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"The Grove" Entertainment Complex - from start to finish

10K views 89 replies 15 participants last post by  gsearles 
#1 ·
I have started planning our second home theater area and will document the planning and construction here like I did for our first one. I learned lots from this forum the first time around, so looking for input, and to help others by sharing my experience in this thread.


My wife and I have bought a new house - we take possession at the end of September. We will be making a large addition to the house, which will include a large space over the garage for an entertainment area. We expect to be moving in in the spring of 2012. The garage is on the basement level, so the theater area will be attached to the main level of the house. (see attached picture - the pale grey walls represent the new addition to the main level).


The space will be 30 feet by 25 feet when the outside walls are built. There will be windows on the front for cosmetic appearance. I can use the space any way I like, but have decided to split it into two separate areas - one for the theater, one for games and bar. I want this to be a fun area to hang out in with family or friends, and yet at the same time I want to create a room that provides great picture and sound. (Right now I have a great theater in the basement next to a kids' playroom. The room itself is great but the location is a detriment to social gatherings.) To accomplish this I will "semi" divide the large area into two - with partial walls down the middle, so that you can go between rooms through the middle under a sort of archway.


Construction will be all new. Done by a great professional building contractor. I will have 8 or 9 feet celings. Soundproofing is less critical than in my current situation - there's a decent amount of space between this area and the rest of the house. There is no living space above or below - it will be attic and garage. Our neighbours are 150 yards or so away. However, I want to contol sound leak somewhat and also want to keep noise OUT during movie watching. I may do double drywall and green glue again - worked well the first time.


Seating - I want 8 seats this time - six doesn't work well when we invite another family over for a movie. I have 6 LaZBoy Matinee chairs now, and will buy two more. Two rows of four.


Equipment will be mostly what I already have:


JVC RS-15 projector

Denon AVR-3806

Oppo BDP-93

XBOX 360

Paradigm Studio refence speakers - Studio 100 mains, matching center, four dipole surrounds, and a Seismic 12 subwoofer.

Logitech Harmony 1100 remote


I'll post the open space layout that I'll be starting from. Will put up some follow-up posts about my plan for the details over the nxt few days. Can\ wait to get started! (and more importantly, finish!)


Greg


 
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#78 ·
After painting but before acoustic treatments. The crew hadn't realized there was no real point in painting behind the screenwall.

 
#79 ·
So construction proceeds quickly, along with the rest of the house. We move in in two weeks. The bar room next door is coming together nicely as well. I can post pics of that here is people would like.


I like the wall and ceiling colors that we (well, OK, she) picked out. Carpet now going in, it's similar to the wall color. Drapes, chairs and ceiling are all dark blue.


The electrician has almost everything done. Will do some close up pictures of the lighting scheme when I have the chance.


I am removing my speakers and projector from our current house today and taking them over. I picked up my new Yamaha RX-A2010 yesterday - very excited to hook that thing up.


Need to put together my Middle Atlantic Slim 5 rack


Need to figure out the best spot for the projector on the ceiling. I have a broad area of the ceiling re-inforced with wood behind the drywall to accommodate the current projector and possible future changes.


Will put up more pics today or tomorrow
 
#80 ·
Front wall 2" linacoustic and bass traps done


Speakers going in, questions next post...



 
#81 ·
Coming along nicely Greg. Really like how the blue ceiling looks. Looks like an interesting texture to your carpet or is that a visual illusion?


Dale
 
#82 ·
1. Not sure what to do with screen height and L/R mains. I specified the screen height that you see here, but my speakers (Paradigm Studio 100s) have so many drivers that they come below the screen bottom. My options are:


a) leave as is, allowing a driver below and above the screen frame - the spacing is actually pretty decent

b) lower the screen opening - sounds appealing in some ways but not in others - would have to be pretty low to get all drivers behind the screen

c) build small platorms to raise the speakers up

d) a bit of b and c


2. What height and orientation for the center channel? I've mostly read that given the choice it should go vertically as shown. Is there good info supporting this? If I do, what tweeter should I like up with the tweeter of my mains?
 
#83 ·
Looks great, Greg. You are getting close. Can you tell me what you used to secure the Linacoustic to the wall. They look like the reels from ViewMasters, but I'm guessing they are something else.




