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You might gather from the name, this theater will be located in the Hoosier state. After purchasing my house in 2012 with plans for a dedicated theater, construction is finally set to kick off in January 2020. My house has a partially unfinished basement and we are finishing the rest of the basement in addition to the theater. The plans are nearly final with just a few more details to iron out. This will in no way be a DIY build like many of you on the forum. My construction skills are limited to putting together bookcases and other small pieces of furniture. A contractor that specializes in finishing basements will do most of the construction. Jim Kluka of Exceptional Home Technologies (EHT) designed the theater area and will handling the A/V installation.

I have a space in the unfinished portion of my basement that is 38' 7 1/2" long x 15' 4" wide (see first pic). We will use approx. 24' of that length for the theater, and the other 14' will be a hang/game room with a table and kitchenette. Once the walls are put in, the theater will be 24' 2 1/2" x 14' 8" x 8'. I will have two rows of 3 straight seats with a 14" riser for the back row. The theater will be setup for a 9.2.6 Atmos system and will have a 145" 2.35:1 acoustic transparent screen.

Equipment list so far:

AVR: Anthem MRX 1120
Screen: 135" Screen Innovations Zero Edge Pro
Projector: JVC NX-7
Speakers: Monitor Audio (Fronts - Silver 300, Center - Silver C350, Surrounds - W380-IDC, Ceiling - C280-IDC
UHD player: Panasonic UB9000
Region Free blu-ray player: Sony BDP-S6700
Streaming: Apple TV 4K

Items still under consideration:

1. May add a bartop table behind the back row of seats and then move the wall back a few feet to give enough space to walk in (chose not to include)
2. Side surround and back surround currently to be in-wall due to only having 2' 1 3/8" from the side wall to the riser (would prefer on wall, but don't want to have to duck around the surrounds)

I would greatly appreciate any feedback on the design, speakers and in-wall vs. on-wall for the surrounds. I'll share more updates as the plan is finalized and we get closer to construction in a few months.

 

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Here are a pics provided by the contractor using their 3D modeling software (don't pay attention to the floor or wall colors as we have not picked those out yet):

 

[SteveCallas]

I’m about 2 hours north of you with a 15.5 x 27.5 x 9 theater and 142” 2.39:1 screen with 11.2.4 surround sound and BOSSes, so similar setup to what you are wanting.

How much room behind your false screen wall are you wanting? I ask because with full reclining seats and a bar top, 24 might be a bit tight.

Have you considered JVC projectors? They generally have the best black levels, so if this is going to be a dedicated, blacked out room, I’d recommend a JVC.

If you ever want to come see mine to see some pros and cons, just let me know.

 

[lemonslush]

If you doing a DIY sub 24" might be a tad slim for space. Even some JTR subs would be snug in that area. You could however fit pretty much everything from the smaller side of JBLs cinema line they are all rather thin...wide but thin. Nice looking layout. That's a decent size room two subs may not be enough assuming you want to get to reference two ported 21" subs however would work I bed.

 

[gibson61]

Looks like a great plan to me. Equipment choice is pretty personal but your picks are all nice. I use MA silver speakers myself. Excellent speakers for music and HT. And the Epson is also excellent ' I use the older 5030ub and it still looks great on a 130in scope screen. Myself i would keep the bar in the other room with a popcorn machine ' maybe make it double as a snack bar also. I also live in IN. down by Corydon. Good luck

 

[RonStealth]

Very cool that a fellow Hoosier is building a high end theater. I’m a longtime lurker, infrequent poster and am in the process of building my 2nd theater. I posted because I’m in Zionsville just west of you. My theater is very similar to yours. 24’x14’x9’, Acoustically transparent scope screen. 9.6.6 Atmos, Klipsch Palladium, Sony 5000es, Trinnov, etc, etc. My room structure is done and will be installing the acoustic absorbers/diffusers next week. I am doing much of the work myself with the help of Nyal Mellor of Acoustic Frontiers who did all my room modeling/layout and front screen wall design.

 

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How much room behind your false screen wall are you wanting? I ask because with full reclining seats and a bar top, 24 might be a bit tight.

Have you considered JVC projectors? They generally have the best black levels, so if this is going to be a dedicated, blacked out room, I’d recommend a JVC.

I'll have about 3' from the screen location to the framing on the back wall, and so ~21' from the screen to the back wall. I agree if I do go with a bartop table behind the back row of seats I'll likely move the back wall back a few feet to accommodate that addition.

I do have JVC and the Sony 4K projectors on the potential list. Reading some reviews now to inform my decision. Is there a specific JVC model you recommend in the $3-5k range?

