Bachelor Pad HT...complete!

[Saint]

When I moved in, I already had most of my equipment, but in my previous apartment, I TV was in the corner, making 5.1 placement very difficult. In fact it sucked, but I knew I'd only need to put up with it for a year total, so I let it slide in favour of greater screen visibility (Why the heck do people think a corner is a good place for a t.v.?)

Anyway, as the whole apartment was to be painted and worked on, I decided that no matter what I was wiring for the surrounds. The walls are concrete, so we had to channel down in each, shove the wiring in, and plaster/paint over. Fortunately we were also replacing all the mouldings, so I was able to run speaker/cable/CAT-5 wiring under them, through the air conditionier/radiator, to the the far wall, to a wall plate with binding posts.

Finally comes time to test, and shockingly, the right rear surround was broken. The wire had a break somewhere, which truly sucked because it could be anywhere...but luckily we found the break, and it was easily fixed.

Yesterday the final re-moulding and repainting was done, and despite it being late I positioned all the speakers and cleaned up the whole place.

It's not truly "done" in that I'm still waiting for my leather couches and coffee/end tables, but the system is done as is. Due to the size of the room I decided against pre-wiring 7.1, it would look crazy to have so many speakers in a small room (whole apartment: 900 sq. feet).

Anyway I also had a pro calibrate and balance the channels and positioning so I'm truly getting the most out of the system.

TV: ISF Optmized Hitachi 51F500
DVD: V Inc. Bravo D1
CD: Harman Kardon FL8380
Receiver: Harman Kardon AVR-120
HD STB: Scientific Atlanta 8000HD
Remote: Home Theater Master MX-500

Center: Axiom VP100
Mains: Axiom M22Ti
SurroundS: Axiom QS8
Subwoofer: Axiom EP-175

 

[Takeereasy]

That is one heck of a nice "little" setup you've got there. I bet the neighbors will hate you within a week . I really like how clean it all looks. Nice job with the wiring. Congrats on the nice setup.

 

[Saint]

I try and keep it below "reference" levels (-4 db on my receiver).

The apartment is all concrete walls and floors and though the I can hear the elevator which is right outside my apartment door, I never hear the neighbours and I've had no complaints yet, so we'll see...

I actually OWN the apartment (it's a co-op)...most of my neighbours are 40+ years older than me

 

[Audiosouse]

Really clean install, love the wall plates and when you can't see wires for surrounds.

Not too bright in there? I hate area rugs, but found a big ottoman and heavy drapes work well with the furniture. IKEA rules!

 

[zipper]

Reminds me of my place

Don't you just hate that reflection?

Nice clean job...........looks great.

 

[jaxvon]

I like it! How do those Axioms fill the room?

Looks like you need a little anti-glare treatment on your bigscreen. And that picture on the wall over the couch looks familiar...

 

[nm2285]

"It's not truly "done" in that I'm still waiting for my leather couches and coffee/end tables, but the system is done as is. Due to the size of the room I decided against pre-wiring 7.1, it would look crazy to have so many speakers in a small room (whole apartment: 900 sq. feet)."

Oh c'mon...that never stopped any true home theater buff!