The Little Theater That Could - Start to Almost Finished - Page 2

Subupgrade: 2X12" Bazooka subs in 2 ft^3 boxes. I rebuilt the cabinet doors to have a grill cloth insert so I can hide the admittedly ugly boxes. I'm driving them with a large vintage amp at about 150 watts each.

Thanks vivatech for the compliment. I wouldn't worry too much about the price you paid for your gear as long as you are happy with it. Speakers especially are something you will have for years and years so may as well get the good ones.

18 month update:
My wife and I still use the theater pretty much daily (a little less in the summer). No cable tv or satellite so we mainly watch movies (I have a decent bluray collection) and a few select tv shows on disc (Fringe, Dexter, Walking Dead, Big Bang Theory, etc) We both really look forward to settling in for the evening, her on one end of the couch knitting and me on the other, reclined, pillowed, blanketed and a cup of steaming coffee beside me (or cold apple cider in the summer).
Sound: My mish-mash of speakers have performed admirably, never straining or bottoming out with an 80hz hi-pass even though I often listen quite loudly (-10 to -4 on my Pioneer receiver if that means anything). Although the bass varies significantly seat to seat it is spot on where I sit. Unfortunately one of the Bazooka subs has started to crackle so I have taken it out of service and am contemplating a significant upgrade with two 15" or 18" Daytons in different locations that will hopefully smooth the response at other seats in my squarish room. I still find the surround fully enveloping though there is little space behind the seating. Besides the subs I have no desire to upgrade any of it.
Image: I was very happy with the 106" Accuscreen but wanted a wider screen for scope movies. I used silver spandex to help out the poor black levels on the Acer. I am happy with the screen but will likely switch to white spandex when I upgrade to something with better black levels. The 112" width gives me a 50 degrees viewing angle which I find just about perfect for scope movies. The Acer has been a great little projector for the money but it most definately is a compromise. The longer I hold out though the better the upgrade will be.
Update November 26, 2012: Even with a new bulb I was fighting the urge to come out of Eco mode on the Silver Spandex. Have now stretched white across and am happier with the brightness, although dark scens don't quite have the same impact.

The only other significant change I would make is sound proofing. With three kids I have a noisey house. This would have of course added significantly to the construction cost. At this point it is too late.

For the money I am very happy with the theater. It will have provided a couple years of enjoyment, almost daily. Yes, there are a few upgrades in the future but all in good time. There is no rush because I have a perfectly serviceable room right now.
Edited by DavidK442 - 11/26/12 at 7:05pm

Thanks. Happy to report that the family is still enjoying it on a daily basis. In fact sometimes I think we spend too much time in there. A reasonable investment and we are getting every cent back out of it.

Still trying to make the attic work? Screen size is only half the question. What you need to do is figure out what viewing angle you prefer. This calculator is handy.http://myhometheater.homestead.com/viewingdistancecalculator.html

At my screen width (112") and viewing distance (about 9.5') it gives a viewing angle of about 52 degrees. I find this adequate for 2.35 movies but a bit overwhelming for 16:9 content so I shrink it down to about 100' wide. I have tried moving my seating forward to see if bigger would be better for 2.35 movies but haven't found that a wider viewing angle than 52 degrees adds much to the experience. I think many people shoot for a 45 degree angle and are totally happy. Others go crazy at 60 degrees plus. I think 55 degrees would be my maximum.

I saw that you were considering using the Seymour Center Stage XD material. Bare in mind that if you sit much closer than 10 feet to it you will likely start to see the fabric weave itself. I went with spandex which has some compromise with image detail and reflectance but is baby bum smooth. Good luck and if there is anything else I can give unprofessional advice on just ask.

tbraden32: A bit unorthodoxed but given the sloped ceiling you could do an upside down "T" shaped screen to maximize both 2.39 and 16:9. Shouldn't be too difficult to rig up masking from top down and sides in so the odd ball shape isn't obvious. Just a thought. Sad to live without a theater for 2 years of deliberation. Let's see a build thread in the New Year!


Edited by DavidK442 - 12/4/12 at 11:48am

No problem. I feel a bit selfconscious posting in my old theater build thread and bringing it back to the top of the heap when there is really nothing new to share.
Let me know when you start your own build as I would like to follow along.

Some significant upgrades underway so thought I would revive the old build thread.

First, not sure why I never posted a picture of the new wider spandex screen. Went from a 92" wide 16X9 format to 112" wide constant area sized screen. Also pulled it forward about 6 inches to make room for left/right speakes in behind and to give a wider viewing angle. (Unfotunately the room is just too narrow to get a full screen shot from the viewing area.)


Well, I am sad to say that my Acer 5360 has bitten the dust. It started having intermittant fan warnings and shutting down a few weeks ago; two years and 4000 hrs on the clock.
Over the past few days that was accompanied by a terrible noise and vibration. Yesterday morning it said goodbye.
I took it apart to access both fans. There is a larger computer type fan that can be seen through the front vent and a smaller one shaped like a furnace fan deeper inside.
Both seemed to turn fine by hand, but I suspect a bushing/bearing is shot on the small one. Fan failure seems to be a common thing but not so much successful repairs. Many have tried and failed. Got a lot of enjoyment for $300/year but still sucks.
Now I'm in a dilema. Wait to see what the fall projector release holds or jump on that BenQ W1070 that seems to be getting so much attention (most of it favorable). I drug my sons 47" LCD into the theater last night and although it had a great picture the tiny size made me weep.
Edited by DavidK442 - 3/26/13 at 12:19am