New Member Here - Sharing My Current HT Build

[dcookatx]

Hey everyone,

I’m David—after years of following Audioholics mostly through YouTube, I’m finally jumping in and joining the forum community. I’m currently in the early-to-mid stages of building my first dedicated home theater, and I wanted to introduce myself and share a bit about the project so far.

Current Status
I just finished the full demo phase—ripped out all the drywall and carpet myself, no contractors involved (yet). All of the A/V gear has arrived, and I’m now moving into the next phase: wiring, installing sound isolation (HushFrame), then cement board and drywall, followed by a pair of communicating IsoDoors (HD + standard) at the entrance.

Room & Build Details

• Dimensions: ~21' x 13' x 9'
• Layout: Single row with 3 seats
• Soundproofing Plan:
  • HushFrame decoupling (floor, walls, and ceiling)
  • Double-layer cement board and drywall
  • Communicating IsoDoors (HD + standard)
• Acoustic Treatment:
  • Sonitus mid-tier package (absorption, diffusion, bass traps)
• Power:
  • Dedicated 20-amp circuits to the A/V rack and theater room
• Design:
  • All layout and design done in SketchUp to optimize speaker placement, sightlines, and sound isolation

Audio Setup

• Speaker Layout: 7.4.4 Atmos (pre-wired for future wides)
• LCR: Perlisten R5i In-Walls
• Surrounds: Perlisten R4i
• Atmos: Perlisten R3ic (×4)
• Subwoofers: 4× 15" Hsu Research VTF-TN1 4 corners--thank you Mr. Welti
• Amplification:
  • Buckeye 8-channel Hypex NC502MP (bed layer)
  • Buckeye 6-channel Hypex NC252MP (heights)
• Processor: Marantz AV10

Video Setup

• Projector: JVC NZ800
• Screen:
  • Currently have a 150" Stewart Filmscreen Harmony G3
  • Planning to upgrade to a 150" StudioTek 130 G4 UltraPerf for improved gain and HDR performance
• Throw Distance: Estimated 15'–17'

Rack & Control

• Sources:
  • Apple TV
  • PS5
  • Panasonic DP-UB420-K UHD Blu-ray
  • Kaleidescape (planned)
• Rack: Strong 27U with Wattbox power management and AC Infinity cooling
• Control: AVA Cinema Remote

This build is really the culmination of everything I’ve picked up over the years from places like this forum, the Audioholics YouTube channel, and other YouTube channels such as Matthew Poes’, as well as fundamentals from Floyd Toole’s Sound Reproduction book.

I'm looking forward to asking questions (and hopefully helping others) as I keep moving forward!

– David (Dallas, Texas)

 

[TLS Guy]

Hey everyone,

I’m David—after years of following Audioholics mostly through YouTube, I’m finally jumping in and joining the forum community. I’m currently in the early-to-mid stages of building my first dedicated home theater, and I wanted to introduce myself and share a bit about the project so far.

Current Status
I just finished the full demo phase—ripped out all the drywall and carpet myself, no contractors involved (yet). All of the A/V gear has arrived, and I’m now moving into the next phase: wiring, installing sound isolation (HushFrame), then cement board and drywall, followed by a pair of communicating IsoDoors (HD + standard) at the entrance.

Room & Build Details

• Dimensions: ~21' x 13' x 9'
• Layout: Single row with 3 seats
• Soundproofing Plan:
  • HushFrame decoupling (floor, walls, and ceiling)
  • Double-layer cement board and drywall
  • Communicating IsoDoors (HD + standard)
• Acoustic Treatment:
  • Sonitus mid-tier package (absorption, diffusion, bass traps)
• Power:
  • Dedicated 20-amp circuits to the A/V rack and theater room
• Design:
  • All layout and design done in SketchUp to optimize speaker placement, sightlines, and sound isolation

