Bluenose Theatre

[Alex2507]

Hey, great idea! Know anybody with one for sale?

They're pretty hard to come by but you might get lucky at a dumpster near you.

That set up looks great. Movies must be a lot of fun.
If you need any decorating tips ... I'm here.

 

[GO-NAD!]

They're pretty hard to come by but you might get lucky at a dumpster near you.

Ooh, dumpster diving!

That set up looks great. Movies must be a lot of fun.

I stripped the walls and ceiling down to the bare studs/joists and started from scratch. I wired a 20 amp circuit for my components and another 15 amp for the PJ. I put in 18 recessed lights with remote control dimmers - that was fun and installed electric in-floor heat to replace the beautiful baseboard heater.

My photographs are deliberately sh***y, so that you can't get a good look at my mud job.

If you need any decorating tips ... I'm here.

You'll be the first one I consult for decorating advice, feng shui master.

 

[caper26]

Components up front, ok, but you WILL cover them yes? Maybe a custom made panel or something? You can use an RF system . . .

My friend just build a TV stand and used black stained glass for the doors. You can't see squat through them and the remotes work through it.
Nice setup. What is the status?

 

[abjonesiii]

looks very nice indeed. Great job!

Only thing I would suggest is since you have the false wall with the screen you should go behind that false wall to the real wall and cover it with sound absorbing material. Like OC 703 or 80 weight Rockwool / Rigid Fiberglass.

The rug will definitely help. Add a few DIY acoustic panels to the side wall and you are set.

Again great job.

 

[timoteo]

+1 on the OwensCorning 703 batt.
Thats stuff works great for acoustical paneling. You should pack the whole wall behind the false wall. Then frame a few of them & wrap them with acoustically transparent material of choice to tame your 1st & 2nd reflections.
You can order a whole batch of that stuff for like $150 or something. Worth every penny if used right!!! What are you waiting for?

 

[deedubb]

Very nice job. Looks great!

 

[GO-NAD!]

My friend just build a TV stand and used black stained glass for the doors. You can't see squat through them and the remotes work through it.
Nice setup. What is the status?

If I put a glass door on it, it would need a "flat" textured surface, do reduce any reflections. I'm really not sure it's neccessary, as you don't really notice the display when a movie is playing.

I've finished the trim - crown molding, window and baseboard - which is painted white. Actually, since it doesn't have a lot of surface area, it doesn't seem to have reduced contrast noticablely. If it was possible to do a direct comparison, I suppose you'd be able to tell the difference, but whatever...

If anything, I need to convince SWMBO to let me put some darker paint on the ceiling, in front of the screen. That would be the single biggest improvement I could make right now. First, I have to persuade her to make me some blackout curtains. Right now, I have a floor mat covering the window nearest the screen.

I have a rug now, between the reclining couch and the screen, which helps with light reflection, but I don't think it's thick enough to make much difference, sound-wise.

Speaking of sound, last weekend, I did some speaker placement adjustments and ran YPAO again. Still have an middle-upper bass hump. I thumbed through the manual, hoping to figure out how to make some fine adjustments to the PEQ, but couldn't find it anywhere. Checked on-line, only to find out that you can't adjust the PEQ settings on the RX-V1800.

When time permits, I will be adding some acoustic treatment behind the false wall, which I hope will tame that hump a bit.

I know that it seems like I'm taking forever to make progress here, but I always have other projects on the go, that take precedence (not by my choice). Oh well, as one of my friends likes to say - "The ox is slow, but the earth is patient".

 

[GO-NAD!]

+1 on the OwensCorning 703 batt.
Thats stuff works great for acoustical paneling. You should pack the whole wall behind the false wall. Then frame a few of them & wrap them with acoustically transparent material of choice to tame your 1st & 2nd reflections.
You can order a whole batch of that stuff for like $150 or something. Worth every penny if used right!!! What are you waiting for?

