Dedicated HT/Game room basement build

Welcome to the forums bro. Glad to see you finally start a build thread! Your theater has come along ways since you first started it. Wish you would have started one from the beginning but I'm sure you will probably share some before/after pics.

I appreciate your friendship and willingness to drive from Alabama to Florida just to help me build my riser and appreciate you building my custom speaker mount for my Klipsch RS-52's. I've seen your handiwork and am looking forward to seeing how the bar/serving area turns out.

Wish I could offer advice but you are quite aware of my lack of "Handyman" skills. Hopefully others will offer some great suggestions.

Did you ever install dimmer switches for your lights? Can't remember. I used a Lutron Maestro for my room and works really great. If you don't, I have some Control4 Dimmer Switches I can probably hook you up with.

What are you thinking for the front wall? Are you wanting to add a false wall, or more of a custom cabinet with shelves?

I know your ceiling rafters and beanbag help out acoustically but down the road, if you felt you needed more after the carpet is installed, you could always add a few acoustic panels to the walls too. I really need to get some or make some for my room. I have a pretty bad slap echo.

I was concerned about that with my false wall as well but with it being a dark grey, I get no reflections from it. My screen is counter sunk into the false wall a few inches. Not sure if that helps or not. My ceiling is flat black so no reflections there.

One thing about the size of your room, you have tons of space to add a sweet false wall if you wanted to. Not sure you are wanting to go that route or not.

Just have to be careful how you "enclose" the main speakers or it might alter the way they sound. You have a lot more width than I do and because of my limited width, I believe the space that my mains are enclosed in hinders the SQ, mostly for 2ch listening. Something about the acoustics of it being behind that false wall. Maybe my RF-83's are just scared of the dark. LOL

Best thing to do with your sub is to move it around and see what sounds best to you. Many have suggested the "Sub Crawl". Basically placing your sub on your beanbag chair (primary listening position) and then crawl around your room to see where you get the smoothest bass response. The location of the best bass response is where you should place your sub. It's basically reverse engineering.

I really like the way that looks. I agree with the SQ of the mains being hindered if you were to put them inside an enclosed space. I know mine did.

Anyone else got any advice for my friend? Anyone?

I really like the look. I would explore your render with the center panel black, as well as the center soffit section, and top of the av rack. (Or at least, a black velvet runner on top of the av cabinet.) These would help perserve your projector's contrast ratio.

I expect your screen has a black backing so light won't pass through it. Wouldn't hurt to do a test to make sure. The advantage of the bigger blacked out panel is the image "floats" in space. If that panel isn't painted/stained black, then maybe some alternative finish might be an option.

The gear not below the screen is an improvement. No distracting electronic displays.

I too like the idea of having the electronics on the side. Since the back opens into the unfinished part of your basement, it will be really convenient to be able to easily get to the back of your equipment rack. Do you think you should enclose the back side to keep dust out? If so, you'll probably want to add some fans and maybe an exhaust to discipate the heat.

I agree that adding a black velvet border around your screen will really help increase the contrast of your image. I believe mine is a 2" velvet border.

Cool sink bro! Gotta luv Craigslist.

I think your plan of enclosing the rack is a good idea.

I've seen your welding skills with my own theater so I'm sure you could make some sweet custom faceplates for the rack on your own. I had no idea they cost $150 each. That's crazy.

for some reason, that really cracked me up.

that wood looks beautiful. i think if you went with a dark enough stain on it, you'd still see the character of the wood in the a/v wall, but minimize the potential negative impact on picture quality and presentation. i prefer projector screens against a dark background, but that's a matter of taste i suppose. my custom made a/v stand is stained black, looks awesome to me, but i have no wife acceptance factor to stand in the way of my color choices.

i know i'll be committing avs blasphemy by saying this, but it's actually kind of refreshing to see a build thread that's about making the room more comfortable for the family experience, as opposed to getting mired down in the technical details of hat channels, green glue, and REW measurements. i love reading that stuff, don't get me wrong! it's just nice to see a little less of that for once.

you should definitely, at a minimum, try the "sub crawl" method. as weird as it sounds, moving a sub even a few inches can mean the difference between something sounding awesome, and something getting swallowed up in a null, never to be heard again. my room has a HORRIBLE null right in the center (where my couch is, no less). i had to move and rotate the sub several times, as well as moving the couch, to finally find a balance i could live with, until i get up the courage to try building a bass trap.

looking forward to seeing how things turn out. i have no building skill at all, i can't even hammer a nail in straight, so i live vicariously through those of you who CAN do it.

i don't think you have to put it IN the seat, just on the floor where the main listening position ordinarily is. i have yet to try this in my house, because i have a THT sub, and it's not fun to move it around. additionally, if i were to discover that it sounded good anywhere other than where i already have it, it would open up new 'opportunities' for me to have to crawl around in the attic again and pull wires to accomodate the change.

you mentioned rotating the sub, turning it to the side to free up room, so i'd say just try doing that with your current setup, and see if you can live with the results. i turned my whole room 90 degrees, and even with my adjustments, i can still tell the bass impact in the new couch position isn't as commanding as it was before. it still rocks, and no one but me would probably notice, but you get accustomed to how something sounds and it becomes easier to notice when it's not quite right.

i would think those birch walls would wreak havoc on reflecting sound. i have a problem with that due to hardwood floors (i have 2 hairy dogs, carpet is not an option at this time). ultimately, my opinion is that if it sounds good to your ears, it doesn't matter if it's "right" or proper.

do a google search for 'test tones', you should find some wav files at various frequencies. i know my sub rolls off a cliff below 20Hz, so i generally test about 4 or 5 frequencies between 20 and 60. you feel more than hear the 20Hz stuff, but above that should do the trick (i do the 20Hz just for fun to hear the windows and walls rattle). my tones are in a folder on my pc, i use my ps3 or 360 to play them through the system.

Buff's bar design would look great in your space. That is an amazing piece of oak you have to work with and I'm looking forward to see the pics.