my options.
So much for being brief.
I’ll be as brief as possible in the background here as I am ready to start framing and I have a few questions that I could use some advice on before I go buy material.
· I will be finishing a basement area that already has a few framed walls, electrical and plumbing roughed in. We built the house four years ago.
· Finished space will include a bedroom with small closet, powder room, gaming area for poker table and pool table and of course a theater area
· In the theater area will also be a wet bar and cabinets.
· Approximate dimensions of viewing area: 18’ x 17’
I realize this is not a true HT but rather a “theater area” with the back of the room to be used for gaming. For this reason I am taking what I have learned from reading these forums and tailoring it to fit the room and my budget.
A couple areas where I need advice are:
Surround, back and sub-woofer speaker placement for the 7.1 set up.
· I can either mount one surround at ear level in front of the window (toward the tv) and the other on the opposite wall (ear level) but this brings my couch (and viewer’s eyes) in to about 9.5 feet from the tv if I want the speakers on either side of the listening area. The tv will be a DLP widescreen somewhere between 60” and 73”. The other alternative is to mount the first speaker behind the window (far side from the tv) and the other on the column on the opposite side. If I were to move the couch back so the speakers were on either side then the viewer’s ears the viewing distance would be about 14.5 feet. Not the end of the world but that’s pretty far away and it starts to encroach into the pool table area. Another alternative is to go up with the speakers so that one was above the window and the other above the threshold of the stair landing but this is not desirable. Comments/suggestions?
· This leads to the back speaker placement. There is no natural location so I either have to mount the speakers on stands behind the couch, not good with kids ages four, two and nine months plus a Golden Retriever with a powerful tail, or go up to the ceiling. Ceiling height will be approx. 8’ 7”. I obviously will have to sacrifice having these speakers at ear level for this option. Also, I have come to understand that in wall/ceiling models are not the best speakers to use (is this true for surrounds/back speakers or only for center and fronts?). So I am thinking I will need to use ceiling mounts to suspend the back speakers in place above walking height. FYI, I will be using soffits along either side of the viewing area from the front to the back. I have not determined how or where these will end (before the gaming area or continue all the way around the perimeter of both rooms). Any comments on placement for these speakers?
· For the sub-woofer I was thinking in the area between the tv and the door (the area behind the tv’s wall is unfinished and contains the HVAC, etc.), between the tv and the bar or between the bar and the stair landing. The two areas near the bar are not desirable due to the proximity to the glassware. The other location I think might work but I hate to have the woofer just sitting on the floor. My question is can the woofer be placed on the other side of the wall (HVAC side) in a “box” so that the opposite side (theater side) is covered with GOM FR-701? I know heat would have to be managed. I do not know the acoustic repercussions of this. Another slim possibility is underneath the stair landing as that area is accessible but there is only about one foot of clearance. Comments/suggestions/ other areas that might work based on my layout so far?
I am a novice at best when it comes to room acoustics. Because this is a multi-purpose room I am not planning on using acoustical treatments on the walls. However, I would like to learn more about reflection points and bass traps, two terms I have read about but do not understand. Can anyone recommend a thread that explains what these are and what other acoustic considerations I might make given the room I am constructing?
On the subject of sound, the only “sound proofing” I am planning on is using 5/8” drywall and lots of thick insulation. I am not as concerned about sound getting in as I am sound and vibrations getting out and upstairs to the main level as well as the upstairs. The HVAC is not a concern and I know there will be some/lots? of sound transmission as I am not going the GG/clips/ etc. route. My question is given my lack of soundproofing would it be worth using a solid core door at the top of the stairs? There is also a landing at the top of the stairs with the door threshold at a 90 degree turn to the stairs. I believe it would be fairly easy as the weather stripping is already there. The builder put it there because the basement is a walk out style and unfinished with no insulation on the walls (there is and will continue to be insulation between the joists). The existing door is a six panel interior door with some amount of insulating properties.
Last but not least, can anyone recommend a good magazine for reading current information/trends/ideas etc. in this industry: HT, AV equipment, etc? This forum is the best but I was also looking for something with photos/evaluations etc. on new equipment. I like those glossy photos. I have not purchased any of my components yet because I would like to learn more about my options.
So much for being brief.