# Negatron 2 theater Build Thread



## NBPk402 (Feb 21, 2012)

We are closing on our new house in Mexico on Friday. Our living room will become our new Home Theater/Stereo (No dedicated room this time). The room is 19' wide with a 30' boveda ceiling, and is approximately 20' from the loft to the windows/doors. The distance from the bar to the windows is 30'. We plan on mounting a projector to the ceiling of the loft floor, and have the screen come down in front of light blocking curtains installed over the windows. The entrances to the wine cellar, and upstairs will be blocked off with sliding barn doors. The walls are about 1' thick clay brick, and the ceiling is also brick with the floors being Cantera black marble. This is def a live room that will be a challenge to tune.

I am starting this setup virtually from scratch, and it will be taking a while to get it back up and running again.

Equipment I have:
Yamaha cxa5100
14 channel DIY amp...to be disassembled, and amps to be either installed inside of biamped speakers or next to them (along with minidsp 2x4 crossovers). Amps will be plugged into Insteon outlets, and individually turned on and off according to how many channels are required.
JBL surround speakers from my old setup will be used for Atmos channels. Klipsch k402 speaker will be converted to a 2 way Synergy style speaker, and then I will make more to have a 5 channel setup utilizing my old EV DH1A drivers.
195" SeymourAV screen (new frame will have to be made, as I used the old frame to make our new equipment racks )the screen will lower down in front of the speakers. I am trying to figure out the sliding rails for each side of the screen, and a way to motorized the screen lowering, and raising from the area between the 2 windows.

Project RPM 1.3 Carbon turntable with Sumiko cartridge
OPPO 203
Furman power strips
Monoprice 75' XLR cables for the front 3 channels
Pioneer bluray player for ripping movies to our Unraid NAS
T channel audio rack with sand bed shelves. I will be modifying the config for the new setup, and making it about 6' wide, but lowering it to counter level.

Either coming or planning on getting: (no particular order)

1: $600 worth of Roxul for sound panels on order
2: 4k projector ?
3: Linear slide rails for moving the screen into position, and some sort of motor assembly controlled via Insteon
4: Dirac ?
5: Sub?
6: Bass shakers?

I am sure there will be more additions. Question marks mean brands, and models unknown at this time.










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## ajinfla (May 10, 2009)

Wow, nice room there!


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## NBPk402 (Feb 21, 2012)

Thanks, AJ...we both fell in love with the house as soon as we walked into it...always a good sign.��

It even has a 100 bottle wine cellar! I might keep the NAS down there if I can figure out how to get the HDMI, and CAT5 wires to the 2nd floor cleanly. I figure it would be the best location as it will be cool year round.

Wine cellar


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## NBPk402 (Feb 21, 2012)

Another view from the living room..


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## NBPk402 (Feb 21, 2012)

*Re: Negatron 2 theater build thread*

Looks like I will have some changes as the wife wants to have mirrors on the wall on the loft for her to practice dancing. This means I will no longer have 10' for the audio rack, but maybe 4' max, and still only a little over 2' high. The speakers will still be next to the windows but the doors will not be used behind the speakers (a plus for me), only the glass door to the left will be used. Room darkening curtains will be used, but not black, and a couple of carpets will be used for the floor too...again not black, but grey or blue with some white stripes (best compromise I could get as we will be getting the, from Costco).

On a 19' wide room, I will have to leave about 3' per side since we will be using the door which opens inward on the left, and we have the fireplace on the right. Not as much as I had wanted. Should I skip The center channel?

The old JBL speakers which are angled at 45 degrees as I recall will be set up as height channels, and as Auro3d channels. How do I calculate the height of them?

Would it be best to run side surrounds or rear surrounds, With the heights above them?

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## NorthSky (Jun 28, 2016)

Ron, fantastic!


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## NBPk402 (Feb 21, 2012)

Talked it over with my wife, and she was only concerned with her wall of mirrors. I am getting the 19' loft ledge overlooking the living room. I can make a cabinet/rack on the whole 19'. So I think I will make my rack in the center, and cabinets on both sides of the rack. The cabinets will be white washed like the kitchen with the white rack, and Mesquite shelves in the middle. This should tie in nicely with the Mesquite floors. I love my wife!


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## NBPk402 (Feb 21, 2012)

1st... I need to calculate the speaker positions for my height channels.

2nd... I need to make a bench for my small workshop area which will have a benchtop drillpress, and a router table builtin. 

3rd... I will be making the equipment rack, and get the cabinets made for each side of the rack on the 19' long wall. 

