Oh no! Not another one of those "I just began my home theatre thread" threads

Here are some preliminary pics of the room redone by Erskine Group. No chairs yet, but almost everything else is finished. Once the chairs are here Erskine Group will do the calibrations on the PJ and Audio.

I think my wife did an excellent job with picking the colors and carpeting. The Erskine Group did a superb job with the carpentry and room design.

I put a temporary Audyssey tuning in place until Dennis Erskine does the audio and video calibration.
















Entrance/exit.


Ceiling detail.


Equipment room.

LINK TO THE PART OF THE THREAD WHERE THE NEW HT DESIGN AND BUILD BEGINS:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...8#post16841038

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OLD HT LAST UPDATE: My old theater was destroyed by a septic backup leaking into the house... I'm pretty much starting from scratch again on the room itself. I'll likely start a new thread about it.

As far as a list of my current equipment, most of which will be used in the room, I'll copy and paste from my profile:

7 Emotiva XPA-1 amplifiers,
Denon AVP-A1HDCI Preprocessor,
Revel Salon2 speakers (7 for full 7.1 surround),
SME 20/2 w/ IV.vi tonearm and Lyra Titan cartridge,
Sutherland PhD Phonostage,
Tascam DV-RA1000HD (for archiving LPs to redbook and DVD-A),
JL Audio Fathom F113s (4 in Harman recommended position for optimal low frequency extionsion),
Denon DVD-5910,
Oppo BDP-83,
Sim2 Lumis 1080p projector with Host box,
Stewart Filmscreen Luxus Model A, Microperf X2 Studiotek G3 w/ 128.5" Diagonal,
Cablevision HD,
Vudu,
Xbox 360 w/ HD-DVD add-on,
Playstation 3,
MX-3000 Universal Remote

THESE ARE PICTURES OF THE OLD HT WHICH WAS DESTROYED BY SEWAGE BACKUP:



Audiogon page: http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr...&&showques&st0

Here is the last concept drawing from Rives Audio. I also have Visio schematics which I will try and take some pictures of and post later when I have time.

I replaced the picture that was here with a link to make this entire page easier to read.

Concept Drawing with my added electrical ideas

Hehe, ok. It ain't pretty right now though. They are ripping industrial carpet off the floor. I'll put some up later tonight. I am doing volunteer work until late tonight, but I'll take the pics afterwards.

Balanced cable.

Thanks. Yeah, Rives does excellent work, so I'm not worried about the acoustical aspects of the design. Right now I'm worried most about my surround equipment, such as the preprocessor and a possible EQ for multichannel of some sort (like the Audyssey). The biggest issue I will have is making sure that multichannel sounds great as the room is optimised for two channel. So I will have to put a little bit extra into compensating on the electronics end to make up for the disparity.

Here we go, I've taken a bunch o' pics. I'll start with pictures I took of the schematics.











The passive resonator is supposed to use two layers of 1/8" thick oak veneer. I've decided to use red oak instead of white because it will be behind the recessed electrical screen when watching movies. I figured that I should to go with the darkest oak I could find to cut down on the possibility of any secondary light in the room. Thus, any wood construction that will be visible, like the bookshelves I am having the construction person custom build, will be made of the red oak as well.

I've included one full size picture of the entire room schematic in the next post below, since I have decided not to post the Visio file to the thread.

I replaced the picture that was here with a link to make this entire page easier to read.

Close-up of the overhead view of the Schematic

The next group of photos are pictures of the doorway into the room and of the room itself. In case I didn't already mention the general dimensions, the room is approximately 33.5' x 18.3' x 7.7' under the soffit and 9' in the areas not under the soffit (the more central areas of the room where the RPG Diffusor Skylines will be mounted on the ceiling). In the areas that are 9' the ceiling will go up to the joists. Earlier today I received 7 cases of green glue which is likely a little less glue than we will need to double layer the entire room with sheetrock. I only ordered 7 cases because we can always order more if we need it and I don't want to end up with too much of it.









The last one is the electronics closet, which will (believe it or not, cause who would have thunk it...) house the electronics.

