Building my dad's dream home theater. A 15 year old dream.

[mAYs]

Hello world,

I am very new to this forum. Infact, this is my first post. So, noob alert. Finding this forum was like finding oasis in hot desert. Please forgive me if there are any mistakes.


About 15 years ago, my dad had been to an exhibition in Mangalore. There was a small home theater stall. My dad asked for a demo. They played an action part from Terminator (I have no clue which series) with almost full volume. My dad was so thrilled and he decided one day he would build a dedicated home theater in his house. Unfortunately, that dream never came true until now.

Our house is under a complete renovation (much needed after 20 years). There is a garage that connects to the house from outside. He wants to convert this room to dedicated HT.






The iron door would be removed and a concrete wall would be built. The floor is 1'6" lower to the house house level. This would be raised by about 10" from the ground with soil and concrete layers. All the wires would basically run from the ground on a PVC pipe. Each channel wiring would run via its dedicated pipe. Currently leaving wiring options for 7.2.4 setup. ceiling would be covered with POP. 2 windows in the room would be closed from the inside. Planning to shove lots of glasswool and seal the entire window with plywood. Taking extra precaution to seal the window.


Dimensions of the room after all the above mentioned basic work would be 19' x 11'10" x 8' (LBH).


I am here to seek advice from all you experts in here. I have been doing some research on the internet with regards to speakers, screen, screen size, acoustics etc etc. Please let me know if the things selected by me or if I am doing anything wrong.

• screen size - fixed 100" diagonally with 2" black border. Minimal gain ratio and preferably grayish screen. I have no idea from which brand to select from or where to get one from. We have carpenters already working here so a DIY screen is okay.

• No idea on what projector to select. So need your help big time. (Bang for buck types) If the quality is real good wouldn't mind stretching out till 2lakh.

• I have researched a few topics on acoustics and know where to place them. However, I am not sure of the material type to select. Glasswool according to some people is a big no no due to its health haphazardness. I've heard a few people talk about some kind of wood panels. Any leads on this would be of great help.

• There are different types of speaker cables out there. I am totally confused what to use. Is it better to buy 4 wire bundle(I mean 4 small copper wire inside a thick bundle) or 2 wire bundle is good enough?

• What type of HDMI cable should I get? Are hdcp 2.2 backward compatible? Is it better to get the latest spec HDMI to futureproof the HT? Worth it?

Now finally sound system. Half of you reading this post would facepalm now. My dad had been to Dubai recently and one of our relative told Bose systems are awesome and he bought a 5.1 bose lifestyle 535 series. I had big plans for sound system but right now my hands are tied. Good thing is, there was a sale going on and he got the system for 1.93L. Currently, the same model is being sold at 2.6L in India. Do you think there is any scope for me to sell this without incurring any loss?


If this thing gets sold, I am hoping to buy the below listed.

• Marantz 5010.

• Wharfedale diamond 230 Floorstanding speakers - a pair.

• Wharfedale 10.DFS for rear - a pair.

• SVS SB-2000 - 1 unit.

• Ceiling speakers are not yet decided. Wharfedale ceiling speakers seemed a little too expensive. Any other alternatives?

I would soon be putting ads for the Bose system on OLX, eBay and Quickr. Hope it gets sold. Keeping my fingers crossed. Any help related to anything would be greatly appreciated. :yahoo:

 

[mandeep]

Hello world,

I am very new to this forum. Infact, this is my first post. So, noob alert. Finding this forum was like finding oasis in hot desert. Please forgive me if there are any mistakes.


About 15 years ago, my dad had been to an exhibition in Mangalore. There was a small home theater stall. My dad asked for a demo. They played an action part from Terminator (I have no clue which series) with almost full volume. My dad was so thrilled and he decided one day he would build a dedicated home theater in his house. Unfortunately, that dream never came true until now.

Our house is under a complete renovation (much needed after 20 years). There is a garage that connects to the house from outside. He wants to convert this room to dedicated HT.

