How big and where to put a Home Theater

[naturephoto1]

Today was our first time looking at some new houses as a potential new home here in eastern Pennsylvania. Boy am I tired. We have yet to decide specifically where to move or whether to buy a used house or to build a new one. My main requirement for the house is to have an adequate space for my new home theater. But, I am not sure as to what size (dimensions) that I really should have for the large speakers, components, anticipated screen and projector. I hope to have 2 rows of seats and possibly 3. You can see a list of much of my present equipment including my Pioneer Elite TV that I intend to use in the theater as well as the projector below in my signature.

Some of the questions come down to having the theater on the main floor or finish a basement for this purpose, dimensions as already mentioned, and what is sufficient for the ceiling height- 8', 9', or 10'

I would appreciate any comments and suggestions that would be helpful and much appreciated. I hope to move later this year perhaps in the next 3 to 8 months.

Rich

[Johnny Vinyl]

Originally Posted by naturephoto1

Today was our first time looking at some new houses as a potential new home here in eastern Pennsylvania. Boy am I tired. We have yet to decide specifically where to move or whether to buy a used house or to build a new one. My main requirement for the house is to have an adequate space for my new home theater. But, I am not sure as to what size (dimensions) that I really should have for the large speakers, components, anticipated screen and projector. I hope to have 2 rows of seats and possibly 3. You can see a list of much of my present equipment including my Pioneer Elite TV that I intend to use in the theater as well as the projector below in my signature.

Some of the questions come down to having the theater on the main floor or finish a basement for this purpose, dimensions as already mentioned, and what is sufficient for the ceiling height- 8', 9', or 10'

I would appreciate any comments and suggestions that would be helpful and much appreciated. I hope to move later this year perhaps in the next 3 to 8 months.

Rich

Completely off-topic...but I have not yet seen you write the words OUR and WE before. Is there is Mrs. ?

John

[jomari]

ah, the burdens of finding a new home.

the way i see it, i would definitely find myself a dedicated room, at least 16x12 to say the least for starters. height probably starting at 12 if ever. nice room for you to pull down some lighting and ventilation. as you've mentioned, a basement area (not necessarily the entire basement), would be a prime spot for HT enthusiast. with the proper insulation and planning, you can have a dedicated area that would definitely make your equipment shine for its money.

considering that i dont have the option to have one here in california (most homes in the west coast dont have basements), i envy those east of the rockies.

theres no problem with having a dedicated room on the same level of the entire home, but considering how much we listen to our music, and/or watch movies on such a regular basis, would be something to consider.

best wishes on your hunt.

[naturephoto1]

Originally Posted by John72953

Completely off-topic...but I have not yet seen you write the words OUR and WE before. Is there is Mrs. ?

John

Hi John,

No there has not been an official Mrs. for about 27? years. I have been with my Girlfriend now for about 9 1/4 years; we are considering making it official possibly later in the year.

Rich

[Johnny Vinyl]

Originally Posted by naturephoto1

Hi John,

No there has not been an official Mrs. for about 27? years. I have been with my Girlfriend now for about 9 1/4 years; we are considering making it official possibly later in the year.
Rich

How absolutely wonderful to hear!

John

[naturephoto1]

Originally Posted by jomari

ah, the burdens of finding a new home.

the way i see it, i would definitely find myself a dedicated room, at least 16x12 to say the least for starters. height probably starting at 12 if ever. nice room for you to pull down some lighting and ventilation. as you've mentioned, a basement area (not necessarily the entire basement), would be a prime spot for HT enthusiast. with the proper insulation and planning, you can have a dedicated area that would definitely make your equipment shine for its money.

considering that i dont have the option to have one here in california (most homes in the west coast dont have basements), i envy those east of the rockies.

theres no problem with having a dedicated room on the same level of the entire home, but considering how much we listen to our music, and/or watch movies on such a regular basis, would be something to consider.

best wishes on your hunt.

Thanks for the well wishing. But, 12' high ceiling would be basically an impossibility. The other half wants everything out of sight behind doors or downstairs; I am a bit messy certainly at times like a lot of men.

The houses that we looked at that would allow for these options on the first floor or basement offered a ceiling height of 9' upstairs (closed off or could be made closed off) room while the basement heights were either 8' or 9' high.

Rich

[jomari]

12 was a matter of dreaming. heck id love a basement that goes up that high. i wouldnt cry if it was 8 or 9 tho.

to be honest, im sure that some couples would have their laundry stuff located in the basement as well, and a designated area for storage and all, with that in mind, you can always use a nice curtain detail to section off that area. form and function.

[naturephoto1]

Originally Posted by jomari

12 was a matter of dreaming. heck id love a basement that goes up that high. i wouldnt cry if it was 8 or 9 tho.

to be honest, im sure that some couples would have their laundry stuff located in the basement as well, and a designated area for storage and all, with that in mind, you can always use a nice curtain detail to section off that area. form and function.

If we build the house and I have a basement home theater and listening room I would probably try to wall it off and also have an outside basement entry to aid in getting all of the large and heavy equipment in like amps, speakers, racks, turntable, TV, etc. in through the door rather down the stairs. Don't want to drop any of that heavy and expensive gear.