4th... I hope to start on the room tune absorption panels.

5th... Then the synergy horn style speakers. I still am not sure what to do on the panels though. Should I make bass traps in the corners to about the window heights? First reflection panels I will almost guarantee will be right at the fireplace too.

Question... for my 5 height channels (eventual Auro3d) how high do I make them with my angled JBL speakers? Do I calculate to where they will hit the mlp, or do I need them to not be angled, and fire straight at the opposing walls? I need to figure this out ASAP so I can get the brackets all installed for the speaker mounts.


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## NBPk402 (Feb 21, 2012)

I have calculated my positions for my height channels, and it looks like my surrounds will be in the corner of the loft where it meets the side walls of the living room. The problem is now that in order to get the 30 degrees per side of the front channels my speakers would be in the corners. This means the front speakers would be partially behind my AT screen. In addition, I do not know how I can do the first reflection panels as the fireplace is about 3' from the front of the speaker, and protrudes out about 2 1/2' from the wall.

Suggestions?


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## NBPk402 (Feb 21, 2012)

I came up with an idea for corner mounting the speakers, and an engineer friend of mine is going finalize the design, and make them for me. We are going to use a modified version for the center since it will not be in the corner. I will post up pics when I get the new mounts.

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## NBPk402 (Feb 21, 2012)

Saturday I took the rack apart, and took it to a powder painter. The new configuration will be black with the same wood shelves, except that I am going to try some aluminum brackets as outriggers for the 3 wide rack. I will be picking it up Wednesday, or Thursday. It will be a while before I get it done as I will be re drilling all the holes in the wood shelves for a different kind of thread insert. It should go quick unless I need to use my drill press. I have a small drill press, and need my tool cabinet to mount it for big projects. I will post up pics as soon as I get the rack started.


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## NBPk402 (Feb 21, 2012)

Finally have some progress... 
1: fiber HDMI cable is on the way
2: 5 50wpc amps on the way
3: amp kit cases on the way
4: 4 small horn waveguides on the way,
5: When we get back from Europe I will have 4 DIY Klipsch Belle bass bins ready to go...along with the new horns, and my old EV dh1as.
6: last few pieces for the rack shelves are at the powder painter now.

We are awaiting an estimate for my wooden trough/acoustic panel holders to be installed above the windows and on the other 3 walls.


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## NBPk402 (Feb 21, 2012)

Just won 2 more 50asx2 amps that have been modded for balanced. Now I need 3 more 50w amps, and 2 more 125w balanced modules. I will then have 7 channels of amps with 170w available for dynamic for each horn(I am never going to list over a watt through the horns), and 450w per speaker for the bass.

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## NBPk402 (Feb 21, 2012)

All the parts I was waiting for have arrived except the 2 bridged B&O amps. I should have the last 3 shelves ready today or tomorrow, and will post pics. When we return from our vacation, I will start on the new amp enclosures, and Klipsch Bass bins. I can't wait to get these new horns all setup!

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## NBPk402 (Feb 21, 2012)

I finally have my new rack almost done. One of the shelves had a huge crack, so it is being clamped while the glue sets. I am going to let it sit in the clamps until tomorrow afternoon when I will route the recesses for clearing the bolts. I wish I had thought of routing a recess from the bottom earlier, as it looks 100% better than using a jigsaw! After tomorrow the rack will be left the way it is until I get other projects done, and then it will get a matching Cantera stone top to match the railing on the right in the picture. I might start on the amp cases before our vacation...if not then they will be made at the same time as the Belle bass bins. I hope to have the 4 bass bins, and amp modules plus 2 Dirac boxes ready by Xmas this year.


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## NBPk402 (Feb 21, 2012)

Update: We just got our electric curtains installed for the front window wall. I have temporarily installed my front 3 height channels which are hanging from my new wooden French cleats. I had 2 rows of French cleats installed which go around the entire room from above the front windows. I also have my wiring temporarily running above the French cleats through some electrical conduit clamps affixed to the walls with 3m double faced tape. I was going to start in the Nelson Pass amps, but they were apparently destroyed by Mexican Customs for a lack of documents. I will most likely still get the amps, but I am going to get the 4 Klipsch Belle bass bins completed first since I have everything I need to complete 4 channels except for 1 more MiniDSP 2x4. I am not going to buy another MiniDSP since I will be buying 2 MiniDSP 8x8 kits for my 7 channels when I get 2 more K402 horns made fornthe end result 3 front channel synergy style horns. The Klipsch Belles will then be moved to my 4 surround channels. 

