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Steve's First Dedicated Theater

90K views 364 replies 62 participants last post by  SteveCallas 
#1 · (Edited)
AVS Home Theater of the Month - February 2020!

I've been patiently waiting to pursue a dedicated theater since really getting into the hobby sophomore year in college, and finally construction has begun. I'm doing the whole basement, so a bathroom, bedroom, bonus room, and a few other spaces are going to be completed at the same time. This isn't my forever house, so some compromises will be made in terms of room functionality for potential future owners, and I won't be spending thousands extra on soundproofing measures.

The theater is ~27.5' x 15.5' x 9'. There will be 15 speaker surround sound with six 18" subwoofers, a single 24" subwoofer, and a single nearfield 12" subwoofer in a 11.3.4 format, as well as tactile platforms underneath each recliner with a 15" driver BOSS on each front seat and 12" driver on each back seat. The 15 speakers are mains, center, wides, surrounds, rear surrounds, front heights, front in ceiling, rear in ceiling. Whether a movie is Atmos or not, everything is upmixed to utilize all 15 channels.

For now, equipment will be:

JVC DLA-RS400 projector
Silver Ticket 142" 2.35:1 acoustically transparent screen
Marantz SR8012 receiver
Onkyo TX-NR3010 receiver
6x AC Infinity S7 fans to keep receivers cool
Panasonic UB820 4k blu ray player
Sony BDP-S6700 blu ray player
Toshiba HD-A2 hd dvd player
PS4
XBOX 360
Boston Acoustics VR3 mains
Boston Acoustics VR3 center
Boston Acoustics VR3 wides
Boston Acoustics VR1 surrounds
Boston Acoustics VR1 rears
Boston Acoustics VR-M50 front heights
Boston Acoustics HSi 460 front and rear in ceiling
3x Ascendant Audio Avalanche 18 LLT subwoofers (13hz tune)
3x Stereo Integrity HT-18 LLT subwoofers (13hz tune)
1x Stereo Integrity HS-24 LLT (13hz tune)
1x Dayton Sub 1200 (nearfield)
2x Dayton Classic 15 Subwoofer based BOSS system on the front recliners
2x JBL CX1200 Subwoofer based BOSS system on the rear recliners
1x Carvin DCM2500 amp
2x Carvin DCM2000 amps
2x Carvin HD1800 amps
1x Behringer Inuke NU4-6000 amp
1x Behringer Inuke NX4-6000 amp


The room has 3 dedicated 20 amp circuits for the gear up front, a 4th 20 amp circuit for the projector and star ceiling, and a 5th 20 amp circuit for the lighting and shared outlets in the room on the side and rear walls (used for vacuuming the room, etc).

A false floor comprised of 1/4" 6lb density polyethylene foam, pressure treated 2 x 4s laid sideways, and 3/4" tongue in groove osb stacked in that order will cover the entire room. This will prevent the slab from stealing the infrasonic rumble. No reason to do 7 LLTs if I can't feel the earth shake.

The theater seating will be Hogan zero wall recliners in front and back row. The back row will be on a two step riser approximately 10-12" tall with led perimeter lighting.

The screen wall is a false wall, 4' from the real front wall of the theater, completely covered in black velvet. There are black velvet curtains to either side of the screen that let you get behind the screen wall - on the left is a separate media room/closet, and on the right is the equipment rack. There is a tray ceiling with a 700 star fiber optic center for the front row guests - I still have to complete more panels for the back row guests, which will bring the stars up to 1005. There are 8 recessed lights in the tray and only 2 wall sconces due to window placement.

Sound treatments include space themed 3.5" thick Safe n Sound absorption panels on the side walls, rear wall, and in front of each blacked out window. There is a 3' x 3' diffusion panel on the rear wall, a 1.5' x 4.5' diffusion panel on a sidewall, and a few 1.5' x 1.5' diffusion panels on the ceiling. The true front wall is covered in 4" thick acoustic wedge and pyramid foam. 3 corners of the room have 12" x 12" acoustic foam corner traps. The theater has a double door entry with seals on all four edge surfaces of each door.

