After a long 14 months I'm about 95% done with my home and dedicated theatre. I've had a thread in OT about the general build, but figured I'd bring a dedicated thread to the dedicated forum about this room since people seemed rather interested in it.
My room isn't an ideal dimension, but it works. It's roughly 12 x 16 with a bit of an awkward return on part of the back wall. Entry is from the back wall which really hurts placement of furniture.
But without much adieu...here's some pictures of the process:
Rough in framing and the resilient channel going up. I also did mineral wool along all walls and the celing:
http://public.bay.livefilestore.com...bwPZhc20ht2EBSXUtYc5NTGuA/IMG_3754.JPG?psid=1
The walls were made from two layers of 5/8" blue board with a layer of green glue between them. The finish coat of the wall was a plaster with knock down finish. Even with carpet reflections were absolutely crazy. It was an echo chamber.
I lived near Iowa City, Iowa for about 10 years and my wife is a Hawkeye graduate and I wanted a small tribute to the Hawkeye colors...so that's the theme I chose.
http://public.bay.livefilestore.com...lT0EhtdMGCtJM8j9F4BLgC3yA/IMG_4624.JPG?psid=1
Notice on the screen wall that the plaster guys forgot to cut out the right side speaker cable box. Doh. I didn't notice that until we moved in and after carpet went in.
Back of the room:
http://public.bay.livefilestore.com...46PmvO745mfVeXmXiJDVD07sg/IMG_4626.JPG?psid=1
---------------------
And now the fun stuff really starts happening...
Because of the size and shape of my room, serious compromises had to be made. If you look at the framing of the front wall putting in-wall speakers in would have been very difficult because of that big header running across the room at about 4 feet up.
Because of the depth of the room doing a false wall was very challenging without having a screen right in your face. And I *REALLY* wanted to go acoustically transparent and get at least the center channel behind the screen.
So, I did a little homework and just took matters into my own hands and came up with a solution. I bought some inwall speakers and turned them into on-wall speakers.
I browsed ebay for months looking for options and finally found these:
http://www.phasetech.com/products.html?product_id=CI-110II&fm=1
They are Phase Technology CI-110's. It's a 20 pound inwall speaker with some excellent dynamics and very good reviews. These things retail for close to $1000 a piece. I bought 3 of them for $400 total. Score.
So to get them to work on wall, I built my own enclosures out of 3/4" MDF and lined it with a damping foam on the back and sidewalls. Cabinet volume ended up around 1 c/f which is similar to the volume of the companies other cabinet speakers based off of similar MTM designs. Finished weight is close to 45 pounds. These are not light at all.
I've got a 100" screen and trying to fit things to the side was going to be a challenge if I still wanted bass traps in the corners. So I compromised again and tucked everything behind the screen.
http://public.bay.livefilestore.com...MdoMQvAqscAWPaiPusvV6koNw/IMG_3860.JPG?psid=1
They really don't lean that bad. It was one part not being permanently affixed, and one part lens distortion from my crappy P&S camera on it's widest setting. Also don't mind the horrible construction. I threw them together over a weekend without my table saw on site...and they are behind a screen anyway 😛
I probably could have run the speaker cables higher behind the wall, but at the time I was planning on floorstanders. And I already had enough holes in the wall...didn't want to make more.
Here's the back of the room with the projector mounted:
http://public.bay.livefilestore.com..._Zv5qfF_j-h-E-aqclqt2yukA/IMG_3843.JPG?psid=1
I still need to put a finished router edge on the shelf, paint it, and get the covers on the brackets. The projector is a Mitsubishi HC3800. It's a DLP projector with somewhat limited mounting options. It can't do a rear, shelf mounted image. So I had to do a hanging one. I didn't want it on the celing because of bounce issues, more holes, or the fact that it's just a lot more comfortable viewing height from there.
From the start I was determined to have the equipment out of the room. I didn't want the heat, noise, or lights affecting things. Plus it's just a lot "cleaner" looking not having it in the room. So I had them frame out a space for me up front. Here's what my trim guy ended up doing for me:
http://public.bay.livefilestore.com...uImgLh_YKsHaCCrNLJacs7tPw/IMG_5044.JPG?psid=1
To the right you can see one of my acoustic panels. It was made out of left over mineral wool and some luan 1/4" plywood and 1x3" lumber. Cloth is $1.99 broadcloth from Hobby Lobby. Even having two of these in the room made a huge difference in the echos. I still need to get a couple more on the back walls and maybe a little bit up front behind the screen. More of the mineral wool be used to make the bass traps in the corners.