Audio Setup

• Speaker Layout: 7.4.4 Atmos (pre-wired for future wides)
• LCR: Perlisten R5i In-Walls
• Surrounds: Perlisten R4i
• Atmos: Perlisten R3ic (×4)
• Subwoofers: 4× 15" Hsu Research VTF-TN1 4 corners--thank you Mr. Welti
• Amplification:
  • Buckeye 8-channel Hypex NC502MP (bed layer)
  • Buckeye 6-channel Hypex NC252MP (heights)
• Processor: Marantz AV10

Video Setup

• Projector: JVC NZ800
• Screen:
  • Currently have a 150" Stewart Filmscreen Harmony G3
  • Planning to upgrade to a 150" StudioTek 130 G4 UltraPerf for improved gain and HDR performance
• Throw Distance: Estimated 15'–17'

Rack & Control

• Sources:
  • Apple TV
  • PS5
  • Panasonic DP-UB420-K UHD Blu-ray
  • Kaleidescape (planned)
• Rack: Strong 27U with Wattbox power management and AC Infinity cooling
• Control: AVA Cinema Remote

This build is really the culmination of everything I’ve picked up over the years from places like this forum, the Audioholics YouTube channel, and other YouTube channels such as Matthew Poes’, as well as fundamentals from Floyd Toole’s Sound Reproduction book.

I'm looking forward to asking questions (and hopefully helping others) as I keep moving forward!

– David (Dallas, Texas)

Welcome. I can see why you went with in walls as the room is very narrow.

My only suggestion is to hold on the room treatments, like the bass traps. You really have to see how the room sounds before applying acoustics treatments. You often don't need any, and what you do can make it worse without knowing how it sounds without the treatments. I don't use them and have never found a need to use them. One thing I do know is that if not used with care, they will make matters worse, and often a lot worse. You have a room longer than it is wide, by a significant margin and that is usually a good start. My experience is that if you have a room with poor dimension ratios, it will be pig, no matter what you do.

 

[Wardog555]

Did you use the protractor tool for sketchup?
I find people often just blindly guess and doesn't do this critical step.

 

[Eppie]

Hi and welcome. Sounds like you've done your homework which is a good start. All too often people ask for opinions after the install and it's too late to make changes. Remember to run the cabling inside conduit to allow wiring upgrades and future proof the system. This is especially true for the wiring from the projector to the AVR.

 

[Trell]

Welcome. I can see why you went with in walls as the room is very narrow.

My only suggestion is to hold on the room treatments, like the bass traps. You really have to see how the room sounds before applying acoustics treatments. You often don't need any, and what you do can make it worse without knowing how it sounds without the treatments. I don't use them and have never found a need to use them. One thing I do know is that if not used with care, they will make matters worse, and often a lot worse. You have a room longer than it is wide, by a significant margin and that is usually a good start. My experience is that if you have a room with poor dimension ratios, it will be pig, no matter what you do.

For the OP: He designed his own house for best possible audio, and that includes the dimensions of the rooms as well as construction materials which essentially are "bass traps" in the walls. All of this requires much money as well as knowledge. Really expensive. Please chime in @TLS Guy if this is an overly simplification of what you've written in your many posts.

For the rest he is pretty much spot on what he did not write that you should measure as best as you can and adjust along with listening. He did not mention placement of speakers and listening position, but this is really important.

Adding bass traps will dampen high frequencies possibly making the room dead sounding, so the ones I have have plates on it to avoid that (reflecting high frequencies). And you'll need to cover a large portion of your walls of "bass traps" to have any great, unless you put them inside the wall like TLS making them bass traps.

 

[TLS Guy]

For the OP: He designed his own house for best possible audio, and that includes the dimensions of the rooms as well as construction materials which essentially are "bass traps" in the walls. All of this requires much money as well as knowledge. Really expensive. Please chime in @TLS Guy if this is an overly simplification of what you've written in your many posts.

For the rest he is pretty much spot on what he did not write that you should measure as best as you can and adjust along with listening. He did not mention placement of speakers and listening position, but this is really important.

Adding bass traps will dampen high frequencies possibly making the room dead sounding, so the ones I have have plates on it to avoid that (reflecting high frequencies). And you'll need to cover a large portion of your walls of "bass traps" to have any great, unless you put them inside the wall like TLS making them bass traps.

