# Theater Room layout help please.



## mandtra (Aug 30, 2010)

I'm ready to start construction on my Theater room but have a few questions i need answers on before i can start. The room is 17'x21.5' two of the four walls are poured concrete walls and the other two are sheet rocked. I plan on studding up the concrete walls and sheet rocking them as well. This is a basement . the ceiling is 103 1/2" . I already have my sound system . Onkyo 807 with Boston speakers. I'm planning on using 9 speakers and two subs. The placement is on the drawings. I would like to do a 120" screen and thinking about the Epson 8500U projector. I want two rows of seats , 


Question#1-: Can the back row of seats go against the wall? or will i have to space the off for proper rear sound? I assume the riser should be 8" high and extend out 6' but that would put them against the wall. So where will that put the second row at?

Question #2- what do you think of speaker placement? Screen size?
Question #3- I would like to build in a soffit and want some opinions on what size would look the best . I need it to run wires, HVAC and lighting .


----------



## bpape (Sep 14, 2006)

1. Ideally not. They will be in a zone where all the bass builds up and dialog will be difficult and bass boomy - not to mention not much of a surround effect. At 21', the first row seated head position would be around 14-14.5' so that leaves you about 7.5' behind for seating.

2. I wouldn't have the upper speakers spread so far apart and so close to the corners. Screen size is OK in a room of that width. Get the front speakers away from the wall if at all possible and plan to treat that wall.

3. Soffit is personal preference. I would say just big enough to hold whatever lighting and hvac you need. You have the ceiling height to easily be 12" high without running into problems with surrounds. As for width, personal preference. I wouldn't do more than maybe 18" or so but that's just me.

Bryan


----------



## mandtra (Aug 30, 2010)

I'm sorry i'm not sure i understand what your saying about the spacing. How far do you recommend pulling the back row off the wall ? Is wanting two rows asking too much?


----------



## bpape (Sep 14, 2006)

2 rows is not a problem. Just understand the implications as you approach the rear wall. Get the seats as far forward as you can. not having recliners in the rear row will give you more room.

Another option is to go a bit smaller on the screen and have the rows closer to the front and have excellent sound and surround for both rows. Just be careful of having the front row close to the middle of the length dimension.

Bryan


----------



## mandtra (Aug 30, 2010)

Ok , i will not use recliners on the back row. and will space them off the wall. How far off the back wall would you consider Minimum space for decent surround sound ( between back of the chair and wall)


----------



## bpape (Sep 14, 2006)

Honestly, as much as you can get. 2 feet would be an absolute minimum IMO. More is better.

Bryan


----------



## mandtra (Aug 30, 2010)

What do you think about speaker configuration for this size room? 5.1 , 7.1 , 9.1 since the room is small I'm concerned about overkill.


----------



## bpape (Sep 14, 2006)

That room is not at all small. There are a lot of guys that work with a LOT less space. 7.1 should be no problem in there at all.

One thing I would plan on is 2 subs - 1 front center and 1 rear center to better fill the room and to help smooth the response.

Bryan


----------



## mandtra (Aug 30, 2010)

ok , 7.1 it will be. Front left right and center, and rear surrounds. but where should i put the other two speakers? Front highs? front wides? or rear wides? or midway in room from front to back? My AV-RX manual has all those listed options if i understand it correctly


----------



## bpape (Sep 14, 2006)

Typical 7.1 would have LCR, 2 rears, and 2 sides. Sides would go anywhere from beside the first row to between the 2 rows depending on your preference and the style of speaker.

Bryan


----------



## mandtra (Aug 30, 2010)

Im about to run my speaker wires for the rear sides and surrounds and i'm not sure about where would be the BEST spot on the wall to place them ( they will be POLK RC85i in walls). the back wall is 17' wide and when sitting in the back row your ears will be 32" from the back wall . 

How high off the floor should they be? (all rears)
How far from the side walls is ideal? (back wall)
How far from the rear wall on the sides should they be placed? (side surrounds)


----------



## bpape (Sep 14, 2006)

A couple of questions.

Room height?
Riser height?
Soffits? Size?
Just 2 rows?

Bryan


----------



## mandtra (Aug 30, 2010)

the room height is 103" , the riser is 8" high , soffit drops down 12" yes just 2 rows. I have 83" between the riser and the bottom of the soffit . and the riser is 7' 4" from the back wall (deep)


----------



## bpape (Sep 14, 2006)

Good deal. 

I'd put the surrounds about 6' off the riser floor. 

Side surrounds would go basically between the 2 rows.

