Get an exclusive sneak peek into our new project. >>> Click Here
Our native mobile app has a new name: Fora Communities. Learn more.

Help in making my theater area smaller

490 Views 17 Replies 4 Participants Last post by OldPannyMan, Oct 4, 2019

OldPannyMan

Discussion Starter · Sep 15, 2019 (Edited)

2

I am trying to figure out if closing off the open side of my home theatre area with floor to ceiling heavy duty fabric black out type curtains will work like a sealed room for subwoofer performance. I don't expect it to be as efficient as an actual sealed room, but was wondering if a heavy fabric or even sliding wood panels would help. I still haven't decided on my dual subs because of the size of the whole room plus the adjoining kitchen and family room that I'm sure would have to be figured into my cubic foot volume for whatever subs I would need. But If I used heavy fabric or even sliding wood partitions to seal the area off when I was watching movies, temporarily making it into an 11-1/2' x 12' room, would it in reality actually cut down on my cubic foot area thus allowing me to get smaller dual subs? Anyone have any ideas on whether this would work or are these just the ramblings of a madman lol. Appreciate any comments, thx.

See less See more

1 - 18 of 18 Posts

darthray

· #2 · Sep 15, 2019 (Edited)

OldPannyMan said:
I am trying to figure out if closing off the open side of my home theatre area with floor to ceiling heavy duty fabric black out type curtains will work like a sealed room for subwoofer performance. I don't expect it to be as efficient as an actual sealed room, but was wondering if a heavy fabric or even sliding wood panels would help. I still haven't decided on my dual subs because of the size of the whole room plus the adjoining kitchen and family room that I'm sure would have to be figured into my cubic foot volume for whatever subs I would need. But If I used heavy fabric or even sliding wood partitions to seal the area off when I was watching movies, temporarily making it into an 11-1/2' x 12' room, would it in reality actually cut down on my cubic foot area thus allowing me to get smaller dual subs? Anyone have any ideas on whether this would work or are these just the ramblings of a madman lol. Appreciate any comments, thx.

The short answer is No.

While it would help, your speakers to sound better due to reflections from closing the open-end, Since speakers only care about there physical locations, to your MLP and this is still a positive to do so. Sub/s wise, it will not change a thing. And the sub/s will still try to fill all open area. While it is not the answer you wanted to hear, I would still do-it just to improve your speakers sound signature

Darth

OldPannyMan

Discussion Starter · #3 · Sep 15, 2019

darthray said:
The short answer is No.

While it would help, your speakers to sound better due to reflections

What if I used wood and not fabric. I was thinking something along the lines of four 3ft sliding partitions that would actually seal off with no gaps in between each one except for the 1/2" or less at the bottom and top? Any better or still a no go?

darthray

· #4 · Sep 15, 2019

OldPannyMan said:
What if I used wood and not fabric. I was thinking something along the lines of four 3ft sliding partitions that would actually seal off with no gaps in between each one except for the 1/2" or less at the bottom and top? Any better or still a no go?

Wood panel would offer the same reflection point as your left wall, and many of us use some type of absorbent panels for the those reflection point. Sub/s wise, while it may help a little. It won't be much.

Darth

OldPannyMan

Discussion Starter · #5 · Sep 15, 2019

3

So the diagram of my room is about 3800cuFt but that does not include the kitchen/family room that it opens to. So taking that into account any recommendations for duals to fill this whole area and I have a size limitation of 18"w x 25"d(MAX) x 25"h per sub. Listen to 90% movies 10% music an listen to movies pretty loud, not necessarily reference level but loud. Doing a 5.2.4 setup and have an 85" waiting to replace the 65" ZT60 in the 1st pic. HELP!!

See less See more

dpc716

· #6 · Sep 15, 2019

OldPannyMan said:
So the diagram of my room is about 3800cuFt but that does not include the kitchen/family room that it opens to. So taking that into account any recommendations for duals to fill this whole area and I have a size limitation of 18"w x 25"d(MAX) x 25"h per sub. Listen to 90% movies 10% music an listen to movies pretty loud, not necessarily reference level but loud. Doing a 5.2.4 setup and have an 85" waiting to replace the 65" ZT60 in the 1st pic. HELP!!

I think you'd do fine with a pair of Rythmik FV15hp's, even without any renovations.

OldPannyMan

Discussion Starter · #7 · Sep 15, 2019

dpc716 said:
I think you'd do fine with a pair of Rythmik FV15hp's, even without any renovations.

My bad, I should have stated earlier my all in budget for the duals is $2000. Any chance the Rythmik FVX15, HSU VTF-3 mk5 or PSA V1510DF would be powerful enough to do what I need?

dpc716

· #8 · Sep 15, 2019

OldPannyMan said:
My bad, I should have stated earlier my all in budget for the duals is $2000. Any chance the Rythmik FVX15, HSU VTF-3 mk5 or PSA V1510DF would be powerful enough to do what I need?

I think so, yes. You should still get some boundary gain even with the open wall, though not as much as in an enclosed space.

Out of the 3, I'd say the PSA for pure output, but the extension options the other two have are nice. Being able to extend response into the mid teens is great, but you will lose some low end "slam" in exchange. Since your listening area is rather small, I'd opt to have an option to lower extension, but it's up to you.

OldPannyMan

Discussion Starter · #9 · Sep 16, 2019

dpc716 said:
I think so, yes. You should still get some boundary gain even with the open wall, though not as much as in an enclosed space.