You have it basically correct. It is a total concept, where layout, speakers, room dimensions, interior design and construction and all part of an integrated total system approach.

It was not as costly as you think, as that space had to be built out anyway. It otherwise would have been bedrooms, and we have enough. As far as the room, the only new equipment was the AVP 7705, the four ceiling Atmos drivers and the LG 77" OLED. I had everything else for that room, and the equipment in the family room. The inwall system in the great room was a new build, but I had the TV, that AVP and the power amps. I, one of my grandsons, and a son in law, did the vast majority of the construction. Over 70 odd years I have collected a lot of legacy equipment, and I look after it. Most really good equipment does not go out of date, and works better than a lot of gear made last week.

The trick is to make it look and sound as if it cost an absolute fortune, when in fact it didn't. The whole cost was not out of the ordinary, and added I think, little to the actual construction costs of the home. But building a new home, which is our "nursing home prevention project", was going to be built anyway, as a hedge against residential care cost, or modifications later for adaptation to disabilities. The house is all on grade, and no steps anywhere in or out, and the ground floor is built to ADA specs, and the upstairs also, except the shower in that bathroom is not on grade and would not take a shower chair, like the one downstairs.

The biggest extravagance was the hydraulic elevator between the floors. That cost significantly more then this AV room. However, that was a good move, as both me and my wife have had issues from time and we have friends who could not now come upstairs.

So, over all we think we made the right decisions and choices and have no regrets. Careful planning is a gift that keeps giving.

 

[TLS Guy]

Hey everyone,

I’m David—after years of following Audioholics mostly through YouTube, I’m finally jumping in and joining the forum community. I’m currently in the early-to-mid stages of building my first dedicated home theater, and I wanted to introduce myself and share a bit about the project so far.

Current Status
I just finished the full demo phase—ripped out all the drywall and carpet myself, no contractors involved (yet). All of the A/V gear has arrived, and I’m now moving into the next phase: wiring, installing sound isolation (HushFrame), then cement board and drywall, followed by a pair of communicating IsoDoors (HD + standard) at the entrance.

Room & Build Details

• Dimensions: ~21' x 13' x 9'
• Layout: Single row with 3 seats
• Soundproofing Plan:
  • HushFrame decoupling (floor, walls, and ceiling)
  • Double-layer cement board and drywall
  • Communicating IsoDoors (HD + standard)
• Acoustic Treatment:
  • Sonitus mid-tier package (absorption, diffusion, bass traps)
• Power:
  • Dedicated 20-amp circuits to the A/V rack and theater room
• Design:
  • All layout and design done in SketchUp to optimize speaker placement, sightlines, and sound isolation

Audio Setup

• Speaker Layout: 7.4.4 Atmos (pre-wired for future wides)
• LCR: Perlisten R5i In-Walls
• Surrounds: Perlisten R4i
• Atmos: Perlisten R3ic (×4)
• Subwoofers: 4× 15" Hsu Research VTF-TN1 4 corners--thank you Mr. Welti
• Amplification:
  • Buckeye 8-channel Hypex NC502MP (bed layer)
  • Buckeye 6-channel Hypex NC252MP (heights)
• Processor: Marantz AV10

Video Setup

• Projector: JVC NZ800
• Screen:
  • Currently have a 150" Stewart Filmscreen Harmony G3
  • Planning to upgrade to a 150" StudioTek 130 G4 UltraPerf for improved gain and HDR performance
• Throw Distance: Estimated 15'–17'

Rack & Control

• Sources:
  • Apple TV
  • PS5
  • Panasonic DP-UB420-K UHD Blu-ray
  • Kaleidescape (planned)
• Rack: Strong 27U with Wattbox power management and AC Infinity cooling
• Control: AVA Cinema Remote

This build is really the culmination of everything I’ve picked up over the years from places like this forum, the Audioholics YouTube channel, and other YouTube channels such as Matthew Poes’, as well as fundamentals from Floyd Toole’s Sound Reproduction book.

