Video Asylum

Posted by RAW (i) on July 18, 2001 at 13:23:51

In Reply to: Home Theater Building posted by Brian LaCroix on July 16, 2001 at 23:53:21:

I finished building my theater and it's way cool. I did a lot of reading and research as you. My room was not as big but there are things to consider. #1 DONT MAKE YOUR ROOM DEAD....Some people have gone over board with acoustic material on the walls. I have a combination of some carpet on the walls and diffusers. I placed the diffuesers at the first reflection for the front row (since that is where I primarily sit) and carpet placed at other areas. #2 SUB placement is important. To know the right spot, which may not be the corner, place the sub at the seated position and walk around the room until you find the best sound, that's where the sub belongs (you'll probably find more than one spot). #3 Control the lighting in the room. My walls are dark red (more like red wine, cabernet). #4 Get good carpet (I bought something called Burber Burber which is a tightly wovern carpet it's red with a pattern and I have some of it placed on the walls with trim around it). Note, there are a lot of nice dark colors other than BLACK, like reds, blues, greens... #5 When you build the platform, fill it up with insulation. #6 Consider bass traps for the corner of the rooms.

Also note, if you build the sub into a wall (like I did, built it into the front wall so it wasn't out), you'll want a front firing sub, not a down firing. I went the M&K.

Also, if you don't want to spend a ton for control lighting, check out smarthome.com. I purchased a 3 single button dimmer switch that can be controlled via remote (they're not expensive). Each switch can learn a different remote command and dim to achieve what ever effect you want by pressing the button on the wall or using your remote control.

Furthermore and critical is power. I have 3 circuit switches that I have added to the room. A 15amp for the lights and two 20amps for the equipment (I have four 2-channel amps plus the active sub).

One other thing, I know this is getting long but something else to think about, I added an outlet switch on the platform so I can plug into it a wired remote and the chairs that vibrate on command. You don't want to have wires running where someone will trip and fall.

Have fun building the room. I've seen somepeople build movable platforms, movable walls and even a movable ceiling where sand is added for accoustic purposes....these people are going to the extreme which I think is kinda of cool but not needed.

When everything is done, don't forget to get an SPL meter at radio shack when you calibrate the volume in the room to each speaker.