My Home Theater in the Stars....

I’ve got a new Home Theater build in progress so I thought it might be a good idea to start a build thread of my own. It’s been an exciting project so far and can’t wait for the first light/sounds.

My vision for this project will be of course a home theater for personal entertainment but I also will be using this space as a gallery for my photography work. I think display of my astophotography and space shuttle launch photography will be pretty cool down there. So a Home Theater in the Stars is born….on our home planet, a pale blue dot in a vast cosmic arena….

For a little background, I have a long history of enjoying music, with my brother being a professional musician – Randy Hetlage – and I even worked in a recording studio years back after graduating from engineering school. In high school I had a dream teenager job, working for SpeakerCraft in St. Louis. I built speaker cabinets and crossovers for them and learned a lot on general speaker designs. Today I work as an executive for a healthcare IT company and on the side I do some freelance photography work – mainly astrophotography and aerospace photography. Check out my site at

http://imagingthecosmos.com

My goal for this project will be to have a budget limited - premier sound system as my use will probably be 60/40 music. My space for this project is an existing entertainment room with a pool table and old Pioneer Elite rear projection TV. I also had some old audio gear – Carver amps/pres and a pair of self-made Aria 5/10 speakers. I was happy with this system for many years but it is time for an upgrade. We are remodeling the room with a new ceiling, lighting, flooring and furniture….and new equipment of course. I will take pics as we go through the process.

For an equipment list here is what I am steeling down on…I am holding off till the last day to buy this stuff as tech changes so frequently.

Epson PowerLite Pro Cinema 6010 Projector
http://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store/j...sku=V11H399020

I have demo’d several projectors and this one just knocked my socks off…It is bright, very nice colors and darks, and amazing 3D. We will be projecting to a 110 inch screen. I haven’t decided on a screen yet but assume it will be a 16x9 and probably a Da-Lite.

Bowers and Wilkins CM9 Main Speakers, CWM 7.3 Center, CCM 7.5 Rears

http://www.bowers-wilkins.com/Speake.../Overview.html

I have always enjoyed listening to B&W’s and it came down to these or Dynaudios. I came to like the B&W’s more for the mids and highs over the better low end of the Dynaudios. I figured I could enhance the lows with a nice sub anyway…I also demo’s the 804D’s and did like them a tad bit better overall, probably due to the larger cabinet size and better tweeter, but to be honest I could not hear a $4500 difference. My dream speakers would be the 803D’s but those will have to wait for a dedicated sound room, and a slightly larger budget than I have for this project! Seriously the 803’s are amazing speakers. I changed my plans a bit and am now going with a built in center and an acoustically transparent screen. B&W's of course!

Rythmik F12SE Subs (Dual)

http://www.rythmikaudio.com/F12SE.html

Picking subs is a lot like trying to decide on your favorite bottle of wine…it’s is just too tough given all the options and variances that are out there. It is also nearly impossible to demo a sub because room dynamics have so much to do with the end result. I opted for the Rythmik because I was looking for an audiophile quality sub to compliment the CM9’s, not for a booming sub. From what I have read on the AVS Forums these are very good subs for this purpose…I will report back once I get them installed and calibrated. They have been ordered and are waiting delivery.

Integra DHC 80.3 Preamp
http://www.integrahometheater.com/mo...m=DHC-80.3&p=i

I haven’t totally settled on this one yet…its between this pre and the Marantz AV7005
http://us.marantz.com/us/Products/Pa...oductId=AV7005

I certainly like the specs on the Integra pre but I have heard great things about the Marantz as well. I doubt I could hear the difference so it will probably come down to feature/function and $’s. I am looking at Adcom amps or perhaps go with the matching Integra/Marantz amps.

Oppo BDP-93 Blue Ray 3D Player
http://www.oppodigital.com/blu-ray-bdp-93/

Great reviews, all the features I am looking for including SACD and DVD Audio (I still have a lot of discs!)

Salamander Synergy Systems Equipment Rack

http://salamanderdesigns.com/syn/quads.jsp

SuperBrightLEDs.com RGB LED Lighting – Trey Ceiling

http://www.superbrightleds.com/cgi-b...RGB.htm#photos

I was looking for a nice accent light for my new trey ceiling and LEDs were on my list. I found these lights on-line and without seeing any recommendations or reviews I ordered a few strings as well as a wireless controller….keeping my fingers crossed! I will take some pics once we get these installed…I got a feeling these will be really cool! Ultimately I plan on painting the ceiling portion of the trey with a star field to match my astro theme.

I’ve been learning Google SketchUp recently and this HT has been my first project, so far I like it! Here are a few Sketch pics of the design…we haven’t landed on colors for the walls or floor yet but given all the toys on the list my wife will probably take the lead on this. Originally she wanted a tile floor but I think I have talked her into carpeting (thank God!). All the components are downloaded images from Google so the final product will look slightly different but the layout is pretty accurate. The lighting and electrical work have been completed and tomorrow they start insulating and hanging drywall.