View attachment 20405
View attachment 20406
View attachment 20407


The iron door would be removed and a concrete wall would be built. The floor is 1'6" lower to the house house level. This would be raised by about 10" from the ground with soil and concrete layers. All the wires would basically run from the ground on a PVC pipe. Each channel wiring would run via its dedicated pipe. Currently leaving wiring options for 7.2.4 setup. ceiling would be covered with POP. 2 windows in the room would be closed from the inside. Planning to shove lots of glasswool and seal the entire window with plywood. Taking extra precaution to seal the window.


Dimensions of the room after all the above mentioned basic work would be 19' x 11'10" x 8' (LBH).


I am here to seek advice from all you experts in here. I have been doing some research on the internet with regards to speakers, screen, screen size, acoustics etc etc. Please let me know if the things selected by me or if I am doing anything wrong.

• screen size - fixed 100" diagonally with 2" black border. Minimal gain ratio and preferably grayish screen. I have no idea from which brand to select from or where to get one from. We have carpenters already working here so a DIY screen is okay.

• No idea on what projector to select. So need your help big time. (Bang for buck types) If the quality is real good wouldn't mind stretching out till 2lakh.

• I have researched a few topics on acoustics and know where to place them. However, I am not sure of the material type to select. Glasswool according to some people is a big no no due to its health haphazardness. I've heard a few people talk about some kind of wood panels. Any leads on this would be of great help.

• There are different types of speaker cables out there. I am totally confused what to use. Is it better to buy 4 wire bundle(I mean 4 small copper wire inside a thick bundle) or 2 wire bundle is good enough?

• What type of HDMI cable should I get? Are hdcp 2.2 backward compatible? Is it better to get the latest spec HDMI to futureproof the HT? Worth it?

Now finally sound system. Half of you reading this post would facepalm now. My dad had been to Dubai recently and one of our relative told Bose systems are awesome and he bought a 5.1 bose lifestyle 535 series. I had big plans for sound system but right now my hands are tied. Good thing is, there was a sale going on and he got the system for 1.93L. Currently, the same model is being sold at 2.6L in India. Do you think there is any scope for me to sell this without incurring any loss?


If this thing gets sold, I am hoping to buy the below listed.

• Marantz 5010.

• Wharfedale diamond 230 Floorstanding speakers - a pair.

• Wharfedale 10.DFS for rear - a pair.

• SVS SB-2000 - 1 unit.

• Ceiling speakers are not yet decided. Wharfedale ceiling speakers seemed a little too expensive. Any other alternatives?

I would soon be putting ads for the Bose system on OLX, eBay and Quickr. Hope it gets sold. Keeping my fingers crossed. Any help related to anything would be greatly appreciated. :yahoo:

Welcome to the Forum. The HT components you selected are good enough.
Projector is a somewhat risky component, take good care by investing in an Online UPS.

One More simple Guide line about HT components is to prefer brands with good after sales service in your local city.

The size of your room is good acoustically. Try to sort out Door/windows rattling issues beforehand. If you can control this part you have achieved a major portion of a good acoustic room.

A 16 gauge ,two core speaker wire is good enough.

HDCP 2.2 is nothing to worry about its compatible.

Get yourself a good HTPC with graphic card like Nvidia GTX 960 which have HDMI 2.0 and get Cyberlink Powerdvd 15 for best of the best playback of movie files.

and Good luck with the sale of your Bose system

 

[sam9s]

I would not agree on whrafs as Movie speakers. I would say something in lines of Dali or Polk. Same with AVR, I would say Yamaha, DENON over marantz specifically for Movies.
With almost 12' as your room width and 19' as length, I would say go with atleast 120" screen. My HT room width is also 12' and I managed to put 130" screen

 

[sash]

1. Marantz 5010 is a great receiver and possibly the best value right now.
2. For speakers audition more. If your usage is mostly movies consider Klipsch, Polk etc too. Go to profx, cinebels, DNI, HTStore.in etc. Consider high sensitive speakers.
3. I like your choice of SVS SB 2000
4. For woodwool boards, talk to Vinardax - he's on Kanakapura road, not very far from Metro. On phone he sounds kinda not interested but is a great guy in person. If you ask my experience, it may be best to give the interiors to professionals - they do a pretty good job. Talk to vinardax, DNI and profx. Profx has an external vendor who does their demo room and does a pretty good job.
5. For speaker wires, i use 14 awg wires from Monoprice that i got from Amazon US. Its great.

