Queen's Future HT

Edited 4.22.09

Before

Looking Toward the Front Wall





After









Audio
Triad Inwall Gold/6 LCR
Triad Inwall Gold/4 Surrounds (sides)
Triad Inwall Silver/4 Surrounds (rears)
Triad Inroom Gold Powersub w/RackAmp500 (2x)
Triad OmniRound6 (playroom ceiling speakers-2x)

Video
JVC DLA-RS20
Panamorph A480KIT
Chief RPA-233 Ceiling Mount
SmX AT Proline 130" wide 2.35:1
Samsung 46" A650 (playroom)
Monoprice tilt/swivel mount/3724 (playroom)

Electronics
Marantz AV8003
B&K Ref200.7S2
Oppo BDP-83 Blu-Ray Player (upgrade from Panny BD55 on 8.23.09)
Marantz IS 201 IPOD Dock (added on 8.23.09)
Insignia NS-R2000 200w 2ch (for playroom speakers)

Accessories
8 Berkline 078s-grade 4 leather
Middle Atlantic Slim 5 Rack BXBTB5
URC MX-980
URC MX-350 (playroom)
URC Base Station MRF-350
Panamax M5300PM Power Conditioner
Lutron dimmers controlled via URC
Monoprice HDMI splitter/3049
Monoprice HDMI cables
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Ok guys, here are the details:

-14x20 dedicated room (though can extend to 14 x 30) in basement (yet to be finished) mainly for movies
-steel column right smack in the middle at 16', 2 other columns right around 20' that can be hidden in the back wall or keep them and extend room to 30
-seating will be 8 Berklines, front row IOIOOIOI, second row on a riser with IOIOI pole IOIOI

Dealer Equipment Suggestions (though not purchased yet)
Sharp XV-Z20000
Stewart 100" fixed
Marantz SR 8002
Pioneer Elite BDP-95HD
B&W 804S-fronts
B&W HTM3S-center
B&W CWM800-4 in walls
C&W ASW825-sub
Monster HTS 5100

My questions are:

1) Many have suggested going up to 110". I'm not sure whether the Sharp will allow that since I have to hang right in front of the column. I think throw distance is at least 13.5'.
2) Others have suggested JVC RS2 instead of the Sharp. Very different technologies. I have read the reviews, some that compare even, but any comments appreciated.
3) Better acoustically to have 14x20 or 14x30?
4) Dealer suggested Control 4 remote but I really can't see paying just under a grand for a remote. Seems like a complete waste of $. Thoughts?

Any comments or even general thoughts appreciated. I will post pictures of the development once we actually choose a GC!

I do realize that we are definitely paying a premium by choosing to go to a dealer. While we're not paying MSRP, I can still certainly get much better pricing via online vendors. However, I need someone to do all the installing, wiring, calibrating, etc so I just chalk up the extra cost to having to go that route.

Our wiring estimate was 1,800 - 2,300 so according to your estimate we're getting taken to the bank.

That's just for the hardware. Labor is 100/hour...sigh. Unfortunately, the DIY route is not an option as I lack the knowledge/time and my husband is not the handy type either. But a home theater is what I have wanted for years. Now that I've committed by buying theater chairs there's no turning back

By the way BIG, awesome theater. I checked out your thread and already got some ideas from your pics. It seems like everyone just creates their own HT threads. Is there one sole thread that just has pictures of everyone's final product?

Yes, actually I did momentarily think about special soundproofing treatments and just figured it would really jack up the costs of the room. Already, the equipment/install cost is way over what I had estimated. But I will take a peek at some threads to educate myself some more. As everyone is well aware, it's tough to draw the line in the sand of when to stop because obviously this can get pretty crazy.

What height did you use for your riser?

Yes, I think if the projector can facilitate, I will go with the 110".

I did read several pages of the what I would do differently. I plan to read more when I have more time on my hands. Definitely have learned a lot already by reading through some.

By the way, just showed my mom your theater and she was like WOW! Now that's a great kitchen/theater!

Do you think I'd be better off with 14x20 (recall I have a steel column right smack in the middle at 16') or with a 14x30 (but will have 2 additional columns left and right after the second row that would have been hidden in the 14x20) and throw in something else like a small bar-lilke area. Acoustically, does it make a big difference?

Ok, let's see how this goes. Here are a few pictures of my basement. Sorry about the resolution and awful composition. I had to keep cropping the original images in order to meet upload specs. The red steel pole is the pole at 16'. The cut-out straight ahead is where the fixed screen will be placed. The second photo shows the view looking at the HT from the side. The second furthest red pole is the one that will be right smack in the middle of my theater. The wooden poles on the left (near the burner/heater) are right at the 20' where I can either make a back wall or extend to 30'.

The next two images are my crude attempt at a floor layout (cut in two pieces to again meet upload spec requirements). The square boxes are my chairs. The 'S' means steel pole and 'W' means wood pole.