The next group of pictures are the area outside of the HT room which has now become my office area and a temporary movie/xbox360 viewing/playing area. I couldn't resist setting the PJ up temporarily at around 80" diagonal to entertain myself and my oldest daughter, since my younger daughter and son are too dangerous around delicate equipment still (they are three and two respectively). Also included in my office area is one of my favorite pinball games of all time Bally's The Addams Family (also the favorite pinball game of most people in the world, and in some circles rated the best pinball game of all time). At some point I will be adding more pinball machines, I have at least four more that I love and would like to add (Twilight Zone, Medieval Madness, Attack From Mars and Theatre of Magic - I'm considering Lord of the Rings as well because I heard it is pretty good, but I haven't had a chance to play one yet).









Here is the actual desk area. I'm using the Niro SU400 virtual surround speaker for sound output from my Pearl PJ. It is two units, one with 5 speakers facing at different angles that do a great job of making virtual surround sound. The other unit is a woofer/subwoofer unit that sits on the floor. The Niro can't make the sound appear behind you, but besides that, if you have no other choice, it comes close enough for a situation where you can't have the real thing. I packed my B&W 802Ds up and don't want them lying around unprotected. I always had my office locked so that no one could go in and make crayon drawings on them, hit them with hammers, or try and pull the tweeters off and use them for karaoke.



Here are some pictures of the rest of the basement as well, which is mostly a playroom and personal gym.

Thanks! I hope my room can live up to the title.

Rives said I might have to get 4 subs. I hope not at this point, since I can't get more of the Revel Ultima Sub 30s, as they are now discontinued. I got them at such an amazing price even though they were new. They are the custom edition models (made for installing into walls), so I saved on the lack of panels and grills. At the same time the person who sold them to me also gave me a very nice discount off the regular MSRP. I guess if I need more I will have to wait around for used ones to show up. I think 3 should definitely cover my situation, but at that point I might as well get all 4 since that would be great for any frequency response issues.

Two seemed like enough to me when listening to music, but as we all know, movies require a lot more low frequency output than music. I'll find out when I play the Jurassic Park Tyrannosaurus Rex scenes in order to test the subwoofer setup out after the HT is finished. This might turn out to be a situation where the bass hump in the 802Ds become a bonus if I need to take advantage of them in order to add that extra bit of pressure.

BTW, here are the specs for my subs if you are interested: Revel Ultima Sub 30 (legacy product link).

Here are the specs for my left and right front speakers as well: B&W 802D (click the following link for actual Technical Specifications pop-up window page).

Here is a picture of the couch that will be used in the HT. I considered buying movie theatre seats, but I had already bought this couch a year ago before I knew I was going to build a HT. It was around $6000 dollars, so I really couldn't justify throwing it away and replacing it with something else so soon. I also have nowhere else in the house to put it as it does not match my wife's decor anywhere in the house. Perhaps down the road I won't feel guilty about doing so and I will replace it with comfortable movie theatre style seats. Right now, even the colors of our HT room, the carpet, and all the treatments, etc are being chosen to work with this couch.

I am considering redoing the entire room in a few years. There are a few reasons I may do this, none of which in and of themselves would warrant the remodel, but in conjunction with each other I feel I can justify the additional expense. One reason is to put in hard wood floors, possibly even red oak so that the bookshelves, passive resonator and floorboards all match. The second reason is to change the speaker types to something with different driver types and a different size footprint. That I can't use a speaker like the Magico Mini in my setup is just a fact of life due to how I had the room designed. If I do decide to remodel the room in a few years, I will spend at least 6 months, maybe even more, just driving/flying around and demoing every speaker on the planet in the price range in which I will be shopping. The third reason is to change the seating type and to add another row of seating.

The only primary changes that I would have to make after the fact would be moving the sound treatments around (and/or replacing/adding extras), and possibly moving the projection screen which would include changing sheetrock in that area to compensate for the changes. The chances are I wouldn't have to move the projection screen, I would likely just have to change the treatments and move them around to either soften or harden up the sound field. This is because the rules for speaker setup in a two channel room are not extremely flexible if you want the minimum amount of room interference and also don't want to sit in the near-field at the front 1/3rd of the room (though a near-field setup of the type I mentioned is less colored by the room, it is IMO very boring and non immersive compared to when the room and the soundtrack are acoustically coupled well and the whole room is a part of the listening experience -- I have tried both in my listening room, as well as numerous other positions, out of curiosity and have found that for my personal enjoyment the whole room involvement is extremely important).

