pupupuchi28
Active Member
The problem is not with the sound passing the floors below the HT room, but it is the reflection that will bounce inside the room, from the floor.
Journey from Room to Home Theater with DIY Acoustics
- Thread starter aloklala
- Start date
The problem is not with the sound passing the floors below the HT room, but it is the reflection that will bounce inside the room, from the floor.
If planning a wood pillar, then rather make it as a bass trap cum diffuser. Build a wood frame, put thick rock wool at top and bottom, and diffuser in between. If you plan to do a solid wood pillar, then stay away from it. It will do more harm than good.
Or you can use it to house the side surround speaker (in case you are doing 7 channel surround). That way it will be invisible. You can have similar columns at back for housing back surround speakers. Just a suggestion.
As for flat surface, once you add the room treatments, the walls are not flat anymore. But you can make the creative use of those pillars.
One important question - where do you plan to keep your equipment rack? near the screen in front?
aloklala
Active Member
I am doing a 5.1 and was not planning to hide the surround speakers.
I was planning to not have hollow or solid pillars but kind of a horizontal T with the bottom end sticking to the wall and the top of the T facing towards the room. This portion would be polished later. In the space between I was thinking of having my LED lights which will be hidden from direct view.
I will try to put a diagram of this later.
What kind of diffusers and bass traps should I use in this room? Can I make the step a big bass trap?
I am planning to put the Equipment below the screen and plan to get a wooden rack built for it. Another thought which is still a 20% probability is to build it behind the room by taking a part of the balcony in the form of a window into the room. My wife is against this option so most probably it will not fly.
I was planning to not have hollow or solid pillars but kind of a horizontal T with the bottom end sticking to the wall and the top of the T facing towards the room. This portion would be polished later. In the space between I was thinking of having my LED lights which will be hidden from direct view.
I will try to put a diagram of this later.
What kind of diffusers and bass traps should I use in this room? Can I make the step a big bass trap?
I am planning to put the Equipment below the screen and plan to get a wooden rack built for it. Another thought which is still a 20% probability is to build it behind the room by taking a part of the balcony in the form of a window into the room. My wife is against this option so most probably it will not fly.
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aloklala
Active Member
The glass wool and tissue to wrap it before putting into the panel arrived today. Some pics of the same are given below.
The glass wool is Twiga A grade 48 Kg/m3, 50 mm think, 900 mm x 600 mm pre-cut sheets.
The Tissue is Twiga A grade 40 gm/m2.
The glass wool is Twiga A grade 48 Kg/m3, 50 mm think, 900 mm x 600 mm pre-cut sheets.
The Tissue is Twiga A grade 40 gm/m2.
Attachments
yeah, that would be better. its hard to visualize.
You need bass traps for subwoofer. Those usually go in the corners of the room, where two surfaces meet each other. Check some threads here and at google to find more info.
for main speakers, if you want to treat, there is a simle mirror test to determine the reflection points. Have a friend sit in the listening position, and then you, holding a small mirror in hand (flat, facing the room). Start from the back of the room on the left side of the wall. Start walking slowly towards the front of the room. At some point, your friend will see the reflection of right speaker in the mirror. Mark that position. You would want to put an absorber here. That will take care of the reflection of the right speaker on the left wall. Keep walking slowly towards the front and next your friend will see is the reflection of center speaker. We will talk about this later. Keep going and your friend will the reflection of left speaker. Now, you have two choices here - You can put absorber, but it will make the room quite dead. Instead, if you put diffuser here, it will diffuse the sound and a straight reflection will not occur coming from there and won't interfere as much coming from the left speaker.
Repeat the above with the right wall. This way, you will have taken care of the left and right speaker reflections and made sure that right speaker sound is coming from right only and vice-a-versa.
About center speaker - whether to treat with absorber or diffuser is your choice. You can even leave it alone because, if the center is exactly in the center, then the reflections from left and right will be same and pretty much cancel each other. If the room is not square and you don't like the sound, then measure and decide.
The above will get you pretty much covered from the audio wise. You can offcourse, get the measuring tool out and measure the room response to do more tweaks.
