[Helheim]

Wright Family Home Theater (aka The Money Pit as my wife calls it)

In 2012 I had Erskine do a plan for me but for various reasons that got put on hold and I never started. Late last year I decided it was time to finally build the theater room, I sold a domain name so have some funds now to use, but I'm trying to save some money from the original plan.

Room Details:
Initial Space: 209”L x 161”W x 94” high
Wall Construction: 2 Layers of 5/8” Drywall with Green Glue no clips or channel
Ceiling Construction: 2 Layers of 5/8” Drywall with Green Glue and Whisper Clips & channel

Already Purchased Equipment:
LCR Speakers - JTR 212HT-LP
Rears/Surrounds/Front Height Speakers - 6x DIYSoundGroup Volt-8
Atmos - 4x DIYSoundGroup Volt-6 V2
Subs - JTR CAPTIVATOR 4000ULF-LP & Rythmik FV15HP
Projector - Epson ProCinema 4040
Screen - Silver Ticket STR-169135-WAB (16:9, 135", AT)
AVR - Denon AVR-4520CI Denon AVC-X8500H
Lighting - Lutron GRAFIK Eye QS
DSP - QSC DSP 322ua (Probably won’t use this)

Renders of Current Design

Progress:
Framing & Sound Proofing
Volt-8 Surround Speakers
HVAC

Original Plans

Spoiler

 

[Elill]

Interesting. Exact same size as our room but I have asked Dennis/Shawn for 2 rows.....going to be interesting to see what they come back with.


Screen size looks about the same as what I came up with myself (width at any rate - I want a 16:9)


Coffered ceiling?

 

[Elill]

Have you had the AT's priced yet? I am a little nervous about that

 

[Helheim]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Elill  /t/1504909/another-erskine-designed-theatre#post_24059640


Have you had the AT's priced yet? I am a little nervous about that

Not yet going to look at other options besides their recommendation as well. Haven't started developing the basement yet so I still have a while to figure that out.

 

[doublewing11]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Elill  /t/1504909/another-erskine-designed-theatre#post_24059640


Have you had the AT's priced yet? I am a little nervous about that

Expect the Stewart 130 mp to be 60-70% more that same size Seymour-SE 4k screen. At 12 ft I could see perfs on the 130...........be very careful and check screen material yourself before purchasing.


I made many changes to my EG design and am glad I did.

 

[Elill]

Sorry I meant acoustic treatments?

 

[Helheim]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Elill  /t/1504909/another-erskine-designed-theatre#post_24059695


Sorry I meant acoustic treatments?

Just a rough estimate of 3-4K.

 

[Helheim]



Quote:
Originally Posted by doublewing11  /t/1504909/another-erskine-designed-theatre#post_24059688


I made many changes to my EG design and am glad I did.

What other things did you change?

 

[doublewing11]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Elill  /t/1504909/another-erskine-designed-theatre#post_24059695


Sorry I meant acoustic treatments?

Then use the same number.....ie. 60-70% more than 12ft Seymour-SE 4k screen.......about the same price,

My room is is 25+ X 17 X 10 ft

 

[Helheim]

Picked up some equipment and ordered some JTR 212HT-LP speakers for LCR.

 

[rms8]

Curious...What's the purpose of the QSC DSP 322ua?


Seems this is a minimum requirement for any DE design, but having only 2 side surrounds (per drawing above) and Audyssey Dynamic EQ + Audyssey Sub EQ HT built in to the 4520, I don't see the point in the added expense.

 

[Helheim]



Quote:
Originally Posted by rms8  /t/1504909/another-erskine-designed-theatre#post_24140876


Curious...What's the purpose of the QSC DSP 322ua?


Seems this is a minimum requirement for any DE design, but having only 2 side surrounds (per drawing above) and Audyssey Dynamic EQ + Audyssey Sub EQ HT built in to the 4520, I don't see the point in the added expense.

I don't really need it but got a good deal on it used and I do plan on adding a 3rd sub at some time. According to Shawn it's still a more capable device than using Audyssey alone. I'm going to be getting a 3ch amp for the LCR and running those plus the subs through the QSC and the surrounds and rears off the 4520.

 

[rms8]

I understand it does a "better" job than what Audyssey alone, but factor in the cost of the unit and you have gone well beyond the point of diminished returns. I would say it is even beyond needing a 322ua for a 3rd sub. There are many devices out there which would allow you to incorporate a 3rd sub for thousands less than the DE recommended 322ua. I know it's plenty late to suggest this now since you already own the 322ua, but DE seems bent on not deviating from certain components regardless. Have you looked at the MiniDSP at all? It will do everything you need for many THOUSANDS less than the 322ua. I'm sure those thousands could be better used on something else which you would see/feel/hear a MUCH bigger difference from.


