Dome shaped room for home theater?

[GTHill]

I have a very unique facility that I'll be turning into a room. Ok... I'll tell you guys. It is a Titan II missile complex. Anyway, I'm considering turning the top of the dome into the theater but I'm not sure that a dome shape would be good.

The dome is shaped as follows:

- 35' in diameter
- 15' high to the top of the ceiling (center of room)
- Wall is straight for first 5', then begins curve to the top.

Would this make a good theater room? I ask because I could use a lower room that would be a bit more conventional. Same diameter but with flat ceiling.

Any input is greatly appreciated!

GT

 

[just-some-guy]

hmmm, idk. but if you are willing/able to hang some panels, if even needed, then i don't see a problem with it. could be very cool.

what i do have a problem with = you didn't post any pics of said room !

 

[GTHill]

hmmm, idk. but if you are willing/able to hang some panels, if even needed, then i don't see a problem with it. could be very cool.

what i do have a problem with = you didn't post any pics of said room !

I'm sure I'll need to hang panels since it is solid concrete. I guess I'm wondering if the dome has any advantages? I was originally going to make the top dome room a room for my kids but the dome thing got me to thinking.

I've attached a picture. Now, this is a picture of a friend's site, not mine. I don't have pictures of mine (just video). In this picture you can see that there is a wall. I'm taking the entire inner structure out and rebuilding from scratch. Anyway, when I'm done I can make the rooms look like anything I like. The only restriction is the 35' diameter. Can't move that.

Here is a link to an old cutaway of the dome area. You can see what I mean on the left.

http://www.strategic-air-command.com/missiles/Titan/Titan_II_missile_complex.htm

GT

 

[zildjian]

Holy crap you bought a Titan II missile complex to turn into a home!?!?! I don't know where this is, but if I'm in that part of the country sometime, I really want to invite myself over to check out your place!!!!!
Please more pics as this project comes together!

 

[GTHill]

Holy crap you bought a Titan II missile complex to turn into a home!?!?! I don't know where this is, but if I'm in that part of the country sometime, I really want to invite myself over to check out your place!!!!!
Please more pics as this project comes together!

Yes I did. At this time I don't make a lot of information public. I have a 60+ page thread on another forum but it is for subscribers only. It isn't that I don't want people here to know, I just don't want it to be easily found over the Internet. I hope you guys understand.

On the bright side, I do let people come through it for tours. Feel free to PM me for further details.

I am serious about the home theater in the dome thing if anyone has any thoughts on it. Thanks!

GT

 

[nooshinjohn]

Why not just build your very own IMAX?


Best of luck on the project.

 

[HexOmega]

Based on this informative website I'm going to guess that you're somewhere in Arizona, Arkansas, California, or Kansas. Wish I was closer to check it out

Whatever you system you build in there, make certain it can disturb the neighbors and blow the blast doors right off the hinges

 

[Tubamark]

. . . I'm considering turning the top of the dome into the theater but I'm not sure that a dome shape would be good.

The dome is shaped as follows:

- 35' in diameter
- 15' high to the top of the ceiling (center of room)
- Wall is straight for first 5', then begins curve to the top.

Would this make a good theater room?

In general, it's a bad idea. A concave surface creates a focal point; energy will be hyper-concentrated in at least one area of the room, and markedly different in other locations. That's why deep-space telescopes, satellite dishes, etc are made in this shape . . .

If one must have a concave boundary, you can get away with it IF (just a rule of thumb here) the focal point is at least 3x the farthest distance you are able to get away from it in the room.

. . . OR if you make the dome surface extremely absorptive, to eliminate focus effects.

example: Domed ceiling with a 30' radius is acceptable if the ceiling is no more than 10' high at the peak. This places the focal point of the dome well below the 'floor', so no focal point effect will be experienced in the room - it lies beyond the room boundaries.

The classic "igloo" shape is bad, as the height and radius are about the same.

Your case sounds borderline; you'll need to figure out what the radius of that ceiling actually is. If it has a compound (variable) radius (parabola, catenary, etc) you'll really need to figure out where the focal point(s) of the curve(s) are.

When in doubt, avoid it altogether, or treat the ceiling with aggressive acoustic absorption. a "dead" room can be okay for home theater. If stumped about what to put up there, let me know.

It is do-able . . . but only if you know what you're doing!!

-- Mark

 

[Savant]

Having a lot of experience trying to "fix" the acoustics in domed spaces, I second Mark's statement: It's a bad idea. Unless you are talking about a "money is no object" kind of budget (in which case, the IMAX idea might work), I would say it's highly probable that you will never be satisfied with the acoustics of the space.

My $0.02.

 

[picture_shooter]

Yes I did. At this time I don't make a lot of information public. I have a 60+ page thread on another forum but it is for subscribers only. It isn't that I don't want people here to know, I just don't want it to be easily found over the Internet. I hope you guys understand.

On the bright side, I do let people come through it for tours. Feel free to PM me for further details.

I am serious about the home theater in the dome thing if anyone has any thoughts on it. Thanks!

