Renovating my Home Theater Room - Need your guidance

[smedhavi]

Hi,

I setup my first dedicated home theater in 2003. I kept upgrading the equipment over the years, but it is time now for a complete renovation. So I decided to take this as an opportunity and move the HT to a new room which is slightly bigger.

With some inspiration from santhol2, I decided to share my journey with you folks. Please share your thoughts as we move along, though I reverse my right on the final decision

Here are some basic facts to begin with....

Old HT room (2003 - 2010)

• 15'x11'
• Rectangular
• Two narrow windows with double glass shutters and vinyl padding
• Single row seating
• 90" 4x3 screen used for all aspect ratios
• Some non-obtrusive acoustic correction that worked well in that room

New HT room(under construction)

• 17'x16'
• With a curved wall on the rear end
• Windows: Same as above
• Double row seating. Curved rear row.
• The height is only 8', so no false ceiling or star lights
• 120" 16x9 screen

Equipment (I already have most of it)

• Sources: Panasonic BD30 Blu-ray player, NAD C542 CD player, Project Debut III Turntable+NAD PP2, Denon DRW-585 Cassette Deck, WD TV Live (about 10TB of HDD space in the house, so no storage issues)
• Amps: Denon AVR 2809, NAD C372 integrated, NAD C270 poweramps ( two of them )
• Speakers: Monitor Audio RS6, Definitive Technology Supercube II subwoofer
• Projector: Plus U5-111 to be replaced with Epson 8500UB/Panasonic PT-AE4000U, or better
• Equipment rack and media storage racks to be reused
• Planning to add some tactile transducers too
• Need to buy the 120" 16x9 screen
• Using Diakin Atom 1 Ton split AC in the old room. Planning to buy a Diakin 1.5 Ton split AC with just 28dB noise in low noise mode.

Thanks,
Sharad

 

[moktan]

Hi,




New HT room(under construction)


[*]With a curved wall on the rear end



Sharad

from what little i know, curved walls (presuming they are concave surfaces) are best avoided because they tend to focus energy..on the contrary the effort should be to attain a diffused sound field which immerse the listener in the sound..

 

[smedhavi]

from what little i know, curved walls (presuming they are concave surfaces) are best avoided because they tend to focus energy..on the contrary the effort should be to attain a diffused sound field which immerse the listener in the sound..

Yes moktan, you are right. Even I have read that, but this is more of an architectural requirement in my case. I am planning to use diffusion on the rear wall to counter some of that.

Thanks,
Sharad

 

[moktan]

how will you set them up...the most effective are supposed to be polycylindrical diffusers (which have convex surfaces)..by the way these have to be randomly arranged...regular structures diffract the sound, with different frequencies being affected in different ways, and that would of course not lead to the ideal of wide frequency diffusion..

 

[Sumit]

Sharad: I am not commenting about other things but please do not buy a 16X9 screen if you are into watching a lot of movies. Buy, an anamorphic screen and a suitable projector. You have not mentioned projector or tv in your post.

Cheers!

 

[smedhavi]

Sharad: I am not commenting about other things but please do not buy a 16X9 screen if you are into watching a lot of movies. Buy, an anamorphic screen and a suitable projector.

I would really want to do that, but did not find any native anamorphic projectors :sad: The only solution we have is the pseudo-anamorphic mode that the Panasonic PT-AE4000U provides, but the Epson 8500UB is brighter and better in many aspects. Anamorphic lenses are too expensive and may not work very well. Suggestions welcome.

You have not mentioned projector or tv in your post.
Cheers!

I did:
>>>>Projector: Plus U5-111 to be replaced with Epson 8500UB/Panasonic PT-AE4000U, or better

I do not need any TV in the HT room as I have enough large screen TVs in other areas of the house.

Regards,
Sharad

 

[santhosh]

Sharad, congrats on embarking on your new HT project.

Apart from what Moktan has mentioned abou the curved wall, few things come to my mind:

1) Dimensions: Not sure of the dimensions (after acoustics), but your current room height(8ft) and width(16ft) are multiples of each other. Ensuring that you don't have any dimensions that are the same or multiples of each other will help minimize standing wave problems. Since height is 8ft, try and reduce the width by 1 ft (after acoustics).
2) Try and avoid the windows if possible
3) Like Sumit has said already, go for anamorphic even if it is pseudo anamorphic. You have the width for a large anamorphic screen.

All the best for your new HT journey. Will be following your thread regularly:licklips:.

 

[santhosh]

Welcome to HFV Swish. Have a great time here!!

anamorphic screen a better choice i would suggest a RUNCO

And whats a RUNCO if I may ask?

 

[cmsajith]

Welcome to HFV Swish. Have a great time here!!



And whats a RUNCO if I may ask?

Runco is one of the pioneers in the professional cinema projectors for home and have the image processors for projecting in anamorphic format (they call it as CineWide w/ Autoscope technology). Most of their PJs are having a boxy design and I really like that design (looks more professional kinda). But they are really expensive.

 

[mridulgoel]

anamorphic screen a better choice i would suggest a RUNCO

Hey Mukesh

You finally joined in...

Welcome aboard...

 

[Sumit]

And whats a RUNCO if I may ask?

Santhosh, Runco projectors are a league apart. I guess you should check out their website just for kicks.
Runco International The Worlds Finest Home Theater Systems

Sharad: pseudo anamorphic is still very good. I dont see the point of going for 16:9 screen in todays date!

Infact I am contemplating for a anamorph screen and projector but I don't have spare cash.