I hope you enjoy following along.


 
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#2 · (Edited)
Latest updates:

Spring 2023 - Added a Stereo Integrity HS-24 LLT with Carvin DCM2500
Fall 2022 - rearranged electronics rack with IR repeaters on all my electronics (why didn’t I do this sooner?!?). Much cleaner behind the right side of the screen.
Summer 2022 - upgraded wides from E100s to VR3s.
Fall 2021 - upgraded wides from VR2s to E100s
Summer 2021 - upgraded wides from VR1s to VR2s
Upgraded front heights from A25s to VR-M50s
Spring 2021 - added near field Dayton 1200 sub to primary seat, bringing discrete sub channels to 3
Winter 2020 - Added inner tubes under BOSS platforms to increase tactile forces significantly
Procured another Boston Acoustics VR3 for use as center channel to replace the VR1
Summer 2019 - Got a Panasonic UB820 and am finally 4k capable!
Spring 2019 - Marantz SR8012 installed and running 15 speaker surround.
Front row seats have BOSS with Dayton Classic 15s installed.
Rear row seats have BOSS with JBL $30 12s installed.
Tried the DIYSG Titans for LCR, did not like them, but here's a pic.




















Theater walkthrough

Steve's First Dedicated Theater Walkthrough

Star Ceiling view from my seat

 
#3 · (Edited)
Here's the evolution from when I was 13.

It started with my dad's Sony 52" rear projection tv with s-video inputs, my Sony HTIB with Dolby Prologic (no DD yet), and Sony VCR. That got upgraded to a RCA dvd/divx player.

Then when I got to college, I purchased a RCA HTIB with larger satellites and DD/DTS (ran the Sony sub + RCA for dual subwoofers), a JVC dvd player, and a JVC 27" tv with component video inputs! I rented a 4 bedroom apartment with 3 friends who weren't into home theater at all, but after watching the first movie on dvd with surround sound on my system, they were hooked. We watched a LOT of movies on this system.

I got my first job out of college in St. Louis and the first big upgrade was building the Avalanche 18 LLT sonosub #1 powered by a Carvin HD1800. Then I upgraded to a Panasonic DVD-S77 disc player and Yamaha HTR-5890 receiver. I had an apartment that was near a Family Video and I used to rent so many movies to put this system through its paces.

Next came the Boston VR3 L&R, Boston VR1 center, and Ascend Acoustics 340 surrounds. The RCA satellites got moved to rear surround duty. Looking back, this system seems so cheesy with the big speakers and sub with a 27" tube tv in a wooden entertainment center, but I loved it soooo much.

Then I upgraded the image with the first true 1080p 42" LCD, a Westinghouse 42W2 - it could accept 1080p over component, DVI, and hdmi - unheard of at the time!

A promotion/new job took me to southern Indiana and I built Avalanche 18 LLT sonosub #2 with another Carvin HD1800 and upgraded the image again to a Samsung 52" B750. I also got more Boston VR1s as surrounds. I had been in a few theater rooms when I was in St. Louis at get togethers, but I never loved the image from a projector at that time, and LCDs weren't being made much bigger than 52" at this time, so I thought I had things the best I could get them


Fast forward a few years and I upgraded to an Onkyo TX-NR3010 receiver and a Samsung 75" F8000 LCD. I put the Ascend 340s as my wide channels and got Boston A25s as the rear surrounds.

Another promotion/new job had me moving again and I bought my first home. The 75" tv is in the living room, and the speakers were up until now. This theater is the continuation on that story.
 

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#8 · (Edited)
That black line towards the front of the room is a false wall to hold the screen. The sides of the false wall - beyond the screen - will be black velvet curtains that can be moved to get behind it. All the equipment will be in freestanding racks behind the screen, as will the 4 new subwoofers.

If the inuke fans are really loud, i'll put it in the walk in closet. For an amp that's supposed to put out that much power, i don't want to modify and slow down the fans.

I forgot to mention the whole theater will have a floating floor. 1/4" thick 6lb density polyethylene foam, then 2x4s laying flat, then 3/4" tongue in groove osb. Plan right now is to not anchor it into the concrete and see how it works. I want the floor to pulse and rumble with low bass like it does upstairs. All of these subs are tuned to 12-13hz, it would be a shame to have an inert floor lol.
 
