Building Home Theater - Suggestions?

[tilallr1]

Ok, so over the next few months I will be working on building my home theater. I've got all the equipement I need for now, but I need a few suggestions on some setup items I was thinking about.

(1) Speaker setup? 7.1, 8.1 or 10.2? How many speakers should I wire for? Currently my system supports 7.1, and I have 7.1 SVS speakers for the job. But if I am going to put in all this work, I want it to be as future proof as possible. Any ideas what I realistically need in the next 10 years?

(2) Running Wire - Planning on ripping out the current (crappy) baseboards and run cable along the floor then reattach new larger baseboards. Any suggested wiring for this? Longest wire might go about 100 ft. 12 gauge?

(3) Platform Riser for the Rear Audience - Minimum Height? I was thinking of making it a foot high, based on basement ceiling limitations. Is this enough? Any tips or suggestions on the construction of this?

(4) Sound issues? The area I wish to setup my equipement is as shown:







The pole is where I plan to place the left surround speaker. Wiring it will be a bit difficult since I will have to run wire along the top of the wall. Any suggestions?

Any other suggestions, ideas or words of wisdom? Thanks.

P.S. The equipement you see in the pics are from the previous owner of the house. NOT MINE. LOL

[Sith]

Is that room only for watching movies, or is it the living room also? if the answer is only watching movies as many speakers as you can fit 10.2 etc..
if it's the living room and they'll get in the way stick with 7.1

[tilallr1]

Strickly for watching movies, playing video games. This whole space is in the basement so it is my complete domain, to do with it as I will. I currently have theater seating and going to buy more for the back row.

Do you personally think 10.2 will ever be added to home video though?

[kpkelley]

Originally Posted by tilallr1

Ok, so over the next few months I will be working on building my home theater. I've got all the equipement I need for now, but I need a few suggestions on some setup items I was thinking about.

(1) Speaker setup? 7.1, 8.1 or 10.2? How many speakers should I wire for? Currently my system supports 7.1, and I have 7.1 SVS speakers for the job. But if I am going to put in all this work, I want it to be as future proof as possible. Any ideas what I realistically need in the next 10 years?

You can use as many as you want, so long as you can plan where they will be positioned and what information each speaker will receive.

Originally Posted by tilallr1

(2) Running Wire - Planning on ripping out the current (crappy) baseboards and run cable along the floor then reattach new larger baseboards. Any suggested wiring for this? Longest wire might go about 100 ft. 12 gauge?

For a run of that length 12 guage would certainly be a good option.

Originally Posted by tilallr1

(3) Platform Riser for the Rear Audience - Minimum Height? I was thinking of making it a foot high, based on basement ceiling limitations. Is this enough? Any tips or suggestions on the construction of this?

I believe 18 inches is the standard, but 12" will work if you have height restrictions, just don't sit behind Kareem.

You might run into some sound reflections because of the room and all of the odd angles by what appears to be the stairs, not to mention the pillar. With a room of that size you would need at least a good subwoofer if not two.

Since it's your room perhaps you can get some ButtKickers

[tilallr1]

Originally Posted by kpkelley

With a room of that size you would need at least a good subwoofer if not two.

Since it's your room perhaps you can get some ButtKickers

Yep .. thats why I bought a SVS sub, which definitely sounds amazing, already tested. 2 would cause foundation cracks. LOL.

Maybe I will think about those buttkickers. That would be fun.

[kpkelley]

Originally Posted by tilallr1

I've got all the equipement I need for now

Just out of curiosity, what is it that you have that is going into this room. I'm assuming you aren't using those two tube tv's.

[Beta Man]

Originally Posted by tilallr1

(1) Speaker setup? 7.1, 8.1 or 10.2? How many speakers should I wire for? Currently my system supports 7.1, and I have 7.1 SVS speakers for the job. But if I am going to put in all this work, I want it to be as future proof as possible. Any ideas what I realistically need in the next 10 years?

(2) Running Wire - Planning on ripping out the current (crappy) baseboards and run cable along the floor then reattach new larger baseboards. Any suggested wiring for this? Longest wire might go about 100 ft. 12 gauge?

(3) Platform Riser for the Rear Audience - Minimum Height? I was thinking of making it a foot high, based on basement ceiling limitations. Is this enough? Any tips or suggestions on the construction of this?

(4) Sound issues? The area I wish to setup my equipement is as shown:


Any other suggestions, ideas or words of wisdom? Thanks.

P.S. The equipement you see in the pics are from the previous owner of the house. NOT MINE. LOL

1) If you're doing a baseboard run, you can always change it later, but would say wiring for 7.1 now would be sufficient, but you'd probably want to wire for 2 subs just in case you get the urge to add a second sub later.

2) 14G is probably sufficient.... 12 is pretty thick.... I'm not familiar with the speakers you have, but there might be issues with the wires fitting.

3) There is no minimum really If you're doing the SAME seating for the front and back rows..... MOST people aren't more than a foot larger than other people, and you'll obviously want to try to space the seating out so if you do 3 seats in the rear, and 2 in the front (for instance) the people in the front row, their heads would be BETWEEN the people in the back row, so the seats wouldn't be directly in front of each other anyways.... either way 12-14" is a good height for a riser unless you want to build steps to them....

Ceiling height isn't that important because the riser will be for people to sit on, not walk around..... just think of it as a low entry way.... you've seen basements with duct work, etc.. where taller people have to duck to not hit their heads.... it's a nuissance, but you just adjust the flow of the room to make sure it's not a high traffic area..... People will be sitting where the riser is, so it shouldn't be an issue.

As far as construction, I'd recommend securing it to the floor, perhaps cutting holes in the step (if you make one) for recessed lighting, use thinner carpet, it's just easier to work with, and really measure and plan it out well..... it has to be level and sturdy!

