# New House Under Construction



## Ttime17 (Oct 23, 2008)

Hi, 

I'm new to this forum, actually found it in doing research for subwoofers. Based on the recommendations found here I ordered a SVS PB13 Ultra this weekend.

We are building a new home and for the first time I'll have a dedicated theater room. I've lurked and read and planned for years. The kids are (almost) all gone and since I decided I'm not a motor bike type and I suck at golf so I needed something other than work to fill my time.

Music is my first love but there's nothing wrong with shakin' the house on movie night so I've tried to build a system that fills both ends of the spectrum. Most of the equipment is used from ebay and audiogon, some is new and some is yet to be ordered. The only thing all of it has in common is that none of it has been heard other than DOA tests.

I've wired the walls for side and rear surrounds as well as ran a 2" conduit in the ceiling for connecting the projector to the front. The room has 2 dedicated 20 amp circuits as well as a 15 amp. I have two of the audio quality recepticals for the 20 amp plugs. The room is 15 X 13 and the ceiling is 7' 6" on the perimeter and 8' 6" in the center. We hope to move in before Christmas 2008.

The equipment I have is:

Prepro: Arcam DiVA AVP700
Power: Lexicon LX-7
Fronts: Newform research R645
Rears: Sansui SPL 800
Headphone Amp: Bottlehead SEX Tube Amp
Phono: BottleHead Phono Stage - Pro-ject Debut II Turntable 

On Order:

Subwoofer: SVS PB13 Ultra
Furniture: 3 seat theater seats

To be Decided / Ordered
(the lastest suspects)
Projector: Panasonic PT-AE2000
Screen: I haven't got a clue what to do.... I've sized the projector for 110" diagonal
Headphones: AKG K-701
DVD: DV-983H

I sure would appreciate any comments, especially on the equipment I haven't bought yet. The old Sansui's I've had since the early 70's and are really sweet but may be a bit much for surrounds so I may change them out. I only plan on running a 5.1 system without the center (supposedly Newform's don't need one.) The DIY screen solutions here has me thinking I'll try the painted solution first before I buy anything. It sounds like a great solution but I'd love to hear form someone who has had tried it.

Thanks for reading.


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## Bent (May 24, 2006)

sounds like a great project,
I suck at golf too, 'seems the last time I went golfing I only hit two good balls, ('cause I stepped on a rake).


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## Ttime17 (Oct 23, 2008)

Ahhh, the rake... I know the rake well.


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

First of all Welcome to the Shack from a fellow Albertan!

It looks like you are already ready for your room, going with 5.1 will do for now but you may want to wire for 7.1 as your in the construction phase anyhow.
The PB13 Ultra is a great choice and you wont be disappointed.
Does the PrePro have DTS MA and TruHD decoding? These are the latest audio formats that are standard with BluRay movies. Are you planing to buy a BluRay player?


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## Ttime17 (Oct 23, 2008)

The Arcam has DTS and DTS 96/124 but I'm not sure about the other formats. Probably not. The Arcam doesn't pick up audio off the HDMI, if that means anything to these formats. I went with it because of Arcam's excellent reputation with music. I do plan on getting a BluRay player, any suggestions? The cost sure has come down!!


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

Ttime17 said:


> The Arcam has DTS and DTS 96/124 but I'm not sure about the other formats. Probably not. The Arcam doesn't pick up audio off the HDMI, if that means anything to these formats.


The newest uncompressed audio formats that I mentioned above require HDMI so you wont be able to use them. Now of course BluRay players do offer the other formats as well Dolby Digital Plus and DTS so you will be able to use them over optical.


> I do plan on getting a BluRay player, any suggestions? The cost sure has come down!!


 DO you like to play games because right now the Sony Playstation3 is the best all around blu Ray player but with the cost of stand alone players droping there are some other options. Samsung and Panasonic along with Sony have also got nice units for under $299.


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## Ttime17 (Oct 23, 2008)

Thanks Tony, the advice will come in handy. And yes, I did wire for 7.1. I have enough power and the Arcam does 7.1 but I'm bridging four of the amps channels to get 400 watts to the newform ribbons. I'm getting pretty anxious to hear this setup.