I'm looking forward to asking questions (and hopefully helping others) as I keep moving forward!

– David (Dallas, Texas)

Eppie's advice is very important. Don't put any, and I mean any AV cable behind a wall not in conduit. Make sure the conduit is big enough, otherwise you will damage it pulling it through.

You might find the thread I started on my build helpful.

Please feel free to ask all the questions you want. Mistakes are costly, so don't be afraid to pose any questions you want.

 

[dcookatx]

Welcome. I can see why you went with in walls as the room is very narrow.

My only suggestion is to hold on the room treatments, like the bass traps. You really have to see how the room sounds before applying acoustics treatments. You often don't need any, and what you do can make it worse without knowing how it sounds without the treatments. I don't use them and have never found a need to use them. One thing I do know is that if not used with care, they will make matters worse, and often a lot worse. You have a room longer than it is wide, by a significant margin and that is usually a good start. My experience is that if you have a room with poor dimension ratios, it will be pig, no matter what you do.

Thanks--I agree, the room is definitely on the narrow side.

I totally get your caution around over-treating. But in small rooms like this, I’ve learned that some targeted absorption and diffusion can go a long way. Reflections arrive within milliseconds and can smear detail and imaging. Treatments help reduce early reflection energy and manage modal buildup--especially in the bass.

Before I tore down the drywall, my REW measurements showed decay times pushing 1.5 seconds--way too long for a small theater. While the ears don’t lie, I tend to rely on science and measurements to guide decisions like this. For home cinema, the target is typically around 0.3 to 0.6 seconds. Acoustic treatment helps bring things into that range, creating a clearer and more balanced sound without making the room feel dead.

I'm keeping things modest--just aiming for around 15% absorption and 15-20% diffusion on the walls and ceiling. Even small improvements here can make a noticeable difference in clarity and spaciousness.

Also, some of the photos in your signature are really cool.

 

[dcookatx]

Did you use the protractor tool for sketchup?
I find people often just blindly guess and doesn't do this critical step.

Absolutely. I have a background in GIS and a bit of CAD, so I really appreciate the measurement tools in SketchUp. The protractor and tape measure tools make it easy to measure angles, check distances, and square everything up accurately. Fantastic tool--and free, which is a bonus!

 

[dcookatx]

Hi and welcome. Sounds like you've done your homework which is a good start. All too often people ask for opinions after the install and it's too late to make changes. Remember to run the cabling inside conduit to allow wiring upgrades and future proof the system. This is especially true for the wiring from the projector to the AVR.

Thank you--great tip! I’ve definitely heard that running conduit can be a lifesaver down the road. I'm planning to pre-wire for potential future expansions, like adding wides, just in case I decide to go that route later. Better to do it now while the walls are open!

 

[dcookatx]

Eppie's advice is very important. Don't put any, and I mean any AV cable behind a wall not in conduit. Make sure the conduit is big enough, otherwise you will damage it pulling it through.

You might find the thread I started on my build helpful.

Please feel free to ask all the questions you want. Mistakes are costly, so don't be afraid to pose any questions you want.

Agreed--great advice.

Thanks, I’ll definitely check out your build thread.

And will do--I really appreciate it! Definitely trying to catch any mistakes now before they turn into $$ down the drain.

 

[TLS Guy]

Thanks--I agree, the room is definitely on the narrow side.

I totally get your caution around over-treating. But in small rooms like this, I’ve learned that some targeted absorption and diffusion can go a long way. Reflections arrive within milliseconds and can smear detail and imaging. Treatments help reduce early reflection energy and manage modal buildup--especially in the bass.

Before I tore down the drywall, my REW measurements showed decay times pushing 1.5 seconds--way too long for a small theater. While the ears don’t lie, I tend to rely on science and measurements to guide decisions like this. For home cinema, the target is typically around 0.3 to 0.6 seconds. Acoustic treatment helps bring things into that range, creating a clearer and more balanced sound without making the room feel dead.

I'm keeping things modest--just aiming for around 15% absorption and 15-20% diffusion on the walls and ceiling. Even small improvements here can make a noticeable difference in clarity and spaciousness.

