Updated Pictures of the Ugly Garage Theater. Now with JTR 2010 Triple 8's, and a Seymour AV Center Stage XD Acoustically Transparent Screen:
New front stage.
The coaxials are now back in the middle of the Triple 8's.
Here it is with the screen installed.
Previous Front Stage:
JTR Triple 8's with the coaxials mounted on top. My DIY sub is on the left side of the picture.
Rack with Onkyo TX-NR905 and 4 Audiosource Amp 300's, to the left of that is the computer desk with all my sources.
Back of the room with the side and rear surrounds as well as the projector.
New back of the room with ghetto riser installed.
Close ups of the Triple 8's.
Recent changes: Added in the 4 Audiosource Amp 300's. Added the 3 JTR Triple 8's. Moved the old left and right to surrounds and the old surrounds to rear surrounds. Sold the Cambridge Soundworks Surround 5.1's. Due to the size of the Triple 8's, I was also able to get rid of my cinder block speakers stands.
Here is my current equipment list.
Display:
-Mitsubishi HC3000 DLP Projector
-DIY screen, Matte White (The projected picture is 94 inches)
Receiver, Pre/Pro, Amps:
-Onkyo PR-SC885(B)
-Outlaw ICBM-1 (Bass Management for multichannel and 2 channel music)
-4 Audiosource Amp 300 Power Amps
Video Sources:
-PS3
-Toshiba HD-A3
-Dell HTPC with Nvidia video card (not used much anymore since I got the PS3)
Audio Sources:
-Pioneer DV-563A(CD,SACD,DVD-A)
-Dell HTPC with SoundBlaster X-Fi
Power Conditioning:
-Tripp-lite Voltage Regulator
-Monster Power HTS1000
Remote:
-Onkyo CHAD
-X10 lighting control for two small ambient lights. (just for the fun of it)
Speakers and Sub:
-JTR 2010 Triple 8's with steel grills and Speakon connectors with top mounted coaxials as Left, Center and Right
-DIY MTM (Vifa XT25 Dual Concentric Ring Radiator Tweeters, Vifa PL18WO 7" Midwoofers, and 8" Seas Passive Radiators in 1 cubic foot enclosures from parts express. The tweeters are the same as what is in the Vifa Studios. The woofers and passive radiators are from the same line but a size up) as Side Surrounds
-Madisound Vifa Studio Kit speakers as Rear Surrounds
-3 Cubic Foot Sealed DIY Subwoofer NHT1259 and 250 watt amp
Cables:
-DIY Cross Linked 4 connector 12 guage speaker cables for the equivalent conductivity of 9 guage cable
-DIY Cardas cables for DVD Audio and SACD connection to the Receiver
-All the video equipment is connected with HDMI cables from monoprice
Racks:
-DIY equipment rack made with plans from Audiotweaks.com using double thickness MDF and threaded steel rods
-All my sources are on the computer desk
Speaker Stands:
-DIY stands on the sides
-Acoustic panels as stands for the rear surrounds
Room Treatments:
(2) 4" thick panels in the front upper corner (Owens Corning 703, DIY), (1) 4" panel on top of the subwoofer in front of the water heater (GIK 244). (1) 4 inch panel at the top right corner, 1 4" panel on the side wall accross from the door to the garage which is almost always open(GIK 244), and 2 6" panels behind the listening position (CertaPro AcoustaBoard Black, DIY).
Where I was a couple of months ago:
Here is how it started a several months ago before I found this forum:
The rest of this post is the way it was when I first posted:
My wife gave me permission to use the garage as a home theater.
It is not pretty, but it sounds a looks pretty good. I am a radiolgy resident and will be in this house for 2 more years. When I graduate my hope is to buy a home and build a dedicated home theater. Hopefully I will be reusing most of the equipment I have acquired and built over the years.
Some more pictures are below. I know the garage is cluttered and ugly. I am slowly working to get rid of some of the stuff we have stored in the garage. It will probably never look really nice but it is a fun place to watch movies or listen to music. The picture of the projected image did not turn out well. I need to mess with the settings on my camera and use a tripod.
Cluttered Mess:
Front and Center Channel Speakers with Acoustic Panels:
Sub with exhaust from air conditioner running over the top:
More cluttered mess (This is probably what needs the most work):
Rear Surrounds and Acoustic Panels:
My sources and side surrounds:
DIY rack with receiver awaiting install of power amps:
Projected Image (I am not sure why it looks so washed out. I will have to mess with some of the camera settings):
I got the projector cheap as a closeout.
The projector was calibrated with and Eye One Display LT and Color HCFR. It looks great. The Audyssey calibration on the 905 really made a difference in the sound. I have the video from the HD-DVD player and the PS3 running through the HQV Reon processing in the Onkyo. It helped out the PS3 a little, but it did wonders for getting rid of jagged lines from the HD-DVD player when scaling to 720P.
I built the kit speakers and the DIY speakers about 5 years ago when I was stationed in Italy.
I got the 905 and the Amp 300's really cheap as closeouts. They replaced an Onkyo TX-SR800 that really did a good job. I will hopefuly have time to hook the Amp 300's up soon. They may not make much of a difference in the sound, but at least they will look good on the rack. All the speakers are crossed over at 80 hz.
After installing the power amps, my next project will be to add tactile transducers to the loveseat/recliner, but that will probably be a few months from now.
I also need to reorganize the back of the garage so the rear surrounds are centered behind the screen. That is going to take a while.
The only components I am looking to replace any time in the near future are the cambridge soundworks surrounds. I can't say I have had any problems with them, but I am thinking about getting the Emotiva surrounds.
I was exited to find this forum. Where else can I find a bunch of people who might appreciate my garage get away, as ugly as it is.
