New Member... Dedicated HT

Hi all! I've been enjoying these forums over the years and thought I would finally post some pics...

We bought a new house last summer, and it already had a dedicated HT room in the basement...

Floating walls, insulated, black ceilings, no windows, gray carpeted walls, separate component room for access to back of components. It was great...

All that was a great deal... BUT, when we took possession, the previous owners left all the equipment as well! A little old, but all flagship gear in it's day, and still rocks...

What they left:

Denon AVR 5803
Denon DVD 9000
KEF THX 5.1 speakers (TDM Series)
DaLite 106" Cinema Contour Screen
SIM2 Grand Cinema 720p projector mounted to the floor joists above

What I added/changed so far:

Panny PT-AE4000U (The SIM2 didn't work)
Panny BD55 (HDMI direct to projector, optical and analog 7.1 to AVR 5803 for newer formats)
My old Boston VRSPro THX dipole surrounds to make it 7.1
JKP Affinity 0.6 gain screen in existing Cinema Contour frame
Row of 3 recliners
Row of 2 recliners on a new carpeted riser
Black slip-covered couch as the front row

My very first HT system back in the 90s, was the old Denon AVR 5600 with Boston Acoustics 5.1 THX speakers, so I loved fact that they left me a "newer" Denon flagship...

Anyway, I can't think of anything else I want to do right now in the room... I'm always looking for suggestions though!

My wife bought me a kegerator two Christmases ago, and a popcorn machine this past Christmas, and I would like to build a wetbar/second kitchen in the area right outside the theater room door, where the keg and popcorn are currently. (No pictures of that)


**Update**

Added screen wall pics to the bottom of the thread.
*4 Aura Bass 93Shaker Pros installed to seats
*Additional subwoofer


**Update** 2/6/12

New Pics at bottom of thread
Added acoustical panels and coverings
New 137" 16:9 EN4K AT screen

**Update** 3/15/12

Upgraded to Panny PT-AE7000U w/ Gen3 Panny glasses
Upgraded to Oppo 93



**Update** 3/31/12

Chris Seymour at Seymour Screen Excellence was kind enough to send me another screen frame to swap out. The new one is able to accept the Seymour magnetic masks for Scope masking. Pictures of the masks installed are at the end of the thread. Thanks Chris! The masks are really slick!



**Update** 6/2/2012
Center channel tweeter fried...
Added in a KEF R500 tower for the center channel.

Thanks.

I still have the Sim2... In fact I threw it on eBay as is, and someone bought it for ~$150. But when they received it, I guess it wasn't what they expected, and shipped it back to me. I guess there was a different version of the same projector that had a converter box or something that I didn't have. Anyway, if anyone wants it... let me know... maybe it just needs a new bulb.

BTW, the tall cabinet *is* the A/V cabinet, but it's actually just the trim and doors to the component room behind it. The door into the room is around the corner.

Hey JT,

I checked out your page, and that is a really sweet av center you made up.

My father was an avid woodworker in his "spare" time, making grandfather clocks etc.

And those front speakers you have remind me of my first set of speakers that I found in the attic when I was little. They were huge ARs, and they sounded great too!

Hi again,

I couldn't tell where else to post this in other forums, so I decided to add it to my existing post.

While watching a BR yesterday, I think I noticed a flicker in the image when my heat pump kicked off. That got me to thinking about power management and conditioning.

I currently don't have any power conditioners. I can't think of anyting else I'd like to change or upgrade at this time as far as AV gear goes, so maybe this is a place to look to spend some money.

The projector has an outlet above the suspended ceiling. There is some sort of small power protection "box" plugged directly into the outlet, that the PJ plugs into. I think it was a Monster brand. I can check if it makes a difference. The rest of the gear is plugged into a typical power distribution block/surge protector.

I guess I'd be looking for something that would be another component in the rack to plug all the AVR/BD/Cable box into, and then something for the projector area. The projector area would need to be something small to fit in the ceiling area, or would it be better to run an extension cord off the main component unit and over to the projector?

What is the best way to go? Brands? Noticeable benefits?

I've never noticed any strange things from the audio or video aside from what I think I saw last night. Thanks!

Update for screen wall completion.


Old front of theater...



New screen false wall...



Added another sub and moved them to the front now...



Left front and lower panel removed...

That's all DIY. Thanks for the compliment, although black GOM covers a multitude of sins. I used this thread for the planning:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=837848

Basically an "H" with 4 frames flanking the screen. I learned a lot through the process. If you want any tips, let me know.

Thanks for all the kind words!

I think I'm finally done with my projects in there.

*Translation* I think I'm done with projects in there for summer at least.

With the recent additions of the riser, bass shakers, extra sub, and screen wall, I have every DIY project in there done I can think of... for now.

Maybe I'll have to start on the bar area outside theater. Damn. Work is never done.

Very good question...

There were a few ideas I tossed around when doing it... I also had crown molding at the top as well.

I considered building the side frames an inch or so narrower and applying cushion foam to the edge so the frame would conform to the base. The wrapping the GOM around the whole thing. I felt that had too much opportunity for the fabric to look wrinkled and the whole thing to look sloppy.

