Wow! What an awesome build! I'm trying to find inspiration my parents to do something like this when they rebuild their house in the spring. I'll definitely be showing them this.
A couple questions, though, and I apologize if it's already been asked.
First, are your speakers going to be behind the screen? For such a high budget and seemingly audio/videophile setup, I would like to recommend other speakers. I've never heard the Aerial Acoustics, but one look at their specs tells me that there are likely significantly better speakers, especially for the money. In home theaters, speaker sensitivity is everything. Believe me, I was coming off some DIY speakers with about 90dB sensitivity and recently built some using JBL professional parts with a 99dB sensitivity. The difference is really incredible. Dynamics, clarity, soundstage, everything blows the less sensitive ones out of the water, both for music and movies. For a room that size, I'd suggest you look at JBL professional cinema speakers and an AT (acoustically transparent) screen. This will give you the ultimate audio experience. Another benefit is that the center channel is identical to the left and right. Centers turned sideways have loads of problems compared to their vertical counterparts. Here's the link to JBL pro's series. You can buy them pretty much from any JBL rep, but I've found Performance Audio has the best prices.
JBL Pro,
Performance Audio
Whatever you get, if you get any of these (I'd recommend the 3732 for your size theater and budget. They're about $2500 a piece if I recall), buy three of them for the LCR and hid them behind the screen or behind some pretty looking cloth in the wall.
As for surrounds, just use the JBL cinema 8340 or 8350. You may have a look at Klipsch's pro offerings, but I don't know much about them.
Subwoofers with your budget, no brainer. Get a few JBL 4645C's (I have one - it is the best sub I've ever heard in a home theater) and then go rotary with the
Thigpen TRW-17 crossed at 20Hz. Even with how expensive that rotary woofer is, you should still come out SIGNIFICANTLY cheaper, albeit MUCH better performing, than the Aerial Acoustics setup you have.
If you're stuck on why I would recommend more sensitive speakers over the Aerial Acoustics, just let me know. I'd be happy to explain why they're recommended.
Just my 2c! Good luck with the theater. I'm subscribed and really looking forward to seeing your progress. That Sony VW1000 looks incredible. I'm unbelievably jealous.
I’ve used a chop saw many times but never to cut metal but I was impressed with how easily and smoothly the correct blade cuts through the hat channel.
). From the looks of your pics, Hawaii might be almost as nice as it is here...