As you can see from the drawing there is an imbalance issue for my sound system…this is a big concern of mine but I really had no other choice in how to place my equipment. I plan on dampening the walls with panels to help compensate and I am hoping that the Audesey calibration will help….any suggestions?

Interesting you said that...I have been looking into other screen formats this week - I certainly want to be thinking ahead....The main viewing area of the room is approximately 12x20, with my seating about 14 feet back (eye to screen). I am not thinking 3D will be a huge part of my viewing, more for special events than anything else...I failed to mention that my son is a special effects major at SCAD and I suspect in 4 years I will be doing more critical viewing of his works, but that is probably another tech generation past where I will be today anyway. My thinking was the screen should probably outlast the projector (in terms of technology refresh) so getting the right screen today is important. One other consideration of the screen is size relative to the other system components, I know my projector can handle a larger screen however it will be tough to place my speakers too much further apart then they are in the drawing due to the wall space limitations...Thx for the feedback!

I'll work on a floor plan Spaceman (I like the handle and am curious given your location in Houston). The rear speakers are on stands, Aria 5 mains (a Joe D'Appilito MTM design). I have also wired and framed for an in-ceiling rear surround to replace the floor stand speakers in the future, I am considering B&W CCM7.3's. I have also wired for side surrounds but have no plans at this time. Of course any suggestions on speaker placement would be greatly appreciated!

Here the seating we have bought for the new theater...its a Haverty's Hollywood Pro 6 piece sectional (4 seats).

Nice build! I will keep an eye on your progress. I asked them if there was a wall mounted controller and they didn't have one, poor design imo...I'll keep looking.

Nice! lol... I've met a few real spacemen from covering the Space Shuttle program in FL which is why I asked...

I hear ya on the speaker stands...The speaks themselves are not well represented in this sketch, they are larger and are quite sturdy. Getting them higher will be an issue, maybe I need to move forward more rapidly on the B&W rears...Thx for the suggestion, makes perfect sense.

Thx! I covered the final 3 shuttle launches for Sky and Telescope magazine and boy did NASA give us some access! I have 8 remote cameras setup for STS135, some as close as 100 yards from the pad....it was a great year! Good luck in school and hopefully things will pick up again soon for NASA.

I think its a bit late for a fiber optics ceiling, drywallers are coming in the morning....but I am fortunate to have one of the best sky mural artists around just up the road from me, so when the time is right I hope to have the ceiling painted up right - perhaps inspired by one of my astro photos.

I'm ultimately going to install the B&W CCM7.4's in the ceiling (I have already framed for them)...the Aria 5's on stands are only for a short time....

http://www.bowers-wilkins.com/Speake...es/CCM7.4.html

Here is a quick WIP vid of my space...not a huge project but I'm enjoying the build...

OT Pic....taken this morning from my observatory here in GA...our sun has been putting on quite a show recently....my wife thought this might make a nice cover for an acoustic panel...interesting idea...

Hi all...sorry for the dup post (I submitted a similar post on the Screen thread)....I am looking for a screen recommendation as I may be switching my center channel approach from a CMC2 center to a behind-screen CMW7.3 and would appreciate any thoughts.

I am going with an Epson 6010 projector. My projector will be about 14ft back, and seating will also be about 14ft back. I am considering a 110 inch screen - I could go larger but it creates some issues with my speaker placement so 110 is optimal for me. I want to enjoy 3D but mostly 2D, my lighting is controllable but I want some viewing to be with ambient lighting on for sporting events and casual events. AVS has recommended a Da-Lite CinemaVision 1.3 gain screen for my use, but now I am considering an AT screen.

I have a budget of about $1500 for a screen and frame...Thx in advance for any thoughts and recommendations.

I've read your thread...very interesting and a possibility! I'll look into the Seymour screens.

Update: I made a slight change to my audio setup. I made the decision to move forward with the B&W CCM 7.5 rears and the CWM 7.3 Center....order them today. I also ordered the projector and screen, I went with a 115 inch Seymour Centerstage XD on a Jamestown Frame - Jamestown now carries the XD materiel so he can take care of everything.

Thx...and great feedback on the screen...I feel good about this one!

Here is a pic of my scope...its a Lunt LS80THa (80mm). I use a DMK41 camera to capture images and Registax and Photoshop to process them. The scope sits on a Losmandy GM8 mount and the tripod is a Berlebach....I really like the views I get, and the images are amazing....Btw, I am spending quite a bit more on my new HT than this scope costs! but still they aren't cheap! My wife thinks I have a lot of issues...she's right...lol

I'm jealous! I ordered my screen, speakers, and projector yesterday but it will be a few more weeks before we get the construction finished...and I still need to land on a pre/amp. Let me know how you like the screen.

Sure neighbor....the artists name is Lee Bivens - you can see some of his work at Atlanta Home Theater in Roswell...they are very cool.

http://www.artlee.com/nightsky/

Thx Neil...this is a close up image of the NE corner of the nearest star to our planet, taken from my telescope observatory here in GA...