Help Me Dream up a Theater Room from Scratch

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tiwaricd

Audiophyte
Ok I wanted to reach out to this group as I have a fun project that I get to go a bit wild on (ok within some reason) ... I have a large unfinished room in my basement that I am going to finish off .. one side will be a brewery/full bar area and the other side is going to be my home theater. I have always wanted a set up where it is as close to the theater as I can get. I am expecting to go a bit crazy with this space.. want to use high quality/end components but don't want to just buy extremely expensive stuff just to buy it but am not afraid to pay for quality if I am going to really hear/see/feel it.

Trying to first figure out the configuration how many speakers .. what type and where... then go from there wires, speakers brands/types, soundproofing, ceiling.. etc. etc.

So what you say who wants to help me design the A/V side of this? FYI this is my first time posting on something like this so don't beat me up too much if i put too much or not enough in the post :)

Theater Dimensions:
14' front to back
12' wide
- When looking at the Screen the right side is open to the bar area (picture below)
- 9' high ceilings
Walls are concreate on sides, screen side is load bearing wall that has a bathroom on the other side of it.

Network
I have a centralized rack system on the other side of the basement with all of the rest of the home's audio wires coming in. I am running a unifi rack system and have cat6a, fiber running for all for all of the cabling (FYI about to pull the trigger on a whole home audio, 8 zone, so any thoughts there appreciated)

I am open to running all of the gear on the rack or local connected back to the rack.. what are your experiences?

Here is the space
1610609618884.png
 
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shadyJ

Speaker of the House
Staff member
Since the theater area is flanked by one wall, I would treat that wall for acoustic symmetry. Put a broadband acoustic absorber on the wall next to the screen.

If you wanted to go nuts, one thing you could do is get an all Monolith THX system. It would have pretty good performance for the money. Monoprice has put out a very high value and high-performance home theater line. you could get an HTP-1 processor, Monolith amps, Monolith THX speakers, and some Monolith THX subs, the ported 15"s or even the ported dual 15"s if you want to get nuts. With the HTP-1, you could get a 7.4.4 system and have all the components independently calibrated by Dirac Live. An all-out, all Monolith system would probably run you something like 25 to 30K, especially if you went with the dual 15" subs. Order everything that you need from Monoprice might make it all simpler for you as well.
 
T

tiwaricd

Audiophyte
Since the theater area is flanked by one wall, I would treat that wall for acoustic symmetry. Put a broadband acoustic absorber on the wall next to the screen.

If you wanted to go nuts, one thing you could do is get an all Monolith THX system. It would have pretty good performance for the money. Monoprice has put out a very high value and high-performance home theater line. you could get an HTP-1 processor, Monolith amps, Monolith THX speakers, and some Monolith THX subs, the ported 15"s or even the ported dual 15"s if you want to get nuts. With the HTP-1, you could get a 7.4.4 system and have all the components independently calibrated by Dirac Live. An all-out, all Monolith system would probably run you something like 25 to 30K, especially if you went with the dual 15" subs. Order everything that you need from Monoprice might make it all simpler for you as well.
Thanks for that suggestion! I will look into what we can put on the wall and the monoprice set up! Trying to go as much in the wall as we can so will see what they along the same lines that will blend in.
 
AcuDefTechGuy

AcuDefTechGuy

Audioholic Jedi
For 12' x 14' area, I would just do Atmos 5.2.2 (if no Atmos, then 5.2).

What is your approximate budget?

Are you able to install In-ceiling speakers for Atmos?

AVR: Yamaha RX-A2080/3080 or Denon X4700/X6700.
Projector: JVC NZ3 or JVC NX5 or Epson 6050UB.

Speakers:
Front Left/Right + Dual Subs: RBH SV-831R/SV1212NR Reference x 2
Center: RBH SV-821CR Reference x 1
Surround Rear: RBH SV-661WR Reference x 2
If In-Ceiling for Atmos: RBH Si-615 x 2
 
Last edited:
T

tiwaricd

Audiophyte
For a 12' x 14' area, I would just do 5.2.2.

What is your approximate budget?

Are you able to install In-ceiling speakers for Atmos?

AVR: Yamaha RX-A2080/3080 or Denon X4700/X6700.
Projector: JVC NZ3 or JVC NX5 or Epson 6050UB.

Speakers:
Front Left/Right + Dual Subs: RBH SV-831R/SV1212NR Reference
Center: RBH SV-821CR Reference
Surround Rear: RBH SV-661WR Reference
I have total open studs and ceiling that I can put mostly whatever I want (some stuff running in there) .. I defiantly want the atmos speakers ... great suggestion! Do you think the space can only handle 2 atmos vs 4?