I have had some progress on my CQC Home Automation templates. I have 2 panels made for turning on/off specific amps dependent on the surround mode I want. I also have some Insteon wall dimmers,scene controllers, and wall outlets being installed this week. I am still waiting on relays to automatically control my electric curtains so I will not need to use the IR remote.


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## bpape (Sep 14, 2006)

Quite the beast you have there to tame Ron. Given the restrictions on the amount and type of treatment, I would suggest doing what you can in terms of surface area, hit the early side wall reflection points, and spread the rest around the room the best you can. The high walls will give you a ton of flutter echo that will need to be addressed. Not thinking bass control is really going to be possible much and stay in budget.

Have you tried to source things here? 

Av Acueducto 459 Col Zacatenco,
Mexico City, MEXICO 14-813 07360
P: +52-555-089-6750 

Not exactly next door but better than having to import it.


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## NBPk402 (Feb 21, 2012)

bpape said:


> Quite the beast you have there to tame Ron. Given the restrictions on the amount and type of treatment, I would suggest doing what you can in terms of surface area, hit the early side wall reflection points, and spread the rest around the room the best you can. The high walls will give you a ton of flutter echo that will need to be addressed. Not thinking bass control is really going to be possible much and stay in budget.
> 
> Have you tried to source things here?
> 
> ...


Thanks Brian!


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## NBPk402 (Feb 21, 2012)

Update... I just ordered 4 Klipsch rp160m speakers in cherry. These will be used as my front channels until my k402s are ready...once the fronts are ready these will be used as my surrounds, and surround back speakers.For the time being I will use my 4 channel Yamaha Pro amp for powering them until I get the B&O AMP modules installed in their case. Hopefully I will have 7 channels plus 4 Atmos channels by November. Next year will be projector, screen, and new AVP time.


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## NBPk402 (Feb 21, 2012)

Update...
I now have my Atmos speakers... I will be mounting Klipsch RP150Ms on the walls for height channels. I have 4, and will be looking for 2 more for Auro3d.

I just snagged 2 K402 horns which should be here sometime next month. I plan on getting the cabinets made after the first of the year, and also nodding them for Synergy.

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## NBPk402 (Feb 21, 2012)

Just got my rack back from the carpenter...turned out as good as I had hoped it would. I need a few more 8020 slide in nuts, And then it will be finished.























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## NBPk402 (Feb 21, 2012)

Amplifier should be completed by the end of the month. We will be modifying my wall mounts for 5 channels of Atmos this month too (to get the correct angles). My authentic K402s should be here in December, so we will start the synergy build in January. My new Musical Fidelity mx5 vynl phono preamp should be here in a couple of weeks too. As soon as we get items completed... I will post pics.

Right now I am also working on my tablet templates for automating our setup, and controlling my AV Equipment. I am also trying out the new JRiver MC25 on Linux...so far it seems to be working out more relieb,e than from my Windows setup.

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## NBPk402 (Feb 21, 2012)

We now have 4 rp150ms mounted 13' up the front, and side walls. I also have my 4 KO2 horns ready for nodding to MEH horns with a pair of 15" woofers on each horn. 

Pics coming soon.

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## NBPk402 (Feb 21, 2012)

These are my RP150Ms mounted 13' up for my front heights.









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## NBPk402 (Feb 21, 2012)

Some progress for my new DIY Klipsch MEH speakers...























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## NBPk402 (Feb 21, 2012)

Update... New LG 86" 4K FP, 3 MEHs completed.


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## NBPk402 (Feb 21, 2012)

I will be doing some upgrading over the next few months...

Ordered:
2 Minidsp ddrc88m
3 Pass ACA stereo/mono amps

Diy projects:
2 2' x 2' MEHs modeled from the small side of my k402 MEHs. These will use the same drivers,but the horn will be made of MDF.

Selling:
4 Klipsch rp160Ms
Musical Fidelity MX VYNL phono preamp
Yamaha CXA 5100 preamp
Xilica xp4080 crossover
Some Icepower asx20btl, and asx125SE/BTL amp modules
Dune HD PRO 4K PLUS media player


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## NBPk402 (Feb 21, 2012)

A little update... I now have built 3 DIY Icepower 50asxbtl amps(for the compression drivers), and 6 125asx2btl ampa ror the front 3 channels (1 amp per woofer). I am currently working on building some 2' cube MEHs out of MDF/Plywood and veneer.

Here are some pics..


