# Need comments of plan for Home Theatre



## aardvarcus (Oct 6, 2009)

I am in the design stages of my home theatre. It will be in my basement, with approximate inside diminsions of 8' tall, 13'-4" wide, and 19' long. Here is a sketch, approximately to scale. Please give me any ideas or point out any layout problems. Also, look in the room accoustics forum, as I would like to ask questions about a suggested accoustic treatment design, but don't want to de-rail this thread.

 

The couches will be 6' wide, the equipment rack will be 3' tall, so it will be about as tall as a couch. I will be using JBL speakers, about 14"*12"*24" on 2-3' tall stands in a 7.1 surround layout. There is fiberglass floor to ceiling behind each of the speakers. Layout wise, how does it look?


----------



## Prof. (Oct 20, 2006)

Basically it looks alright, but you haven't mentioned anything about proposed screen size or projector..also your seating distances..
Do you plan to put any covering on the hardwood floor.?


----------



## SierraMikeBravo (Jul 1, 2007)

If I am reading this right, it looks to me as you plan to use waaaaaaayyyyy too much fiberglass. Also, you need to determine exactly were the seats are going, then determine where the subs are going to go. If you can put dimensions on there, that would be beneficial. Also, how do you plan on getting all the cabling from the equipment to the speakers as well as electrical power? Subfloor underneath the hardwood? I wouldn't use hardwood if you can help it. Ironically, I just designed a theater for a client with almost the exact same dimensions. Just a few inches different.

EDIT: Just saw your treatment plan in the other thread. Interesting. I think a bit convoluted for the goals you are aiming for. PM me if you want more info.


----------



## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

You will want to pull the front speakers and the rear speakers out of the corners to improve imaging.

@Shawn discussions should be kept to this thread so others can also learn from the information.


----------



## Jeff (Oct 7, 2009)

At a risk of sounding stupid, what is the purpose of the figerglass columns, is it for sound, visual effects?


----------



## rickp (Jan 14, 2008)

Bass traps are manditory, and depending on how good your subs are the more the better. I am assuming thats what your corner traps are. My room is 12'6x20x8'5" with 4 triangle 703 traps and I could use more. But I also have way to much subwoofage in some peoples opinion ie; like my wife. 

http://www.hometheatershack.com/for...n-construction/16240-lake-martin-theater.html


----------



## aardvarcus (Oct 6, 2009)

I will try to get some better pictures with dimensions up in a day or two.

The viewing distance to the projector will be roughly 7' from the front couch, and 10' from the back one. I was planning on making the screen 7-8' wide, so a roughly 100" diagonal screen.

I hadn't planned on covering any of the hardwood floor, but rugs are always an option. Am I going to need to put rugs to catch reflections, or just to soften up the floor a bit?

The columns in the corners are bass traps, about 16"*16". I thought that putting fiberglass behind the speakers would reduce the need to space them from the wall. The front/rear ones are spaced about 2' from the solid corners, or do I need to space them from the fiberglass.(I know the picture is terrible, I will get a better one soon.)

Do I have too much FG? what % room coverage is FG typically used?


----------



## Prof. (Oct 20, 2006)

aardvarcus said:


> The viewing distance to the projector will be roughly 7' from the front couch, and 10' from the back one. I was planning on making the screen 7-8' wide, so a roughly 100" diagonal screen.


That's really a bit close for a 100" screen...even with a 1080p projector..unless you're planning on sitting in the back row?



> I hadn't planned on covering any of the hardwood floor, but rugs are always an option. Am I going to need to put rugs to catch reflections, or just to soften up the floor a bit?


A large floor rug will help to deaden the room and reduce reflected waves..Normally it's a must on hard floors..



> The columns in the corners are bass traps, about 16"*16". I thought that putting fiberglass behind the speakers would reduce the need to space them from the wall. The front/rear ones are spaced about 2' from the solid corners, or do I need to space them from the fiberglass.(I know the picture is terrible, I will get a better one soon.)
> 
> Do I have too much FG? what % room coverage is FG typically used?


Generally, you can't have enough bass trapping or acoustic panels..
What you show in your plan is not excessive..


----------



## aardvarcus (Oct 6, 2009)

Here are some better pictures of what I am wanting to do.

 
This shows the layout of couches/screen/equipment with labels on everything.
The actual viewing distance to the screen from the front couch will be about 9'.

 
This shows the underfloor conduit I will run and the layout of the 7.1 system it will be feeding.

 
This shows the listening angles of the speakers from the good position.

 
This is what I am thinking for my equipment rack.


----------



## Prof. (Oct 20, 2006)

Any particular reason for having the subs on the side wall?
Normally they would be either behind a screen wall, or in front of the screen..


----------



## kjlewie (May 24, 2008)

Nice looking plan and space. I seem to recall general advice against placing the seating in the exact center of the room (like your 1st row). I recall recommmended seating distances at roughly 3/5ths and 4/5ths of room length for acoustic reasons. Once you have your acoustic dimensions generally in line, then you can figure out your potential screen size and from there - what pj will best fit your setup.

Have you considered moving your seating back a bit - it seems a litlle close? Then, perhaps you could create enough room behind the screen for all of your speakers...? Maybe the equipment could go diagonally in one of the rear corners or along one of the rear side walls to free up some depth? And, if you like symmetry, maybe a minibar/snackbar or media storage could go in the corner or on the wall opposite the equipment? Planning for multiple subs:T

Just thinking out loud...I'll be quiet now.

Good luck.


----------



## aardvarcus (Oct 6, 2009)

The reason for the two subs on the sides is that I was trying to "future proof" for 10.2 (or X.2), because 10.2 uses two separate LFE channels designed to be on the left and right. Something about "increasing envelopment."

Ok, so roughly 40% from the front/back is the sweet spot? Maybe I should try to move it back a bit, but 60% back is where the rear couch is now. How important is it that the couches stay symmetric? I don't want to mess up the acoustics, but that would make it much easier because I could move the couches to the left and the door/equipment to the right. Then I could back the couches up without getting in the walking path.

Keep the suggestions coming, they are very helpful.


----------



## Prof. (Oct 20, 2006)

aardvarcus said:


> How important is it that the couches stay symmetric? I don't want to mess up the acoustics, but that would make it much easier because I could move the couches to the left and the door/equipment to the right. Then I could back the couches up without getting in the walking path.


It's not so much a problem with acoustics..( although you might find you have a peak or a dip to the left side of the room )..it's the surround sound that will give more of a problem with the seating to the side..
If you go that way, you might have to place the surrounds a bit higher than normal and angled down, to get a balanced sound for all viewers..


----------



## aardvarcus (Oct 6, 2009)

Alright, I am going to try to redesign the layout with the suggestions I have been given. I will try to get a new layout up soon.


----------



## theaterprojector (Sep 14, 2009)

Looking forward to seeing how it turns out!


----------



## SierraMikeBravo (Jul 1, 2007)

Prof. said:


> Any particular reason for having the subs on the side wall?
> Normally they would be either behind a screen wall, or in front of the screen..


Actually, I would have to do some calculations based on room response, but he has the right idea regarding the subs...just not the right response to your question.:bigsmile: Here is the reason why two subs are important in a room, because it provides better coverage of the seating area and having two subs "allows" you to push them up against the wall. To answer what seems a question to a question...think about this...where is the best place to place a single subwoofer in a room, in general terms...and pleeeeeaaaase don't say the corner.


----------