Here is the LaZBoy sectional couch (128" long) with some pillows whose themes are popular candies. My wife and I found the pillows at a children's clothing store when she was returning some items she decided not to keep. I'm also adding a picture I took of the 80" Pearl PJ screen on the tan walls of my temporary office area (it isn't that great looking compared to the real thing, as I am not good at using my digital Canon Rebel EOS without a flash).

I have to have some kind of plan after I finish this project. I can't just keep rebuilding my pool every few years... That would be, uh, ridiculous.

LOL

I could use some help in the form of advice. I am using my closet which is located by the underside of the staircase to the basement as my electrical equipment closet, i.e. the staircase has the underneath side of the staircase inside it. It will house basically everything electronic dealing with music and movies except my amps, the projector and the projection screen.

The closet will be finished with two layers of sheetrock and green glue will be used for dampening just like in the rest of the listening/HT room. So instead of seeing the steps there will be an incline composed of sheetrock sloping from the ceiling to the rear end of the closet space, though if someone has advice that perhaps offers another option besides this one, it is possible to change this planned setup(e.ege an incline changed to a stepped design).

My wiring (all of the equipment that will need some wiring to go from inside to outside the closet space to other electronic equipment and/or speakers in the main room) will go outside the closet through a hole designed in the wall. This hole serves two purposes. One is to serve as a vent through which air can be suctioned so that the fan-in-a-can in the room can take the hot air in the closet and suction it out to the part of the basement not being used for the HT. Two it saves me the hassle of creating an elaborate in-ceiling/in-wall wiring setup, making it easier to replace/update my wiring in the future (I'm anal about ensuring that my wiring is trouble free). I plan on sewing together a cord sock of some type that will traverse the room and encase the bundle of wires in a fabric that matches either the carpet or the walls. I thought this would work better for me rather than using PVC pipe, even though the in-wall installation wasn't expensive, it offered problems with EMI, and problems with snaking wires during replacement. It did however end up raising the price of my wiring, because I ended up going with more expensive cables instead of having the electrician make his own.

Below is a picture of the Salamander rack I have used for some of my equipment. I have considered putting this in the closet I am discussing, but one of the problems is that it only holds five pieces of equipment, that brings me to the question at hand. I need more places to hold equipment and would appreciate any ideas that would work in the space in the closet once it has two layers of sheetrock (5/8" thick pieces) installed.

I have more than one option for shelving in the closet. One, is to buy another rack and place it side by side with the old one. Two, is to buy a taller rack and place it closer to the door, though there is a problem with this setup because the staircase gradually decreses the height of the closet as you move towards the rear of the space. Three, is to have my builder design and construct me a custom rack that will work for the diminishing height of the closet as it approaches the rear of the space. Four, the genius idea you just had and are now typing out in a response post so I may bask in the brilliance of your intellectual glory.

So, please take a few moments and offer your opinion and/or alternative suggestion regarding my equipment closet situation. Below you will find pictures of the rack and closet. The side with the wood framing showing is the wall through which the wiring will pass near the bottom by the floor, i.e. the side which borders the HT/Listening room interior. I should also mention that the other side of the closet, the side currently covered with drywall, will have a subpanel on it, leaving it partially off limits (at least half of that side, the good half with decent height).

The Salamander rack.


The closet, a head on view.


Left side of closet, the side with drywall installed. This side will have the room's subpanel on it.


Right side of the closet. This side will also have drywall when it is finished, as well as the hole that the wiring will pass through near (very close to) floor level. The light switch is on this side of the room near the door.

I just sold my Salamander Synergy unfortunately. It was too big to fit in the closet space otherwise I would have used it (or at least added another piece to it to make it larger, which was the other problem, since the closet gets so small at the far end due to the reverse incline I couldn't add more to the piece I owned because of it). I had the piece that was three lengths long, so perhaps a two length long piece would work in my setup, but I doubt it because the incline is so steep. I'll have to do measurements. I do get the feeling I might have to have the builder custom build in order to get the most equipment shelf space with my awkward staircase issue.