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## NBPk402 (Feb 21, 2012)

I am also building a Plex Server/Roon Rock media setup in one large case. I am planning on using a 10.1" front touchscreen, and possibly having it switch between Plex and Roon via front button. I will have 2 i5 NUCs inside the case...one for Plex, and the other for Roon. I am planning on one HDD rack for now and maybe 2 in the future. The HDDs are all USB HDDs, and will be in the rack and wired either directly to the i5 NUC or via a hub. The racks are capable of having a fan if required, and the case has vents on the top and bottom for cooling. I hope to have this and at least 1 speaker up and running before Christmas.


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## NBPk402 (Feb 21, 2012)

Today a friend of mine helped me get the valances done for our HT.


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## david yurik (Feb 17, 2013)

NBPk402 said:


> A little update... I now have built 3 DIY Icepower 50asxbtl amps(for the compression drivers), and 6 125asx2btl ampa ror the front 3 channels (1 amp per woofer).


@NBPk402 your manufacturing skills are off the charts! What is your background if I may ask?

Dave


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## NBPk402 (Feb 21, 2012)

david yurik said:


> @NBPk402 your manufacturing skills are off the charts! What is your background if I may ask?
> 
> Dave


Thanks, but I have no skills (just ideas)...I find the cases I like to start with, and then I have a friend mod them on his CNC to what I want. Then I try and wire them the cleanest I can. I took one of my modified k402 horns and modeled a template off one side and then made a mold for clamping the pieces curved. I did not like the lack of precision of my mold and took my modeled template to a friend who has a wood CNC, and he cut the pieces for me. We are now working on CNCing some pieces of Mahogany for inlaying into the case designs for the amps. None of the amps will have just a aluminum faceplate when we are done.
Next week I am hoping my new Celestion woofer arrive so we can finish the first of the mini MEHs. I will have enough of the celestions to test in 1 original MEH and 1 mini MEH...if all goes well I will build more mini MEHs, and also replace all the woofers with the Celestions. I am hoping the Celestions get me to within 5db of flat from 20hz to 20khz. Then as soon as I have enough money... I will be testing the new Celestion compression drivers which are the same ones in the $35k Jubilees.


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## NBPk402 (Feb 21, 2012)

Today I worked on the name plates I had laser cut for my speakers. Chris is the person who came up with the design combo and also helped me get mine done...so I put his name on the plates. The top plate is what I did today...whe I started it was a little worse than the bottom plate. I used my orbital with 150 grit for a few passes (looking to se if I could still see any pits or deep scratch still), and continued until I could see none. Then I used the orbital with 240 grit until I could not see any of the lines from the 150 grit. Once I finished that I went to some 300 grit and sanded in one direction until that is all I could see. Next I moved to 1000 grit wet dry sand paper and sanded 90 degrees from the 300...until I could not see any 300 grit marks. I kept doing this until I had done 1200, 1300, 1500, 2000, and finally 3000. I am seeing a few scratches from the 2000 layer still, so I think I need to hit it some more with the 3000 grit until they are gone, or maybe hit the whole front with 2000 again and then do 3000 again?.
Pic # 2 gives a much better look at the shine...so far.
Does anyone know if 3000 is high enough before I use a buffing compound on the copper plates?


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## david yurik (Feb 17, 2013)

NBPk402 said:


> Does anyone know if 3000 is high enough before I use a buffing compound on the copper plates?


Even when painting some cars and motorcycles back in the day.... we never used 3000 wet and if memory is not too far off we usually stopped around 2000. Good luck with the copper!

Dave


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## NBPk402 (Feb 21, 2012)

Well I think I figured out a way to get it acceptable. I used a orbital sander started at 240, and worked my way up to 2k. I do not have the perfect background, but I have a textured background from the orbital...which IMO makes it look better and is much better than fighting trying to get 1 or 2 scratches out. Now I will buff it out and apply a sealer.
Top left is how it started and the others are 3 more I finished up to polishing. The bottom left is a shadow not a blemish.

Does this look better to you?


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## NBPk402 (Feb 21, 2012)

Today we completed all the amp front and rear panels with my friends CNC. I still have to drill mounting holes, sand, clearcoat and and then reconfigure the amp and assemble. Next week we will be working on the Roon server/endpoint CNC'd.
Here are a few pics of today's work.


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## NBPk402 (Feb 21, 2012)

Today, I sold one ddrc88a, and my Yamaha cxa5100, and ordered a Marantz av8805a AVP. Now I have more channels available plus Auro3d.


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