HDvids’s HT Thread – "Almost Finished" Edition - Page 2

Back from the dead with a little progress on the screen wall (bad iPhone pic):



2 inches of Owens Corning SelectSound black acoustic blanket behind the screen, and 6 inches below the screen for bass trapping. The thickness worked out perfectly with my LCRs, the entire screen wall is now flush with the speaker faces.

And WOW, what a difference this stuff made!! Audio noticeably tightened up, becoming much more distinct and clear then before. Another change I wasn't expecting was the volume level. It sounds to me like I actually gained a few dBs at the same power level compared to the untreated wall. I don't have any measurements to confirm that, so I could be totally off base. Anyone with more audio calibration knowledge then me (which is probably a large majority of you), feel free to explain away if you choose, I'm all ears.

In other news, I've had a small setback, if you can call it that. After getting the screen back up and the subs plugged back in, I noticed I wasn't getting quite the same LFE output as I was before. A little troubleshooting verified a bad subwoofer cable.

Let me repeat that, since it's the first one in my life...I HAD A SUBWOOFER CABLE GO BAD!!!! WTF? The only explanation I have is maybe I tweaked the cable a bit when I was installing the insulation in that area. I don't buy that explanation either, but it's the best I've got at the moment.

So, a new cable was ordering this morning from Monoprice, and the functioning Empire now has it's gain set to high noon in order to compensate for the 2nd one being down. Honestly one Empire still sounds fantastic, but it does reinforce how much better the room sounds with 2 of them running!!

- One 35 ft CL2 rated subwoofer cable - $13
- Knowing you can replace that cable in 10 minutes because you ran smurf tube to each subwoofer location - Priceless

Thanks! I need to add some updates now that I have the 2nd row of seating in, just been working on other things and haven't had a chance to get to it.

Luckily for me, I wasn't doing an entire basement finish like you are. If that were the case, I'd probably still be framing!

DOH, I've been had!! OK OK, I'll buckle down and add some updated pics this week. I'm in the process of painting door trim right now...I hate trim...but I guess I can take some time out and get things caught up around here on the picture front.

Did I mention how much I hate trim? The theater has been functional for many months, but I keep finding something to do other than trim.

For the rack, I actually have an equipment list in my first post. Here's a quick list so you don't have to go back...

Equipment List - Bottom Up:
APC S10 Power Conditioner with Battery Backup
APC H15 Power Conditioner
MA Pullout drawer
HTPC with DAS Enclosure (external SAS connections)
Denon AVR-3312CI UPDATED (not in pic)
Emotiva XPA-5 (5 x 200W @ 8 ohms, 300W @ 4 ohms) - L/C/R/SL/SR
Emotiva UPA-2 (2 x 120W @ 8 ohms, 185W @ 4 ohms) - Rear L/R Surrounds
Xbox360
PlayStation 3
Wii

Projector:
Panasonic PT-AE4000

Speakers:
Triad InWall Silver/6 LCR - 3
Triad OnWall Silver Surround - 2
Triad InRoom Gold Omni - 2

LFE:
Epik Empire Subwoofers - 2
DSPeaker Anti-Mode 8033s Subwoofer Equalizer
Aura Pro Bass Shakers - 6
BASH 500W plate amp (for bass shakers)

DIY AT Screen: 114 wide, 2.40: 1 AR (framed with black velvet, took the screen size down from 120" wide)
SeymourAV Center Stage XD material
80/20 aluminum channel frame, 1 ½ x 3 members
Protostar flocked light trap material to block reflections from the aluminum

I'll get the new pics up here soon, promise.

Toe nailing the studs. In hindsight, I would have just built them on the floor short, and shimmed them once they were up. Toe nailing was just slooooow.

Yeah, height was my biggest concern in the beginning of the build, and the ceiling joists were not exactly what I would call "straight." I figured (at the time) toenailing would be the best way to get decent coverage as high as possible on the wall. In the end it really doesn't matter which way you build it, you just have to account for the shortest height possible in a run, and build your wall below that level.

Cutting each and every stud to a similar but different length chews up time fast, not to mention installing each one separately. If you have help, I'm sure it's a much quicker process, but this was a one man operation from start to finish.

I can tell you why...because it's been buried around page 6 or later for months and months, that's why!

nebrunner, do you already have drywall up on the ceiling in your basement, or is it bare, with the joists exposed?