Waiting for? Are you kidding me? It would be done, if I didn't have so much stuff to do! Last weekend, it was decided that we need a new refrigerator, so off we went to do some fridge shopping (still don't have a new one )This weekend, I'm laying laminate flooring in the wife's sewing room.

I won't complain too much though - she's been a lot more accomodating with my A/V obsession than anyone else I know. Other than here at Audioholics, of course.

 

[caper26]

LOL !! Tell her to shop online, and when she is ready, you will go pick it up!! When I brought home the behemoth sub last week she was pretty worried. It looks a LOT bigger in our house than in a hangar! But it isn't too bad really. I put it in a corner last night and moved the bar fridge over by the dart board. I think it looks great! Last thing I need to do now is make some grills, ugh.
For that "hump", the amp I got with my Trio12 has 1 level of EQ in it, which you can use to smooth humps valleys, as well as adjust the width of the area you want to change...

 

[GO-NAD!]

For that "hump", the amp I got with my Trio12 has 1 level of EQ in it, which you can use to smooth humps valleys, as well as adjust the width of the area you want to change...

Yes, but my hump is above the subwoofer crossover frequency...

 

[timoteo]

GO-NAD:

You should look into a Beheringer Feedback Destroyer EQ. Youll also need a Dayton calibration mic & download the free REW software that works with the EQ system. It can do wonders for a theater. The best model is the 1196 (i think, i know it starts will an 11)

If you dont already listen to the AV-Rant podcast then do so. Its free & can give you some good tips & info. Go to the Jan 5 & 12, 2012 episodes because they discuss audio calibration on one episode & room acoustics on the other!! Great stuff!!!

BTW: i was joking around about "what are you waiting for?" haha believe me i KNOW ALL ABOUT these projects taking time!! Im also needing a new fridge. Its between buying a new one or refurbishing an old 1950s fridge i have. I also have a nice old stove that im cleaning up to use so the old fridge (like the one Indiana Jones gets inside in the last IJ4) would match perfect! We'll see!

Caper26:

So you built the Trio huh? Ive read some incredible things on that project. Please post pics of the build & keep us informed on your thoughts on its performance!! Good job on that...wish i sere close to you so i could barge in with a 12 pack & a couple movies to demo! Haha

Hey the new movie RealSteel has a great preview of the upcoming Avengers movie!! Looks really good & the sound on the preview is awesome, cant wait for the BD release!!

 

[caper26]

Yes, but my hump is above the subwoofer crossover frequency...

Do you have a PEQ ? (YPAO, Audyssey, etc?)

So you built the Trio huh? Ive read some incredible things on that project. Please post pics of the build & keep us informed on your thoughts on its performance!! Good job on that...wish i were close to you so i could barge in with a 12 pack & a couple movies to demo! Haha

And what would YOU be drinking then ??? Pictures are already posted dude. [LINK] I went with a larger cabinet for better results too. Waiting on a meter to take some measurements. I named it "The Behemoth" !! Yeah!

 

[GO-NAD!]

Do you have a PEQ ? (YPAO, Audyssey, etc?)

It has PEQ through YPAO. However, on the RX-V1800, you can't adjust any PEQ settings after running YPAO. I believe the 3900 allowed you to do that. You can use the GEQ to adjust certain frequencies, but there are 7 that you can adjust (if memory serves). These are "fixed", i.e. my hump is in the 100Hz region, but the closest GEQ frequencies are 63Hz and 120 Hz. So, I'm not going to bother with that.

I don't know why YPAO won't tame that hump. Maybe it doesn't have enough filters to do it. I don't know enough about it to give an educated opinion.

I'm hoping some room treatment will help; I'll try that before buying another equalizer. I think it's preferable to get the room "right" before trying EQ.

 

[STRONGBADF1]

Sorry if I missed it ( I didn't read word for word) but have you tried changing the x-over freq. and remeasuring? Some times that can be the problem.

 

[GO-NAD!]