Rear surrounds is preference. Personally, I like to line them up on the outer arms of the outer seats. You could go a little farther apart but I don't like to have them any closer than 2-2.5' from the corner.

Bryan


----------



## mandtra (Aug 30, 2010)

the side surrounds are falling into an header where i removed a door, and wont be able to recess the inwall speaker there. . i will have to either move them 10" closer to the screen , or use wall hung speakers instead. what do you think?


----------



## bpape (Sep 14, 2006)

Your call but moving them forward a bit will be better for the front row at the tradeoff of the rear row slightly.

Bryan


----------



## spartanstew (May 7, 2009)

Just to provide another viewpoint.

My HT is 20' deep and I have my rear row up against the back wall with recliners. I knew it wasn't ideal when I built, but as with everything, there's sacrifices. 

To my pleasant surprise, the rear seats sound great. In fact, although I sit in the front row 95% of the time, when I do sit in the rear, I can't tell a difference. It allowed me to go with a bigger screen and also allows for guests to have comfortable seats when sitting in the rear. IMO, I'd rather have comfortable recliners up against the rear wall, then non-recliners pulled out a couple of feet. Especially if the main seats are going to be the front row.


----------



## mandtra (Aug 30, 2010)

Question about screen height off the floor. i plan on using approx 123" screen which is approx 60" h x108" w x123diag. ceiling height is 103" with a soffit 24" wide & down 12 1/2"" which nets out 91" floor to soffit at screen area. I would like screen as high as possible, but since the soffit is 24" deep i assume i will have to drop the screen lower for the projector beam to clear the soffit. The back row is sitting on an 8" riser. How far down can i mount the projector before it is a problem? with people's heads in the way , fan noise etc? I can mount the projector as far back as i need in the room i was thinking about 15 to 17 ' throw which is about 24" from the soffit inside, and where will that put my screen height? I need the soffit at least on three sides for hvac , soffit is already installed on all four sides, but i could as a last resort i could have the soffit above the screen removed or raise it 6" if absolutely necessary.


----------



## mandtra (Aug 30, 2010)

Things are moving slowly but, the framing is finally complete and Hvac should go in tomorrow  
The boxes for the rear surrounds are 76" Top & 62" Bottom from the riser floor, and 34" from the corner, 
but the sides I have three options 

1- same height ,and line up on front row arm rest
2- same height, and line up on rear row arm rest
3 -42"- 54" off the riser floor between the two rows of seats

Which of these three is the best option?


----------



## bpape (Sep 14, 2006)

Depends on your preference and the type of speaker. Do you want to optimize for the front row or for all seats? 1 or 3 would be the 2 options.

Bryan


----------



## mandtra (Aug 30, 2010)

I would like both rows to sound good , but the rear row is probably going to be the primary listening position. The area between the rows of seats has a column 16" w x 6" deep with a sconce above ,so I could mount a speaker in the column but below the scoance. that's why the speaker would be lower than the rears, to miss the sconce.(option three)
Is there any major cons to either option? 

as far as speakers. I'm torn between Martain logan helos 20's (in-celings) installed in the walls , polk RC85i , Speakercraft Aim LCR 3's with tilt-able woofers.
any thoughts on these speakers as well?


----------



## bpape (Sep 14, 2006)

You really don't want your side surrounds in front of the primary seating. Why is the back row primary? The front row won't have the obstructions of chairs in front of it. Rear row will also likely be too close to the rear wall for best bass response.

Bryan


----------



## mandtra (Aug 30, 2010)

point taken. I will make the front row primary. So will that favor option # 3 ?


----------



## bpape (Sep 14, 2006)

Probably - and as high as possible given the restriction.

Bryan


----------



## mandtra (Aug 30, 2010)

bpape said:


> Probably - and as high as possible given the restriction.
> 
> Bryan


here are the pictures of the almost finished product. Soon as the funds become avail i will start the sound treatments . Any thoughts as to what and where I should start?

http://www.hometheatershack.com/for...s/38598-forrester-dedicated-home-theater.html


----------



## bpape (Sep 14, 2006)

Front corners - front wall - side wall reflections, center of rear wall are all places that will need to be addressed. Thick in front corners and on rear wall, 2" most likely on sides and balance of front wall.

Bryan


----------



## mandtra (Aug 30, 2010)

what product will give the best bang for the buck? and can you suggest where to find it?


----------



## bpape (Sep 14, 2006)

If you want to DIY, either use around a 2-4lb mineral wool or OC703. 703 is a bit more expensive but easier to work with and cut if needed. 

Or, our premades can work very well too 

Bryan


----------