Here's the rack behind the door:
http://public.bay.livefilestore.com...5ZVfSasPjOgetJgGQ1eRpJbYg/IMG_5045.JPG?psid=1
I've got about 36" of height there. I framed it up with scrap 2x4" and painted it black. Hung a couple of the double track rails from the storage section of your local big box home store for $5 a piece. Then used some left over scrap sections from shelving in other parts of the house that I painted black.
Here's the backside of that mess that drops into an unfinished basement:
http://public.bay.livefilestore.com...vMXBf5W2DcUAYk7DeNLIUzIMA/IMG_5046.JPG?psid=1
All low voltage comes back to here.
http://public.bay.livefilestore.com...houUA0VtB34sS00BjYIRXm-ig/IMG_5047.JPG?psid=1
It's an absolute mess. That's my winter project to clean it up. I still need to get my rack mounted switch ordered, a few rack shelves, and possibly a rack mounted cable splitter. It's just all temped in for function rather than form right now.
I've got about 40 home runs of Cat coming in for ethernet jacks around the house. 10 runs of RG6, 6 runs for whole house audio and another Cat5 for the controllers. Plus all the wiring for the HT coming in. It's just a mess.
🙂
-----------------------
And finally....
http://public.bay.livefilestore.com...DdaIx1V-9WaJrBfuagXcUF3lQ/IMG_5038.JPG?psid=1
The screen is on the wall. Got stuff picked up and audessy run. The front wall all but dissapears when the lights go off. On really bright scenes the big honking MFW on the right is visible, but it's not obnoxious like it is when it's light in the room.
http://public.bay.livefilestore.com...KDBDjnUsVpitGifp4VEiK9Ddw/IMG_5040.JPG?psid=1
------------------------
I've still got some trim painting and little things to do. Have more treatment panels to hang, and my bass traps really need to go in.
Some thoughts and suggestions for others considering this:
Read. Read. Read some more. Don't compromise on your space unless you absolutely have to. I'm still kicking myself for making it as small at is was, but making it bigger wasn't cheap because of the rooms location.
Don't buy any equipment until you have it built. I made that mistake a couple times and each time I saw the room grow smaller and smaller during the build I had to reconsider my options.
Pay attention to the sound isolation. This is probably my favorite thing. That double layer drywall and green glue freaking works. It's not about keeping sound in. It's about keeping sound in. If the room has a lower noise level inside it, you aren't cranking things as loud to overcome the noise. I can have the room at a very comfortable volume inside, but even in the room direction outside the theatre you have no idea anyone is watching a movie. It's not until you you take things up to reference/painful levels that things really start to roar and other rooms are affected.
For those that have an Onkyo receiver, I have my RC-180 at around -22 or so for most movies and that is unnoticable to outside rooms. Going down to -10 and things really start to pound in the room and it's almost uncomfortable levels of volume and bass. There's some serious "booming" going on outside the room.
If you are considering doing an acoustically transparent screen...do it. Having the speakers behind the scren adds a naturalness to the dialog that you just can't appreciate until you experience it. Center channels are much more direct in their sound than you'd think. Sound is actually coming from the actors mouths now. It's just very cool.
I have to downsides to it and they are somewhat minimal and are easily outweighed by the upside of the center behind the screen. One is the screen itself. At the 9' distance I'm at, you can see the weave of the fabric in very specific scenes. Cloudy/dusty/smoky scenes show the weave. It's not obnoxious, but it's there. All other scenes are great looking. The other issue is speaker placement. If you have a narrow room you might have to compromise like I did getting everything behind the screen/wall.
------------------------
My other thoughts are this: there's perfect, there's good enough, and there's just get it done.
Try to shoot somewhere in the middle. There's just too much going on for most people either budget, time, or ability wise. Make the most of what you have and don't compare yourself to others. Also keep in mind that people have very specific tastes, goals, budgets, ect. Make the most of your space, budget and goals. Spending money on noise isoloation is something you only get one good chance at so if that's a goal of yours, do it.
Don't get as caught up in perfect room ratios, having the ultimate speakers, or perfect placement of this panel or that panel or seating ect. Work with what you have. Chances are good that you'll be happy with what you have, and if you are happy, then there's even a higher chance that other people will be even more impressed. The experts at AVS aren't sitting in your room each night or paying for the bills to build the room. So you aren't trying to keep them happy. But read up and see what you can do with your constraits and make the most of things.
My budget was modest, but ultimately it sounds good to me, looks great, and my family and friends think it's freaking awesome and beg to watch movies there. And that's what is important. Not having perfectly placed speakers or professional designed acoustic treatments or layouts or high dollar automated lights and various gadgets.