Regardless of what they are, you might want to hit them with some black paint as they may stand out against your black background if they are reflective.
 
#84 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by dvmiller /forum/post/21985606


Coming along nicely Greg. Really like how the blue ceiling looks. Looks like an interesting texture to your carpet or is that a visual illusion?


Dale

Thanks! I LOVE the blue ceiling. It just got the final coat today. As is often the case, the pictures I took don't show it quite right. Same for the carpet. Yes, it's textured, but also currently covered in dust (hahaha) and the picture is brightness corrected to show the screen wall better.


Will take more of the rest of the room and try to get the brightness right for those details.
 
#85 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Spaceman /forum/post/21985626


Looks great, Greg. You are getting close. Can you tell me what you used to secure the Linacoustic to the wall. They look like the reels from ViewMasters, but I'm guessing they are something else.


Regardless of what they are, you might want to hit them with some black paint as they may stand out against your black background if they are reflective.

They're just these little plastic snap things that do happen to look like reels. Not deliberate. Just something my builders use when securing this type of stuff in large quantities. But you're right, should cover them over with something dark.
 
#86 ·
Here's a picture I'll share to show some other details. As you can see, pretty messy. However, this shows the ceiling color quite accurately. The carpet looks lighter than it really is, but that's the weave in it.


Also, can see the rear shelf surround speaker placement, and the Slim 5 rack I'm putting together.

 
#87 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by gsearles /forum/post/21985622


1. Not sure what to do with screen height and L/R mains. I specified the screen height that you see here, but my speakers (Paradigm Studio 100s) have so many drivers that they come below the screen bottom. My options are:


a) leave as is, allowing a driver below and above the screen frame - the spacing is actually pretty decent

b) lower the screen opening - sounds appealing in some ways but not in others - would have to be pretty low to get all drivers behind the screen

c) build small platorms to raise the speakers up

d) a bit of b and c


2. What height and orientation for the center channel? I've mostly read that given the choice it should go vertically as shown. Is there good info supporting this? If I do, what tweeter should I like up with the tweeter of my mains?

Will the screen be surrounded by acoustically transparent fabric panels? If so, I wouldn't worry about the LR speakers. I wouldn't want the tweeters or the midrange drivers to be firing right into the wood frame, but diffraction is not as audible in the bass frequencies.


I'm pretty sure that particular center channel speaker should be mounted horizontally. You want the tweeter and midrange to be vertically aligned (tweeter on top of midrange). The usual advice not to mount the center channel horizontally applies to speakers that use a woofer-tweeter-woofer layout. With your center channel speaker, Paradigm engineered around the issue by using the vertically-aligned tweeter and midrange.
 
#88 ·
Thanks for the feedback.


I'm sure you're right about the center channel. Will do a bit of checking but will likely mount it horizontally.


Yes, the screen will be surrounded by Guilford of Maine acoustically transparent fabric. The screen frame goes right on the wood so should work out fine re the woofers.
 
#89 ·
Also need to decide exactly where the projector goes. I got a 130" diagonal 2.25:1 screen, with side masking panels. Will be using zoom method with my JVC RS-15. Used Projector Central calculator last time. Is it still the best online throw/brightness calculator on line?
 
#90 ·
As much as all the construction was done for me by professionals, I'm fussy about doing the wiring and component installation myself. This weekend I ran all the needed wired through the pre-installed conduits. I love conduits. My equipment closet at the back of the theater has conduits to the projector mounting area, the front screen wall area, and to the TV area in the games/bar room. This allows any future cable/speaker upgrades and added features obviously.


I bought a new 13' cable to run to the projector. For the first time ever, I bought the highest quality (ultra high speed) Monster cable that Future Shop has to offer (I am no cable snob and usually avoid overpaying for Monster branded products. But for this critical run I thought what the heck, get top quality and future proof). The white wire you see is scrap CAT-6 that was used as a wire pull and will be left in place, tucked away out of sight for future use.








I already owned a 40' HDMI cable from my current installation. I ran this to the TV area in the bar/games room. This will allow me to duplicate the output to both rooms simulataneously.


I then ran my 12 gauge speaker wire from the equipment closet to the three front speakers. I cut, trimmed and threaded them in place - bare wire connections.


I had pre-installed a run of RG6 cable with a coaxial termination and hooked up the sub with this.



 
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