My home theater!

[Starmartyr]

Wow! My own thread!! Thought I would start one, as I am currently in the midst of a mostly-devoted theater build. We moved into the house on Nov 1st, and the basement is a pretty decent size. The overall rec room is 38 feet long, 10ft wide for the majority of that, but the far end where the theater is located is 16ft deep and 14ft wide. (See pictures and floorplans for reference)

We are adding dark rugs, a big sectional, black paint to the front wall, and very dark brown (CIL Cocoa Mousse) to the rest of the theater area. The drop ceiling tiles will be blacked out. The theater room is open to one side but will curtained off from the rest of the rec room area by a doubled up set of blackout curtains.. I will be adding acoustic panelling to the other walls and maybe some insulation behind the drop ceiling as well. Below you will find a floor plan and some mock-ups I did from scratch in Visio. Exception being the rack itself and the PS3.. although i did edit and add to those a bit myself as well. BTW.. if anyone likes them and needs Visio models made.. I might consider doing it for a fee All of the models are exactly to scale as well.

Check out the rest of the pics for progress! I'll keep updating as I go (eventually).

Thanks for stopping by.

[Starmartyr]

Photos: more pics can be found in my gallery as well.



Visio mock-up of screen wall with 128 inch diagonal Carada Criterion 2.35:1 screen. I've painted this size of screen on the wall now to test first.



More accurate Visio mock-up of screen wall, with black painted front wall and curtains extended a bit. Probably will still run heights, thay are just hiding behind the curtains.



Accurate rear wall mockup in Visio, with full rack.



House plan I did mostly before we moved in, and perfected afterwards.



Some progress! Painted the front wall black, 1st coat, and 2nd coat on the screen.. What a difference!! THe room is already darker. Can't wait until I paint all the ceiling tiles black, and the rest of the room really dark brown.. Should make a huge difference. Couple more angles below.






Update: Jan 7, 2011
A little bit of progress! I took some pics of the perfected screen wall, mostly perfect except for the few areas with masking tape. Some of the paint came off with the tape removal, no matter how slowly and carefully I removed it.

Also pictured is the outlet that zapped me, on the right side. The black outlet covers are probably indistinguishable from one another, but the one on the left I painted flat black, and the one on the right is the gloss black purchased decora cover.









The amount of light this simple painted screen throws back is amazing. It almost glows in the dark! If I even have just one light on in the far side of the basement, the screen just catches all the light and glows. No wonder I thought the picture was too bright! Plain white Behr Premium primer is all it is. And to think, a manufactured screen will be even better!

Below are some shots of the rack/rear wall in progress..







Feb 2011 - some progress.. dark walls!

Painting is coming along, slowly. Here are some not-great shots but you get the idea. As you can see from a couple of the pics I am just starting on the rear wall as well. After that, I'll figure out what I'm doing with the ceiling. Also at the end is a shot of the (now) fully loaded rack.. Can't wait to get that bad boy in and set up!!


















Update August 2011: Mostly complete! Need to put up screen, PB13 Ultras are incoming, must also find time to modify center channel stand so I can stop using a box!!

[Massacre1]

That is a very nice home you have. I like the paint color, too.

I'm interested to hear how your wall screen turns out. I've contemplated getting a PJ, but I just don't have enough time to invest in movie watching right now to warrant that purchase.

Overall, you have very nice gear, and I'm sure you'll enjoy it throughly. Congrats!

[Beta Man]

Looks great!

I went with brown/black for my previous movie room (Brevity Brown and Black Magic from Sherwin Williams) and loved the way it turned out..... The new one will be grey/grey more than likely, but not sure yet.

Since you have the room (and a lot of it at that) you might want to re-orient your setup, and go with an acoustically transparent screen.....

Either way, you have a ton of room to work with, which is great.

[ejusted]

Hey man,


Great space you have there. You can do alot with it and looks like your headed in the right direction. I like the pool talbe idea. Have you thought about wall treatments for sound? How are the acoustics in there?

[Aerodude73]

Hey there, congrats on the New house & Awesome finished basement (Nice Large area for the HT, very cool...!!). From what I can tell, you prob. already Know about placement & what works for you & your ears, etc. The Only thing I'd offer or suggest, would be for the SIDE Surrounds to be moved UP a few feet so they're actually on the "Sides" of your seating area, vice along the back wall with the REAR Surrounds. From everything I've read (& how I have it, somewhat, in my house), Rears are supposed be Behind the seating area. I found This on the THX.com site.

