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The Unfinished Basement Theater & Whisky Guitar Lounge

160K views 361 replies 144 participants last post by  PioManiac 
#1 · (Edited)
The Unfinished Basement Theater & Whisky Guitar Lounge

HT v1.0 plans started in August 2006,
When my GF said No Toys in the Living Room of the New Home!

..."Do what ever you want in the unfinished basement, but your AV toys are off limits in the Living Room"



Fair Enough, Challenge Excepted!!

Little did she know I would eventually add 14K+ watts of LFE/ULF audio gear,
So it will be whole-house audio that can be heard/felt right to the top floor of the Two Storey home.

While anticipating a move to the new home in 08', and two years to plan it out...(while its being used as a Show-Home) I started stock piling a LOT of Mission speakers (14) that were discontinued half price back in 2006, Enough for Two full 7.2 systems (long before ATMOS/DTS:X would allow me to combine them into One Ring to Rule them All)

My first HDTV's were a pair of 50" Pioneer KURO's, (one for the Man-Cave, one for the Master Bedroom) But once we moved to the new house I quickly added an Epson 1080UB projector and a 120" motorized BIG screen. ...and picked up 4 Velodyne subs (also discontinued models, for half price) a pair of 12's + a pair of 15's.

HD Home Theater v1.0 would be powered by a 7.1 Yamaha RX-V3900 + 2 Front Presence speakers.

I cleaned, prepped and painted the basement concrete floor a week before possession, (BEHR Rich Brown) to keep the concrete dust to a minimum and would later staple Velvet directly to the studded insulated walls (sound/light reflection control and bass trap duty).
No drywall, no mud/tape, no sanding and no paint. No cleanup required. Cheap, Fast DIY, no tools except a measuring tape, scissors and a staple gun.

I put down some cheap discounted area rugs for the seating area and just in front of the TV. Then went shopping at IKEA for: a low height TV Stand/Bookcases/Shelves/End Tables/Lamps/Track Lights/Curtains and decorated with some spare items from the main floor. ....Saved the Big money for the Premium Leather Powered Recliners, and AV gear instead, where it really counts!

Pictures and Details of the early planning stages and google sketch-up designs here:
Unfinished Basement Layout Design Plans


=====================================================

Floor Plan/Speaker Layout for future 7.4.6 Here

2016 was Finally the year for 4K/UHD/HDR/DV/ATMOS/DTS:X/7.4.4 Upgrades!

Yamaha RX-A3050 7.2.4 AVR was first step for ATMOS audio! (Feb.2016)
UPGRADED to a Newer Heavily discounted discontinued RX-A3070 September 2018.

...with My old RX-V3900 AVR re-purposed as a 4 channel amp for the 4 Height/ATMOS Speakers. more info here: Hooking up Second AVR for Extra Speakers

JVC X750R (RS500) 4K projector replaced the Epson 1080UB in August 2016,

4K/UHD/HDR Player: Panasonic UB900 and Video Processor: HDFury Integral
later Upgraded to the HDFury Vertex + GoBlue Bluetooth for Smartphone App controller.

LG 65" 65B6P OLED replaced the old 50" KURO on Black Friday 2016,

Sceenshots from 4K movie comparisons between the JVC vs OLED Click Here



100% Matched to my Surrounds...Mission Bookshelf Speakers on swivel mounts for all 4 Height/Presence speakers (ATMOS/DTS:X).







Velodyne 15" Near Field Kidney Pounders, 2000w peak (each) Directly behind the MLP "Sweet Spot"





Quad Sub EQ via MiniDSP-2x4HD REW UMIK-1

Marshall Stack Bar Fridge, Single Malt Scotch Whisky collection,
Watched over by Angus my Scottish Gargoyle.



New 2" Thick Shag Area Rug from Costco in Charcoal Grey



My new Funk Audio 18.0 subs (Feb.2017) with High Gloss Walnut crotch veneer.
4800 watts peak (each) and extension down to ~10Hz, Easily my most expensive HT purchase to date, shortly behind the JVC. But SO worth it!

Just unwrapped and plugged in to test, so they have not been permanently placed yet,
But I Do kind of like them sitting where they are for now...so nice to see them from every possible angle on display



Home Made Sub-Dude's (24"x24"x2" Graphite Rigid Insulation samples, 24" carpet tiles)



Media storage v1.0, consisting of Bluray, HD DVD, PS3 and XBOX games, hiding just behind the micro suede curtains.