Here is a pic of the cherry wood piece I owned until a few weeks ago, and which I sold way too cheaply to a friend (I could ask him to sell it back to me, I know he would do so as a personal favor to me). It is also what my room looked like before I removed my belongings from the room (though I had already started renovating as seen by the missing drop ceiling and the demolition work on the wall...).







I definitely love the Salamander racks for anything that requires a wood appearance. If you ever need anything with a metallic appearence though, you should check out Billy Bags, as they are the best looking metallic racks (audiophile quality), entertainment centers, amp stands, CD/DVD/record shelves, AV/TV component centers (as they call them), desks, and hard to find amp stands (which is where I will likely be ordering my amp stands from for my Ayre MX-R monoblocks), that I have seen. They do have some wood laminates, but I haven't seen any in person like I have with the Salamanders.

Here are some pics from two years ago, before I did anything to the room, before I even had speakers in the room at all (we had just moved from another road in the same town because the town would not let us have a variance so we could increase our space in the house - we were having our third child and we didn't want to lose our playroom, or make any of the rooms smaller by partitioning the existing space).





I saw that Porsche BTW and thought you might be into cars. Here is one of my toys, my other toy is more an everyday car, but it is still a fast car, in fact it is faster than that Lotus but does not handle even remotely well in comparison (2004 Mercedes E55). If you are into that kind of thing at all, let me know, I make trips out to Lime Rock for races and stuff during the summers and will be starting to bring my oldest daugther soon (my other two kids are too young yet, though my son would absolutely love it, he is obsessed with trucks and trains despite only turning two this month, so perhaps I will bring him next summer despite his young age), if you are ever interested in doing a car train with any of your kids as well, or just alone on a test day perhaps (every other Tuesday is test day where you pay around $250 dollars and can test your car out on the track as long as you have a helmet), let me know. I have another friend who is into cars as well and we usually get around to car shows in the area also.

Yeah, it was hard to pick a color. I ended up taking Laser Blue because it isn't on the color menu. It has to be special ordered and you have to know about it since the dealer doesn't tell people about it as an option.

I'm thinking about adding turbo to it soon. Unfortunately it voids the warranty, so I'm probably going to wait until my three year warranty is up. Once the turbo or even supercharger technologies out there are perfected, stable and worth the hassle, I'll definitely have to get one. I can't imagine having any other sports car but the Elise now that I have owned one. I love the Dodge Viper SRT 10s (especially with the Hennessey mods) and Corvette C6 Z06s are very nice also, but I would be so upset to lose the handling and skid pad performance I get from the Lotus Elise. So far nothing compares to the experience of driving that car IMO. It is zen and I feel at one with the road when driving it. It is definitely like being in a road legal racing go cart or one of those mini formula 1s.

Here are the colors I will most likely use. The fabric color is certain, but the wall my change, but it wouldn't be very far off from the hue that is shown since I need everything to match or come close to matching the couch. Fortunately, the RPG Diffusor Systems Skyline treatments can be custom painted by the manufacturer to match any paint color I pick. I am going for as uniform a color in the room as possible since the ceiling and trim will not be white, can not be white rather in order to avoid ambient light issues. Trying to mix colors without the white or off-white trim would be tacky according to my wife whose degree is in graphic arts from Parsons, so I will defer to her good tastes.

Fabric color for treatments (RPG Diffusor Absorbers):

Henna

Colors for wall/ceiling and RPG Skyline (High Profile) treatments:

New London Burgundy (HC-61)

I have yet to see carpet colors, but I will be picking the industrial carpet manufacturer based on how close I can get the colors to match the ones already listed. Here is the couch which I am trying to match (for some reason the pictures don't match up as well as the actual samples match up in person...).



Here are pictures of the actual samples on the couch arm:

Here is an update on the room itself. They are framing the extra layer for the existing wall on the left side of the room. This was necessary to balance out the problems caused by the sheetrock being placed practically against the concrete on this side of the room, separated only by furring strips. This will be done in the front of the room as well.



The doors to the septic pipe closet were removed in preparation for sealing it up. The pipes themselves also need to be wrapped in layers of insulation or other material that will soundproof the extremely loud sound of water falling from all areas of the house. If anyone has recommendations for good sound dampening/proofing material with which to wrap the septic pipes, I could definitely use the recommendations.