 

[smedhavi]

Thanks for your inputs. Please keep them flowing in. I may not be replying to each one of them, but I am absorbing them like a sponge :licklips:

The mainstream RUNCO projectors cost $10K to $20K in the US! Not my cup of tea. They have a couple of lower end models (as per their standards), priced at half of that amount but those do not have the features we need. Whatever projector I buy now would need to be replaced in about three years time going by the way the technology is evolving. I would stick to something below $3K, that is around Rs 2.5L (or less) street price in India.

"The cost of an anamorphic lens and sled is typically $3000 - $6000 for projectors in this price range, in other words, often costs more than the projector"

As of today, I do not see any anamorphic options except the anamorphic emulation mode in Pana AE4000. Unfortunately this projector does not seem to have the lumens, black levels and sharpness I am looking for.
Ref: Compare Projectors - Home Cinema 6500UB vs. Panasonic PT-AE3000

I have a feeling that, we might get some native anamorphic projectors in the affordable range this fall (Oct/Nov 2010). I wonder if I would be able to hold myself till then. Otherwise, I will consider a 16x9 projector working on an anamorphic screen with black bars above and below the screen. It might be a challenge to get an anamorphic screen in India. Please let me know if anyone has procured one locally.

Thanks,
Sharad

 

[smedhavi]

Some updates:
As you might have guessed, I am converting my garage to a home theater and vacating the old HT room for the family.
Here are some pictures:

The loft gone; the steel still remains

A window going...

Both of them

Gone!

Here they are!

The loft goes completely

There was a steel rod on the floor as a parking bumper, that too is gone

More to come...

Thanks,
Sharad

 

[santhosh]

I would say, don't make a decision yet on the projector and screen format. Keep working on the other stuff, solutions are bound to surface. In the meanwhile, newer projectors(with native anamorphic) at lesser prices will be released. Also, eummagic and Jayad08 have made up their mind on anamorphic and are currently on a hunt for an anamorphic screen too, you can tag on to see where their search takes them.

Will you be doing Room acoustics? If so, what have you thought about?

EDIT: Thanks for sharing those detailed pics. Reminds me of my initial HT build dayshyeah:.

 

[eummagic]

Hi Sharad,

As on date I have shortlisted for Pana4000 (it may change if a native anamorphic proj launches), but definitely going for anamorphic curved acoustic transparent screen. Thanks to our valuable members who have given some contact nos. for the same. Also planning for schneider optics Cine Digitar anamorphic lens (new less expensive model launch by June 1st week) which I feel the best when compared to among prism type lens.

Iam not in hurry and would also suggest you to go slow & steady because due to anxiety we may lose some good deals or run short of ideas.

Bets of luck!

 

[manishk13]

Hi Sharad

What an amazing coincidence , I am also converting my garage which has a loft and windows. The problem seems to be that the wall next to the loft seems to be load bearing so it may not be possible to take down the loft (so the engineers say). Please PM and let me know if I can visit your place to check how you are proceeding in the initial stages with the civil work, to get some ideas. I visited Santosh and learnt a lot

Regards
Manish

 

[Sumit]

Hi Sharad,

Also planning for schneider optics Cine Digitar anamorphic lens (new less expensive model launch by June 1st week) which I feel the best when compared to among prism type lens.
Bets of luck!

Hey!! Are you talking abut the 1.33M lens by schneider optics? Well, the MSRP of this lens is 6,635$/-. This is no way cheap. Please clarify the model number.

Thanks.

 

[smedhavi]

Hi,

Thanks for all your inputs. Here are my thoughts as of now:

• Cannot raise the second row seats too much as the ceiling is at 8'. So I am considering dropping the floor by 7 inches on the front side. This would also take care of the frequency management to a good extent as per the node calculator
• Carpet the whole room
• Considering theater seating for the rear row and recliners for the first row
  
  [*]For the rear row
  

  [*]These look OK, but lack comfort: Auditorium Chairs - Theater - Monarch Ergonomics chairs, Workstation / Modular Furniture
  [*]These lazyboy seats look good but may be too expensive and big for the rear. Better fit for the front row. Matinee Sectional - Official La-Z-Boy Website
  [*]I am a bit worried about seats fixed to the floor, especially for the rear row as it would make vacuuming the carpet extremely difficult. Any thoughts or experiences?
  ​

  [*]For the front row I would temporarily put comfortable sofas, while I finalize on the recliners. So this not urgent for now.
  ​
• Would need some treatment for absorption at the first reflection points. Sound proofing is not a concern as I have enough trees around the house and no neighbors close by. http://www.soundzshoppe.com/pixelseries.htm sounds like an interesting option.
• The room would be used for movies as well as music (mostly vinyl in that room), so it is important to keep it pleasant and well lit with natural light when we need it that way. I have removed all the existing windows, but I would be moving two specially designed windows from the old HT room to the new one. These are narrow windows with double glass shutters, and were padded with a vinyl foam sheet. We would be opening these for fresh air when the room is not in use for movies.
• I am more of an 'audio equipment person' than a 'theater room person'. My wife likes lively looking rooms more than dark theaters. So together we prefer this kind of rooms to this
• Use the equipment, racks and media storage from the old room
• I would keep the speakers in the front rather than hidden behind the screen. As that positioning will compromise on the audio experience while listening to music, which is equally (if not more) important to me.

Regards,
Sharad

 

[subhash]

Home Entertainment Interiors

cud be of some help

 

[Sumit]

Cannot raise the second row seats too much as the ceiling is at 8'.

The ceiling height in my HT is 8'1". I have a raised second row seating. I think it is raised by 1'6". If you have two row seatings how can you plan without second row being raised?

Hope this helps.