I recently helped a friend frame out a new room on his second floor that used to be a large open space. What we did is secured the top plate to the ceiling first, then measured the lowest point to the bottom of that plate from the floor. We then built the walls on the floor about 1/4" short of that measurement. This gives you enough space to lift the wall up without hitting the ceiling, then you just shim between the already installed top plate, and the top plate of the stud wall you built on the floor.

You end up with 2 top plates, but construction goes about 10X faster too. Plus, if you're planning on installing crown, the extra top plate gives you an easy location to nail against.

Or, go ahead and toenail. After having done both, I will say the option I just outlined is much more preferable than toenailing.

Hell, that should make it really easy then! If it were me, I'd just build your walls on the floor 1/2" short, then lift into place and secure to the joists/blocking with those clips. They should give you the extra room you need to lift the wall into place without hitting the ceiling.

Pictures were promised, so here we go...

First I'll start off with round one of panel building:


These are the 4" panels that go against the back wall between the rear surrounds, and one of them hides the electrical box. The material for all the panels is GOM Anchorage, color is Onyx.

Back of the panels


Corner staples


Corner detail - The folds are on the top and bottom, so they're completely invisible once hung.



Here's a current pic of the theater. You can see the 3 panels in the back. I've got 4 more panels built for the early reflection points, just have to wrap and hang them.



Back row has been in for awhile now, but I believe these are the first pics I've actually posted. The "couch" setup works really well in the back. I wasn't planning for a reclining second row so it can get a little tight for tall people reclining in the back, but I'm happy with how it turned out. My better half actually prefers the back row, seat in the corner. Funny since I was thinking that would be the most undesirable seat in the theater since it's so close to the wall, but she certainly doesn't mind it.

View from the other corner


Looking forward - Screen wall has been trimmed out with black velvet panels.




I tried to get a close-up of the screen corner with the velvet trim, but it's tough to get a good shot. You can just see the seam between 2 panels because of the flash. Corners are nice and tight, turned out great.


Back Row - Berkline 45013 w/power recline


The dreaded pocket door


We'll finish off with some rack shots now that I have my trim up! The only thing left to finish on the rack is to purchase an RSH shelf for the new Denon AVR-3312. MA doesn't have them measured yet (and I don't feel like shipping them my new baby!!), so in the meantime I just wrapped some foam core with the protostar flocking and filled in the gap above the receiver. Looks like a black hole compared to the brushed aluminum.


Side view w/flash


Upper left-hand corner


And finally, the half bath is complete, except for, of course, trim:



Still to do:
- Base trim in theater
- super chunks in rear corners
- build box to cover sump pump
- finish and hang acoustic panels for early reflections
- finish trim in half bath
- something else I'm sure I'm forgetting

Thanks Steve. Slow and steady...doesn't exactly win any races, but progress is progress!

For the frames in the back, I bought some 1x10 Select Pine, and ripped them down to exactly 4" wide boards. Anything thicker, and they would start to encroach on the rear surrounds. After that is was cut, screw, and staple together. I have a boatload of OC703 sitting in the garage to fill these up with, as well as to build corner chunks with.

For the screen wall panels, I ended up buying finger-joined exterior trim boards and ripping them down to 2 1/2" wide members. They worked great. Since the front panels frame the screen, I needed them to be as perfectly straight as possible, and the finger-joined boards fit the bill nicely. They're only 3/4" thick, so the panels hardly take up any additional room at all. Plus since it's a DIY screen, there is no boarder, the entire wall is the screen border. Very cool IMHO.

Got it at a local reseller outside Columbus, the name is General Insulation Company. (link) I also bought my Owens Corning SelectSound black acoustic blanket from them, which is what I have behind the screen.


Well, they're boards for the...wait for it...exterior of your house. They come in a couple of different sizes, usually one side is smooth, and the other side is textured, depending on how you want to apply them. The big advantage is that if you look at the wood grain, it's not a solid piece of wood. Every foot or so is a joint, so you end up with extremely straight boards that won't warp over time.

Here's a pic I found on the 'net, you can just barely see the finger joints where they've joined the wood together:


Much more straight than any solid wood board you'll find, which is necessary when working with long straight edges on the screen boarder.