 

[jainamit]

ported bass sub woofer (svs pb) is more favourable for movies

 

[mAYs]

Welcome to the Forum. The HT components you selected are good enough.
Projector is a somewhat risky component, take good care by investing in an Online UPS.

One More simple Guide line about HT components is to prefer brands with good after sales service in your local city.

The size of your room is good acoustically. Try to sort out Door/windows rattling issues beforehand. If you can control this part you have achieved a major portion of a good acoustic room.

A 16 gauge ,two core speaker wire is good enough.

HDCP 2.2 is nothing to worry about its compatible.

Get yourself a good HTPC with graphic card like Nvidia GTX 960 which have HDMI 2.0 and get Cyberlink Powerdvd 15 for best of the best playback of movie files.

and Good luck with the sale of your Bose system

Thanks mate.

• Yes I've thought about the UPS. We have a 2KW home UPS connected to the entire house except for the AH lines. I was thinking this would be enough. If this runs out of juice, generator would automatically kickin(although there would be a gap of 30 secs). Do I need to get one more dedicated for the HT?

• I have not yet decided which projectors to buy. I'll definitely keep this in mind.

• Windows would be completely sealed. However, I am worried about the door. I am planning to make a second door with wooden frame and good sound absorbing panels held in them. Yet to decide. Should make no sound escapes the room.

• 16 gauge wire? does that specify the thickness of the wire? can you share some links if possible? Found some DAC wires on HiFi mart. Kind of looks expensive for wires. Quality of sound differs when different brand wires are used? HDMI cable found something on Sam's thread. Have bookmarked it.

• By HTPC you mean home theatre PC? if so, I have an ageing Alienware M17XR3 that I will retire to this home theater. I think that is more then enough. Have to get a wireless Keyboard and mouse. Also, planning to get an Xbox one and skipping of buying Blueray player. Blueray discs can be played on Xbox right?

• I am defnitely going to need that. Have to post ads soon..

 

[mAYs]

I would not agree on whrafs as Movie speakers. I would say something in lines of Dali or Polk. Same with AVR, I would say Yamaha, DENON over marantz specifically for Movies.
With almost 12' as your room width and 19' as length, I would say go with atleast 120" screen. My HT room width is also 12' and I managed to put 130" screen

Hi sam9s,

I've been one of those silent readers of your thread. Your HT looks amazing. Kudos dude.:clapping::clapping: Lot of info there. I am a big fan of your wall carpet. Wondering if I can get that done too.:indifferent14:

First I have to sell the bose system. If that happens I will start digging about the speakers. Thanks for the headsup. Any suggestions are welcome.

Ooh yea one more thing I wanted to ask you on your thread was, isn't the screen size too big for the room? How far is your viewing distance from the screen? I need to have 2 rows. The first seating in my project would be 11'.
I read somewhere that the viewing distance is calculated (screen size)*1.5..

I am worried that 100" screen is big for the room.

 

[mAYs]

1. Marantz 5010 is a great receiver and possibly the best value right now.
2. For speakers audition more. If your usage is mostly movies consider Klipsch, Polk etc too. Go to profx, cinebels, DNI, HTStore.in etc. Consider high sensitive speakers.
3. I like your choice of SVS SB 2000
4. For woodwool boards, talk to Vinardax - he's on Kanakapura road, not very far from Metro. On phone he sounds kinda not interested but is a great guy in person. If you ask my experience, it may be best to give the interiors to professionals - they do a pretty good job. Talk to vinardax, DNI and profx. Profx has an external vendor who does their demo room and does a pretty good job.
5. For speaker wires, i use 14 awg wires from Monoprice that i got from Amazon US. Its great.