Feel free to ask any other questions...and sorry for the long post 🙂
My room isn't an ideal dimension, but it works. It's roughly 12 x 16 with a bit of an awkward return on part of the back wall. Entry is from the back wall which really hurts placement of furniture.
But without much adieu...here's some pictures of the process:
Rough in framing and the resilient channel going up. I also did mineral wool along all walls and the celing:
http://public.bay.livefilestore.com...bwPZhc20ht2EBSXUtYc5NTGuA/IMG_3754.JPG?psid=1
The walls were made from two layers of 5/8" blue board with a layer of green glue between them. The finish coat of the wall was a plaster with knock down finish. Even with carpet reflections were absolutely crazy. It was an echo chamber.
I lived near Iowa City, Iowa for about 10 years and my wife is a Hawkeye graduate and I wanted a small tribute to the Hawkeye colors...so that's the theme I chose.
http://public.bay.livefilestore.com...lT0EhtdMGCtJM8j9F4BLgC3yA/IMG_4624.JPG?psid=1
Notice on the screen wall that the plaster guys forgot to cut out the right side speaker cable box. Doh. I didn't notice that until we moved in and after carpet went in.
Back of the room:
http://public.bay.livefilestore.com...46PmvO745mfVeXmXiJDVD07sg/IMG_4626.JPG?psid=1
---------------------
And now the fun stuff really starts happening...
Because of the size and shape of my room, serious compromises had to be made. If you look at the framing of the front wall putting in-wall speakers in would have been very difficult because of that big header running across the room at about 4 feet up.
Because of the depth of the room doing a false wall was very challenging without having a screen right in your face. And I *REALLY* wanted to go acoustically transparent and get at least the center channel behind the screen.
So, I did a little homework and just took matters into my own hands and came up with a solution. I bought some inwall speakers and turned them into on-wall speakers.
I browsed ebay for months looking for options and finally found these:
http://www.phasetech.com/products.html?product_id=CI-110II&fm=1
They are Phase Technology CI-110's. It's a 20 pound inwall speaker with some excellent dynamics and very good reviews. These things retail for close to $1000 a piece. I bought 3 of them for $400 total. Score.
So to get them to work on wall, I built my own enclosures out of 3/4" MDF and lined it with a damping foam on the back and sidewalls. Cabinet volume ended up around 1 c/f which is similar to the volume of the companies other cabinet speakers based off of similar MTM designs. Finished weight is close to 45 pounds. These are not light at all.
I've got a 100" screen and trying to fit things to the side was going to be a challenge if I still wanted bass traps in the corners. So I compromised again and tucked everything behind the screen.
http://public.bay.livefilestore.com...MdoMQvAqscAWPaiPusvV6koNw/IMG_3860.JPG?psid=1
They really don't lean that bad. It was one part not being permanently affixed, and one part lens distortion from my crappy P&S camera on it's widest setting. Also don't mind the horrible construction. I threw them together over a weekend without my table saw on site...and they are behind a screen anyway 😛
I probably could have run the speaker cables higher behind the wall, but at the time I was planning on floorstanders. And I already had enough holes in the wall...didn't want to make more.
Here's the back of the room with the projector mounted:
http://public.bay.livefilestore.com..._Zv5qfF_j-h-E-aqclqt2yukA/IMG_3843.JPG?psid=1
I still need to put a finished router edge on the shelf, paint it, and get the covers on the brackets. The projector is a Mitsubishi HC3800. It's a DLP projector with somewhat limited mounting options. It can't do a rear, shelf mounted image. So I had to do a hanging one. I didn't want it on the celing because of bounce issues, more holes, or the fact that it's just a lot more comfortable viewing height from there.
From the start I was determined to have the equipment out of the room. I didn't want the heat, noise, or lights affecting things. Plus it's just a lot "cleaner" looking not having it in the room. So I had them frame out a space for me up front. Here's what my trim guy ended up doing for me:
http://public.bay.livefilestore.com...uImgLh_YKsHaCCrNLJacs7tPw/IMG_5044.JPG?psid=1
To the right you can see one of my acoustic panels. It was made out of left over mineral wool and some luan 1/4" plywood and 1x3" lumber. Cloth is $1.99 broadcloth from Hobby Lobby. Even having two of these in the room made a huge difference in the echos. I still need to get a couple more on the back walls and maybe a little bit up front behind the screen. More of the mineral wool be used to make the bass traps in the corners.
