Modern Home Theatre Build w/ 3D Renders

1. We need some room dimensions; eyeball distance(s) from screen; screen size, etc.

2. What is your plan for soundproofing and/or acoustical treatment?

Great looking renders! Any concern with all the hard surfaces and how that will affect sound quality?

Ill be in touch with Ted for specifics but I know for sure every framed wall will be a 1/2" from the concrete and the ceiling will have clips and hat channel. Every will get 5/8 DD and GG as well. As far as reflections I'll have an area rug in front of the pj to soak up some light and help with reflections. Other then that there'll be panels on the walls and behind the screen.

I know the screen is huge and way past optimal but I like seeing just screen when I'm watching a movie. My wall will be 18' wide and I plan to take up as much space as possible with the screen without sacrificing picture quality, within reason. I'll either do 160" 16:9 or 163-174" 2.35.

My room and seating distances are similar to yours, with a front row at 10'. My screen is 108" in 16:9 and 136" in 2.35 - I wouldn't want it any bigger than that from the front row. 160" from that distance would be completely overwhelming and uncomfortable IMO. You'll be turning your head all the time, and I can't imaging playing games on that. Strongly recommend you test out those sizes at your seating distances before you pull the trigger.

Also, that screen is enormous for those projectors - I'd be very concerned that you won't get an acceptably bright image, especially with any ambient light in the room. Hopefully someone with those PJ's will chime in...

Jeff

Yah I realize most people, including those on the forums, would never go that big for the reasons you mentioned but my friends and I love that feeling. I don't mind turning my head. I do it all day anyway and as long as I'm not watching tennis I think I'll be ok. Really though I sit in the front of movie theaters and the only thing I don't like is looking up which won't be a problem here.

I do agree with you on the video games though. Like I said I won't make my decision until I buy a pj and shoot an image on the wall. However, my bro has an Epson 8350 and several times we've watched movies at 160", around 152" cinescope, and we were around 12' back and I definitely have no problem going larger. Much larger. He said he played Mass Effect 3 the other night at 150" and loved it which surprised me because he doesn't share my love for big screens as much. We'll see though.

The 8350 is rated at 2000 lumens and the 8000 is rated for 2400 lumens so I *should* be fine. Once again you could be right though. Hopefully I won't have too much longer to find out.

Hmmm. I guess I should've said "doesn't like sitting as close to big screens as me". Better?

Looks like a fun space. I'm definitely going to be following along. The renders look really sharp - they show you guys have put a lot of thought into this already.

You've made a couple choices that look slightly dubious to me, but they're trade-offs.

The side surround locations are so close to the seating positions, it'll be really tough to find a convincing surround image outside the sweet spot. The asymmetrical space makes it hard to do anything else, but I'd be interested in hearing any thoughts you guys had about coming to this conclusion - maybe you considered reorganizing the space some to get a wider seating area? Even just elevating the side surround loudspeakers would help, IMO.

Have you gone through the projector calculators for the models you're considering? I don't think you can get the largest images you're talking about at that throw - you may have to slide the projector back a few feet - but that probably won't be a problem, given the use of that space.

Just curious - do you have a projected schedule for getting this done?

One last question. Where are you planning to stack the equipment - I haven't been able to identify a rack or anything in the renders - under the stairs?

Fred

Beautiful design.

The glass door will interfere with ir signals but an ir repeater system can solve that issue.

And now for some questions:

Are those front columns solid? Is detail winning out over audio performance here, by introducing near boundary issues when the width is generous enough to design around this?

Aren't the side surround speakers mounted too low? Why not dipoles for the side surrounds in that narrow a space? The side surrounds should also be at the ends of the couch,
but I'm guessing the lolly poles are the limitation here. And aren't the rear surrounds place too far apart, with one buried in the corner?

Will the projector light up a huge AT screen at a .9 real world gain, with adequate lumens?

The rear surrounds also have some audio issues as placed. They are too far apart and one is buried in the corner.

Won't those front sconces be a source of rattles, being so close to large and generous drivers? (Few people give any thought to rattle proofing.)

The columns are unfortunately my lally columns which actually have been placed there so I could remove the single column right in the middle of the room. Basically it would've been right in the middle of the couch so yah they're there to stay. The side surrounds will NOT be where they're at in the rendering. I'm gonna come up with some solution. Possibly ceiling mounted and angled down. Idk for sure yet but yah I told Ethan they can't be there they just looked good in the rendering.

As far as the back surrounds yes those too aren't where they will end up being it was more for show. They will be about 2ft above the sink and closer together.

The pj I'm not sure about honestly. I know Ethan's Epson 8350 can easily light up a 160" image and the Panny is good for another 400 lumens, on paper anyway. So I'm *imagining* it will work. Whether it will remains to be seen. I'm gonna buy the pj first and talk with Chris? at SeymourAV.

Ethan already answered most of this so I won't repeat it but as far as the completion date I'm hoping end of the year. I still need Ethan to finish the floor plans and then get my permits etc. After that most of the work will be by pros so it shouldn't take more then a couple months. I hope.

Thanks for the questions guys. It definitely gets us thinking on some better options. I just need to hang out in this area more.

It's the stacked subs that are pretty close to the front sconces which worry me. Blue Tac and silicone caulking are two tools

The 8350 isn't lighting up an AT screen. The grey wall likely has more gain then an AT screen. And have you factored in bulb wear (with all the gaming hours)?
3D mode will be much less light output.