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## ACGREEN (Feb 23, 2007)

Congrats, I moved into my house last December. I did the same thing when I built mine. Some suggestions:
1) If you are hiding your electronics in a closet, run an IR repeater to it. I did not and am forced to use my Harmony 890. It works great for day-to-day uses, but I prefer the OEM remotes for set-up and tweaking.
2) Run extra wires. I planned for a 10.4 set-up as you never know what tomorrow my bring and Lucas has talked about a THX set-up for the home with a 10.4 speaker configuration.
3) If your gear is in a closet, plan to vent the closet. My gear closet is 10' x 4' x 8' and still gets warm.
4) I only did one dedicated circuit, you are smart to go with two.

Your gear selection is great. I love my Panasonic projector, you won't be disappointed.


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## Ttime17 (Oct 23, 2008)

Thanks for the advice. I wired for 7.1 but ran 4 wire to all connections, hopefully that will cover me in the future if I expand on the system. I'm not doing a closet so everything will be immediately available. I'm putting control4 in the house for automation but will only be using it for the lights in this room. I need to keep the operation of the theater to the most simple way possible so the non-propeller heads in the house can make it work. Auto-on subwoofers, projectors and 12v triggers on power amps will come in handy. I'll have to look up the specs on the Panasonic to see if it has auto-on.... Thanks again for your comments.


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## tenzip (May 4, 2007)

Ttime17 said:


> The old Sansui's I've had since the early 70's and are really sweet but may be a bit much for surrounds so I may change them out.


Welcome to HTS. Sounds like you have a fun project on your hands.

I'm not sure if you mean you think that they're too big physically, or that they're usually considered "main" speakers?

If you have the physical room to use them as surrounds, I don't think you can go wrong with "full size" speakers for surrounds. They can produce the relatively quiet surround info as well as (or better than) the speakers that are normally considered for surrounds, but they really shine if you turn on a mode that sends the same signal to all speakers, like for background music at a party.

I have Klipsch Quartets for my surrounds, and speakers that are 32" tall, have horn mid and tweet, and 10" woofer/12" PR are not what most people think of when they think of surround speakers. But I love them. And they look impressive. :devil: (Not sure what the Sansuis weigh, but the Quartets are 52lbs each, not exactly easy to wall-mount. I just have them sitting on bar stools for now.)


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## salvasol (Oct 31, 2006)

tenzip said:


> ... I just have them sitting on bar stools for now.)


So .... Where do you seat when having a couple of cold ones??? :innocent:


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## tenzip (May 4, 2007)

salvasol said:


> So .... Where do you seat when having a couple of cold ones??? :innocent:


Kicked back in the recliner, they're extra bar stools. Just had some lovely dark beer from a local brewery tonight, watching my Huskers disintegrate against Oklahoma. Dark Side, by Empyrean Ales. If you're ever passing through Lincoln, NE, I highly suggest stopping at Lazlo's for a meal and brew or six. Or Misty's Steakhouse, who also brew their own. Thick as a Brick is my choice there. I like to be able to eat my beer with a fork. I giggle at the "More Taste League" commercials. Fizzy yellow beer is occasionally preferable to water, but only occasionally.

And now, back to our regularly scheduled topic.


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## Ttime17 (Oct 23, 2008)

""I have Klipsch Quartets for my surrounds, and speakers that are 32" tall, have horn mid and tweet, and 10" woofer/12" PR are not what most people think of when they think of surround speakers. But I love them. And they look impressive. (Not sure what the Sansuis weigh, but the Quartets are 52lbs each, not exactly easy to wall-mount. I just have them sitting on bar stools for now.)""

Sound similar to the Sansui's. They weigh close to 100lb's each if I remember correctly from my youth (it's been a long time since I had the energy to actually move furniture myself....) The horns will sit just above ear level when sitting and I can remove the diffusers if I need to better focus the top end. I like your comments about the full speakers as surrounds, I'm hoping they play well with the ribbons and that I can keep them, many memories associated with them. They were $4000 in 1978 and I got them for $2000 on a close out, I was just out of college and was making $1200 a month. I'm not sure how they rate as an investment monitarily but they've earned there keep from a pleasure standpoint. They are very sensitive, the best I've ever heard them was off a 1.5 watt Bottlehead homebuilt tube amp. On the other hand, they love power as well and are rated at 300 watts. 

Greetings to a fellow beer lover, Dark or White (Hef) I'm bilingual.


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## tenzip (May 4, 2007)

I'd give them a chance, at least. Use some surround test tracks, and see if the different timbre is very noticeable. You can always get other speakers to match your mains if it's unworkable.


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