Rich

[jomari]

all in all, the picturesque idea of a dedicated home theater room id see would like in the basement. ive heard of other members on another forum, where he wasnt quite sure about his neighbor inviting him to his home. his neighbor knew he was an avid HT enthusiast, and suddenly was introduced to his lil shop of horrors.

his neighbor owned a construction company, contracted by the government from time to time to do gigs in the city...

they walk in, and lo and behold, an elevator shaft...

goes straight down to around 4 floors (apparently 1...2...3....4 was showing on the window),

and opened to a 20 seater home theater room, complete with a dedicated bar, pool table, and dart area... he dug that area out for almost two years without anyone knowing about it.

his jaw dropped wide open to see his 'humble' setup.

we all have our secrets. he just had a cave for one.

[naturephoto1]

Well, we may be making some sort of a decision shortly, but maybe we won't on 2 possible houses to be built. One house is a little larger, but since the stairs to the basement take a 90 degree turn, I would lose some of the width for a finished listening room/home theater. The width I believe could only be about 12' wide in this case, but I think that I could have a length of at least 25 to 28 or so feet. The other house has a straight set of stairs that leads to the basement, and I believe that I could have at least a 15' or possibly wider room and again at least 25 to 30'? or so. I will check the 2nd house again tomorrow.

In either case, if I decide to purchase and have one of these homes built, we are considering on having a walkout basement. This would certainly make it easier to bring in some of the large, heavy, and expensive pieces of equipment. I would not relish the idea of trying to bring the equipment in down the stairs to the basement especially if there was a 90 degree turn on the stairs.

Again, any comments or suggestions would be most appreciated.

Rich

[naturephoto1]

This is possibly rethinking of things a little and I may have to make a decision on one house by Monday. So, the one house that we like the most so far has a family room that has a partially open room and partially open wall that leads to the kitchen. The builder will not put in a finished wall; an outside contractor would have to finish the wall and put in a door after the house is completed.

The family room size is 19' 4" X 14' 7" with a 9' ceiling. Here are the main "problems" and issues with the room (besides finishing the wall): 1) there is a hall closet that juts into the room in the left rear corner 2) the family room is at the rear left rear corner of the house with the garage to the left and mostly windows along the rear wall 3) the room may be a little smaller than I would have preferred and makes things challenging to get everything into the room 4) the family room is same size and sits directly below the large master bedroom that the other half loves.

The advantages of using this room would be to avoid the problem of putting in the basement theater in the relatively narrow 12' area due to the basement/stair layout and the stairs leading to the basement. Additionally (and I could finish the basement later if I wished) I would not have to finish the basement at the present and put in a wooden floor below the carpet in the basement theater. This would allow me to use the large amount of money for finishing and treating the theater upstairs.

At 14' 7" the family room would be wide enough to put in a drop down screen basically 10' wide if I so desired (to drop down in front of my 50" Pioneer Elite PRO-111FD TV). I would presume that a projector throw would not be an issue in this room due to the length of 19' 4", but there are issues. If I pulled the rack system (2' deep X 4' long with the TV) away from the front wall about 1.5' and had the screen drop down a little more than 2' in front of the 2' racks it would be tight to drop in 2 rows of seats and I am not sure if I could put the Dahlquist DQ-10 speakers on the rear wall and have enough distance from the second row, particularly with the closet coming in from the left into the room (presume that it is about 36" coming into the room from the rear and about 40" from the left side).

The Dahlquist cabinets would be put onto spikes and put onto a pedestal high enough for optimum height for usage as rear speakers. They are 30" wide each and about 9" deep. I would guess that they should be about 4' apart from inner edge to inner edge for their usage as rear speakers (that would make them 108" apart outer edge to outer edge). Optimally, they should be about 2 or 3 feet from the rear wall, but I do not think that the room would afford this distance. This is particularly true considering the fact that the seating that I am looking at would be 3 seats wide for about 96" (possibly) 100" wide. Reclined these seats take up 65".

I think that I would have to have the front seats at least 7 or 8??? feet away from the drop down screen. The other problems that I have with the equipment are the numbers of components, racks, amps, etc. The main speakers will be the great big line stage monitor speakers that are still being designed; these are are mirror imaged, 26" wide and about 6' tall with 32 drivers per channel (8 soft dome tweeters, 6 soft dome midrange, and 16 woofers each. The center channel will have to be designed to sit on a pedestal and below the screen.

There is also the issue placement of the big monitor speakers themselves on the wall or out into the room along with the 5 power amps (4 will be stacked as pairs on a rack) and the 5th on a separate rack. Also, in addition to the rack for the TV and some components there is and will be an analog rack for the Turntable, Turntable Control Box, and the Phono Preamp; there is a 2nd rack for all of the digital components as well. These will be placed as possible.

I expect that the partial wall would have to be modified and possibly putting in a door in the center of the wall; the door may need to open out from the listening room and possibly into the nook area in the kitchen.

So help with any suggestions regarding this option, room size, issues, and putting in room treatments, etc.