Also, some of the photos in your signature are really cool.

Unfortunately this is an area where rules keep getting proved wrong and changing. So I strongly advise no room treatments until you know what it sounds like. Otherwise you won't know if your treatments made it worse, which is actually a 50/50 proposition or worse. This is an area where there is as much bunk as fact and may be worse than that.

In one of our rooms at the lake, our family room had a huge echo. Any acoustic specialist would have said the room needs treatment out of hand. The fact is that the room sounded absolutely marvelous.

Having done this a long time, I can tell you that a lot of so called room problems are in fact speaker problems. In fact as I have said before, for a room to actually sound bad it has to have the acoustic of a public lavatory.

The truth is that these so called room problems are in fact speaker problems and there are far more bad speakers than good ones.

If you are carrying out a conversation with a friend you know well, and they are a little to some distance away and their voice sounds like it always does, then there is no significant acoustic problem with the room. So, why can speakers be problematic in the same room? The reason is a very, very common speaker problem. The off axis response of the speaker is a poor match for the axis response, and your brain cries foul and senses something amis which there is. Speakers beam and present this problem when there are break up modes and this is common. When this occurs room treatments sometimes mask it, but sometimes can actually make it worse.

This is something I really pay attention to in speaker design, and a lot else as well. Designing a really good speaker is not as simple as it looks.

 

[dcookatx]

Thanks, TLS Guy--I really appreciate your perspective. Your caution around over-treating rooms and your emphasis on speaker quality are both points I genuinely agree with. In fact, selecting my speakers was my single most important decision, which is why I chose Perlisten. They hit the key criteria Dr. Floyd Toole outlined in his research: flat on-axis response, smooth and uniform off-axis dispersion, and low distortion--everything you want in a reference speaker.

Where our views diverge a bit is the idea of starting with a completely untreated room. While I understand the appeal of hearing the space “as is” before treating, my initial REW measurements--taken before installing the Perlistens--showed reverberation times around 1.5 seconds. That’s way outside the ballpark of the 0.3 to 0.6 seconds typically recommended for small home theaters. Even the best speakers can’t overcome certain room-induced issues like modal ringing or excessive early reflections. Research and blind tests consistently show that thoughtful acoustic treatment--especially broadband bass traps and reflection control--tend to improve imaging, clarity, and tonality in these spaces.

That said, I totally respect the idea of learning by hearing. So in that spirit, I’m actually going to follow through with your suggestion. Once construction is complete, I plan to take full-room measurements in an untreated state, and then incrementally add treatments while documenting the data and attempting A/B listening tests. It might take me a while (and I’ll have to bribe a few friends into participating), but I’ll report back with what I find.

 

[TLS Guy]

Thanks, TLS Guy--I really appreciate your perspective. Your caution around over-treating rooms and your emphasis on speaker quality are both points I genuinely agree with. In fact, selecting my speakers was my single most important decision, which is why I chose Perlisten. They hit the key criteria Dr. Floyd Toole outlined in his research: flat on-axis response, smooth and uniform off-axis dispersion, and low distortion--everything you want in a reference speaker.

Where our views diverge a bit is the idea of starting with a completely untreated room. While I understand the appeal of hearing the space “as is” before treating, my initial REW measurements--taken before installing the Perlistens--showed reverberation times around 1.5 seconds. That’s way outside the ballpark of the 0.3 to 0.6 seconds typically recommended for small home theaters. Even the best speakers can’t overcome certain room-induced issues like modal ringing or excessive early reflections. Research and blind tests consistently show that thoughtful acoustic treatment--especially broadband bass traps and reflection control--tend to improve imaging, clarity, and tonality in these spaces.

That said, I totally respect the idea of learning by hearing. So in that spirit, I’m actually going to follow through with your suggestion. Once construction is complete, I plan to take full-room measurements in an untreated state, and then incrementally add treatments while documenting the data and attempting A/B listening tests. It might take me a while (and I’ll have to bribe a few friends into participating), but I’ll report back with what I find.