Hey Sash,

Thanks for the reply.

Like I said in my earlier post my biggest worry as of now is to sell the bose speakers. Wondering if there is any other way apart from putting on Olx and such platform. Its brand new.:sad::sad:

I had been to DNI. They have pretty good HT setups. Their HT rooms look classy and neatly done. Great to know someone who knows the guy that constructed them. Could you PM his number? I have a very simple design in mind. Roofing I want it to be done in the below pic. Walls I was thinking if I can paste carpet like how sam9s did to his. And in reflection points a long thick column of acoustic panels..


Does Amazon US ship to US? Can you post the link please?

 

[mAYs]

Guys, I forgot to ask one more thing. I am in need of a ceiling mount for the projector very urgently. Any Good one's that you guys may know of? The POP guys will start their work soon. Will have to get the ceiling mount asap. Also, like I said earlier, I have not yet closed in on the projector. How do I know where to mount it??

 

[sash]

I got this via someone returning from US
http://www.amazon.com/Monoprice-100-Feet-High-Purity-Oxygen-Free-Speaker/dp/B001UNLRGC
Looks like they ship to India too. With wires, lower the gauge, thicker it is.
As for ceiling mount, it may be best to narrow down your projector choice and then go for the mount. I have tried some of these universal mounts and they haven't worked satisfactorily for my projector. But if you are going to take a risk anyway, you can try these Ceiling & Wall-Mounts
As for interiors, do visit Vinardax. They have lot of different materials and are very reasonable. They have a factory behind Metro on Kanakapura road. VINARDAX - Home
I know the DNI dealer in Mysore and they have done some fantastic interior work and seemed very genuine. Spoken with Alex from DNI b'lore too - very reasonable man. Ditto with Profx - they hire some external vendor who's pretty good. At some point im planning to use them and tear down my diy acoustic treatment.

 

[mands]

1. Marantz 5010 is a great receiver and possibly the best value right now.

Does Marantz 5010 support the 7.2.4 confiuration that MAYs is looking for?

 

[unleash_me]

Check out M&K Sound.

 

[sash]

Does Marantz 5010 support the 7.2.4 confiuration that MAYs is looking for?

No, it doesn't

 

[sam9s]

Ooh yea one more thing I wanted to ask you on your thread was, isn't the screen size too big for the room? How far is your viewing distance from the screen? I need to have 2 rows. The first seating in my project would be 11'.
I read somewhere that the viewing distance is calculated (screen size)*1.5..

I am worried that 100" screen is big for the room.

well technically speaking, if we do the math, then for 130" screen with full hd the recommended THX viewing distance is 14.5. But with all the maths and permutation and combination, what I learnt was it is seriously a personal choice. Some article I dont remember said, pay attention when you go to a movie theater, or book a seat (assuming you have all rows at your disposal) what you usually choose... way back,.... somewhere in the middle ...or pretty close to the screen. Then deliberately try all 3 positions in the next few shows and see what you enjoy and I exactly did the same. To my surprised I enjoyed the movie a little further of the middle position of the theater, contrary to my belief that I would enjoy way back. This really helped me decide how big a screen I would like to go for. When I actually did a trial run with a cloth after the room was ready I felt I would enjoy 130" much more than 100" with my head placed at around 13.5'

Advantage with me was I decided with only one row ...... with two rows it becomes a bit difficult coz for front row it might become too close and for second ... too far

 

[sdurani]

screen size - fixed 100" diagonally with 2" black border.

For what viewing distance? Are you doing 2 rows or one?

 

[unleash_me]

Check out M&K Sound.

PS: Missed out to link the video in earlier.