Thanks.

Rich

[kingofgrills]

14' 7" wide is a good width, but it might be tight for a 10' screen and your speakers, while also allowing enough speaker side-wall clearance. Rich, are there any pictures or diagrams of the room and gear you can throw a link to? That would be helpful in terms of room layout for gear.

Your planning and project sound great so far.

[naturephoto1]

Originally Posted by kingofgrills

14' 7" wide is a good width, but it might be tight for a 10' screen and your speakers, while also allowing enough speaker side-wall clearance. Rich, are there any pictures or diagrams of the room and gear you can throw a link to? That would be helpful in terms of room layout for gear.

Your planning and project sound great so far.

This is the link to the floor plan of the house. The room in question is the Family Room. Check the plan for the 1st floor of the Millstone Model.

http://www.pulte.com/templates/av/in...s/av/millstone

No pictures of the gear at present. But the racks are as follows: 2' X 4' and 30" high for the TV (this is a double rack and will hold 4 components including the 2 power conditioners and possibly the Krell 3 channel amp); Analog rack: 2' X 2' and 30" high, Digital rack to be prepared: 2' X 2' and about 48" high; 2 pair of amp racks/stands: 2' X 2' about 15" high (each stand holds a stacked pair of monoblock Aragon Palladium 1K amps). I may put the final amp into the TV rack instead of another amp rack.

The amp racks/stands can be moved around a little. I do not anticipate that this is what most here have as a hometheater. It will be more in keeping with what is frequently done by some of the audiophile nuts whose set-ups are seen in the galleries over at Audiogon.

Thanks for the assistance. This is an expensive and a big step to make.

Rich

[Phil Taylor]

The family room in the Millstone is a nice size - as long as the "optional" fireplace is not there it would be a great place for a projection screen - with room darkening shades on the windows. An issue may be cabling unless there is basement access as it looks like there is living area above the room rather than attic space.

[naturephoto1]

Originally Posted by Phil Taylor

The family room in the Millstone is a nice size - as long as the "optional" fireplace is not there it would be a great place for a projection screen - with room darkening shades on the windows. An issue may be cabling unless there is basement access as it looks like there is living area above the room rather than attic space.

Phil,

There will be no optional fireplace purchased. The TV, audio components, drop down projection screen, center and L & R speakers would be along or pulled away from the far wall that the fireplace would be on. The 4 monoblock power amps will be stacked 2 high on 2 separate rack/amp stands that may have to be pulled out into the room a little one to the left and and one to the right. The 5th amp may as well, but I am now leaning toward having it in the double 3 level high 2' X 4' TV rack. I suspect that I may end up with about a 120" diagonal screen.

Many here may not think that this is or will be a beautiful appearing clean set-up. The listening room/home theater will be for performance and not so much for outward appearance. It will not be like those of many members here, but will be more like what is over at Audiogon. The heavy speaker cabling and some of the longer analog ICs and such will run along the floor in the room and I will not be attempting hide the cabling. They are just too heavy and too expensive to just be replaced. Additionally, the components will be on special racks for their audio and video performance and will not be hidden away in a single separate rack or closet.

Blacked out material or something would be done for the windows and curtains. The significant other is a seamstress, so she could do almost anything that the windows will/would require.

Thanks for the input.

Rich

[Phil Taylor]

Wow - nice to have such an accommodating gal. I, like you, prefer to see my components - I personally like the looks of my gear. Most females are vehemently opposed to exposed wiring and components of any sort (i.e. my ex-wife). Does she have a single sister?

[naturephoto1]

Originally Posted by Phil Taylor

Wow - nice to have such an accommodating gal. I, like you, prefer to see my components - I personally like the looks of my gear. Most females are vehemently opposed to exposed wiring and components of any sort (i.e. my ex-wife). Does she have a single sister?

No, no sister, and we aren't spring chicken anymore. She wants the room closed/walled off and a door installed because she doesn't want to have to look at some of my messiness.

Rich

[Phil Taylor]

Originally Posted by naturephoto1

No, no sister, and we aren't spring chicken anymore. She wants the room closed/walled off and a door installed because she doesn't want to have to look at some of my messiness.

Rich

Well she sounds she's like almost the perfect gal - better keep 'er.

[Johnny Vinyl]

Originally Posted by Phil Taylor

Wow - nice to have such an accommodating gal. I, like you, prefer to see my components - I personally like the looks of my gear. Most females are vehemently opposed to exposed wiring and components of any sort (i.e. my ex-wife). Does she have a single sister?

I'm of the same mindset on this. There is something about sitting back and enjoying the sound from a system put together with great affection (regardless of cost), that it would be a shame to hide it away. Being single I don't have to worry about the WAF, but I'm sure I could smoothtalk my way into getting what I desired.

John

[crazyBLUE]

Originally Posted by John72953

I'm of the same mindset on this. There is something about sitting back and enjoying the sound from a system put together with great affection (regardless of cost), that it would be a shame to hide it away. Being single I don't have to worry about the WAF, but I'm sure I could smoothtalk my way into getting what I desired.

John

Well said ~ John !!

I agree with you 100% !