# Al Briscoe basement home theatre across the pond



## albriscoe (Apr 12, 2009)

Hi everyone :hiya:

as this is my first post in my new thread I`d better fill the new lookers in on whats happened

We started with this










Lived in this










Dug out this big hole










Tanked it out and poured the base










then built the basement rooms, the cinema room is the far one










me and the missus laying the first brick above ground, I`m the one in the shorts by the way :joke:










and ended up with this










The house is now finished and we moved in about 18 months ago

cinema room pics to follow

cheers Al


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## albriscoe (Apr 12, 2009)

I`ll move on now the the cinema room contruction pics

this is showing the cutouts for the rear MK inwalls and projector housing










screem wall and front 2 cutouts, centre on not done yet










Penn AV rack frame assembled










the rack fits in here










I painted the inside of the AV room black to match the rack and the kit










and made my own speaker outlets for multiroom audio










First piece of kit was my Sim2


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## albriscoe (Apr 12, 2009)

rack now fitted waiting for the kit










speaker cable going into the rear of the rack










and into my Onkyo 905










from the front










a few more cables to the rack










and I made my own 118" dia. screen frame out of aluminium and covered it with Devore silk velvet


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## albriscoe (Apr 12, 2009)

I also built my own HTPC with HDMI audio/video, I`ve 7tb of storage at the moment all Bluray ISO`s










from the front










and rear


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## albriscoe (Apr 12, 2009)

screen frame up and front SW150`s fitted










and the rack is starting to fill up










my first sub was an MK


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## albriscoe (Apr 12, 2009)

this is where I `ve started doing the screen wall with the Devore velvet panels, this has got to be the best material in the world to stop light reflection, all you guys really are missing out here :R










a close up of the Devore against the blackest black paint I can find










this is all the screen wall done










as you can see I`ve covered my MK`s as the material is 100% acoustically transparent

and the screen frame, you can see the difference in that and the intial painted frame










whilst I was at it I bought another MK sub as well :devil:










every bit of the wall was done inc the lighting pelmet










I then also made my own acoustic panels, this is one of the frames










this last shot shows how far the Devore velvet comes out from the screen wall and the new wall colour, its Dulux Marachino Mocha no.2 btw.


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## mcfly (Sep 26, 2008)

I've got the same problem, less that 5 posts I think... 
This one takes me up to 5 !!


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## albriscoe (Apr 12, 2009)

as I hate decorating with a passion I thought I`d better get it all done so once started I carried on until it was all done










this is fitting the acoustic wadding into the frames










and the first one fitted, the frames were made to fit the wadding slabs and also to be a push fit between the wall and pelmets










also all the ceilings light were treated to matt black engine laquer



















the last ceiling panel










then the skirting boards










and voila, nearly all done


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## Prof. (Oct 20, 2006)

Fantastic job Al..Well done..:T

I followed some of your progress over at AV, but didn't get to see the final result..
Have you put any coverings on the floor at this stage?
Some more pics of the finished room would be nice to see..


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## custard (Jun 28, 2008)

great job Albriscoe. a truly awesome result.:fireworks1:

you need to teach me some of those DIY skills!

...and its good to see you here at HTS aswell.


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## albriscoe (Apr 12, 2009)

Prof. said:


> Fantastic job Al..Well done..:T
> 
> I followed some of your progress over at AV, but didn't get to see the final result..
> Have you put any coverings on the floor at this stage?
> Some more pics of the finished room would be nice to see..


 You`ll have to wait n see Prof :whistling:

thanks for the nice comments as well :T


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## albriscoe (Apr 12, 2009)

custard said:


> great job Albriscoe. a truly awesome result.:fireworks1:
> 
> you need to teach me some of those DIY skills!
> 
> ...and its good to see you here at HTS aswell.