 

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Looks like a great plan to me. Equipment choice is pretty personal but your picks are all nice. I use MA silver speakers myself. Excellent speakers for music and HT. And the Epson is also excellent ' I use the older 5030ub and it still looks great on a 130in scope screen. Myself i would keep the bar in the other room with a popcorn machine ' maybe make it double as a snack bar also. I also live in IN. down by Corydon. Good luck

Thanks for the feedback. I'll definitely have a popcorn machine in the area outside the theater entrance along with a table for cards/get togethers/etc. Since my riser sits in the middle of the floor, I've been thinking about creative ideas to put behind the back row and I've seen some nice looking bartop tables. However, I've seen some other theaters with a similar setup of just the riser with nothing behind the back row. I suppose it comes down to personal preference in the end.

How did you settle on the MA silver series? I personally have no experience with MA, but they are the preferred brand of my A/V installer. He recommends MA, but I only have personal experience with Paradigm and Klipsch. I'm 95% movies and 5% music.

 

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Very cool that a fellow Hoosier is building a high end theater. I’m a longtime lurker, infrequent poster and am in the process of building my 2nd theater. I posted because I’m in Zionsville just west of you. My theater is very similar to yours. 24’x14’x9’, Acoustically transparent scope screen. 9.6.6 Atmos, Klipsch Palladium, Sony 5000es, Trinnov, etc, etc. My room structure is done and will be installing the acoustic absorbers/diffusers next week. I am doing much of the work myself with the help of Nyal Mellor of Acoustic Frontiers who did all my room modeling/layout and front screen wall design.

Fellow Hoosiers unite!!

Since we have a very similar width, did you end up going with on-wall vs. in-wall for the side surrounds? I'm limited on space on the sides since the seats are 3-wide. Obviously, I could go down to 2-wide seats and gain a lot of side space, but definitely prefer to have two extra seats in the end. The Palladium speakers are a bit outside my price range, but I've heard good things about the Reference Premier series.

Thanks for the feedback.

 

[SteveCallas]

I don’t think you can go wrong with any of the JVC’s from the past few years. I believe the 4k eshift RS540 is still regarded as the best due to dual active shutters, then after that would be the new true 4k models out. I have an older RS400 and it puts out an incredible picture.

 

[RonStealth]

Fellow Hoosiers unite!!

Since we have a very similar width, did you end up going with on-wall vs. in-wall for the side surrounds? I'm limited on space on the sides since the seats are 3-wide. Obviously, I could go down to 2-wide seats and gain a lot of side space, but definitely prefer to have two extra seats in the end. The Palladium speakers are a bit outside my price range, but I've heard good things about the Reference Premier series.

Thanks for the feedback.

If I didn’t have most of the Palladiums from a previous build in 2015 I would have probably gone with the RP line like you. The Palladiums are getting hard to find and are quite honestly too pretty to hide behind a screen. I went with on wall surrounds. My seat layout is 3 front curved, 4 rear curved with loveseat in rear center.

 

[rengep]

I like the drawings and the 3D renders. Your theater is close to my future theater dimentions. Will be following closely from Norway.

 

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Recommendations for acoustic panels?

Looking for recommendations for acoustic panels. My installer has recommended Artnovion. They certainly look nice, but could cost $5-8k depending on the package. I don't want to go cheap on the acoustic panels, but would prefer some that are a bit more budget friendly. I'm not a DIYer so I would appreciate any recommendations for other manufacturers that others have experience with or are highly recommended.

 

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Construction officially kicked off this week. Framing is done.

 

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Stage/riser filler?

Question for those that have recently installed a stage or riser on concrete....

What filler for the stage/riser would you recommend? I know sand is likely the preferred option, but I would need 200 bags alone just for the stage. Therefore, I'm likely going with insulation. Is mineral wool optimal or would a high rated fiberglass insulation (such as R30) be acceptable? Is there any recommendation on something to put underneath the wood to prevent direct contact with the concrete floor, or if the wood is treated that should be acceptable? My goal is to minimize vibration. Both the stage/riser will be carpeted in the end. Thanks in advance for the feedback.

 

[BIGmouthinDC]

Use roofing felt and regular wood, then the cheapest insulation that will fill it up.

 

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Use roofing felt and regular wood, then the cheapest insulation that will fill it up.

Thanks for the feedback. That's exactly what we did.

 

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Lots of progress in the last few weeks. Drywall is complete. Stage + false wall and riser are framed.

This week is trim and painting. We're still on track to be finished by the end of March.

 

[Bryce2320]

Theatre is looking awesome! Very well planned it looks like. Im anxious to see it completed!

 

[David Blosser]

Its coming together nicely! plans look great

Very cool that a fellow Hoosier is building a high end theater. I’m a longtime lurker, infrequent poster and am in the process of building my 2nd theater. I posted because I’m in Zionsville just west of you. My theater is very similar to yours. 24’x14’x9’, Acoustically transparent scope screen. 9.6.6 Atmos, Klipsch Palladium, Sony 5000es, Trinnov, etc, etc. My room structure is done and will be installing the acoustic absorbers/diffusers next week. I am doing much of the work myself with the help of Nyal Mellor of Acoustic Frontiers who did all my room modeling/layout and front screen wall design.

sounds like an Indiana meet is needed im out in Coatesville past Avon and Danville.