I prefer equipment rack in the back or away from viewing area. No distractions of blinking lights during watching the movie. When the room gets dark, those lights seem very bright.
But ultimately, its your choice.
aloklala
Active Member
Manoj,
Your suggestions are valuable and I will definately plan to incorporate as much of them as possible.
I am planning to have the 2" glasswool on all walls. Wouldn't they act as Absirbers or do we need something special for that?
My left and right speakers would be in perfect symetry and the Center channel will be in the exact center of the room. Do i still need treatments for them?
What kind of diffusers can be hidden behind the wall? Less than 2 inch thickness?
Your suggestions are valuable and I will definately plan to incorporate as much of them as possible.
I am planning to have the 2" glasswool on all walls. Wouldn't they act as Absirbers or do we need something special for that?
My left and right speakers would be in perfect symetry and the Center channel will be in the exact center of the room. Do i still need treatments for them?
What kind of diffusers can be hidden behind the wall? Less than 2 inch thickness?
pupupuchi28
Active Member
@Aloklala : my understanding of diffusers says, they are to be placed in direct contact with the sound waves, for it to diffuse. They are not to be placed behind walls. They won't work.
I guess what manoj mentioned is for example 8feet tall pillar put bass absorbers in the bottom 2 feet and the top two feet and a diffuser in the mid 4 feet. Not a layer of absorber > diffuser > absorber one on another.
I guess what manoj mentioned is for example 8feet tall pillar put bass absorbers in the bottom 2 feet and the top two feet and a diffuser in the mid 4 feet. Not a layer of absorber > diffuser > absorber one on another.
aloklala
Active Member
@pupupuchi28: I was thinking of putting it behind a single cloth and not behind the wall. I will do some more research on the net regarding diffusers and then post my thoughts again.
In the meantime does anyone any good shop in NCR where I can buy useful diffusers which can also act as decoration pieces in my HT?
I am also working on creating a plan using Google Sketchup 8 but am not able to make any significant progress.
Also a big setback in the whole HT project - My favourite and knowledgable carpenter is not coming to start the project
I am trying my best to convince him but seems he is busy in something in his house in his village! Will let you know as soon as I am able to get an alternate carpenter or get him to work.
In the meantime does anyone any good shop in NCR where I can buy useful diffusers which can also act as decoration pieces in my HT?
I am also working on creating a plan using Google Sketchup 8 but am not able to make any significant progress.
Also a big setback in the whole HT project - My favourite and knowledgable carpenter is not coming to start the project
I am trying my best to convince him but seems he is busy in something in his house in his village! Will let you know as soon as I am able to get an alternate carpenter or get him to work.
Alok,
You will need at least 4" thick absorber, to absorb about 84% down at 125 Hz. I think that's good enough for main speakers, assuming you are crossing over to sub at 80Hz. If you can go more thick, then it will better but depends on how much space you got there. 6" will absorb 119%.
For bass traps, you will need more thickness, and I think it can be accommodate because these go in the corners. But for that, I would suggest you measure the room response at various frequencies for the sub.
You will need at least 4" thick absorber, to absorb about 84% down at 125 Hz. I think that's good enough for main speakers, assuming you are crossing over to sub at 80Hz. If you can go more thick, then it will better but depends on how much space you got there. 6" will absorb 119%.
For bass traps, you will need more thickness, and I think it can be accommodate because these go in the corners. But for that, I would suggest you measure the room response at various frequencies for the sub.
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aloklala
Active Member
Not much progress has been made on this project since 16th Jan as I was very busy in office and carpenters are still missing
The cloth factory has called me to tell that the cloth for walls and recliners is ready. I will get that next Friday as also order the recliners from a very good Furniture shop in Saharanpur (UP). He is an expert in making solid wood Furniture and usually gives a verbal warranty of 50 years on his stuff! (Except mechanical parts)
My projector and most cables and glasses will reach India today. Will post pictures of those on Sunday.
I am still confused on the screen material.
Any suggestions on HTPC hardware componets would be helpful.