 
Hi Custie 

its good to be here mate :T

as to teaching anyone anything, I`m not sure about that to be honest, I`m not really very good at it :scratchhead:

its taken a while to get to this stage, I`m at just over 4 years now since starting to build the house :dizzy:


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## albriscoe (Apr 12, 2009)

Anyway here goes, here`s the finished room so see what you think

you might notice that their are rear acoustic panels at the side and on the back walls, these also cover my side and rear MK inwalls. I don`t know but since making my speakers disappear they seem to sound better, must be the lack of distraction maybe 





































My 2 MK subs waiting to find a new home










And my new 5100 SF, WHICH ISN`T WAITING TO FIND A NEW HOME :hsd:



















Harmony 1000


















































































HTPC is running media browser via VMC and looks very professional in my opinion.

With no lights on I can`t see my hand infront of my face :scared: as its pitch black in their now and image contrast is a 100% improvment since the velvet treatment. 

Audio reflection has been controlled now as well with the acoustic panels of which there are 6 around the room, bass with the new sub is amazing and the other 7 MK`s are made to sound very well with the 905 which has no problems whatsoever driving them. 

Light reflection front the wooden floor has gone now :T with the arrival of the 3 big black shaggy rugs from Ikea and theirs even a smaller one for our tooties to sit on now as well.

Just got to get rid of the light Ikea chair which is maybe this week and really thats about it for the cinema room I think.

cheers Al :jump:


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## custard (Jun 28, 2008)

albriscoe said:


> as to teaching anyone anything, I`m not sure about that to be honest, I`m not really very good at it :scratchhead:


actions speak louder than words!

i'm sure i'd learn alot just watching.

the last pics are just the icing on the cake of a wonderful job.
well done on the 4 year graft on the new build home.

time to put your feet up now and watch some movies.:highfive:


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## Prof. (Oct 20, 2006)

I like the idea of the rear panels hiding the in-walls..Looks really professional..:T
And good to see you put some dark rugs on the floor..:yes:
All in all, a very nice job..and I bet it sounds good as well..


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## albriscoe (Apr 12, 2009)

Hi Prof

thanks very much for the comments, really appreciate them :T

I also like the rear panels which cover my side/rears MK`s, apart from looking good (in my opinion) they also double up as acoustic panels as well as they are filled with the same wadding as the front ones. My room before was quite lively in respect of audio reverberation and these have really calmed it down quite a lot without making the room "dead".

The improvement in image contrast though was the main reason for the room treatment and that has improved immensley, its like I`ve spent another 20 grand on a new projector.

I really can`t say enough about the Devore velvet and the fantastic qualities it possesses regarding nil light reflection it produces.

Now I know this might sound a bit silly but since I can no longer see any of my MK`s apart from the sub the sound to me anyway has just come alive, probably the acoustic panels I don`t know to be honest but its definatley better. The MK MX5100 SF sub as well is I think the best I`ve ever heard and LFE has really tightened up, its also much cleaner and controlled than the other 2 were.

Overall I`m chuffed to bits with it all (for the time being anyways) :bigsmile:

Anyway once again thanks for the lovely comments and glad you like the finished room.

cheers Al


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## Prof. (Oct 20, 2006)

albriscoe said:


> I really can`t say enough about the Devore velvet and the fantastic qualities it possesses regarding nil light reflection it produces.


I've not heard of that particular velvet..
I'll have to do a search to see if it's available down here..



> Now I know this might sound a bit silly but since I can no longer see any of my MK`s apart from the sub the sound to me anyway has just come alive, probably the acoustic panels I don`t know to be honest but its definatley better.


Doesn't sound silly to me..
I'm a strong advocate for hidden front speakers..

With exposed speakers, your eyes are constantly directed to the source of sound which is very distracting and tiring when you're trying to watch a movie..and that tends to take away the smooth flow of sound across the screen..


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## raZorTT (Jan 17, 2008)

Well done Al!

Your room looks fantastic! 

Anything left? Some more additions to the rack maybe? 

Cheers,
Simon


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## Bruce Fisher (Nov 24, 2007)

looks beautiful - nice job!

I don't know the brand of the black velour fabric I used on my front wall - but like you - I think it's great! Sucks up all the light! I'm planning on making some sound panels to use on my ceiling with it!