More recent BD's, 4K UHD's, 3D's, XB1/PS4 Games in the Storage area, Costco Kettle Popcorn Popper on the right.



IKEA FINNBY bookcases



SteelBooks!!!



3030039




Coolest SteelBook EVAR!!!


Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (((3D))) UK import (Salazar's Revenge) at 9 feet W-I-D-E




Oppo 203 added to the system Oct/2017 (Dolby Vision for the OLED, Region Free mod for 3D imports on the JVC, SACD Music)






Blade Runner 2049





IT



Atomic Blonde


Kingsman: The Golden Circle


XBOX ONE X Scorpio upgraded from my 3 y/o fat XBO

XB1 X Dashboard current games loaded after Day 1

Forza 7 with the new XB1 X 4K/60/HDR/ATMOS Gaming and Netflix ATMOS on the JVC at 120" ROCKS!



Next Level Upgrades to take my 7.4.4 system to 7.4.4.4 by adding 4 Tactile Transducers

miniDSP 2x4HD, UMIK-1 + REW + BEQ, Crowson Motion Actuator system...

Link to more recent postings (page 14)
 
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#4 ·
Look like it will be mint!


Does anyone know if the Roxul safe n sound is any good? I plan on using it to fill my ceiling joists and then just throw up some kind of tile or drop ceiling....


thanks
 
#6 ·
First off, you have a beautiful house. Congrats! And that is a really cool setup you have in the basement - Very man cavey. I'm uber jealous 'cause I don't think I'm going to be able to pull of the same thing with my "second" ht build.
 
#7 ·
You are an insane!


(when I grow up, I wanna be like you) ;-)


So can you list brand, model of everything (Speakers, Receiver, BR player if other than PS3, etc etc (you don't have to, but I wanted to brain storm for my future cave (right now I am not completing my basement ... yet.
 
#10 ·
hey piomaniac...my 5070hd crapped out on mr after paying $3600 for it 2 years ago. Master card will give me a new 5080hd as a replacement from future shop. I can upgrade to a 5020 1080p set but they run $4k and the 5080 is now $2k so i would have to fork out another 2 grand. My question is should i stick to the 5080hd? or go 5020?

is the 5020 worth double the price of the 5080? i sit sbout 8 feet from the tv.....thanks
 
#13 ·
Nice looking shack



Would you have the paint code and brand of paint you used on the main floor

floor by the stairs? Very nice.
 
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#126 ·

Installed my 50" Plasma on the wall with a Sanus full motion articulating mount (VMAA18B)


I am looking at the VMAA26 Sanus mount. However, the area where I need to mount the TV is higher than my optimal viewing height location of the TV.


I would like to flip the arched arm. But then NOT flip the TV mount brackets. It looks totally possible, but I've not seen one in person or assembled one. Are you able to look at your mount and let me know if you think that the arched arm could be installed upside down - thereby lowering the completed height of the television?


Thanks!
 
#16 ·
#18 ·
hey PioManiac I've been considering getting the private collection santa fe. You said that your initial reaction was that you felt like you were sitting on a cloud. What are your positives and negatives on them now that you've had them for a couple days and when the chair fully reclines does your head still face forward or more towards the ceiling?
 
#19 ·
thanks for the reply, I love the armrest idea btw and you definitely have a good idea about the storage tray... I was actually thinking of somehow attaching a remote holder of some sort to the side of the recliner but I haven't figured out how this would work without ruining the leather.

On the other note you wouldn't consider the chair reclining to a dead flat somewhat of a negative? you must have some very comfortable pillows
 
#21 ·
Piomaniac,


How do the black levels on your 1080UB compare to the 5080? More specifically, which one has darker blacks? Also, is the 1080 close to the 5080 as far as brightness is concerned if you are watching your 5080 in movie mode? Also, what screen gain is your screen?


Congrats on your new setup!
 
#22 ·
totally awesome!!! looks incredible! that projector is drop dead gorgeous... im very jealous man! Congrats on the good hard work! Will you be putting up dry wall at all?
 
#24 ·
Hey man the setup looks great. I am looking into buying a new motorized screen and have a couple questions for you.


Could you be able to provide me maybe by PM if not allowed to post here of who you bought the screen from on ebay. And does the screen have any waves in it at all?

Thanks

Andy
 
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