#9 ·
Looking forward to your build! For your consideration, I replaced the fans in my NU4-6000 with Noctua NF-R8 units just after I bought it and it has performed perfectly (and quietly) for 2 years now. The 4 channels seem to do just fine with fan changes; I have read of a few users having issues with fan replacements in the NU6000 units.
 
#11 ·
More framing done today, and they tore up the concrete in the bathroom. The 60" double door entry to the theater with push handles should look really nice - all the doors in the basement will be Mastercraft solid knotty alder raised plank 2 panel doors stained grey.
 

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#14 ·
I'm not married and don't have kids, so it will be just me and the gf or guests using the room as the only people in the house at that time. Because of that, and because the future owner might use the room for something else, I decided not to worry about or invest much in soundproofing besides insulation between the joists.

With that concern gone, the double doors give the theater a grand entrance feel.
 
#15 ·
Seems well-planned! I'll certainly follow along. Man, all that dirt would fill up a lot of vacuum cleaners!
 
#16 ·
I've been checking out a lot of other folks theaters on here, and I see a lot of instances with the mains up against the front wall and/or out all the way to the side walls, toe'd in aggressively.

Is this a conscious compromise made because of a non AT screen and no room for a false wall, or do most have no intention of listening to music in this space, purely movies? Seems like I see it in most rooms. For good stereo imaging and soundstage depth, we need the mains a few feet out from the front wall and a few feet in from the sidewalls.
 
#17 ·
I did the framing for the tray ceiling myself when the contractor quoted me $1k :eek:

I have to be away for business for the week, but the electrical should be done when I get back. As far as the theater is concerned, 3 dedicated 20amp outlets up front for gear, a dedicated 20 for the projector and star ceiling, and then a shared 20 for outlets spaced throughout the room. 8 recessed 6" LED lights in the tray ceiling and 2 wall sconces - 10 was going to be too bright.
 
#18 ·
Getting close to drywall, just need to run my cables and insulate the shared walls and ceiling. Decided on an ultra quiet exhaust fan a few inches in front of the projector in case the two forced air vents and two passive return vents aren't enough.
 

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#21 ·
Electrical pvc pipe going in place for speaker cable and hdmi cable. Anybody else straighten out new cable by stretching it all through the house like this, or am i losing it? Lol
 

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#22 ·
Got everything but the LCR and heights wired through the soffits - the rest will stay behind the screen wall, so no need to hide them. I decided last minute to buy 4 Boston Acoustic ceiling speakers with tiltable tweeters for future Atmos use. If i can manipulate the receiver situation right, i think i can have 11.2.4 surround sound.

All these cables will run through a 3" pipe and then through this chute in the drywall into the room.
 

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#71 ·
you probably have it cased on your own. But I ran 3" pvc through the floor to the TV set up in the living room for all the lines to run. I very quickly ran short of space. I made it work for what I have .But certainly cant add anything more now. And I have And HDMI that is floating in my floor joists. I drilled 3" through for the run. Filled them all, then needed a different HDMI. Got it run and working then went ot pull out the old one, Buuutt.. now I cant cause the head on the cable it to big for the remaining space in the hole to pull it back through HAha.. so I have a spare.. But no one can get it.
 
#26 ·
Insulation started. A couple pics showing how a flexible metal vent tube went from making a hollow squeak sound every time i touched it (and it rubbed against something) to now sounding completely dead.
 

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#27 ·
Came home to a big surprise, i didnt know the contractor was doing the false floor today. Spray adhesive between the boards and foam, then glue and nails between the 3/4" tongue and groove osb and the boards. He even left a small gap all around to the framing like i asked. I'll fill that in with silicone tomorrow.

Even though the floor is completely floating, it feels solid with no bounce. The foam is very dense and very resilient. When the bass hits though, i know it's going to RUMBLE! There's no lights in here now, they got it ready for drywall on monday, but i snapped a couple pics with flash.
 

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