Also, check out the below description as well.

7.1 Channel Speaker Placement (SOURCE)

* The Front Center and Left/Right Main speakers and Subwoofer are the same as a 5.1 or 6.1 Channel set up.

* Left/Right Surround speakers -- to the left and right side of the listening position.

* Rear/Back Surround speakers - Behind the listening position - slightly to the left and right (may be elevated above listener) - at about 140-150 degrees from the Front Center channel speaker. Rear/Back channel surround speakers can be elevated above the listening position.

[Starmartyr]

Originally Posted by Beta Man

Looks great!

I went with brown/black for my previous movie room (Brevity Brown and Black Magic from Sherwin Williams) and loved the way it turned out..... The new one will be grey/grey more than likely, but not sure yet.

Since you have the room (and a lot of it at that) you might want to re-orient your setup, and go with an acoustically transparent screen.....

Either way, you have a ton of room to work with, which is great.

Thanks Beta Man! I went with a brown as well of course, the darkest we could find.. 'Cocoa Mousse' in eggshell (1 step up from flat) And the black is the blackest we could get from Home Depot - I literally just asked for the blackest black they had! I forget the name, but it is seriously dark as you can tell. The walls are grey in the Visio models since I couldn't put black in the first one, as it would hide everything, and I couldn't get the right brown for the other one. I didn't want to go with grey for the walls, IMHO it can make a room seem a little cold.. I went with brown because it's such a warm color, I wanted to make people feel like they should stay awhile in the room. Even if it's pitch black when a movie is playing

I know it seems like there is a lot of space but this orientation is really the only way it can work, and it's a little limiting. Otherwise, the long area in the rest of the basement is only 10ft wide which is too narrow. Believe me, I wanted an AT screen because I have plenty of matching tower speakers to go around, making the soundstage identical all around was my original plan, including using a tower as the CC, but unfortunately I just don't have the room. Even now my seating will only be 11 feet away.. and the surrounds have to go behind, which is not exactly ideal, as Aerodude mentioned. Believe me, if I could I would put them to the sides, I'm a perfectionist in many ways but it just won't work in this room.. If I figure out a way to do some dipoles or something, then maybe, but with the side of the room open to the right, it doesn't really work. Maybe in the next place I'll have all the factors on my side

Thanks again for taking a look guys.. stay tuned for more progress!

[Starmartyr]

Originally Posted by ejusted

Hey man,


Great space you have there. You can do alot with it and looks like your headed in the right direction. I like the pool talbe idea. Have you thought about wall treatments for sound? How are the acoustics in there?

Hey! thanks ejusted. The acoustics are not pleasant, like the rest of the house since it's all hard floors and walls. We've got two large dark rugs for the floors and I plan on doing some panels for the walls. The open side will have the double layered thick curtains with air-space between as well, so that will help. I'm also planning to insulate the ceiling above the tiles between the floor beams. I've been meaning to look into the Auralex T-Coustic ceiling tiles as well, that way they absorb sound and I wouldn't have to paint mine black. But I'd imagine they are expensive. Hopefully I can find out this week.

Thanks again for the comment.

[HAMP]

With all your work you have done and already bought your towers, it's a little late for this idea.

Honestly, with Bi/Di-pole as surrounds are much much better then direct radiating speakers.

Here is the look that would have been pretty nice.

[Beta Man]

Originally Posted by Starmartyr

I've been meaning to look into the Auralex T-Coustic ceiling tiles as well, that way they absorb sound and I wouldn't have to paint mine black. But I'd imagine they are expensive. .

Great product..... but you're not imagining things.... they are PRICEY!

I'm guessing 12"x12" is your tile size? If so, you can find the Auralex for $600/dozen

If you can find a way to break up the HT are from the rest of the basement, that would help..... as obviously doing the entire basement with Auralex ceiling panels would be ridiculously expensive.

[Fors*]

I love what you have done so far. The color combination should really support your projectors PQ, and all of your gear is excellent. I look forward to your progress and the finished product!

[Starmartyr]

Originally Posted by HAMP

With all your work you have done and already bought your towers, it's a little late for this idea.

Honestly, with Bi/Di-pole as surrounds are much much better then direct radiating speakers.

Here is the look that would have been pretty nice.