Regarding budget I am open to spending what I need to get the sound I want. I mean I don’t it to go too insane but not shy of buying what I need.

Regarding speakers my wife and I listened to speakers (pre pandemic) at our local magnolia store and liked the sounds of the Martin Logan’s as they sounded richer than the B&W ... but I am totally open to suggestions as I know that one store will only have a limited selection for us to sample and there are so many out there ... I am not brand proud .. just looking for high quality and long lasting. What is the sound feel like in the ones you mentioned ?
 
AcuDefTechGuy

AcuDefTechGuy

Audioholic Jedi
Do you think the space can only handle 2 atmos vs 4?
It doesn't "hurt" to have 4 Atmos in-ceiling speakers. So you can definitely install 4 ceiling speakers.

But for a small 12x14x9 area, I don't think you "need" more than 2.

In the end, it's not a biggie. So if you "dreamed" about 4 Atmos speakers, then go for it. :D
 
AcuDefTechGuy

AcuDefTechGuy

Audioholic Jedi
Regarding speakers my wife and I listened to speakers (pre pandemic) at our local magnolia store and liked the sounds of the Martin Logan’s as they sounded richer than the B&W ... but I am totally open to suggestions as I know that one store will only have a limited selection for us to sample and there are so many out there ... I am not brand proud .. just looking for high quality and long lasting. What is the sound feel like in the ones you mentioned ?
How much are those B&W and Martin Logan speakers?

You can read about the speakers I mentioned here on AH since there are many reviews of them- RBH speakers, RBH SVTR, RBH SVTRS, etc.
 
mazersteven

mazersteven

Audioholic Warlord
I keep looking at the drawing and if I'm right the doors into that area would walk you right into the theater room my thoughts is the flip the area. Theater room in peach and the bar area in the yellow
 
T

tiwaricd

Audiophyte
The ones that I was looking at were around $2500-$3000 each.

To be honest you have me thinking now .. i had thought that i would need to do a in wall speaker to keep the area looking clean as it is a bar area as well.. that said for the front stage i would go with these and build them into the TV surround and put screens on the front to conceal ... is that a common practice? Seems like i would get a better quality sound for a better price with that set up. I will look at the ones that you mentioned. I would still need to do in wall/ceiling for the atmos and rear surround .. thinking of adding a wide LR as well.

The biggest concern I have for the front area is that this is the wall directly under the support beam for the house.. want to minimize vibrations/bass to keep the risk of it collapsing my house minimal :)
 
mazersteven

mazersteven

Audioholic Warlord
The ones that I was looking at were around $2500-$3000 each.

To be honest you have me thinking now .. i had thought that i would need to do a in wall speaker to keep the area looking clean as it is a bar area as well.. that said for the front stage i would go with these and build them into the TV surround and put screens on the front to conceal ... is that a common practice?
JMO you spend that much money on speakers and then want to hide them just my opinion some have finishes on the Cabinetry that's beautiful why hide them
 
T

tiwaricd

Audiophyte
JMO you spend that much money on speakers and then want to hide them just my opinion some have finishes on the Cabinetry that's beautiful why hide them
Focused on creating a high quality audio experience with lots of stuff that looks nice in the room, just want to hide the speakers and keep it clean so they are not the focus. The space is not that big so don't want to over crowd it with lots of speakers, also the exit to the outside is right to the left of the screen (if you are looking at it) and that space in front of the screen will be a walkway as well. All of these things are reasons.. the other is that the wife wants them hidden and out of the way ... should have led with that :)
 
S

shadyJ

Speaker of the House
Staff member
Focused on creating a high quality audio experience with lots of stuff that looks nice in the room, just want to hide the speakers and keep it clean so they are not the focus. The space is not that big so don't want to over crowd it with lots of speakers, also the exit to the outside is right to the left of the screen (if you are looking at it) and that space in front of the screen will be a walkway as well. All of these things are reasons.. the other is that the wife wants them hidden and out of the way ... should have led with that :)
RBH has some pretty killer in-wall speakers in your price range. The thing is, there are no great in-wall subs, so try to make the subwoofers outboard at least.
 
T

tiwaricd

Audiophyte
Thanks everyone for comments, separately but related, I was thinking of moving the components for this solution to the other side of the basement to the rack I have in that room. I also have a homerun for all of the wires for the other theater pre-wires and speakers. For that have any of you used the Denon Heos Drive and Superlink (and a couple receivers) to create a whole home audio distro system? I had heard that they were getting rid of these but really liked the features and DIY aspect. I like other control systems but don't want to have to pay someone each time I want to tweak something. Thoughts on this set up or other suggestions?
 
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