GT

I don't want GPS coordinates, but may I ask what part of the country and what you paid for this Underworld Gateway (btw sounds like a sweet name for a HT)

 

[picture_shooter]

Get a couple of HSU ULS-15's and cause some major "tremors" to all of us above the ground!!!!!!!!!!

SWEET!!!!!!!!!!!!

Based on this informative website I'm going to guess that you're somewhere in Arizona, Arkansas, California, or Kansas. Wish I was closer to check it out

Whatever you system you build in there, make certain it can disturb the neighbors and blow the blast doors right off the hinges

 

[mtrycrafts]

I have a very unique facility that I'll be turning into a room. Ok... I'll tell you guys. It is a Titan II missile complex. Anyway, I'm considering turning the top of the dome into the theater but I'm not sure that a dome shape would be good.

The dome is shaped as follows:

- 35' in diameter
- 15' high to the top of the ceiling (center of room)
- Wall is straight for first 5', then begins curve to the top.

Would this make a good theater room? I ask because I could use a lower room that would be a bit more conventional. Same diameter but with flat ceiling.

Any input is greatly appreciated!

GT

Have you ever had a meal in a restaurant with a domed ceiling? I have. You can hear people talk at other tables, clearly as if they were next to you.
I can just imagine the acoustical issues. Not a good idea at all.
Not sure about the circular room with a flat ceiling either. Thye room walls could certainly create problams as well.

May want to check his page out and see if he can answer the acoustics of both rooms:
http://seanolive.blogspot.com/search?updated-min=2008-01-01T00:00:00-08:00&updated-max=2009-01-01T00:00:00-08:00&max-results=5

 

[Tubamark]

. . . . Not sure about the circular room with a flat ceiling either. Thye room walls could certainly create problams as well.

Yes, concave walls with flat ceiling will have problems. Same criteria apply for those curves. In a room that has only convex walls, your only option is to make the walls all dead. Diffusion is not a practical option, as it is virtually impossible to provide diffusion that is full-spectrum in a completely round room.

That's the overlooked achillies heel of diffusion -- it's even harder to make full-spectrum diffusion than it is to achieve full-spectrum absorption.

--Mark

 

[Glenn Kuras]

Having a lot of experience trying to "fix" the acoustics in domed spaces, I second Mark's statement: It's a bad idea. Unless you are talking about a "money is no object" kind of budget (in which case, the IMAX idea might work), I would say it's highly probable that you will never be satisfied with the acoustics of the space.

My $0.02.

I could not imagine trying to treat a dome shape. Did you pretty much just make it dead or rebuild the walls and ceiling?

Glenn Kuras

 

[Savant]

Glenn,

Of the ones I've dealt with, absorption (and lots of it) was prescribed. The best description of the results, in general, is "band-aided."

There was one church with a domed ceiling that had a ~125 Hz resonance that simply would not die. Decay was up around 8-10 seconds. It was horrendous. Of course, there was not really enough available area to put the required absorption. They wound up with as many modest hangling absorbers on the ceiling as they could tolerate (decoratively) that did cut it down a little. Mostly, it was managed with some sound system LF roll-off and directional speakers, which helped a little more. All bets were off, though, everytime someone put (dropped) a kneeler down. :-?

 

[Whitey80]

I'd looked at these a while back. They are pretty cheap to buy, and extremely cheap to climate control. You just have to be prepared to live without windows! (no day/night cycle can really mess you up, trust me, I did enough years of sub service when in the Navy!)

 

[GTHill]

Thanks for the great info everyone. I'll look at doing the theater elsewhere since not only is it not good, it should be avoided.

To answer a few questions:

- Cost: There may be some cheap ones for sale in Kansas, but I know that they aren't cheap in AZ or AR. I know of one for sale in AZ that is $350,000 with nothing really done to it.
- Blast the doors off the hinges: Unlikely since the doors are designed to take a 1000 p.s.i. blast. Although trying would be fun.


GT

 

[Whitey80]

Thanks for the great info everyone. I'll look at doing the theater elsewhere since not only is it not good, it should be avoided.

To answer a few questions:

- Cost: There may be some cheap ones for sale in Kansas, but I know that they aren't cheap in AZ or AR. I know of one for sale in AZ that is $350,000 with nothing really done to it.
- Blast the doors off the hinges: Unlikely since the doors are designed to take a 1000 p.s.i. blast. Although trying would be fun.


GT

As a matter of fact, it was in Kansas! And to the second part, YES!! It would be fun to try! Can we use yours?

 

[GTHill]

As a matter of fact, it was in Kansas! And to the second part, YES!! It would be fun to try! Can we use yours?

Sure, come on over. I don't have any cool gear yet but if you guys want to bring it over and try to crack 8' of concrete or a 6000lb door, be my guest!


GT

 

[Glenn Kuras]

Sure, come on over. I don't have any cool gear yet but if you guys want to bring it over and try to crack 8' of concrete or a 6000lb door, be my guest!


GT

Count me in on that one!!!!!!!!