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#8938 - 12/01/05 11:38 AM Recomendations for my new home theater?
BryanH Offline
Gunslinger

Registered: 11/30/05
Posts: 28
Loc: Austin TX
My wife and I are in the process of building a new house, and she gave me the green light to make the game room into a home theater smile I'm planning on setting the room up for 7.1 sound with a front projection system. Budget is a concern (given that I'd like to stay married) so I'm looking for a mid-range setup with maybe a few perks. I'd love to hear your suggestions on my current ideas.

The room:

The room is 17' x 17'. It is basically in the back corner of the house on the 2nd floor. The plans have the room open to the 2nd floor landing, but I've already asked the builder to close off the room and install a set of solid-core doors. The two outside walls will have the standard fiberglass insulation, and the other two walls will be empty cores. The wall construction is standard 2 x 4 with sheetrock covered with a knock-down texture.

Should I fill the other two walls with fiberglass insulation? Is there some sort of sound-proffing material I should consider (under / over) the sheetrock? What about between the 2nd and 1st floors under the game room?

I plan on having the surround speakers pre-wired. What wire should I use, and where should the speaker wire come out of the walls? I'm considering Ultra Cap THX rated in-wall cable.


The equipment will probably sit below the screen - this will reduce the cost of the speaker wire for the mains / center, and the DVI cable vs putting the equipment in the corner.

I also plan on having 1 1/2" conduit installed in the ceiling to run a DVI cable to a projector. I will have the electrician install a dedicated circuit for the amp, one for the other equipment, and one for the projector in the ceiling.

Any other considerations for the room itself?

The equipment:

Outlaw 990 pre
Outlaw 7700 amp
Panasonic DVD (current player - will upgrade once the HD DVD situation is settled)
Explorer 8300HD cable box (Time Warner)
InFocus ScreenPlay 7210 projector
Carda Criterion screen

I haven't read much on screens so if someone has a better suggestion, please comment.

I'm planning on mounting the projector on the ceiling about 15' from the screen. According to InFocus' web site, that will give me 99" to 123" of diagonal bliss. Will this work well for the room size? I don't want the feeling of sitting in the front row of the movie theater - I prefer about mid way back in the theater.

The cables:

Ultra Cap THX rated in-wall 12 gauge for the surround speakers
AudioQuest CV-8 (renamed from CV-6) for the main speakers
AudioQuest Type 8 for the center speakers

Outlaw PCB Balanced Audio Interconnect between the pre / amp (don't think I can afford the AudioQuest Diamonbacks - well, maybe I could use a pair for the mains)

Fiber optic DVI cable for the projector (need to be sure 1 1/2" conduit is big enough to get the connector through). I'll have to run a temporary component cable for the DVD player until I upgrade it. I've heard of people having problems with DVI on the 8300HD - any info on this will be appreciated.

The CV-8 cables may be a bit overkill - I might back down to the CV-4's.

I'm completely undecided on coax vs optical for the DVD player and the 8300HD. I have an older AudioQuest digital coax cable I can use for one of them.

The speakers:

Paradigm Studio 60 for the mains (maybe the 100's)
Paradigm Studio CC-570 for the center
Paradigm Studio ADP-470 for the surround and rear
Paradigm Seismic 12 sub

I will probably audition Klipsch and Paradigm - though I've been told the Paradigm's will beat Klipsch hands down. I figure I ought to at least give the Klipsch a shot since I have two degrees from the Klipsch School of Electrical & Computer Engineering smile


Bryan

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#8939 - 12/01/05 12:29 PM Re: Recomendations for my new home theater?
gonk Offline
Desperado

Registered: 03/21/01
Posts: 14054
Loc: Memphis, TN USA
I like your choice of speakers. smile - I'm running v2 Studio 60's, CC, and surround back ADP's (Axiom M3Ti's for side surround due to space limitations on side walls). My sub is an Outlaw LFM-1, which while not necessarily an equal to the Seismic 12 is also quite a bit easier on the pocket book; it's been a great sub and gives me all I need in a 23'x17' room with 8' ceilings.

It might not hurt to fill the wall voids with whatever batt insulation you are using elsewhere, since the space may be pretty loud at times. You can get pretty sophisticated with sound isolation (decoupling walls by building a room inside a room, ...), but the cost shoots up in a hurry. You may do some research into room acoustical treatment, particularly since there are some hazards associated with a perfectly square room.