Is it too late to post that 322ua up on Craig's List or eBay ?

 

[beams6]



Quote:
Originally Posted by rms8  /t/1504909/another-erskine-designed-theatre#post_24141009


I understand it does a "better" job than what Audyssey alone, but factor in the cost of the unit and you have gone well beyond the point of diminished returns. I would say it is even beyond needing a 322ua for a 3rd sub. There are many devices out there which would allow you to incorporate a 3rd sub for thousands less than the DE recommended 322ua. I know it's plenty late to suggest this now since you already own the 322ua, but DE seems bent on not deviating from certain components regardless. Have you looked at the MiniDSP at all? It will do everything you need for many THOUSANDS less than the 322ua. I'm sure those thousands could be better used on something else which you would see/feel/hear a MUCH bigger difference from.


Is it too late to post that 322ua up on Craig's List or eBay ?

 

Also you would always need to pay a experienced calibrator to calibrate the 322 initially and subsequently to calibrate it if it ever malfunctions. I read somewhere qsc is going to discontinue the 322 for a newer product and so getting rid of the inventory. 

 

[Helheim]

I did look at the MiniDSP but I didn't pay anywhere near retail for the 322ua I figure I'd try it and if it doesn't workout sell it later.

 

[sdurani]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Helheim  /t/1504909/another-erskine-designed-theatre#post_24140939


I'm going to be getting a 3ch amp for the LCR and running those plus the subs through the QSC and the surrounds and rears off the 4520.

Since you'll have amp channels left over in the 4520, I would add a pair of wide speakers in the front columns to bridge the gap between your front and side speakers.

 

[mtbdudex]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Helheim  /t/1504909/another-erskine-designed-theatre#post_24140939

Quote:
Originally Posted by rms8  /t/1504909/another-erskine-designed-theatre#post_24140876


Curious...What's the purpose of the QSC DSP 322ua?


Seems this is a minimum requirement for any DE design, but having only 2 side surrounds (per drawing above) and Audyssey Dynamic EQ + Audyssey Sub EQ HT built in to the 4520, I don't see the point in the added expense.

I don't really need it but got a good deal on it used and I do plan on adding a 3rd sub at some time. According to Shawn it's still a more capable device than using Audyssey alone. I'm going to be getting a 3ch amp for the LCR and running those plus the subs through the QSC and the surrounds and rears off the 4520.

I got a 3 channel amp because I went 11.x, and my 4520 (same as your's) only can handle 9 channels.

Curious: why spend coin on a 3 channel amp when your 4520 should be able to handle the LCR?


Also, have you considered going the Audyssey Pro route rather than the QSC DSP?

 

[Helheim]



Quote:
Originally Posted by mtbdudex  /t/1504909/another-erskine-designed-theatre#post_24155599


I got a 3 channel amp because I went 11.x, and my 4520 (same as your's) only can handle 9 channels.

Curious: why spend coin on a 3 channel amp when your 4520 should be able to handle the LCR?


Also, have you considered going the Audyssey Pro route rather than the QSC DSP?

Only real reason is to have more power in reserve. I was thinking about getting 3 Crown XLS1500 amps each bridged for the LCR. I'll probably try it first without though. I thought with Audyssey Pro it treats two subs as one?


"No. XT32 pings each sub individually and then sets the level and distance independently for each sub. It then EQs both subs together, taking account of their interaction with the room and with each other. Because the Pro Kit uses the 'base' version of MultEQ in the AVR or AVP, using Pro will not give you the same result as an XT32-equipped unit. In other words, your dual subs will still be treated as one sub, with distances and levels NOT set independently; however, the subs will still be EQd together."

 

[blazar]

Looks like a reasonable plan overall for a size-constrained room. Being partial to 11.2 channel matrixes setup, that's what I would suggest from the outset. To get a great bass response curve, I prefer as many subwoofers as possible also but of course your room may not easily accommodate.

 

[Helheim]

With the downturn where I'm at the theater room got put on hold for awhile but now construction has started. The plan has changed some and the budget has been reduced. So far I've put in a new sub-panel for the electrical and framed the two walls, the exterior walls were already there from when we bought the house. I will be putting whisper clips and DD+GG on the ceiling but no clips on the walls just DD+GG. I probably should have isolated the walls with IB3 clips but since the exterior ones weren't I decided not to. I had an HVAC guy come take a look and apparently here you can't use flex duct on supply lines just return so I'll probably just have to build some kind of muffler. He said I only needed one supply and one return line too but I'm thinking two supply lines will be better. I'm going with the Volt-8 speakers for rears and surrounds to save some money over the JTR ones.