Need Help "Future Proofing HT Room"

[HDTVFREAK]

I am building a house with a 36 X 16 ft HT room. I have bounced back and forth with putting in a drop ceiling and a drywall ceiling. After talking to a "soundproofing" professional he suggested drywall ceilings.
My main reason for wanting a drop ceiling was to have easy access to wiring, etc.

My question is. Is this really a big deal??? What can I do as far as putting in extra "wire runs" etc. to "futureproof" the HT room. What "extra wiring are we talking about??

My only issue, I would think, would be putting in more speakers in the future. I plan to wire the room for 7.1 anyway.

If you coud choose drop ceiling, or drywall what would you do. This room is in the basement by the way.

Two walls will be concrete block and the other framed. All will have double drywall with green glue.

Thanks.

 

[mtrycrafts]

I am building a house with a 36 X 16 ft HT room. I have bounced back and forth with putting in a drop ceiling and a drywall ceiling. After talking to a "soundproofing" professional he suggested drywall ceilings.
My main reason for wanting a drop ceiling was to have easy access to wiring, etc.

My question is. Is this really a big deal??? What can I do as far as putting in extra "wire runs" etc. to "futureproof" the HT room. What "extra wiring are we talking about??

My only issue, I would think, would be putting in more speakers in the future. I plan to wire the room for 7.1 anyway.

If you coud choose drop ceiling, or drywall what would you do. This room is in the basement by the way.

Two walls will be concrete block and the other framed. All will have double drywall with green glue.

Thanks.

It is hard to know what the 'future' will bring in HT. To expand speakers to 7.1 or actually you may want to do 7.2, yes two subs, you can pre-wire or run conduits large enough to accommodate some wire and to several locations perhaps, or even if you pre wire, still add conduits, plastic, to the back. At least you don't have to open all the walls.

Consider front projection.
I would reconsider your dimensions, that is a long room for that width.

Sub cables to several locations just in case? Power outlets too.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

It is hard to know what the 'future' will bring in HT. To expand speakers to 7.1 or actually you may want to do 7.2, yes two subs, you can pre-wire or run conduits large enough to accommodate some wire and to several locations perhaps, or even if you pre wire, still add conduits, plastic, to the back. At least you don't have to open all the walls.

Consider front projection.
I would reconsider your dimensions, that is a long room for that width.

Sub cables to several locations just in case? Power outlets too.

Yeah, I agree totally. You never know about the future. The world around Hollywood is 10.2 HT! Yeah, that's one subwoofer for the Front and one subwoofer for the Rear. That's FIVE speakers for the front, TWO for the side surrounds, and THREE for the Rears---plus the TWO subwoofers = 10.2.

I already think 7.1 is overkill, but since you said "Future PROOF", who knows what the future is like

 

[davidtwotrees]

I've done a fair amount of remodelling on a professional level, although nothing to do with HT. There are some drop ceiling tiles on the market that look really hi end. Much more interesting than just drywall, imo. Not sure on a sound level which is better......you could also do the majority in drywall and have a strip with lights that is a drop ceiling......which would give acess to the cabling.
Drop ceilings have come a long way from the crappy 2x4 tiles that sagged and turned brown. The textures and patterns are endless.....do a drop.

 

[dorokusai]

I like the drop ceiling idea as well but it's also an open cavity, with a simple structure to seperate it from the rest of the room. I've heard some great aftermarket HT installs that utilized rolled, acoustic grade(or High R) fiberglass on top of the tiles. It isn't perfect but it worked quite well in quieting the resonance form the tiles. It was probably a combination of the weight of the insulation and the actual value.

You could also use baseboard channeling which has a high capacity for wiring. This can be done afetr the drywall is set.

Definitely go overboard with the electrical wiring(every 24") and the conduit suggestion for secondary cabling is excellent. I would also suggest CAT5 to your speaker locations, regardless of actual hookup. IP addressable speakers are looking very promising.

You have the luxury of pre-construction so your options are endless.

Mark
Polk Audio CS

 

[Vanhoecke]

Review the construction threads on the site and check out what others are doing to futureproof their HTs. I have learned alot by watching what other are doing, or in hindsight wished they would have done.

I agree with most of the prior suggestions. Running 3/4" (or larger) smurf (blue flexible) conduit to all of you speaker locations would help ensure futureproofing.

The following is a list of some of the things that I'm doing to futureproof my HT. Hopefully, you find something that will help you.

I didn't want to run smurf conduit from my A/V closet (located outside the HT) to each speaker location. Instead, I pulled two 12/2 speaker cable runs to each of the 7 speaker locations. This was cheaper. It gives me six good quality speaker cables at my stage, which will allow me to bi-amp my mains and run two center channels (or, upgrade to 10.2), or bypass a bad speaker cable in the future. I have a A/T stage wall in the front so the cable positions can easily be extended to other locations behind the stage wall (I left plenty of excess cable on these runs).

The speaker cable redundancy also gives me eight speaker runs in the rear of the HT (2 at each surround location). My HT will have fabric streached over 1" linoccoustic ductliner and polyfill, so even though the current cable locations may not be optimal for 10.2 (or whatever they come up with next), I can always relocate or extend the cables under the fabric.