As I don't have a picture, what I did was to cut the "wall side" of the frame so it fit right to the top of the baseboard, then attached a 12" or so piece of 1x2 inside the wall piece to go around the baseboard. There is a slight gap, as the baseboard is only 1" thick and the frame is 1x2s, but it's not noticeable at all. Also, it created a few more corners to cut and wrap when doing the GOM, but overall, I like it.

Hope that is understandable. Basically two 1x2 flat next to each other. Cut the wall side shorter than the other side of the frame, and attach a short extension piece of 1x2 next to the short side piece to "notch" the frame out for the baseboard.

Here's a quick mock up I drew.



The black is the fabric frame. The red is the wall and the baseboard. I built the frames with the 1x2 flat. So at the base, there are (2) 1x2 flat edge to edge. I just screwed through them to secure them. You could do pocket screws, or mending plates or whatever you feel comfortable with.

You could put the foam on the outside of the frames, just around the notch, but I don't think you'll really be bothered by the space. Depending on the complexity of your baseboard profile, you could scribe the short piece to fit perfectly. I wasn't going for craftsman-grade construction with this project, so it was all a trade off of speed and ease of build vs. cutting corners... literally. I went from Home Depot to finished in about 5 hours total time. I spent a lot longer planning and measuring before getting materials, and planning out the materials list to minimize expense and waste. My ceiling height was 100", and the 1x2 only come in 8 ft lengths, so I redesigned the frame construction to accomodate that.

One tip that I should have listened to beforehand... measure for the frames, and then build them at least 1/4" less all the way around. My walls etc. weren't EXACTLY square, and 1/8" over 90-100" can make for a lot of frustration when frames don't fit together because they are too big or not square. I built mine with an 1/8" gap and the frames were square, but I had to go back a few times and shave off one edge or another because the walls weren't exactly square.

As I'm looking at the picture I posted, I think I put the top and bottom pieces "outside" the upright pieces, not "inside". That was to help with the length issue I mentioned before.

Okay, so I'm getting another itch...

I've been looking at MITCHP's thread, and I'd like to plan out doing some dropped crown molding with rope lighting...

Here's the question...

What would y'all do about the false wall WTR the crown idea? The front part of the theater is a drywalled ceiling at 100", painted black. Half way back there is a step down in the ceiling to accomodate some mechanicals, and the ceiling transitions to acoustical tile. There is a 6" drywalled "upright" portion on the front of the tile portion that would be perfect for routing the electrical connections for the crown.

I would like to put the crown around the back and sides of the drywalled "front" portion, and the front, but I am at a loss with what to do with the false wall.

Thanks for any ideas.

Quick Update to my theater thread...

I got the itch to upgrade to an AT screen. Short version is I ended up with a 137" diagonal 16:9 Seymour Screen Excellence Enlightor 4K. Long version...

I hemmed and hawwed about whether to go Scope or 16:9, and after a few night of shooting larger images on my front wall, decided to stay 16:9. The thought process was that I was going physically as wide as the room would allow, so the Scope image would be a large as possible. I also watch, enjoy and seek out a fair number of BD concerts which are all 16:9. And then the occasional TV watching. I also like the transition from Scope to IMAX in movies like TDK, Inception etc.

So my scope is a big as it can be, and I also get the benefit of full size 16:9. Anyway, it seemed like the right choice for me, and I'm happy.

While the screen was down, I lined the front wall with OC QuietR, added bass traps in the corners, added some acoustical panels using first reflection calculators, built a shelf to hold the center channel at the seated ear level, moved the mains inboard, behind the screen and off the walls, and added some LED lighting to illuminate the speakers behind the wall.

The EN4K material doesn't lend itself to transparency for illuminated speakers. It is a unique material. Looking straight at it, level, you can't see anything through it. If you stand close to it, and look "down" through it, you can make out the speakers illuminated behind it. It's almost like a polarization effect, but isn't. It's because of how the material is woven. I do get a soft glow over the entire screen though, which will be cool for listening to music and not having to stare at the blank screen or the darkness. The LED strip lighting from barlighting.com is pretty slick. I wouldn't hesitate to order from them again.

Some planning notes... If you're considering installing a screen that is just about as wide as your room, and it's 16:9, you have to plan carefully. This screen was about 3" or less from each side wall, so I would have had trouble manuvering it into the room once built, so I decided to build it in place on the floor in front of the screen wall. Installing the screen material has to be planned out so as to not "paint yourself into a corner". There wasn't enough room along the side wall to walk around, and from standing, I could not jump across the "height" of the screen, so I installed around all three sides, leaving the corner away from the screen wall for last, so I could step into that to get out.

Anyway, here are the before and afters...


Before








After

I was slightly concerned about viewing angles, eye movement angles and neck eye strain, as I was pretty comfortable with the 106" that I had originally.

No problem whatsoever.

The couch in the picture gets almost zero use, and is really only for overflow or music listening. Primary seating is in the second row at around 13.5 feet, or 1.3 times the screen width.

I was grinning from ear to ear when I first fired the new screen up. Perfect size and no eye strain or problems. I was also concerned that my Panny 4000U wouldn't have the balls to light it up, but again, no problem. 650 hours on the bulb, and after I dialed everything in, I was still happy in Eco mode.

I got nothing but dropped jaws for Super Bowl yesterday. That was my motivation to get it done this weekend.

Did you ever get around to building your false wall that you were talking about last year?