The remainder of my basement will just be an open (albeit pole-challenged) play area for my kids and a full bath.

I also neglected to mention that after I re-sketched my floorplan it dawned on me that extending out to 30' may not even be an option because my second row of Berklines run 145'' (out of 168'') so that only leaves me with 23" not including the steel pole.

I have a full sketch but again the space limitations crippled me. Have to look into that photobucket. I will scan at work as a pdf so that way you will be able to see in one piece.

Yes, you are correct. Those lolly columns were indeed put in after the fact due to floor bounce. Even though the original owners put them in I'm very reticent to remove them because the floor span is quite long. In some places we can probably rearrange some but those in the HT space likely will stay. I'd rather not have the bounce on the main floor.

I wasn't sure where to place all the AV equipment-whether to create an in-wall (back) shelf space or just store somewhere in a closet. I have to keep around 18" open-air on the side for my burner/heater/oil tank/electrical box so I have some space there too.

We will have a closet by the electrical panel (facing theater screen-door will be on the left side). Access to the burner/heater/oil tank will be via a double door in the back. Don't worry, we're leaving plenty of clearance (don't remember exact specs but enough to get oil tank out if necessary) to access and get at appliances.

We have both hot water heater (will create another zone for the basement) and central air. To be honest, I did not think I would need to create an a/c zone for the basement. Is that a big mistake? Does the projector actually give off that much heat?

Ok, hopefully the pdf attachments give a much better picture than my earlier cropped up jpgs. Again, the floorplan is my crude mock-up. Nothing is really to scale. The total basement space runs approximately 1,500 sq. ft, with the theater taking up about one-third of the total space. Thanks.

 

Floor Plan.pdf 30.23828125k . file

 

Basement Pic (Side view).pdf 68.87109375k . file

 

Basement Pic (Potential Screen View).pdf 21.501953125k . file

 

Basement Pic (Facing Stairwell).pdf 65.484375k . file

 

Basement Pic (Facing Stairwell # 2).pdf 74.3369140625k . file

I'm not so sure the bump out on the side (where the appliances are) would work because I would be worried about clearance for my oil tank. Possibly we could have it right near our electrical panel (which we will have a closet door) which is to the left of the screen. Maybe a movable rack hidden inside the passage way by the circuit board? Do you think that would work?

For the oil tank option, unfortunately, we don't have enough length. We would only get 14', which would not be enough to accommodate two rows of seating.

The actual sizing of the lolly columns are just two 1 1/2 by 3 1/2 (prob they're just called 2x4s I'd guess). We have an 8' basement. I'm sure I didn't measure exactly what you needed but there are two layers of 1.5" thick plywood. The bottom layer has two pieces that are 7"w x 176". The top layer has around 7"w x 133". The few GCs that we had come in did comment that it was a pretty long span. Sorry, but I probably did not give you what you needed to calculate accordingly.

Some other GCs recommended removing and then walking upstairs to see whether we felt any bounce. I get worried about removing anything though. I know, structurally they're not necessary since it's obvious the previous owners put in after the fact.

At what height off the floor did you place your screen? Thanks for that link for the riser calculation. I especially like the script that trunks made. Very cool.

One last question how far in front of the cement wall with the oil tank were you planning on building your wall for the side wall of the theater?

Just shy of 5 feet. That's where that wood column stands and will be hidden in the wall. I feel like that should be plenty of clearance to walk around back there and access the various appliances and electric panel.

Big, thanks again for all the advice-very much appreciated.

I thought given the tight space the in-walls would not only look better but also not risk being knocked down. I'm not sure I understand how we wouldn't have a surround sound effect. We would have four in-walls, one on each side and two on the back wall. Dealer's charging $450/piece. Which surrounds were you looking at? We looked at some other on-wall surrounds and they were actually more expensive than the in-walls.

Yes, I thought the sub was very pricey as well. Based on what I've been reading here, I'm going to do some additional research into Velodyne and SVS. I had even asked the dealer about Velodyne and he remarked that based on the price range, it wouldn't make much of a difference to go Velodyne. I will be surveying a few other dealers just to see what kind of pricing is offered for the whole package. We used this original dealer for our first speaker (Paradigms) purchase five years ago and I was pretty happy with them. But it does kill me that we will be paying such a premium for the actual goods. Problem is you can't buy stuff elsewhere and then ask them to install.

I'll do some more checking on those acoustical treatments. Did you do any in yours?

Ok, I'll definitely print out everything and read up on the above topics. Yes, I was already pondering whether I could get away with buying the screen elsewhere. Roman quoted me 200 less and 10" bigger. I figure they can't hassle me too much with that since it's a non-electronic piece. By the way, is it very involved to hang a fixed screen or can the GC do it relatively easily? So far, plan is to go Stewart Studio Tek 110".

Thanks again Big, I look forward to the sketch.