Here's the rack behind the door:
http://public.bay.livefilestore.com...5ZVfSasPjOgetJgGQ1eRpJbYg/IMG_5045.JPG?psid=1
I've got about 36" of height there. I framed it up with scrap 2x4" and painted it black. Hung a couple of the double track rails from the storage section of your local big box home store for $5 a piece. Then used some left over scrap sections from shelving in other parts of the house that I painted black.
Here's the backside of that mess that drops into an unfinished basement:
http://public.bay.livefilestore.com...vMXBf5W2DcUAYk7DeNLIUzIMA/IMG_5046.JPG?psid=1
All low voltage comes back to here.
http://public.bay.livefilestore.com...houUA0VtB34sS00BjYIRXm-ig/IMG_5047.JPG?psid=1
It's an absolute mess. That's my winter project to clean it up. I still need to get my rack mounted switch ordered, a few rack shelves, and possibly a rack mounted cable splitter. It's just all temped in for function rather than form right now.
I've got about 40 home runs of Cat coming in for ethernet jacks around the house. 10 runs of RG6, 6 runs for whole house audio and another Cat5 for the controllers. Plus all the wiring for the HT coming in. It's just a mess.
🙂
-----------------------
And finally....
http://public.bay.livefilestore.com...DdaIx1V-9WaJrBfuagXcUF3lQ/IMG_5038.JPG?psid=1
The screen is on the wall. Got stuff picked up and audessy run. The front wall all but dissapears when the lights go off. On really bright scenes the big honking MFW on the right is visible, but it's not obnoxious like it is when it's light in the room.
http://public.bay.livefilestore.com...KDBDjnUsVpitGifp4VEiK9Ddw/IMG_5040.JPG?psid=1
------------------------
I've still got some trim painting and little things to do. Have more treatment panels to hang, and my bass traps really need to go in.
Some thoughts and suggestions for others considering this:
Read. Read. Read some more. Don't compromise on your space unless you absolutely have to. I'm still kicking myself for making it as small at is was, but making it bigger wasn't cheap because of the rooms location.
Don't buy any equipment until you have it built. I made that mistake a couple times and each time I saw the room grow smaller and smaller during the build I had to reconsider my options.
Pay attention to the sound isolation. This is probably my favorite thing. That double layer drywall and green glue freaking works. It's not about keeping sound in. It's about keeping sound in. If the room has a lower noise level inside it, you aren't cranking things as loud to overcome the noise. I can have the room at a very comfortable volume inside, but even in the room direction outside the theatre you have no idea anyone is watching a movie. It's not until you you take things up to reference/painful levels that things really start to roar and other rooms are affected.
For those that have an Onkyo receiver, I have my RC-180 at around -22 or so for most movies and that is unnoticable to outside rooms. Going down to -10 and things really start to pound in the room and it's almost uncomfortable levels of volume and bass. There's some serious "booming" going on outside the room.
If you are considering doing an acoustically transparent screen...do it. Having the speakers behind the scren adds a naturalness to the dialog that you just can't appreciate until you experience it. Center channels are much more direct in their sound than you'd think. Sound is actually coming from the actors mouths now. It's just very cool.
I have to downsides to it and they are somewhat minimal and are easily outweighed by the upside of the center behind the screen. One is the screen itself. At the 9' distance I'm at, you can see the weave of the fabric in very specific scenes. Cloudy/dusty/smoky scenes show the weave. It's not obnoxious, but it's there. All other scenes are great looking. The other issue is speaker placement. If you have a narrow room you might have to compromise like I did getting everything behind the screen/wall.
------------------------
My other thoughts are this: there's perfect, there's good enough, and there's just get it done.
Try to shoot somewhere in the middle. There's just too much going on for most people either budget, time, or ability wise. Make the most of what you have and don't compare yourself to others. Also keep in mind that people have very specific tastes, goals, budgets, ect. Make the most of your space, budget and goals. Spending money on noise isoloation is something you only get one good chance at so if that's a goal of yours, do it.
Don't get as caught up in perfect room ratios, having the ultimate speakers, or perfect placement of this panel or that panel or seating ect. Work with what you have. Chances are good that you'll be happy with what you have, and if you are happy, then there's even a higher chance that other people will be even more impressed. The experts at AVS aren't sitting in your room each night or paying for the bills to build the room. So you aren't trying to keep them happy. But read up and see what you can do with your constraits and make the most of things.
My budget was modest, but ultimately it sounds good to me, looks great, and my family and friends think it's freaking awesome and beg to watch movies there. And that's what is important. Not having perfectly placed speakers or professional designed acoustic treatments or layouts or high dollar automated lights and various gadgets.
Feel free to ask any other questions...and sorry for the long post 🙂
Last edited:
