[Magibeg]

I seem to be suffering from a terrible case of uncertainty in that I can't seem to decide where in my basement I should put in a HT/Games room. The basement is currently completely unfinished and basically a blank slate. The plan is to get a projector and move my Reaction Audio CX-15's LCR down there for hopefully a 7.2.2 atmosphere setup. The problem is that the larger side of the basement has a low ceiling and the other side is smaller and narrower so I'm having trouble deciding on placement.

I have created 3 very basic floor plans and if someone could provide some insight for one over the other or have a completely differently entirely I would greatly appreciate it

Plan 1:

Plan 2:

Plan 3:

 

[Magibeg]

I'm not getting a lot of responses but that's OK, I'm just going to keep trucking along. After some careful deliberation I think I'm going to go the route below, where the orange walls are ones I'm going to have to build. I've still got a lot of planning ahead of me but at least I think I have a general direction to go now, though I'm still all ears for any other ideas or ways I should go about this. I plan to post updates as I progress assume no one minds.

 

[Magibeg]

I decided to make some further modifications to the plan. Going to opt for a slightly smaller couch and bring the whole thing forward a foot and a half and added a half wall up the side for speaker placement and appearance. The speakers surrounding are sized as Reaction Audio CX-8's to match my front 3. Added the speakers to the front (my CX-15's) and figured out that a proper screen size for me would be 100 inches. I added a box to the area under the stairs where I could put the cable box, receiver, HTPC, etc etc.

Has anyone run into any problems running a 25-30 foot cable to their subwoofers? It would be an awfully long distance to go based on my current placement on the far right side. Is there any silly mistakes i'm making here?

 

[Peterc613]

I seem to be suffering from a terrible case of uncertainty in that I can't seem to decide where in my basement I should put in a HT/Games room. The basement is currently completely unfinished and basically a blank slate. The plan is to get a projector and move my Reaction Audio CX-15's LCR down there for hopefully a 7.2.2 atmosphere setup. The problem is that the larger side of the basement has a low ceiling and the other side is smaller and narrower so I'm having trouble deciding on placement.

I have created 3 very basic floor plans and if someone could provide some insight for one over the other or have a completely differently entirely I would greatly appreciate it

Plan 1:

Plan 2:

Plan 3:

Just saw your original thread. Your original space would allow some changes in layout that would solve many of your problems. Have you already started on the plan posted in the RE thread?

Here is an example of a lighting plan that i mentioned in my PM.

Send me a PM if you want some ideas

 

[Magibeg]

Just saw your original thread. Your original space would allow some changes in layout that would solve many of your problems. Have you already started on the plan posted in the RE thread?

Here is an example of a lighting plan that i mentioned in my PM.

Send me a PM if you want some ideas

Construction wouldn't be starting for another month or so, which means the basement is still a blank slate at this point. I can switch around essentially anything at this point in time.

 

[Peterc613]

Construction wouldn't be starting for another month or so, which means the basement is still a blank slate at this point. I can switch around essentially anything at this point in time.

Can you post a copy of the diagram from directly overhead (i.e. in 2D blueprint line outline) without any markups?
I'm thinking of something like below. I just need the existing wall dimensions and a clean overlay to scale it out.

 

[Peterc613]

Construction wouldn't be starting for another month or so, which means the basement is still a blank slate at this point. I can switch around essentially anything at this point in time.

OPTION #1

By moving the door so it doesn't take up so much of the front wall, you open it up to a larger screen. It also gives you a perfect space for shelving and media storage on the left wall. You could also put the speakers behind the screen in framed openings to the laundry area.

Remember to put a dark paint or use felt covered panels on the ceiling near the screen to absorb reflected light because it's so low at the end of the room.

Instead of a table in the rear you might add a riser for a second row of seats where the ceiling is higher. Hide the back of the riser with a narrow bar top and use stools behind for additional seating.

Extend the rear wall to create a storage space, or extend a ceiling soffit over the bar with recesed bar top lighting. It will give you a spot to mount the left rear speaker

Place two subs under right/left front speakers
(or)
Place 1'st sub in front wall between center and right speaker,
then do sub crawl to find optimum position for 2'nd sub.
(or)
If you really want to pressurize the room mount an infinite baffle sub opening in the front or side wall.

Pre-wire for overhead speakers! (see prior post) You will be glad you did in couple of years when 7.2.4 is standard, even on entry level receivers.

OPTION #2

Move the door to the front wall and the screen to the left. It gives you a nice casual seating arrangement, but will be much more difficult for speaker placement. It also blocks the alcove on the right.

I like option #1 better.

 

[Magibeg]

OPTION #1

By moving the door so it doesn't take up so much of the front wall, you open it up to a larger screen. It also gives you a perfect space for shelving and media storage on the left wall. You could also put the speakers behind the screen in framed openings to the laundry area.

Remember to put a dark paint or use felt covered panels on the ceiling near the screen to absorb reflected light because it's so low at the end of the room.

Instead of a table in the rear you might add a riser for a second row of seats where the ceiling is higher. Hide the back of the riser with a narrow bar top and use stools behind for additional seating.