Thanks for all the support till date,
Alok
The cloth factory has called me to tell that the cloth for walls and recliners is ready. I will get that next Friday as also order the recliners from a very good Furniture shop in Saharanpur (UP). He is an expert in making solid wood Furniture and usually gives a verbal warranty of 50 years on his stuff! (Except mechanical parts)
My projector and most cables and glasses will reach India today. Will post pictures of those on Sunday.
I am still confused on the screen material.
Any suggestions on HTPC hardware componets would be helpful.
Thanks for all the support till date,
Alok
Alok,
I bought the Epson 3010 projector this week, testing it for 3D. One thing I would like to mention to you. That projector is freaking bright. I am watching it on 11.5 ft wide, 16:9 (158" diagonal) and its still very bright in our theater room. Granted, its a new projector and the lamp will fade after first 100 hrs or so, but I think it's still VERY bright given the huge screen size.
Because your screen size is smaller, I would suggest a gray screen. You need to judge the brightness of that projector in your room. Hang a thick, white cloth and see the brightness before you invest in the screen. That should give you some idea.
I bought the Epson 3010 projector this week, testing it for 3D. One thing I would like to mention to you. That projector is freaking bright. I am watching it on 11.5 ft wide, 16:9 (158" diagonal) and its still very bright in our theater room. Granted, its a new projector and the lamp will fade after first 100 hrs or so, but I think it's still VERY bright given the huge screen size.
Because your screen size is smaller, I would suggest a gray screen. You need to judge the brightness of that projector in your room. Hang a thick, white cloth and see the brightness before you invest in the screen. That should give you some idea.
aloklala
Active Member
Thanks Manoj! I will fisrt test the projector on my normal wall on Sunday and then decide on the screen. Unfortunately the availability of a Grey screen is very limited and so it may become difficult to get it. Some other suggestions of Internal Flex material etc. also came on this forum but I am not able to find a place where I can look at it before buying.
Gijo George
Active Member
Are you open to DIYing screen. Can you import the screen fabric. If so the following vendor seem to enjoy good reputation among DIY screen owners.
Buy Blackout Cloth
Another good option would be painting a screen. Getting an MDF sheet to suit your size would be a good option. It should be pretty simple to make a frame for the above. And if you do decide to go for paint colour should not be an issue. If your interested in the above I could esquire with a friend who has done the above painted screen and give details.
Gijo
aloklala
Active Member
I am highly inclining towards the DIY option with Blackout cloth material from this vendor. Have asked him if he has Grey material also in 9x5.
DIY - Fresh Room - Party - Lights
Alok Bhai,
It is nice to know that you travelled all the way to Panipat, this is among the power of DIY to source quality material at much lower price then the market rate. It would be rare that a professional would make such a effort to go Panipat.
The further way to keep the room fresh is to avoid completely food & drinks in theater due to spill factor, after all these can be had in other portions of the house by taking small a interval as we do in a movie hall.
About party in a home theater it is likely not going to be viable, i will try to explain my point of view based on practical experience.
We can take a example that room length is 17 feet, the problem is that after gadgets + recliners and sofas etc are placed, the open space will not be over 8 feet and in this much place to maneuver 6 & more guests in a fragile room is very tough.
Further you will have to shift sofa to a another point of the room and this could be fragile for gadgets and walled fabric. Their will be scope of people leaning or keeping hand on the fabric wall, this effects the firmness of fabric in long run.
There will also be a possibility of tower speaker falling if one is standing too near to it because in course of casual discussions he may move backwards without realizing the speaker.
Furthermore there will be good scope that some eatables or drinks could spill on carpet, and this is going to be quite bad in maintenance of carpet in long run. The people who will attend the party, mostly their respective children too will come along and what this can mean to the room is any one's guess.
In view to these and other factors, you will always have to be on guard to protect the safety of your respective room. In other words to have a party in living room is always with ease and decent but not in a environment of dedicated private theatre.
I need to assure you that a foot light on step will be any day better and unique laced with a actual theater feel.