4) you can make any area work.... it looks like it's carpeted, so you're off to a good start. You can always stuff the underside of the riser with rock-wool to help with vibrations etc. but adding bass traps etc would go a long way.

Only other suggestion is to pick a STRICT budget.........then come to terms with the fact that you went over the budget half-way through the process


Good luck, post pictures of the progress!

[tilallr1]

Originally Posted by kpkelley

Just out of curiosity, what is it that you have that is going into this room. I'm assuming you aren't using those two tube tv's.

No definitely not.

TV - 56" SAMSUNG DLP - To be replaced
RECEIVER - ONKYO 705
SOUND SYSTEM - SVS (SV Sound) 7.1 Surround Sound Speakers with PB10-NSD - http://www.svsound.com/products-sys-sbs_black.cfm
BLU-RAY PLAYER - PS3

[naturephoto1]

Originally Posted by kpkelley

I believe 18 inches is the standard, but 12" will work if you have height restrictions, just don't sit behind Kareem.

That sounds too high if you look at this from one of the makers of home theater seating and theater decor:

http://www.4seating.com/



Rich

[Beta Man]

Originally Posted by naturephoto1

That sounds too high if you look at this from one of the makers of home theater seating and theater decor:


Rich

very useful.... I haven't seen that diagram previously Thanks!!!!!!

[tilallr1]

Originally Posted by Beta Man

2) but there might be issues with the wires fitting.

Plan to put banana plugs on everything. With Banana plug wall plates.

Originally Posted by Beta Man

Good luck, post pictures of the progress!

I will, thanks.

[tilallr1]

Originally Posted by naturephoto1

That sounds too high if you look at this from one of the makers of home theater seating and theater decor:

http://www.4seating.com/images/riser_config.jpg



Rich

Very handy. Thanks.

[naturephoto1]

Originally Posted by Beta Man

1)
2) 14G is probably sufficient.... 12 is pretty thick.... I'm not familiar with the speakers you have, but there might be issues with the wires fitting.

Believe it or not I used high end 12 gauge single strand silver plated copper/Teflon wire to internally wire my redesigned/rebuilt and upgaded Dahlquist DQ-10 speaker cabinets (all new drivers, crossover, added bi-wire contact terminals....). So, 12 gauge wire is not that thick.

Rich

[Pelicans]

How long and tall is the wall your tv will be by?? Have you considered a projector??

[rogman]

I'd recommend using your entire budget for speakers and going with a really good sounding 5.1 system, maybe adding a 2nd sub later if you need it. 12 gauge speaker wire would be fine for the run lengths you'll have. I'd also recommend a ceiling mounted 1080P projector, and a screen of around 100".

I did that in my basement (see links below) and it's totally changed how we watch TV/movies. Family movie night is a big event- rather than just sitting around watching TV. You'll find some good info (I hope! ) here: http://www.finishabasement.com/home_theater.htm.

Some of this you may already know, but hopefully there is some information that will help you decide.

[tilallr1]

I take it enclosing this space is crucial for good quality sound for the 7.1 system ... correct?

Which means I will need to add a wall.

[tilallr1]

Originally Posted by Pelicans

How long and tall is the wall your tv will be by?? Have you considered a projector??

The wall is fairly large.

You got me thinking about it. What is a good 1080p projector these days? What are the logistics in setting something like that up? Cost? What about a 100" screen?

[Beta Man]

Originally Posted by tilallr1

I take it enclosing this space is crucial for good quality sound for the 7.1 system ... correct?

Which means I will need to add a wall.

For the price, and flexibility in the future, the money spent on building a wall and enclosing the space would be better spent on components etc......

[Brain Sturgeon]

By the way, a "one size fits all" riser is probably not the best way to go, as there are variances in regards to your seating height, row spacing, distance from the screen to your front row viewers' eyes, and height of screen mounting.

Here is a calculator that will give you a better idea of riser heights you should consider: www.theater-calc.com

I calculated a riser height of 11" for my second row based upon this calculator, and it was just about perfect.

The posted diagram showing a 7" riser height for three rows looks like it is for a large room (around 25' in depth) with a ~14' wide 16:9 screen mounted about 36" above the ground (11+' ceiling height) -- not what most people can fit in an average room.

Another thing you can do in planning a riser is mark out your screen with painters tape and sit two rows of your seating one in front of the other per your row set-up plan. Then elevate the rear seat on stacks of lumber or something until you can comfortably view your screen over the head of the person in the row in front of you. Then measure the height of that back row "riser" and build accordingly.

[naturephoto1]

Originally Posted by Brain Sturgeon

By the way, a "one size fits all" riser is probably not the best way to go, as there are variances in regards to your seating height, row spacing, distance from the screen to your front row viewers' eyes, and height of screen mounting.

Here is a calculator that will give you a better idea of riser heights you should consider: www.theater-calc.com

I calculated a riser height of 11" for my second row based upon this calculator, and it was just about perfect.

The posted diagram showing a 7" riser height for three rows looks like it is for a large room (around 25' in depth) with a ~14' wide 16:9 screen mounted about 36" above the ground (11+' ceiling height) -- not what most people can fit in an average room.

Another thing you can do in planning a riser is mark out your screen with painters tape and sit two rows of your seating one in front of the other per your row set-up plan. Then elevate the rear seat on stacks of lumber or something until you can comfortably view your screen over the head of the person in the row in front of you. Then measure the height of that back row "riser" and build accordingly.

That would make sense for the diagram that I posted. The diagram shows the 3 seating rows as 15 feet from the front of the first row to the rear of the third row. So, presuming the 1st row of seats are 10' from the screen the room would need to be at least 25' long and quite possibly longer to accommodate the rear channel speakers.

Rich