Extend the rear wall to create a storage space, or extend a ceiling soffit over the bar with recesed bar top lighting. It will give you a spot to mount the left rear speaker

Place two subs under right/left front speakers
(or)
Place 1'st sub in front wall between center and right speaker,
then do sub crawl to find optimum position for 2'nd sub.
(or)
If you really want to pressurize the room mount an infinite baffle sub opening in the front or side wall.

Pre-wire for overhead speakers! (see prior post) You will be glad you did in couple of years when 7.2.4 is standard, even on entry level receivers.

OPTION #2

Move the door to the front wall and the screen to the left. It gives you a nice casual seating arrangement, but will be much more difficult for speaker placement. It also blocks the alcove on the right.

I like option #1 better.

Sorry for the delayed response, it has been a very busy work week for me.

The only problem I can see with the designs is that I do have 2 metal posts that could interrupt the placement. I Don't think I'd be able to move them without very significant renovation unfortunately, as well as engineers.

I do like where your head is though. I was looking at your designs in the other thread and I was looking at the idea of the attached.

 

[Peterc613]

Sorry for the delayed response, it has been a very busy work week for me.

The only problem I can see with the designs is that I do have 2 metal posts that could interrupt the placement. I Don't think I'd be able to move them without very significant renovation unfortunately, as well as engineers.

I do like where your head is though. I was looking at your designs in the other thread and I was looking at the idea of the attached.

Here are my suggestions:


MOVE DOOR, EXTEND SCREEN

Move the door to the left wall and you can extend the screen wall to wall allowing for a much more dramatic 2:35 aspect ratio. Place the screen just in front of the poll and the speakers behind. If you use a projector with scene memory it will adjust for 1:78 and 2:35 constant height. If your projector doesn't have this feature then mount roll down blackout window shades on the ceiling to mask the sides for 1:78 or 16:9 HHDTV.



VOG SPEAKERS

As long as you are going to pre-wire, put in the drops for the VOG speakers directly overhead. You're probably going to buy your wire on a spool anyway, so use the excess to make two more drops. We are very aware of ambience and specific sounds coming from directly above. That's why voices sounds different under a covered outdoor patio than they do in the back yard under open sky. Thats why we can tell the direction when a helicopter flies over our house. Movie editors are just now perfecting how to mix audio for the new immersive sound formats. They already mix in ambience to the overhead channels in Auro and Atmos for live music and objects to the overhead channels for movie soundtracks. These channels will become more and more active as immersive sound becomes the new norm. Dolby found that not having the overhead channels was like having a black hole in the sound as objects moved across the ceiling in designing the Atmos system.


BAR SOFFIT, REAR LEFT SPEAKER

Extend the line of the back wall with a narrow ceiling sofftit that extends to the room corner or bar top corner. It will accent the demarcation of the bar, reinforce the perimeter line of the room and add an intimate touch for bar conversation. The soffit can be 8-10" wide and drop down 10" from the ceiling. Put 3 to 4 recessed 3" low voltage lights in the bottom to give you task lighting on the bar top. You can mount the Left Rear speaker on the face where it will sound best in the room.


A/V SHELVES

Take the alcove on the right and build in an A/V cabinet with drawer up to 32" height. Middle Atlantic makes a great recessed cabinet half rack (pictured) that lets you pull your gear out and rotate it for servicing. It will give room for more gear and a place to hide all the miscellaneous audio crap that accumulates in our hobby. Above 32", put glass shelving for artwork and pictures. The wood top would be a killer place for a turntable (what man-cave is complete without one?).

You could also build in a full equipment rack framed with a glass door. This would look really COOL and give you room to add even more equipment. Middle Atlantic makes a dual vent ICLS-COOLII system to vent built in wall racks.

Lastly you could just buy a stand alone rack and put it under the stairs next to the furnace. All your equipment would be handled by remote using IR repeaters. Although this gives you the greatest rack space, most access to wires and hides all the equipment, having the equipment in a small space that gets warm from the furnace may not be great unless the area is properly vented. You can control this by mounting the Middle Atlantic ICLS COOL II vents in the access door to the furnace closet. They also make a duct vent system that will vent to another area or outside. Both systems are thermostatically controlled.

http://www.middleatlantic.com/produ...sr-series-slide-out-rotating-rail-system.aspx

http://cfgbridge.middleatlantic.com/api/Document/InstructionSheets/I-00244.PDF

http://www.cableorganizer.com/middle-atlantic/duct-cool-long-pull-vent-system.html


MEDIA STORAGE

Build shelving or buy shelf units to place on the left wall. It's a perfect place to display your CD, DVD andBluRay collection (and vinyl).


BIGGER 18" SUBS!

Putting the subs behind the screen allows you to consider a MUCH MORE POWERFUL sub option than an ID 12" or 15" woofer. There is a company on AVS called DIY Sound Group. They make a very narrow 15" deep Stonehenge subwoofer kit that's easy to assemble and will fit right behind the screen between your main speakers. It's an amazingly well thought out design that accommodates a 18" woofer. A good match would be the SI HT-18 driver and iNUKE 6000DSP amp. The whole combination works out to a little over $500 each + shipping. That's 1/2 the cost of a Reaction Audio Ecco 18 and 1/3 the cost of a JTR Captivator. Two of these will way outperform a pair of 12" or 15" subs from any ID company.