I would mix spots and sconces. I built double walled back boxes with Green Glue for the spots. Mine are in post 22. I used Par20 50W 4" retrofit spots. I'd skip the
metal box and do the inner box out of cement backer board as a simplified and cheaper back box. I'd also put the lighting on zones and use a lighting controller.

http://www.avsforum.com/t/654719/how-to-build-a-soundproof-fireproof-light-box

You might do well to use some hourly consulting for your speaker layout. I've flipped surround speakers and bounced audio off the walls back in Dolby Pro Logic days with
good results. No idea of it would work with today's formats. Perhaps some hourly consulting with Dennis Erskine would be a good idea for the surrounds and overall speaker layout?

It's the columns on the front wall that concern me.

SOWK's 2.35:1 gaming thread might be of interest, or food for thought:

http://www.avsforum.com/t/1368295/2-35-1-pc-gaming-powered-by-lumagen

Really nice design..

ScottJ0007's seem to be the best to me and his links still work. My back boxes were used with Bazz 100 retrofit fixtures and I would do these again, but use concrete back board interior and skip the
sheet metal box and heavy duty bracketry as needless expense.

Thanks Tedd I'll check them out.

Well some more progress has been made and I have some updates and questions.

First off we removed the original lally column. The room is really open now. I'll post up some pics of that and the material later.

Second I've decided to go with a 163" cinescope screen. I'm between a Panny 8000 and a JVC X55 or 4810. I was all decided on going with the JVC for obvious reasons until I realized the JVC's are known for poor gaming lag. That's a problem. I need something capable of lighting up the screen and with a low input lag. I game online most of the time so it's pretty important. If anyone has any other pj suggestions I'd be happy to hear them.

I took Tedd's advice and contacted Dennis Erskine and he pretty much told me my room will look and sound like crap so he didn't want anything to do with it. I wanted optimum speaker locations and treatments since I was able to move the poles and they wouldn't be mounted on them, but that's not gonna happen with him. I was extremely disappointed in my contact and dealings with him. Anyway I still need that info. I realize my screen size and seating distance isn't "ideal" but that's how I like to watch movies and game. When it's come to the speakers though I would like them positioned and angled as best as possible. So does anyone know a site where I can plug in the room dimensions myself and get the desired locations/angle??

Also does anyone know a good way to mount the surrounds from the ceiling without affecting my sound isolation? The JBL's weigh 19lbs and I'll have DD, GG, and IB1 clips on the ceiling.

Btw I've talking to Ted White(soundproofingcompany) a lot lately to make sure everything is going to be done right and he's a great guy to talk to and deal with. Always willing and ready to help and give advice and very courteous and polite. I wish all companies talked to customers the way he does. So thank you Ted.

I'll be ordering almost all of the building supplies Saturday and work should begin in no more then two weeks. Everything will be done professionally so I'll have no part in the building whatsoever. That's a good thing.

Congrats on the build! Really drooling over the renders! just wow!

Thanks Vic! I was checking out your thread and that means a lot coming from you. I'm pretty jealous you had Big working on your theater too. I was gonna pick his brain in a pm but I figured he was pretty busy. Wish I had since I probably wouldn't have made my first mistake already.

Love your equipment Vic. I'm getting the Denon 4520 too. Thinking about Emo amps. I guess it depends on how it sounds powered by the Denon.

I saw we also have the same view on screens: go as big as you can. I just wish I could do a 170" wide screen but I would have to have the subs behind the screen wall to do that and with the bar I just don't have the depth. Oh well I'll settle for 150" wide.

Thanks for the compliments!. 150" is plenty but then again if you have the room for it nothing is plenty . One more weird thing is half the items in your renders i have them scattered in my home like the bar stools, chrome lamp, black leather chair and the fireplace.

I like the 4520. Initially i wanted to go with Integra pre pro but dropped out since a lot of my friends have had hardware issues with it. Don't bother about the mistakes, they are a part of every build and also a part of the learning process. Good-luck and i hope you post as much as you can of the build progress ,so that everyone else can give their opinion or advice and before you know it your gonna have one heck of a theater!

those renders look fantastic and if your room turns out as nice as those, i would be very proud. the one suggestion i would make which would make the room more seamless would be to hide all the speakers. the LCR's seem to go behind the acoustic screen, why not also put the subs there? as for the surrounds, why not build out the wall sections slightly and conceal them within the wall cavity and put some fabric covers over them to hide the actual speaker. by doing this, in my opinion, the entire room will be clean lines throughout. right now, it seems as though the speakers are just tacked onto the walls whereas the bar area is super sleek. just my opinion though

Thanks Anthony that's all Ethan there. He's a beast when it comes to 3D rendering. And a lot of other things. Ethan covered the reasons for not hiding them but I will say I do actually like to see the speakers too. Naked with no grills.

That's nice to know because I was thinking of the Integra too but after the Denon came out with Neo:X I knew I'd get that. It was that or the Marantz but it's a good bit more then the Denon.

Yah I would like to do 160" wide but with the subs I just don't have the width. Not to mention I'm already pushing it as far as light output goes on a 150" wide. It'll be a bat cave though so I'm sure I'll be happy.

I see we both have good taste then. My wife is Serbian so of course we try to go modern as much as we can even though the house itself isn't. I love it though. Clean and simple.

I will definitely be taking plenty of pics and videos!