For the subwoofer, I ran a subwoofer cable and XLR cable to my front sub location (behind stage wall). If I put two subs up front, I can split the signal behind the stage wall. I'll have two 1 1/2" conduits under the riser in the back of the HT, which will allow me to pull additional speaker/sub cables as needed.

Like you, I'm also using double sheetrock (5/8") and GG. The walls adjacent the the living space are double stud walls (with two communicating doors). I'm going for maximum sound isolation, so I went with isolation clips on the exterior wall stud to isolate them from the house structure. The ceiling also has isolation clips connected to 7/8" DWC. Two layers of 5/8" sheetrock with GG are attached to the DFC channel. I'm shooting for a STC of 60+. My logic is, "what's the purpose of going through all the work of building the HT, if you are not going to be able to enjoy it due to the WAF (i.e., sound tramission outside the HT)".

Because I'm being completely anal on the sound isolation, my recessed lights will not penetrate the double sheetrock ceiling. Once the sheetroock is completely installed, I'm constructing a soffit (10" tall and 24" wide) around the HT. This will not only house my recessed lights, but I also plan on installing insulation in the soffit to construct a bass trap. The bottom of the soffit will be wrapped with GOM fabric, so if I need to I can always remove the fabric and install additional cables around the room via the soffit.

In addition to HDMI, CAT-5 and trigger cables, I have also installed Impact Accoustic Rapid Run cables (two, one digitial and one analog) from the A/V closet to the projector. This will allow me to change the configuration of the cables as my needs change. Finally, I installed a 1 1/2" conduit from the A/V closet to the projector.

Run several (at least three or four) CAT-5/6 runs from your stage to your A/V closet. Network cable is cheap, always pull a couple of spares. You may need them for an I/R extender, as a trigger cable for sub, drop down screen, etc. While you are at it, run some CAT-5, speaker cables and power inside your riser. You (or the next owner) may want to have powered-recliners with buttkickers. The CAT-5 can be used for game controllers, HTPC peripherals (keyboard/mouse), networking, etc.

The suggestion to install sufficient power outlets is well taken. In my HT, none of the power outlets penetrate the sheetrock. They are all installed in the columns, riser, stage or surface mounted behind the stage wall or inside the soffit. I went surface mounted (in areas where the outlet is hidden) to maintain the intgrity of the the double sheetrock walls. The only penetration is a small hole for the electric cable, which will be excessively chalked. (I'm in the middle of the sheetrocking phase right now). I've run two Panamax outlets (one behind the stage wall for the powered sub and the other above the projector in the soffit) back to the UPS/power conditioner system in the A/V closet. Hopefully this will prevent ground loops and will also give me greater control over the power to these units. I also placed a surface mounted outlet on the ceiling behind the stage wall (future drapes, star ceiling, who knows). Keep all of your eletrical wires at least 6"-12" away from your speaker/video/data wires and only cross them at 90 degree angles (if possible). This will help minimize interference, which may create noise.

Finally, my most important futureproof recommendation. I'm installing a smoke detector behind the stage wall which will not only monitor the HT, but will also alert if any other smoke detector in the house is activated. If I acheive a 60 STC a smoke alarm outside the HT will not be heard over the audio track. Despite spending the better part of a year working on this HT, I would want to die there (at least not in a fire).

Good luck

 

[stratman]

One suggestion: run lots of conduits.

 

[BMXTRIX]

Vanhoecke has hit a lot of the main points that really cover the basis of what a top notch theater will have done. You really want to consider about everything you may want to do at any point down the line, and then consider your budget now. Simply double drywalling with green glue is great, but consider the ceiling lights, consider the color of the room, consider the projector distance (you are using a projector - right?).

You want every aspect planned out before the first stud is put into place so that you aren't kicking yourself later... and you WILL kick yourself later no matter what.

So, a soffit is a great addition which allows a channel for running wires up and down walls as well as providing access to things. Lights within a soffit can be removed to gain access for running wires easily, and it won't penetrate the integrety of the ceiling.

Conduit is excellent as well! Not the blue crap from Home Depot, but pick up the orange stuff (same blue crap ) which you can buy in 50 or 100 foot rolls in various sizes up to 2" in diameter to run to different locations if you are worried about 'future proofing'.

The best way to cover a lot of bases is to simply run the wire you need right now. That is, double 12/2 wiring to all speaker locations and potential future speaker locations. Run multiple pieces of coax throughout the room for subwoofer(s). Don't forget to get power everywhere you need it and dedicate the circuits in your theater to ensure that you don't have power spikes or dropoffs when the A/C kicks on for your theater.

Remember, the proper placement for gear is NOT at the front of the room where all the lights blinking away will distract you.

It also isn't INSIDE a sealed and unventilated cabinet. Heck, I don't think most gear even belongs inside the theater area at all. Move it out of the theater and just house the components you must have inside the theater if you can manage it.

The biggest issue may be that it isn't always possible to do everything 100% perfectly, but you sure as heck can come close if you are willing to spend some time, and some cash, to do it right.