# Harry's Multi use theatre room on a budget



## harry potter (Mar 1, 2015)

Hi Folks,

I have completed my multi use home theatre room on a budget. When I bought a new house recently, it had a room upstairs away from the family which had the potential for a 'mancave" as my wife calls it. It was nearly 5 metres square with a decently high ceiling. It had existing lighting with dimmers, air conditioning, blackout curtains, carpets, enough sockets and smart wiring by the previous owner. All I had to do was paint it.

The room had to fulfil a few functions:

1. It had to be a demonstration room for my business (I am a corporate trainer) where I could give presentations to clients
2. It had to be a dedicated two channel listening room for my CD collection
3. It had to have minimal equipment that was bought on a budget and utilise existing equipment and furniture where available.
4. It had to produce great visuals and sound for my movies nights
5. It had to please the wife and family (when they were allowed to grace the room)!

I appear to have managed all of my objectives.

I have completed the room for under $3500 US or $4800 Australian

AV kit is as follows:

1. OPTOMA 3D HD 30 Projector (with all the fittings, cables and two pairs of 3 D glasses) - $800 US
2. YAMAHA RS-S600D slimline AV receiver - $850 US
3. OPPO BDP 103 Blu ray player - $550 US
4. Projection screen - $350 US
5. 5 HAWTHORNE AUDIO SILVER IRIS OB coaxial speakers - 2x15'' fronts, 3x10'' centre and rears (home made) - $1100 US
6. ENERGY - powered 10'' Subwoofer - already in situ - no cost
7. Room treatments - $50

Outcome - objectives completed. Very happy chappie!!!!!!!! Oh! and WAF (the wife likes it - bonus!!!!!!!!)


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## Heath Cunningham (Jun 28, 2014)

Nice clean looking room mate,


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## B- one (Jan 13, 2013)

Looks great and interesting speakers!


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## harry potter (Mar 1, 2015)

Thank you gentlemen for your kind remarks,

The speakers are the standout feature of my room. After speaking to Darrel Hawthorne from Hawthorne Audio, I took a chance on open baffle speakers.

1. My first set of Hawthorne OB's were 10'' Silver Iris Coaxials. They just blew me way with the power handling and clarity - but I felt they were a little bass shy in my room, so I supplemented them with a passive sub woofer and a dedicated sub woofer amp from Parts Express. This then sounded special.

I then thought that if 10'' sounds good what about 15'' versions.

2. I purchased a pair of 15'' Silver Iris coaxials from Hawthorne audio and redesigned the baffles from my original version. I now have three versions of home made OB speakers (one set using Audio Nirvana 12'' full range speakers) These sound very good but nothing beats the 15'' Hawthorne Silver Iris's. I could have paid much more money for the Sterling Silver versions (4 times the price) per speaker but the basic versions are awesome - the best value OB speaker drivers on the market.

3. I have been extremely lucky that I have some basic building skills and a large garage to work in. Home made speakers can equal shop bought ones for looks and sound if you have the right kit.


4. I have a variety of box speakers from infinite baffles to reflex loaded and floorstanding to stand mounts - non of them beats a properly set up pair of open baffles. I have spent a small fortune trying to get great sound over the years and now I have my very own pair of cost effective monitors.


Keep listening and viewing those movies and music.

Harry Potter


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## Owen Bartley (Oct 18, 2006)

Thanks for sharing your journey, HP. It's always nice to see someone arrive at a place where they are totally content with their setup, and they can just enjoy it.

...for a while at least, until the bug bites again.


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