The biggest issue is that you don't know where to put them. In other words you have to hear the room first. In general the front of the room round the speakers is not the problem, but the opposite end of the room. I do think the live end/dead end theory has merit. I certainly have done that and shelving on the back wall is the treatment.

My major point is that unless you hear the finished room with equipment installed and furnished you don't know what to treat. Any guesses and theory are usually out of the window fast. As I found out even a room with a pronounced and long delayed echo can sound good. That came as a huge surprise to me. Every conceivable theory would have said that you can't put a sound system there. But theory was wrong and the room sounded really good.

This was the room.

The lower windows in the picture below, were right opposite the speakers.

You would never have predicted that room would sound wonderful, but it did! There was no rule it didn't break!

 

[dcookatx]

The biggest issue is that you don't know where to put them. In other words you have to hear the room first. In general the front of the room round the speakers is not the problem, but the opposite end of the room. I do think the live end/dead end theory has merit. I certainly have done that and shelving on the back wall is the treatment.

My major point is that unless you hear the finished room with equipment installed and furnished you don't know what to treat. Any guesses and theory are usually out of the window fast. As I found out even a room with a pronounced and long delayed echo can sound good. That came as a huge surprise to me. Every conceivable theory would have said that you can't put a sound system there. But theory was wrong and the room sounded really good.

This was the room.

The lower windows in the picture below, were right opposite the speakers.

You would never have predicted that room would sound wonderful, but it did! There was no rule it didn't break!

I completely agree with your point about not knowing where or how to treat a room until you've actually heard it finished, with equipment and furnishings in place. That makes total sense, especially for more open-concept or multipurpose spaces like the one you shared. Those kinds of rooms naturally include elements like blinds, rugs, bookshelves, and pillows that already contribute some level of absorption and diffusion. In a space like that, your "listen first" approach is absolutely the right call.

In my case, I’ve been thinking from the standpoint of a purpose-built, rectangular dedicated room--basically a blank slate with no furnishings beyond the seating. No shelves, no decor, and the gear rack is in a separate room. So my mindset was more aligned with starting from an intentionally untreated box and knowing I’d need to introduce some treatment just to get it into a reasonable baseline. But I can definitely see where we’re both coming from, depending on the context of the space.

 

[TLS Guy]

I completely agree with your point about not knowing where or how to treat a room until you've actually heard it finished, with equipment and furnishings in place. That makes total sense, especially for more open-concept or multipurpose spaces like the one you shared. Those kinds of rooms naturally include elements like blinds, rugs, bookshelves, and pillows that already contribute some level of absorption and diffusion. In a space like that, your "listen first" approach is absolutely the right call.

In my case, I’ve been thinking from the standpoint of a purpose-built, rectangular dedicated room--basically a blank slate with no furnishings beyond the seating. No shelves, no decor, and the gear rack is in a separate room. So my mindset was more aligned with starting from an intentionally untreated box and knowing I’d need to introduce some treatment just to get it into a reasonable baseline. But I can definitely see where we’re both coming from, depending on the context of the space.

I would definitely not treat the room before you listen to it. It may be just want you want. If not then you will know whether your treatments are making it better or worse. I think there is more bunk spouted about room treatments than in other topic on audio.

 

[TLS Guy]

I completely agree with your point about not knowing where or how to treat a room until you've actually heard it finished, with equipment and furnishings in place. That makes total sense, especially for more open-concept or multipurpose spaces like the one you shared. Those kinds of rooms naturally include elements like blinds, rugs, bookshelves, and pillows that already contribute some level of absorption and diffusion. In a space like that, your "listen first" approach is absolutely the right call.

In my case, I’ve been thinking from the standpoint of a purpose-built, rectangular dedicated room--basically a blank slate with no furnishings beyond the seating. No shelves, no decor, and the gear rack is in a separate room. So my mindset was more aligned with starting from an intentionally untreated box and knowing I’d need to introduce some treatment just to get it into a reasonable baseline. But I can definitely see where we’re both coming from, depending on the context of the space.

Gear in a separate room is not handy at all.