Indeed LED light will be good but on right side of raised area, facing the wall. These type of lights can be seen in video link of my "Mini Theatre".
I hope this writing helps.
V.
Alok Bhai,
It is nice to know that you travelled all the way to Panipat, this is among the power of DIY to source quality material at much lower price then the market rate. It would be rare that a professional would make such a effort to go Panipat.
The further way to keep the room fresh is to avoid completely food & drinks in theater due to spill factor, after all these can be had in other portions of the house by taking small a interval as we do in a movie hall.
About party in a home theater it is likely not going to be viable, i will try to explain my point of view based on practical experience.
We can take a example that room length is 17 feet, the problem is that after gadgets + recliners and sofas etc are placed, the open space will not be over 8 feet and in this much place to maneuver 6 & more guests in a fragile room is very tough.
Further you will have to shift sofa to a another point of the room and this could be fragile for gadgets and walled fabric. Their will be scope of people leaning or keeping hand on the fabric wall, this effects the firmness of fabric in long run.
There will also be a possibility of tower speaker falling if one is standing too near to it because in course of casual discussions he may move backwards without realizing the speaker.
Furthermore there will be good scope that some eatables or drinks could spill on carpet, and this is going to be quite bad in maintenance of carpet in long run. The people who will attend the party, mostly their respective children too will come along and what this can mean to the room is any one's guess.
In view to these and other factors, you will always have to be on guard to protect the safety of your respective room. In other words to have a party in living room is always with ease and decent but not in a environment of dedicated private theatre.
I need to assure you that a foot light on step will be any day better and unique laced with a actual theater feel.
Indeed LED light will be good but on right side of raised area, facing the wall. These type of lights can be seen in video link of my "Mini Theatre".
I hope this writing helps.
V.
Thanks everyone for the very useful suggestions. I could not reply yesterday as I went to Panipat (Haryana) go buy carpets and cloth for walls, recliners etc. I know a few factory owners in Panipat and so was able to the the cloth and carpets at approximately one third the market price.
3. I am not planning to put an exhaust in this room. I will both the balcony and room doors a few times every week for a few minutes to more than and hour on weekends for keeping the room fresh. My wife will help me in this
6. I will not have a rough party in this room. It will be decent parties only and am not expecting people to fall on the equipment during this party. I have had such parties in my house in the past and they are pretty decent.
19. I am planning to put LED lights in the step. There will be a single step 6 inch high 3 feet long across the breath of the room.
20. I am planning to put a 2 seater sofa and boos chair on the step and 3 recliners in the front row. Any more visitors will have to sit in chairs we will bring from outside or on the carpet
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aloklala
Active Member
Re: Cloth
I did not understand your question completely but if you are asking if the fabric lets air pass thorugh then the answer is Yes. It is a washable fabric.
I did not understand your question completely but if you are asking if the fabric lets air pass thorugh then the answer is Yes. It is a washable fabric.
aloklala
Active Member
Which model/make of UPS have you put behind the projector? I have been suggested APC SUA750I (price unknown) or SUA1000I (13K) but this is not easy to find and is very costly. I need to buy a UPS urgently as I do not want to run without one even on day one for testing tomorrow.
aloklala
Active Member
Re: DIY - Fresh Room - Party - Lights
Eating in HT room is a complete No-No.
Partying in HT room has now been banned after reading your comments (in our rulebook)
Foot Light on step instead of LED was something I was also thinking and will go with this idea only now. I also have a good light for that
LED on right side of step I will decide after my plan is ready. (Should be ready in a week)
Thanks a lot for all your suggestions and looking at my plan in such detail. Will be looking forward to constant support from you and other forum members.
Eating in HT room is a complete No-No.
Partying in HT room has now been banned after reading your comments (in our rulebook)
Foot Light on step instead of LED was something I was also thinking and will go with this idea only now. I also have a good light for that
LED on right side of step I will decide after my plan is ready. (Should be ready in a week)
Thanks a lot for all your suggestions and looking at my plan in such detail. Will be looking forward to constant support from you and other forum members.
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