Wow, yeah I do like that. Unfortunately I did the opposite of what you are supposed to do.. I bought the speakers first! I actually got them used though, so the expense was much less than it could have been. I always wanted to keep the soundstage as consistent as possible, but of course I also expected to have more room. Well next time I'll likely go the route of mounted bi/dipoles. Thanks for the visual!!

[Starmartyr]

Originally Posted by Fors*

I love what you have done so far. The color combination should really support your projectors PQ, and all of your gear is excellent. I look forward to your progress and the finished product!

Thanks, fors! I've taken inspiration from your setup as well. I really like how you've done your front stage.
I'd heard many good things about this projector's pq as well, mostly that it is very neutral and film-like. Should be great for all the epic 'scope movies I plan to watch! LOTR is topping the list! Thanks again for the comment man!

[Fors*]

Originally Posted by Starmartyr

Thanks, fors! I've taken inspiration from your setup as well. I really like how you've done your front stage.
I'd heard many good things about this projector's pq as well, mostly that it is very neutral and film-like. Should be great for all the epic 'scope movies I plan to watch! LOTR is topping the list! Thanks again for the comment man!

, thanks.....and keep up the good work!!!

[Starmartyr]

Originally Posted by Beta Man

Great product..... but you're not imagining things.... they are PRICEY!

I'm guessing 12"x12" is your tile size? If so, you can find the Auralex for $600/dozen

If you can find a way to break up the HT are from the rest of the basement, that would help..... as obviously doing the entire basement with Auralex ceiling panels would be ridiculously expensive.

Wow. that's bad news! My tiles are the 2' x 4' size.. which are probably even more expensive.. The theater room will be separate from the rest of the room though, so I'll just be painting that area. Sounds like I'll be painting my tiles too!

[Starmartyr]

Originally Posted by Massacre1

That is a very nice home you have. I like the paint color, too.

I'm interested to hear how your wall screen turns out. I've contemplated getting a PJ, but I just don't have enough time to invest in movie watching right now to warrant that purchase.

Overall, you have very nice gear, and I'm sure you'll enjoy it throughly. Congrats!

Thanks for the compliments, Massacre. I should post a couple pics of the rest of the house, there's nice hardwood upstairs. The company that did the renos did an amazing job. It was done before we bought it.
I like your speakers and sub.. looks like nice gear! and I think we have the same speaker stands I know what you mean about time to watch movies. I spend more time building and fixing than I ever do watching, as I'm sure most people building theaters do.. but hopefully I'll be able to just settle down and enjoy it. It all comes in time!

[Beta Man]

Originally Posted by Starmartyr

Wow. that's bad news! My tiles are the 2' x 4' size.. which are probably even more expensive.. The theater room will be separate from the rest of the room though, so I'll just be painting that area. Sounds like I'll be painting my tiles too!

These might be something you could use then:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc..._Enforced.html

[Starmartyr]

Originally Posted by Beta Man

These might be something you could use then:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc..._Enforced.html

Hey thanks for looking into that, Beta Man. They are still kinda pricey even with that price being for 4 pieces, it can add up like crazy. But this does give me some ideas for a DIY version.. I should maybe look into putting something together myself. That would be ambitious though!

[Massacre1]

Originally Posted by Starmartyr

Thanks for the compliments, Massacre. I should post a couple pics of the rest of the house, there's nice hardwood upstairs. The company that did the renos did an amazing job. It was done before we bought it.
I like your speakers and sub.. looks like nice gear! and I think we have the same speaker stands I know what you mean about time to watch movies. I spend more time building and fixing than I ever do watching, as I'm sure most people building theaters do.. but hopefully I'll be able to just settle down and enjoy it. It all comes in time!

Thanks, I enjoy my speakers, but I will upgrade someday. I'd love to see the rest of your home, from the looks of the basement I can see that it is very clean and modern, and I'm a big fan of hardwood floors, yours look very nice!

[Beta Man]

Originally Posted by Starmartyr

Hey thanks for looking into that, Beta Man. They are still kinda pricey even with that price being for 4 pieces, it can add up like crazy. But this does give me some ideas for a DIY version.. I should maybe look into putting something together myself. That would be ambitious though!

I would probably start on one wall, or in a corner, and remove ceiling tiles, reach up there, stuff it full of insulation/rock-wool and then just work your way through the whole basement doing that.

I'd look into fire-codes etc.... but I don't see why you couldn't put insulation between a drop-ceiling, and the floor above.

I would make sure everything is painted etc. before hand though.... You don't want to stuff it full, then have to take the ceiling panels down.... it'll likely be a mess!