The Theater Which Mercy Built - Page 2

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If you haven't looked through the show me sticky, including the rack one, you should.

Did you get the HVAC figured out?

I just saw ur build. How r u doing with it? I'll be following. I saw some take regarding ur soffit. I just wanted to add something of interest that i just discovered and i'm using in my build to help save room. there are LED cans out (5-6 inch) that can fit in a jbox now. only 2.5" total depth and are IC rated for zero clearance. This is allowing me to put them in the same bays as my hvac flex when i decide if i'm going to give up headroom for a soffit or keep everything up in my joists. they are made by seagull lighting. there is also another company that HD is getting via web order only and they are glimpse from lighting science. the HD ones are ugh much cheaper but don't know if they are as good.

just an idea to throw ur way. also remember with LED dimming becomes an issue cause of the drivers LED uses. u have to make sure ur dimmers will work with the LED if u go that route or vis vera. that's one of my issues that i need to sort out cause i have wave throughout my home. i have to find out from either company of they tested the leviton wave brand i use.

sorry if i confused u. i just thought i would throw it out there cause it does help to save space, especially height.

jim

I was just there. . . i start framing this weekend. . . i'm kinda worried in the back of my head. don't know if I should be though.

jim

Jim, do you have a model # of that Seagull light?

Tedd can answer better but I would say yes or even a 3/4" MDF backer box. one layer should be fine from what I have been told. Tedd am i correct?

See links below. . .

jim

http://www.seagulllighting.com/28171...14600S-15.html

and

http://www.lsgc.com/interior_led_lighting/glimpse/

they look identical except the glimpse light has bulb choices for diff degrees or "warmness"

they are each 14 w which is the equal of 65 w 6" can bulb.

the seagull is selling around us at 100 a piece. ya i know crazy. the other i'm finding for about 60 but heard it's on HD website for 40? i didn't even look yet cause i'm not there yet, but deff know this is an option.

correct me if i'm wrong but u can pretty much slip those in a backer box up in a joist and still have way more than enough room for insulated 6 inch flex if u use the one with 1" insulation around it? is the 1" fine or is the thicker stuff recommended btw? or in a soffit u can even locate the flex and light now more easily without getting crazy with ur width if u don't want.

jim

Looks like a 4 x 4 junction box is all it takes. Not a big opening in the drywall. I'd just use 2 putty pads and call it a day.

Keep in mind that Mid Atlantic has stuff for all kind of pro stuff. Some of its real heavy duty. You can also scour craigslist for any computer and/or telecom rack and likely fit that in. Since some of the pro stuff can be real heavy some mid atlantic stuff can use extra rails for extra support, or to place wire management devices.

If you want to semi-cheap out, and don't find a steal on craigslist, you can do what I did in my first HT, and by those rear rails only for about $50 and then mount them to a planned opening. See this pic from my old HT.



Then add the rails, shelves and faceplates and you are done. I did this and then discovered if you buy a middle atlantic door, there door is meant to be mounted to a full rack, not just the rails. I had to jury-rig the door. At that point it would have been easier just to get a local glass place to come out and do something.

Here is a pic with the rails in, and a few items that had rack ears.



The other disadvantage of the "cheap" route is that I didn't have rear rails for wire management, so it was kind of kludge.

I probably could have and would have improved it had I not sold the place.



All in all, I was like $50 for rails, $325 for shelves, a drawer ($100 alone) and blanks, and I don't remember the door cost, and didn't see it in my e-mail. Must have been paypal.

I really liked having a rack-rack though. Even though it was only for a month or so.

On the sound proofing issue - That freak thread aside, most of us have been quite pleased. I was in the old space.

that's good to know. they're nice aren't they? Major savings on space.

jim

I'm crossing my fingers that they drop in price in a year.

Remember the HD glimpse model is much much cheaper! I pulled both pdf's and they are exactly the same specs except for the bulbs. it really makes me think the seagull is a rebadged version of the glimpse cheaper model. we know audio video companies do this.

jim

For some, yes, rear rails are places to mount cable management. For others they are extra supports to hold heavy amplifiers, power supplies, etc.

The alphabet soup is a creature of their product lines. The letters are usually related to a style of rack. The numbers, almost always are the number of spaces (1.75" high by 19" wide) are available.

Navigating their product line further is beyond my depth.

If the support is between the walls I don't see how it would hurt sound isolation. Make sure no part of the walls come in contact with it to preserve decoupling. Also when you put insulation in make sure to not compress it against the support to avoid recoupling the wall through the fiberglass.

How far apart are the two walls going to be to accommodate the post? Were you going to space them out around it or cut a curve in the top and bottom plate to fit it? Either way would be fine. The second option might give you a little more space.

Don't know if you've already talked to someone about this but that 2 foot space is a concern.

If the walls are that far apart then you will need to treat that 2 foot space like a seperate room. That distance isn't really room within a room but more like another room. Sound will shoot through your first wall and head right up through the floor between the walls. The walls should not be very far apart. 1 maybe 2 inches at most.

1) I've owned LCOS and LCD and I definitely prefer LCOS. I've never owned a DLP however and it certainly has its loyal following. You may want to check out some of those as well.

2) Stewart is cosidered the reference but yes you do pay for it. Never owned a Stewart, but Dennis Erskine uses them so they must be good. If you've got the money then that's what I would get.

3) Overkill is a term that you should erase from your vocabulary. But no, separates would not be overkill. Once you make the jump from an AVR to separates, you'll never go back. If you're looking to purchase Klipsch THX Ultra speakers, then an AVR will simply not suffice.

4) I'm an M&K fan myself. Not sure what the budget is, but I've never heard anyone say anything negative about them. My neighbor actually prefers my M&K THX select system to his Monitor Audio Silver Series. M&K is the brand of speaker that was used for mixing at least one Star Wars movie and many other big budget films so I will definitely recommend giving them a listen. I'm sure Moggie can tell you all about the Klipsch THX speakers and I'm sure they are awesome even though I've never actually heard them.

Of course the most important issue, and one that I think everyone has already informed you of, is making sure you acoustically treat your room. $10,000 worth of speakers will not sound like $10,000 if you don't ensure the room is treated properly. And the $600 design service from Dennis Erskine sounds like a really good investment. I think he covers alot of the acoustical stuff.