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## albriscoe (Apr 12, 2009)

Prof. said:


> I've not heard of that particular velvet..
> I'll have to do a search to see if it's available down here.


 apparently is designed to be used in fashion and as far as I know it can be "burnt" to form patterns in the material without fraying, if they use a laser I honestly haven`t a clue :whistling:

the main thing for us AV ers is that is really does not reflect any form of light at all, infact and this is true if you shine a torch (flashlight) at it you can see where the beam leaves the torch but doesn`t show on the material, scary :yikes:

If anyone out their wants to see if for themselves pm me and I`ll see what I can do for you, I have some left which I could send out as a sample and this sample sent to others if you get what I mean.



Prof. said:


> Doesn't sound silly to me..
> I'm a strong advocate for hidden front speakers..
> 
> With exposed speakers, your eyes are constantly directed to the source of sound which is very distracting and tiring when you're trying to watch a movie..and that tends to take away the smooth flow of sound across the screen..


 I totally agree Prof 100%

I know physically just because the speakers are no longer visible they can`t sound better but somehow they seem to, and its the distraction factor or lack of it as you say which appears to my ears anyway which apparently makes the overhaul soundstage much more pleasing to listen to. :T

cheers Al :daydream:


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## albriscoe (Apr 12, 2009)

raZorTT said:


> Well done Al!
> 
> Your room looks fantastic!
> 
> ...


 Hi Simon 

thanks for those great comments, really appreciate them :T

I`m wanting to make some doors between the cinema and games/gym room but have been working outside to finish off the garden and driveway/paths.

Now thats done maybe well hopefully will get the doors and casing sorted, I`m thinking of Velvet covered acoustic wadding filled doors here as well so should be fun :bigsmile:

As to the rack, theirs stacks of room left for other av kit to go on it, a nice processor and big power amp would be nice but will have to take a back seat for the time being as we need an holiday first :devil:

I`ll keep you all posted as and when things happen :sneeky:


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## albriscoe (Apr 12, 2009)

Bruce Fisher said:


> looks beautiful - nice job!
> 
> I don't know the brand of the black velour fabric I used on my front wall - but like you - I think it's great! Sucks up all the light! I'm planning on making some sound panels to use on my ceiling with it!


 Hi Bruce 

thanks mate :T

this stuff is Devore Silk Velvet which after I sampled literally dozens (honest) stand head and shoulders above all the rest put together.

I told my supplier to get plenty in after I posted my findings on the AV forums here in the UK and they are out of stock literally as soon it arives. The lads over here really are going crazy about it.

Also the beauty about this stuff Bruce is thats its 100% acoustically transparent which is what you need when making your acoustic panels as well.

I need to check out some of your HT`s as well, its finding the time though mate, this forum lark is really addictive and time consuming.

cheers Al :T


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## Prof. (Oct 20, 2006)

albriscoe said:


> Also the beauty about this stuff Bruce is thats its 100% acoustically transparent which is what you need when making your acoustic panels as well.


WOW!!..I didn't realise this material was acoustically transparent as well!!..What a winner..:T

All I've been able to find out so far is this velvet is used in dresses and the like, but our major retail suppliers of materials don't have it available in just rolls!..:scratch:
I'll have to do some further digging..


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## Bruce Fisher (Nov 24, 2007)

Here's a link to the material I used - black microsuede. It too is acoustically transparent and it's like a black hole... no light reflects off of it. I was thoroughly pleased with it! It feels like fine velvet... not thick.


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## Prof. (Oct 20, 2006)

Thanks for the link Bruce..
I'll include that one in my search as well..:T

I'm planning on redoing my acoustic panels and screen wall panels with one of these materials..


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## albriscoe (Apr 12, 2009)

Hi

this is the Devore from Whaleys

http://www.whaleys-bradford.ltd.uk/product.htm?productID=124

if you have any problems trying to source some or want me to sort it at my end just ask and I`ll see what I can do.

As I say people over here are going bonkers for it so it must be good as we are a tight lot :R


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