Out of the 3, I'd say the PSA for pure output, but the extension options the other two have are nice. Being able to extend response into the mid teens is great, but you will lose some low end "slam" in exchange. Since your listening area is rather small, I'd opt to have an option to lower extension, but it's up to you.

Well lets narrow it down to 2 then, which would be the better choice between the Rythmik FVX15 and the HSU VTF-15h mk2 for filling the space and really playing the low and mid bass in movies?

dpc716

· #10 · Sep 16, 2019

OldPannyMan said:
Well lets narrow it down to 2 then, which would be the better choice between the Rythmik FVX15 and the HSU VTF-15h mk2 for filling the space and really playing the low and mid bass in movies?

They're similar products in terms of performance and configurability - the HSU is a measure cheaper and has a stronger amp so I'd lean that way. The Rythmik might be a bit better for music, but that doesn't seem to be a big thing for you.

OldPannyMan

Discussion Starter · #11 · Sep 17, 2019

dpc716 said:
They're similar products in terms of performance and configurability - the HSU is a measure cheaper and has a stronger amp so I'd lean that way. The Rythmik might be a bit better for music, but that doesn't seem to be a big thing for you.

Well then I guess the HSU VTF-15H mk2 will be the one to get, I had been thinking the VTF-3 MK5 but for $200 more I think the 15H is the way to go. I would have liked the Rythmik FV15HP but it's just too much out of the budget and I don't know if it's $900 dollars better than the 15H so I'm not gonna even think about it. Thanks all, especially dpc716 for all the input I really appreciate it.

dpc716

· #12 · Sep 17, 2019

OldPannyMan said:
Well then I guess the HSU VTF-15H mk2 will be the one to get, I had been thinking the VTF-3 MK5 but for $200 more I think the 15H is the way to go. I would have liked the Rythmik FV15HP but it's just too much out of the budget and I don't know if it's $900 dollars better than the 15H so I'm not gonna even think about it. Thanks all, especially dpc716 for all the input I really appreciate it.

Actually I didn't pick up on the switch the last time, though the comments would be the same. You know it's 26" deep, correct?

Keep us posted with whatever you end up getting!

OldPannyMan

Discussion Starter · #13 · Sep 17, 2019

2

Yah I'm fine with it but the wife is just shaking her head, especially after I made a mock up box. Ignore the fake fireplace in the pic, that will be gone but just wanted her to get a rough idea of what to expect. When she came to she said why don't you just put a couple of washing machines out here, which I thought was a great reply, lmao. So the size requirement was more the depth stick out factor because of the misses. Only real size restriction is width which can't be over 18". I am wondering now about putting one where it is in the photo and the other right next to the couch on the left, I'd just take out the table and lamp, any thoughts on that sort of placement?

See less See more

dpc716

· #14 · Sep 18, 2019

OldPannyMan said:
Yah I'm fine with it but the wife is just shaking her head, especially after I made a mock up box. Ignore the fake fireplace in the pic, that will be gone but just wanted her to get a rough idea of what to expect. When she came to she said why don't you just put a couple of washing machines out here, which I thought was a great reply, lmao. So the size requirement was more the depth stick out factor because of the misses. Only real size restriction is width which can't be over 18". I am wondering now about putting one where it is in the photo and the other right next to the couch on the left, I'd just take out the table and lamp, any thoughts on that sort of placement?

I can't tell what kind of speakers you have, but based on the size they look like they might be pretty midbass capable, and you'd be good with an 80hz crossover (or maybe even lower). In that case I'd say give the front and couch locations a try first if that's preferred. If you wanted to crossover at say 100hz (or higher) I would suggest first trying both subs up front by the TV. You won't know what results you'll end up with for any given location until you try it out.

The "sub crawl" method can be challenging with subs that size, but I would give it a shot if you can.

OldPannyMan

Discussion Starter · #15 · Sep 18, 2019

The speakers are Ascend Acoustics 340SE's up front and Ascend 170SE's rear, will be running a Denon AVR-x4400. I am very new to all this, kinda learning as I go along. I will try both placements as you recommend. Thanks again for your help.

Alan P

· #16 · Sep 18, 2019

OldPannyMan said:
Yah I'm fine with it but the wife is just shaking her head, especially after I made a mock up box. Ignore the fake fireplace in the pic, that will be gone but just wanted her to get a rough idea of what to expect. When she came to she said why don't you just put a couple of washing machines out here, which I thought was a great reply, lmao. So the size requirement was more the depth stick out factor because of the misses. Only real size restriction is width which can't be over 18". I am wondering now about putting one where it is in the photo and the other right next to the couch on the left, I'd just take out the table and lamp, any thoughts on that sort of placement?

With the fireplace gone, you could use one of the subs turned sideways as a center channel stand. Wouldn't stick out nearly as far then.

OldPannyMan

Discussion Starter · #17 · Sep 19, 2019

I hadn't thought about that, thanks for that tip, might definitely help with the WAF. I'll spin my mocked up version and see.

OldPannyMan

Discussion Starter · #18 · Oct 4, 2019 (Edited)

2

Well I did some remeasuring of all the rooms involved and realized I am looking at a much larger area for the subs to do their magic in than I previously stated, it's actually 6500cuft (Please see new diagram). So will dual HSU VTF-15h mk2's still work or do I need to go bigger, which I don't really have the budget for. And also placement, either both directly behind the sofa facing each other or 1 behind the couch sideways and one next to the couch where the end table is now or 1 up front and one behind couch etc etc, open to recommendations. Thanks all for the help

See less See more

1 - 18 of 18 Posts

This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.