Stonehenge Flat Pack

The Stonehenge flat pack is available for $88.50 from DIY Sound Group. All the panels are pre-cut with a CNC precision machine with recessed channels for the braces so they snap right in place. They are easy to assemble, all you need is common wood glue and masking tape plus a couple hours of your time. If you don't want to do it, your contractor can glue them together (but there's really no need since they're so easy to put together).The assembled dimensions are 30" h x 30" w x 15" deep and the box can be painted basic black because it can be hidden behind your front screen. It will accommodate an 18" driver and can be ordered with the slot ports facing either direction. You can place them between your front speakers with the ports facing outwards, or in the corners under your speakers with the ports facing inwards. Two Stonehenge enclosures would cost $177 + shipping. You can also stack them behind the screen if you want to add two more later on.

http://www.diysoundgroup.com/ported-subwoofers-1/18-stonehenge/18stonehenge-panels.html

Stereo Integrity HT-18

A reasonably priced and readily available 18" driver would be the 4 ohm version of the HT-18 for $225 from Stereo Integrity. You could join the perpetual wait list for the UXL-18 at $460 (group buy) but you never know when you will get it. Two SI18's would cost $450 + shipping

http://stereointegrity.com/product/ht18-18-subwoofer/

http://www.avsforum.com/forum/155-d...610-uxl-group-buy-sequel-29.html#post34112242

Behringer iNUKE 6000 DSP

The Behringer iNUKE 6000 DSP amplifier is available for $399 from Parts Express. It will deliver 2 x 3,000 watts into 4 ohms and weighs less than 12 lbs. Most important, it includes a 24-bit/96 kHz DSP so it will be easier to adjust for room acoustics and integrating with your mains. The DSP has time delay, 3 crossover types up to 48 dB/octave, 8 parametric, 2 dynamic EQ's and an LCD display that enables setup and adjustment without PC. One iNUKE 6000 has ample headroom for two SI18's plus enough power to add one or two more Stonehenge subs behind the screen or two more 18" Marty subs as end tables once you found out how easy it was and how tactile that ported 18" subs can feel.

http://www.behringer.com/EN/Products/nu6000dsp.aspx

http://www.parts-express.com/behrin...ightweight-power-amplifier-with-dsp--248-6710

 

[Craig Peer]

I decided to make some further modifications to the plan. Going to opt for a slightly smaller couch and bring the whole thing forward a foot and a half and added a half wall up the side for speaker placement and appearance. The speakers surrounding are sized as Reaction Audio CX-8's to match my front 3. Added the speakers to the front (my CX-15's) and figured out that a proper screen size for me would be 100 inches. I added a box to the area under the stairs where I could put the cable box, receiver, HTPC, etc etc.

Has anyone run into any problems running a 25-30 foot cable to their subwoofers? It would be an awfully long distance to go based on my current placement on the far right side. Is there any silly mistakes i'm making here?

I like this plan - looks good to me.

 

[Magibeg]

Here are my suggestions:
.....

Ok I modified my floor plan to approx what you're asking, is that what you had in mind?

I like this plan - looks good to me.

Thank you!

But feel free to be plenty critical about it, the more knowledge I can draw on the better hopefully



I also added another modified design that may also work well.

 

[Peterc613]

Ok I modified my floor plan to approx what you're asking, is that what you had in mind?

Thank you!

But feel free to be plenty critical about it, the more knowledge I can draw on the better hopefully

I also added another modified design that may also work well.

I like the rear seats with a bar top. I'd still put a riser with a middle row if seats if can. If you're going to eliminate the game table and just use it as a theater then adding more seats will really help.

Widen the Screen for 2:35 wall to wall. A good projector with a short throw sense will definitely fill that wall.


What did you think of the Stonehenge subs?

 

[Magibeg]

I like the rear seats with a bar top. I'd still put a riser with a middle row if seats if can. If you're going to eliminate the game table and just use it as a theater then adding more seats will really help.

Widen the Screen for 2:35 wall to wall. A good projector with a short throw sense will definitely fill that wall.


What did you think of the Stonehenge subs?

Sorry for the delay in reponse, been a hell of a couple months and i'm now engaged . I also own a Seaton SubM now.

I'm starting to tape out where the walls will be now to get a better idea of what i'm after. I believe I'm going to go with a full screen all the way across, but only 1 row of seats. More updates to come later.

 

[Magibeg]

I have updated the design again, hoping to start construction this winter (I know, this is a slow process).

I am now using Seaton Catalyst 8c's instead of the Reaction Audio CX-15's (as it reflects the change to my sound system). There is a spot to the left side of the screen (which is now 2.35 ratio) which I plan on having just a curtain across for to give me access to the speakers behind the screen without having to remove the screen. Overall I think i'm about settled on the basic design. Like always I'm still looking for more input to further refine things.