"Shh, No Talking" Home Theater... - Page 5

Thanks for the ideas Brad. I figured I would stick with the rigid stuff for the panels, just needed clarification, that's all

Well, once again I disappoint with the lack of pictures but I can assure that I am making progress

I finally got around to start painting my econowave cabs which I will finish tomorrow!

On a different note though, I am ready to order my 4 IB3 drivers but I just need to figure out if I should order the single 4ohm drivers or the single 2ohm drivers. I'm figuring the single 2's that way I can wire them in series to create a 4ohm load on each channel and stay safe, less heat anyway. Since the driver's RMS is 550 watts I believe, the EP4000 amp should be able to provide that without sweat even at 4ohm to each channel. Let me know if you have any other thoughts on that or any reasons to grab the 4ohm version

Pictures are coming, sometime soon

Update:

I ended up ordering the 2ohm version drivers so I can make a 4ohm load per channel.

I just about finished my LCR's, paint is done and so is wiring, just need to cut out a seal for the back panel and we're good to go

Riser is finished and all wiring is ran, but I may have a problem, lets hope not. I ran my LCR, right surround and subwoofer speaker wire along the main structural beam which also has a handful of power wires for lights and outlets in the rest of the basement running side by side, will I have a problem with interference? Tomorrow I will find out exactly what those wires run to but in the meantime, is there any kind of diy shielding I can run down the bulk of speaker wires just in case?

I also STUPIDLY made a few of my longest runs too short so I had to splice in some more length because it would have been way too much of a hassle to replace them, buuuuut I probably will replace them anyway, job for tomorrow (rolls eyes).

Good news! I am FINALY getting some pictures up and I figured out how to neaten up my splices!


First, my splicing fix...




2nd, my "just about complete" Econowave LCR's...














Then comes my wiring and framing...

The problem child...








Stage and front wall...




Rear riser...




Beginning build of my Monkey Man inspired projector mount...




And that's about it for now. Tomorrow, I will finish the LCR's (I need to make the gasket for the back panels and paint the screws black), work on the projector mount some more and then go from there. Sometime this week, we will get an outlet wired in the ceiling for the projector as well.

One last note, has anyone experienced problems with running their HDMI cable in the same bulk as their speaker wire? Both are together for only 5-6 feet though so I wasn't too worried about it but if it might be a problem, I can work something out to get it out of the way.

Let me know if you guys have any concerns on my wiring being next to electrical lines. I just noticed that the large gray wire is feed from the street so I can move that up above the rest of the wires but that might be the best I can do.

Welp, I finished the Econowaves today, I painted the screws black yesterday and reinstalled today, made the gaskets last night for the back panel and tried them out today. They do sound good, not sure if there is a break in period or not though. They sound different than my Paradigm towers, part of the difference is how they seem to blend with the picture more, not that my Paradigm's were localizable, just that these seem to blend better I guess.

On the other hand, first movie I tried with them was transformers because I've heard it many times on my current speakers. During a few scenes, the speakers seemed to lack some sounds in a few areas, not sure why. I did watch Source Code today with them though and they played very nice. I didn't have them cranked yet, but at a good volume. I did re-run Audessey for these btw. During Source Code, the whole room seemed to blend very well between the fronts and surrounds, made the surrounds jump out more than usual. Granted this was the first time watching this movie so maybe it was just the recording, but idk. Either way I'm pleased so far. Below is just a shot of the cabe with painted screws, what a difference!




And then with them just sitting in their place on the front wall...

Well, I just thought of another issue that's been in the back of my mind the whole time and I need to do something about it before drywall, which is soon.

The two walls that are built against the concrete are exactly that, built right against the concrete, so, there is no way for me to cover the entire concrete wall with rigid foam insulation. Would my next option be to cover what I can of the concrete with the rigid foam? I can't get behind the studs, not with foam anyway. I could always try to squeeze a plastic barrier behind the studs although I'm not sure how tight the studs are against the wall at the moment, but, if anyone has any ideas on how to address this, they would be much appreciated

Thanks for the idea paul but I don't think I want to cut all of my joists down like that. I'll see if I can squeeze palstic behind and maybe go with that.

Other ideas are welcome

I figured it was time for an update, although not tooo much has been done, enough to flood with a few pictures

Here is my new 18" IB3, 4 of them total...



Front wall, all plywood screwed and glued to framing...



I framed out "boxes" for my surrounds...





This one had me pondering for a while, block off, seal off, what to do? I decided that I would just paint the glass black, stuff insulation in there and drywall right over the windows. The catch though, I also decided to completely cover the walls with removable fabric panels instead of paint, in turn I will leave a section of drywall removable around the window opening just in case I need to replace the window.



These next two are showing the lovely drain pipe that I had to build a soffit around and where it goes through the top corner of my screen wall. I just need to figure out how to seal up the gaps, mainly for vibrations and rattling against the soffit framing. Could I use acoustical caulk for this or expandable foam in a can? Ideas?





