The Green Monster

[mike from nyc]

I always wanted a proper room for my audio equipment. Last year I decided to move all of my audio and visual equipment into one room and the only room that would fit it all would be my basement.

After getting quotes from several contractors to finish my unfinished basement which previously served as a 'clean' room for my auto restorations, I decided to do all the work myself. I dismantled the work benches and all the part shelving I built over the years and recycled the wood to level my very un-level ceiling using a Craftsmen self leveling laser level attached to the lowest joist. I also used the 2x4s to support a joist that was almost cut through by a plumber!

I did all the framing, sheetrocking, sound attenuation and all the wood work including designing the moldings after I couldn't find anything I liked - I used iron-on oak edging of varying widths on top of 1/2" plywood. The only things I didn't do was all the electrical work (a man needs to know his limits) and laying the carpeting.

Those big things in the corners and in the center are bass traps I built with the advice of Barry Diamant. I used the Ikea shelving as diffusers to block first reflections. I was going to put sound traps on the ceiling but I decided against it.

The room sounds great and the bass traps not only reduced the bass nodes they also helped in imaging and sound staging by reducing sound reflections

The screen is 8' wide. Because of the size of the screen I decided to use 2 center speakers to 'lift' the dialogue so it seems as if it is coming from the center of the screen and not from a speaker on the floor.

A lot of thought went into the design, especially the sliding door to hide steam pipes I couldn't box and to reduce the noises given off by them. The wall on the left side is a sort of false wall to insulate my neighbor from my music - under the wall and accessible are more steam and water pipes. I used 2x8 and 2x6s to support the wall off the floor and used very long powder driven cement nails and glue to support the wall and all the insulation.

It's not a fancy place as I don't like fancy but it does do its job well.

I'm very green - those small spots are LEDs - just kidding.

[Fors*]

Welcome to the site!

Nice job, and that is one hec of a record collection. Some day I too will have a projector. Very nice set-up and nice equipment you have to. The lights always add a nice effect too. I see you did some reasearch as well with the fake wall for your neighbor. Just a quick question, but is that 2 subs up front? And if so, do you get any cancellation going on with the 2 subs located in that position?

[mike from nyc]

Originally Posted by forsberg21

Welcome to the site!

Nice job, and that is one hec of a record collection. Some day I too will have a projector. Very nice set-up and nice equipment you have to. The lights always add a nice effect too. I see you did some reasearch as well with the fake wall for your neighbor. Just a quick question, but is that 2 subs up front? And if so, do you get any cancellation going on with the 2 subs located in that position?

Thanks for the complement. It took me a pretty long time to do everything and like most car restorations it took longer than anticipated but thankfully the budget remained in tact. I saved about $20K doing it myself exclusive of some tools I bought.

2 subs - 1 for the stereo - DD15 and one for the HT - DLSR4000. They run independent of each other as the DD15 was optimized to run with the Maggies.

I have more equipment that is seen in the photo but not listed like a Nakamichi BX3 and a Yamaha MiniDisc recorder.

[SDon1969]

The Green Monster in New York! Blasphemy!

But also cool - nice!!

[Fors*]

Originally Posted by mike from nyc

Thanks for the complement. It took me a pretty long time to do everything and like most car restorations it took longer than anticipated but thankfully the budget remained in tact. I saved about $20K doing it myself exclusive of some tools I bought.

2 subs - 1 for the stereo - DD15 and one for the HT - DLSR4000. They run independent of each other as the DD15 was optimized to run with the Maggies.

I have more equipment that is seen in the photo but not listed like a Nakamichi BX3 and a Yamaha MiniDisc recorder.

That is some serious equipment you have. I also like the idea of the seperate subs for seperate purposes. Eventually when I move, I will get a bigger room than I have now and will sell my bike to finance a big project similiar to yours, with the same bells and whistles......good job!

[btf1980]

Awesome setup. I'm a New Yorker too, so I know how tight space is here. You do the best with what you can.

[mike from nyc]

Originally Posted by btf1980

Awesome setup. I'm a New Yorker too, so I know how tight space is here. You do the best with what you can.

And the room looked so big when it was empty

I didn't realize how much real estate all my equipment would eat up as I planned for more chairs but I couldn't fit them in. The wardrobe in the back was supposed to be built by me with a totally different shape but after almost 1.5 years of working on the room I got tired and just bought one. When I got a quote for how much my design would cost I almost fell on the floor, so I bought a 'stock' unit. One day I still may build what I wanted originally - I have all the hardware.

The room is pretty utilitarian and when I sell the house it can be used for anything the new owner wants. Fancy HTs are nice but most people don't appreciate them and they may not like your taste.

[Grevlin]

Hey Mike,

I've been tossing around the idea of a 2nd center mounted above my screen.

What is the long and short of getting it done??

[mike from nyc]

Originally Posted by Grevlin

Hey Mike,

I've been tossing around the idea of a 2nd center mounted above my screen.

What is the long and short of getting it done??

I have an extra amp which is plugged into the center preamp output. The amp I used, an Onkyo 282, has variable gain so I can better match the balance between the speakers. I didn't want the upper speaker to be as loud as the bottom speaker.

The biggest trick was figuring out how to mount it - I used large L brackets which I bent to get the correct angle and mounted them to the speaker. I then mounted the brackets to a joist. Not fun when doing it by yourself as I did but doable. I wanted to use another similar sized speaker but it wouldn't fit

It does make a big difference when the screen is big.

I hope this helps.