Anyway, I would be happy to hear any advice or criticism. I am always looking to improve the system.
New front stage.
The coaxials are now back in the middle of the Triple 8's.
Here it is with the screen installed.
Previous Front Stage:
JTR Triple 8's with the coaxials mounted on top. My DIY sub is on the left side of the picture.
Rack with Onkyo TX-NR905 and 4 Audiosource Amp 300's, to the left of that is the computer desk with all my sources.
Back of the room with the side and rear surrounds as well as the projector.
New back of the room with ghetto riser installed.
Close ups of the Triple 8's.
Recent changes: Added in the 4 Audiosource Amp 300's. Added the 3 JTR Triple 8's. Moved the old left and right to surrounds and the old surrounds to rear surrounds. Sold the Cambridge Soundworks Surround 5.1's. Due to the size of the Triple 8's, I was also able to get rid of my cinder block speakers stands.
Here is my current equipment list.
Display:
-Mitsubishi HC3000 DLP Projector
-DIY screen, Matte White (The projected picture is 94 inches)
Receiver, Pre/Pro, Amps:
-Onkyo PR-SC885(B)
-Outlaw ICBM-1 (Bass Management for multichannel and 2 channel music)
-4 Audiosource Amp 300 Power Amps
Video Sources:
-PS3
-Toshiba HD-A3
-Dell HTPC with Nvidia video card (not used much anymore since I got the PS3)
Audio Sources:
-Pioneer DV-563A(CD,SACD,DVD-A)
-Dell HTPC with SoundBlaster X-Fi
Power Conditioning:
-Tripp-lite Voltage Regulator
-Monster Power HTS1000
Remote:
-Onkyo CHAD
-X10 lighting control for two small ambient lights. (just for the fun of it)
Speakers and Sub:
-JTR 2010 Triple 8's with steel grills and Speakon connectors with top mounted coaxials as Left, Center and Right
-DIY MTM (Vifa XT25 Dual Concentric Ring Radiator Tweeters, Vifa PL18WO 7" Midwoofers, and 8" Seas Passive Radiators in 1 cubic foot enclosures from parts express. The tweeters are the same as what is in the Vifa Studios. The woofers and passive radiators are from the same line but a size up) as Side Surrounds
-Madisound Vifa Studio Kit speakers as Rear Surrounds
-3 Cubic Foot Sealed DIY Subwoofer NHT1259 and 250 watt amp
Cables:
-DIY Cross Linked 4 connector 12 guage speaker cables for the equivalent conductivity of 9 guage cable
-DIY Cardas cables for DVD Audio and SACD connection to the Receiver
-All the video equipment is connected with HDMI cables from monoprice
Racks:
-DIY equipment rack made with plans from Audiotweaks.com using double thickness MDF and threaded steel rods
-All my sources are on the computer desk
Speaker Stands:
-DIY stands on the sides
-Acoustic panels as stands for the rear surrounds
Room Treatments:
(2) 4" thick panels in the front upper corner (Owens Corning 703, DIY), (1) 4" panel on top of the subwoofer in front of the water heater (GIK 244). (1) 4 inch panel at the top right corner, 1 4" panel on the side wall accross from the door to the garage which is almost always open(GIK 244), and 2 6" panels behind the listening position (CertaPro AcoustaBoard Black, DIY).
Where I was a couple of months ago:
Here is how it started a several months ago before I found this forum:
The rest of this post is the way it was when I first posted:
My wife gave me permission to use the garage as a home theater.
It is not pretty, but it sounds a looks pretty good. I am a radiolgy resident and will be in this house for 2 more years. When I graduate my hope is to buy a home and build a dedicated home theater. Hopefully I will be reusing most of the equipment I have acquired and built over the years.
Some more pictures are below. I know the garage is cluttered and ugly. I am slowly working to get rid of some of the stuff we have stored in the garage. It will probably never look really nice but it is a fun place to watch movies or listen to music. The picture of the projected image did not turn out well. I need to mess with the settings on my camera and use a tripod.
Cluttered Mess:
Front and Center Channel Speakers with Acoustic Panels:
Sub with exhaust from air conditioner running over the top:
More cluttered mess (This is probably what needs the most work):
Rear Surrounds and Acoustic Panels:
My sources and side surrounds:
DIY rack with receiver awaiting install of power amps:
Projected Image (I am not sure why it looks so washed out. I will have to mess with some of the camera settings):
I got the projector cheap as a closeout.
The projector was calibrated with and Eye One Display LT and Color HCFR. It looks great. The Audyssey calibration on the 905 really made a difference in the sound. I have the video from the HD-DVD player and the PS3 running through the HQV Reon processing in the Onkyo. It helped out the PS3 a little, but it did wonders for getting rid of jagged lines from the HD-DVD player when scaling to 720P.
I built the kit speakers and the DIY speakers about 5 years ago when I was stationed in Italy.
I got the 905 and the Amp 300's really cheap as closeouts. They replaced an Onkyo TX-SR800 that really did a good job. I will hopefuly have time to hook the Amp 300's up soon. They may not make much of a difference in the sound, but at least they will look good on the rack. All the speakers are crossed over at 80 hz.
After installing the power amps, my next project will be to add tactile transducers to the loveseat/recliner, but that will probably be a few months from now.
I also need to reorganize the back of the garage so the rear surrounds are centered behind the screen. That is going to take a while.
The only components I am looking to replace any time in the near future are the cambridge soundworks surrounds. I can't say I have had any problems with them, but I am thinking about getting the Emotiva surrounds.
I was exited to find this forum. Where else can I find a bunch of people who might appreciate my garage get away, as ugly as it is.
Anyway, I would be happy to hear any advice or criticism. I am always looking to improve the system.