Here goes. I am in the process of purchasing a home. My wife said I could use the basement for a home theatre.
This may take 6 months to a year to complete. The house needs some other renovations as well.
I have been reading online for about the past 6 months with limited audio knowledge before that. Initially I was looking at a HTIB, but soon read I could build much better for cheaper. (I would like to have to turn on as few components as possible)
With out going on too long the receiver I picked is the Anthem MRX 300. On 7.1 it has a 50 watt rms per channel output.
The speakers I want to use are the Mark Audio Alpair 10.2. I think I will use the MarKen10.
Wiring I will probably use cat5 cable or maybe the Dayton audio stuff. I don’t want to spend too much on this. The gauge I guess will be dependent on the length.
Room size is 26x 46. I will have to build an enclosure for the utilities that are on the 46 foot wall. I will not extend out more than 5 feet and the length is at this point undetermined. If anyone knows a free room design program I will design everything there.
The theatre will be at one end of the rectangle and there is a complete brick wall with fireplace at the other end.
I am going to do an 8 foot screen with acoustical fabric. The centre speaker will be behind the screen. I am thinking of building an acoustical wall out of fabric 1 foot or so out from the back wall with foam on the back wall.
I have read the best place for a subwoofer is in the centre of the room. There will be an 8 foot pool table behind the couch approximately in the centre. I was thinking of putting the subwoofer below it.
Subwoofer I am thinking of the Dayton Audio RSS390HF-4 15" Reference HF
Crown XLS 1000 DriveCore Series Power Amplifier. I want a low distortion sub with good output. I was originally thinking 18 inch but I don’t see much that is well reviewed in that size
I am planning on doing acoustical drywall for the ceiling and walls using green glue ect.
I am open to advice from anyone who has experience in this area.
This may take 6 months to a year to complete. The house needs some other renovations as well.I have been reading online for about the past 6 months with limited audio knowledge before that. Initially I was looking at a HTIB, but soon read I could build much better for cheaper. (I would like to have to turn on as few components as possible)
With out going on too long the receiver I picked is the Anthem MRX 300. On 7.1 it has a 50 watt rms per channel output.
The speakers I want to use are the Mark Audio Alpair 10.2. I think I will use the MarKen10.
Wiring I will probably use cat5 cable or maybe the Dayton audio stuff. I don’t want to spend too much on this. The gauge I guess will be dependent on the length.
Room size is 26x 46. I will have to build an enclosure for the utilities that are on the 46 foot wall. I will not extend out more than 5 feet and the length is at this point undetermined. If anyone knows a free room design program I will design everything there.
The theatre will be at one end of the rectangle and there is a complete brick wall with fireplace at the other end.
I am going to do an 8 foot screen with acoustical fabric. The centre speaker will be behind the screen. I am thinking of building an acoustical wall out of fabric 1 foot or so out from the back wall with foam on the back wall.
I have read the best place for a subwoofer is in the centre of the room. There will be an 8 foot pool table behind the couch approximately in the centre. I was thinking of putting the subwoofer below it.
Subwoofer I am thinking of the Dayton Audio RSS390HF-4 15" Reference HF
Crown XLS 1000 DriveCore Series Power Amplifier. I want a low distortion sub with good output. I was originally thinking 18 inch but I don’t see much that is well reviewed in that size
I am planning on doing acoustical drywall for the ceiling and walls using green glue ect.
I am open to advice from anyone who has experience in this area.
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The Goldwood 18's in H frames have gotten plenty of high praise as have the Rhythmik Servo woofers. Well worth considering, as is having more than just one. (I have 4 of the Goldwoods). And since as you say you have 6 months to a year I'd keep an eye on what Bob Brines is developing with his Alpair 7.3 FAST speakers since those have the highs that seem to get the most praise of all the Mark Audio drivers and should be able to reach real crescendo's if Bob reaches his design goals. I'm betting he will! Also using that cat 5 and doubling or tripling up and separating each wound pair with one to hot and one to ground is going to give you some fantastically revealing and spacious cabling at about as cheap a cost as anyone could hope for. All in all sounds like a great fun project. Enjoy!
You would be much better off with multiple smaller subs. They can be placed so that at least some standing wave issues can be canceled.
dave
On the other hand for some people a little EXCESS is just about right so why not multiple subs around the room PLUS a Servo Sub crossed over around 50Hz right in that center room location. Unless you just want to go all in and put a Danly Spud Tapped horn right under that sofa! But no that would just be getting carried away wouldn't it. Hehe.
Octavia please don't forget waf. I would like to blow her away, but in a good way. She made a comment once that this was a waste of money and wouldn't sound much better than our $150 Wal-Mart 5.1...
Planet10 What size/brand of sub are you thinking of? How many and where to place them. (maybe behind the projection screen!) I would like the net result to equal a good 15-18 inch sub.