I don't have any of Outlaw's balanced cables (no balanced amps), but the Outlaw cables that I have used have treated me very well. The PCA has been a great analog cable, the PSSV was probably the best s-video cable I used, the PSC that I've used for coax digital has worked out nicely, and the PDO is better built and less expensive than the Monster and BetterCables alternatives I've owned. If you want to avoid running component to the projector, you might pick up an Oppo DVD player - its upscaling DVI output does a great job, and for only $200 or so (I think it may have gone up to $250) it is really hard to beat. I love mine .

One thought about equipment placement... Three long runs of decent heavy-gauge speaker wire may be cheaper and much less prone to difficulties than a single long DVI run (especially since the DVI spec has a limit on length before you run the risk of not being able to sustain a signal), and with the projector near the back of the room it might be less costly to locate the equipment in back. Obviously a more exotic speaker wire for the front channels would change this equation, which would fit with your current plan.
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#8940 - 12/02/05 09:35 AM Re: Recomendations for my new home theater?
Michael Moore Offline
Gunslinger

Registered: 07/11/05
Posts: 34
Loc: East Lansing, MI
Bryan,

The room dimensions might bear some re-thinking. I've read numerous times that a square room is not a desireable thing from an acoustical point of view.

mike

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#8941 - 12/02/05 09:45 AM Re: Recomendations for my new home theater?
BryanH Offline
Gunslinger

Registered: 11/30/05
Posts: 28
Loc: Austin TX
Moving walls is not possible with this builder so a roughly square room is what I have to work with.

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#8942 - 12/02/05 05:00 PM Re: Recomendations for my new home theater?
Houghers Offline
Gunslinger

Registered: 07/28/05
Posts: 40
Loc: Sacramento
Like Gonk, I'm a very satisfied Paradigm owner. They can be a bit power hungry, but I find that the 7125 does an ample job of keeping my speakers from "wanting more". If budget is a concern I would look into the Monitor Series. Though not as sexy in design as some other manufacturers, the bang for the buck is impressive.

As far as the room goes I'll be redundant in saying that a perfectly square room can produce pretty unsatisfying standing waves. Utilize the room calibration equipment that accompanies the 990. That should help some. Otherwise, I would insulate all walls with the fiberglass and research acoustical treatments. Hanging curtains and acoustical boards randomly throughout the room can actually make it sound worse, so do your reserach. Find out where your reflection points are consider use of bass traps if they fit your budget.

Try this link.

http://www.myhometheater.homestead.com/Acoustics.html

I used it when I was planning my theater room and it helped. Bear in mind there is no substitute for a qualified trained professional. They may cost more, but if you're serious about wanting the best sound from your room it may prove worth the time and money. Good luck to you and welcome to the fold!

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#8943 - 12/02/05 07:56 PM Re: Recomendations for my new home theater?
MeanGene Offline
Desperado

Registered: 06/10/02
Posts: 524
Loc: Simi Valley, CA, USA
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#8944 - 12/02/05 08:49 PM Re: Recomendations for my new home theater?
curegeorg Offline
Desperado

Registered: 11/15/03
Posts: 1012
Loc: Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
they make several kinds of sheetrock now that are designed for sound absorption. varying costs. that last link from meangene is interesting, but i bet that stuff is pricey. i would definitely look into that sort of thing if you are building.
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#8945 - 12/20/05 06:22 PM Re: Recomendations for my new home theater?
BryanH Offline
Gunslinger

Registered: 11/30/05
Posts: 28
Loc: Austin TX
The link to Owens Corning is interesting - my builder will be installing QuietZone batts in the non-insulated walls. Not as good as the wall framing system, but better than nothing.

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#8946 - 12/21/05 09:34 PM Re: Recomendations for my new home theater?
Ritz Offline
Desperado

Registered: 07/03/05
Posts: 547
Loc: NJ/Beijing
I have a friend who spends a lot of time with a household name musician. The guy just had a studio built in the basement of his house and he had the walls soundproofed. I saw the room while it was under construction and the framed walls were filled with insulation that looked like shredded blue jeans or some other cotton-like fiber. The walls were double sheetrocked with 5/8" rock with a layer of material in between that looked and felt like the stuff used in wetsuits. They also floated the floor over the concrete slab with some sort of rubbery sheet between the slab and 1" MDF decking. I'm not sure what they did as far as the ceiling goes, but I'm told that you can beat on a guitar with a 200W marshall amp in there and you can't hear a peep outside of the studio space. It must have cost a pretty penny though.

Cheers,
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