Sorry if I missed it ( I didn't read word for word) but have you tried changing the x-over freq. and remeasuring? Some times that can be the problem.

I have thought about it - just haven't tried that yet. The subs seem to be in a better position than the mains. They're also pretty close to the mains (maybe 8" - 10" apart), so I might get away with raising the x-over frequency to 100Hz. I think 120Hz would be pushing it though, maybe unnecessary. Maybe I'll try that when I get a moment. Gotta finish laying laminate in the wife's sewing room first, then get all her stuff outta "my" room and back into "her" room.

 

[STRONGBADF1]

I have thought about it - just haven't tried that yet. The subs seem to be in a better position than the mains. They're also pretty close to the mains (maybe 8" - 10" apart), so I might get away with raising the x-over frequency to 100Hz. I think 120Hz would be pushing it though, maybe unnecessary. Maybe I'll try that when I get a moment. Gotta finish laying laminate in the wife's sewing room first, then get all her stuff outta "my" room and back into "her" room.

The nerve of some women...

The ox is indeed slow and my ox is slower than most...and by the way...I don't know if Adam will approve of how you are using the ox.

 

[GO-NAD!]

The nerve of some women...

The ox is indeed slow and my ox is slower than most...and by the way...I don't know if Adam will approve of how you are using the ox.

If he doesn't approve of the way I use an ox, he'll be horrified by the way Alex uses one....

 

[GO-NAD!]

Well, last night, while the women folk were out, I decided to do some tweaking, in order to tame that 100Hz hump. I had figured it was an SBIR issue with the mains, because there was only about 8" between the back of the speakers and the front wall. The false wall won't let me move them any further out.

So, I messed around with the x-over, changing it in 10 Hz steps, all the way up to 120Hz. Hardly any impact at all. Then, I commited an unforgiveable sin - I moved the mains outside the false wall. That did the trick though. The peak went from +18db down to about +4db. The only trouble is - I hadn't this mentioned before - there was a corresponding null with that 100Hz peak, at about 120Hz. By, moving the speakers further from the front wall, not only did the peak drop, the null got deeper. Just can't win. Oh well, the null is certainly less noticeable than that peak, so it's more acceptable that way.

Anyway, when my wife got home, she was verrrrrry unhappy with what I'd done. I explained that it was just a temporary measure until I get some wall treatments put up. She's still not pleased, but she'll put up with it for the short term. To be honest, I don't want them outside the false wall either, but that peak was just soooo annoying, that I couldn't put up with it any longer. Although they're black, the surface of the speakers has some shine to it and there is some reflection from the projector. Plus, when my daughter is down there with her friends, I afraid one of them is going to knock a speaker over.

I plan to make some "super chunk" bass traps for the front corners and cover most - if not all - of the front wall with insulation. I'm going to try Roxul "Safe N' Sound" for the traps and wall treatments. I just can't find any of the rigid stuff around here anywhere and shipping would cost more than the actual purchase price! I hope these treatments do the trick...

 

[Adam]

Well, last night, while the women folk were out, I decided to do some tweaking....

Anyway, when my wife got home, she was verrrrrry unhappy with what I'd done. I explained that it was just a temporary measure...

Seems like most women don't understand why guys do that. Btw, was she unhappy that you did it, or that you were looking at photoshopped pictures of Alex at the time? "Mmmmm, cake."

 

[GO-NAD!]

Seems like most women don't understand why guys do that. Btw, was she unhappy that you did it, or that you were looking at photoshopped pictures of Alex at the time? "Mmmmm, cake."

Do you have a spy camera in my basement?!

Actually, when she got home, she said something along the lines of "I go out for a couple of hours and get home to find you doing this in our basement!" I actually burst out laughing at that, because of all the mental images such a statement elicits*. That didn't help her mood...

*I actually typed "illict" first. Then I thought, "Hmmm, that doesn't look right." But, it would've been in keeping with those mental images...