I was leaning towards one sub because of Anthems correction software. It is supposed to be better than Auddsey. I wish they would make a 7.4…
If money permits I would like to go the enable route as well. At least for the surrounds
Planet10 What size/brand of sub are you thinking of? How many and where to place them. (maybe behind the projection screen!) I would like the net result to equal a good 15-18 inch sub.
I was leaning towards one sub because of Anthems correction software. It is supposed to be better than Auddsey. I wish they would make a 7.4…
If money permits I would like to go the enable route as well. At least for the surrounds
It can help... but only in one listening spot.
Geddes has a thread here, and there is a good Toole paper (althou the book Sound Reproduction is much more complete, and well worth the tariff)
dave
There are a large number of choices, your specifc room & budget considerations should guide you.
For my own use i have a pair of push-push CSS SDX10 subs (so 4 10" all together). If i find i need more i have 2 other pairs of subs in progress (althou i'm trying not to spend much money on these ones).
dave
Looking again at that floor plan here is a question for Dave / Planet 10 - How close can those MarKen 10's be positioned relative to the back wall? At what point does the image start to muddy up if at all? I guess this issue applies to most any set up where the speakers have to be close to the rear wall?
IIRC, that is close to one of the 7.1 configs recommended by Toole (again the book has a whole lot of excellent info on this)
dave
They will have issues similar to other speakers, but they have proven to be fine fairly close to a back wall. The heavy champher helps, and if the EQ in the HTR is insufficient, bass can be tuned with open-cel foam in the vents.
dave
That configuration is the Audyssey 7.1. They state the speakers in front are far more important than the ones behind listening position.
I am trying to get as much sound from as few speakers and subs as possible. I was originally going to do 11.2, but in the end decided that it was overkill. Blurays don't record over 7.1 anyway
With three speakers hidden at the front and the sub under the pool table only four speakers are visible. As for sound I am mostly concerned with the seating position in front of the projection screen. If I can get bass to sound good there I am not too concerned with the rest of the room. For just playing pool I would be listening to Jazz or classic rock and the sub could be turned down or off.
I am trying to get as much sound from as few speakers and subs as possible. I was originally going to do 11.2, but in the end decided that it was overkill. Blurays don't record over 7.1 anyway
With three speakers hidden at the front and the sub under the pool table only four speakers are visible. As for sound I am mostly concerned with the seating position in front of the projection screen. If I can get bass to sound good there I am not too concerned with the rest of the room. For just playing pool I would be listening to Jazz or classic rock and the sub could be turned down or off.
The Anthem correction software is supposed to be excellent. Even the microphone is top notch and matched to the software.
A good review here http://www.hometheater.com/content/anthem-mrx-300-av-receiver
I was originally not going to spend quite so much on a receiver but I wanted one that would match the speakers with clean sound and low wattage. This one is supposed to beat Dennon and Onkyo for sound quality. The Alpairs are top notch speakers from what I have read. I want the rest of the system to match their quality. Also I don't want to have to do any changes for the next 10 years.
With everyone’s advice hopefully I can work out all the details and have a system that will blow me and my wife away.
A good review here http://www.hometheater.com/content/anthem-mrx-300-av-receiver
I was originally not going to spend quite so much on a receiver but I wanted one that would match the speakers with clean sound and low wattage. This one is supposed to beat Dennon and Onkyo for sound quality. The Alpairs are top notch speakers from what I have read. I want the rest of the system to match their quality. Also I don't want to have to do any changes for the next 10 years.
With everyone’s advice hopefully I can work out all the details and have a system that will blow me and my wife away.
For the subs how much better would the 4 CSS SDX10 in to boxes be? Cost would be close to 950. I guess placement would be in the centre of each 46' wall.
The Rythmik 15" would be around 700 to build.
I had originally planned on putting one sub behind the projection screen and one at the other end of the room. With the brick fire place that is not an option. I guess I could still do one behind the screen and one under the pool table. I have not seen any setups using that configuration though.
I found a good write up here http://www.audioholics.com/tweaks/get-good-bass/subwoofer-placement-the-place-for-bass-part-1
The Rythmik 15" would be around 700 to build.
I had originally planned on putting one sub behind the projection screen and one at the other end of the room. With the brick fire place that is not an option. I guess I could still do one behind the screen and one under the pool table. I have not seen any setups using that configuration though.
I found a good write up here http://www.audioholics.com/tweaks/get-good-bass/subwoofer-placement-the-place-for-bass-part-1
I don't remember the source but there was a write up on multiple Hsu subs that had the placement of one sub in front and one behind the listening position with very positive results. Whatever you choose to build I would think at least trying one of them under the pool table is a great idea. Also the very low crossover of 50Hz would probably eliminate being able to locate the sub. Of course on those Rythmik's you have lots of amp settings to play with and after all this is a playroom right.
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