Here is a shot of my projector mount. After some time, I realized that I will probably have issues with LFE shaking the projector because of the bass waves flanking all the way from my front wall to the projector, so to fix, I will try to isolate the 2x4's and plywood with IB3 clips...



This shot is just where my speaker wire runs into the closet...



Green glue...



Silenseal, Whisper Clips, IB3 clips and putty pads...



I was originally only going with 4 can lights near the screen because I don't need hella light in the room, movies only, nothing else, but then I decided that it would be easier to do more lighting now than later. No room for sconces so I decided on 3 can lights above each row of seating, total of 10 can lights, but maybe 9 because I might pull one from the front and have 3 on the screen wall, that way my plumbing guy doesn't have to move any water lines for the 4th box. Here are my backer boxes I whipped up (well, not really whipped, it did take a while and I'm still not done :P ) and the drywall lining and the cans them selves...







Finally, my rack, all of the gear is in there and the PJ is just on top for the time being...



And of course, everyone can appreciate a neat wiring job, not easily seen but it's there



Enjoy and stay tuned

Thanks! I hear ya though, with my first room layout design, I didn't have the opportunity for one either, not in the recommended location anyway, but after I decided to swap the room around, it will work out well, hopefully

I will encourage that

Thanks Stock, I can't wait to see what it can do How is yours doing? Ever feel like it's not enough? (I assume that's a dumb question but had to ask)


Wiring is fun to neaten as long as you have room to work, tight spaces suck :P

Just a little update for those of you that are following along...

No pictures at the moment but for now I just about finished my backer boxes for my can lights and used Silenseal to seal around my surround speaker cavity's in the wall. Tomorrow my buddy is coming over to help install clips and channels, almost drywall time!!

Thanks Andreas, I'm almost ready for DW but I'm stuck at what kind of moisture barrier to put up. Should I put thin rigid foam insulation against the concrete first, then R13 and then plastic sheathing? My problem lies in my framing, my 2x4's are right against the concrete (no no I heard, bu too late to properly fix) so I can't completely cover the concrete with rigid foam so my next idea is to install ridid foam inbetween joists, then R13 followed by plastic. Any comments?

EDIT: Just about all of the clips are installed. I need to order a few more due to the fact that each run of furring channel will have a total length of 18' and could only find 10' sections so I need to splice together 6 runs and need a clip on each joist straddleing the splice :-/

I'm not running DC04's or anything similar, just the 2x4's right to the ceiling and floor. But, my riser is already built so it won't be easy to redo the walls that are against concrete. If I have no choice but to leave the studs where they are, should I at least start by putting rigid foam against the concrete in between the studs? Should I try to squirt spray foam behind the studs? What are your thoughts?

Thank you sir! I actually didn't use the design from the sound proofing company. I went with a different design I found because I already had 4 of the IC rated lights and didn't want to buy new ones and discard those so I went with a style that fit right around my current lights, they came out well, drywall was a pain but ehh

Also, if I went with the sound proofing company's design, they would have been too big I think, at least for my front wall cavity's.


I've actually been talking with Ted and John Hile about this, I decided not to decouple the walls because of how narrow the room already is and didn't want to loose another inch from each side because my pathways are already narrow vurry tight :/

Some of the joists are 1/8"-3/16" away but some are right against the concrete so what do I do? Just spray in the spots that I can? I think that's my best bet.


Aww bummer, I can't wait to get mine up and running, I'm very anxious to see what it can do!

Well, not too much has been done since my last update. I did finish the backer boxes (9 total) and plan to put them up wednesday afternoon, it's gonna SUCK! Wish me luck

In the mean time I need to find a place for thin rigid foam insulation, any recommendations?

Thanks Benji, I'll shoot to my local HD tomrrow and see what I can come up with, I'll also check out the ones you mentioned although they don't sound too familiar.

Thanks

Well, HD carry's what I'm looking for at a fair price. I will probably pick some up in the next day or two.

In the mean time, I did get 6 of my backer boxes for my can lights mounted, everything went smoother than anticipated

My buddy and I made a jig to hold the box in place while we screwed in the IB3 clips, I will post pictures soon. Today we will hang the last 3 boxes for lights above the screen.

Also, since my boxes were fairly small and "light" I only installed each box with 2 IB3 clips. Once the drywall is up and Silensealed / screwed to the backer boxes, they won't be going anywhere

Stay tuned

P.S. My plan for insulation goes as followed... 3/4" pink rigid foam glue to my concrete between my 16" OC joists (unfortunately, I can't get behind my joists so I'll have to live with that), I will seal where the foam meets the 2x4's with a little Silenseal, followed by R13 fiberglass with the paper on the outside? and then a 4mil plastic vapor barrier on top of that (on the warm side of the room). Sound ok? Because I have no idea, this is the best I can come up with after all of my research :-/