# Home Theater design: townhouse basement



## ChristianCrowley (Apr 18, 2011)

Greetings,

I am remodeling a basement in a DC townhouse, and I'm looking to include a music/home theater room. I'm a real newbie, so I'd love to get any advice you folks could share. 

I'm thinking of a 5.1 or 6.1 system (50% music, 50% movies), with a budget under $2000 for the receiver and speakers. Used or new equipment could be fine for me.

The room is in a basement, with a tile floor, and walls of brick, drywall and fabric (heavy curtains). There are two small windows in the way back that can be curtained off for a nice dark room. The ceiling is about 7.5' and will have a double layer of drywall with green glue in between for soundproofing. The total area is about 140 square feet, in an irregular shape, like a pentagon with an alcove off the upper right side. The sides of the pentagon are about 6', 6', 6', 7', and 9' and the alcove is along that 9' segment: 9' x 5'. 

The 7' wall is actually a heavy curtain over an alcove housing the electronics (receiver, DVD, computer, etc). Two of the 6' walls are also heavy curtains, to close off the movie room from the rest of the basement. I'm thinking we could hang three bookshelf speakers from the ceiling at three points of the pentagon: left surround, right surround and a back-surround. I could put the front speakers on a stand. 

I'd like to avoid having to buy a TV, so I'd prefer to use a portable projector and a smallish portable screen that could be put away when we're not watching movies (maybe 50-60" diagonal - I'm not sure what that should be as a screen width measurement). I don't yet know enough about projectors and screens to have a budget for them; right now I'm thinking $2000 for the projector and screen. These will not be permanently installed, so maybe a "business-style" set-up would work well.

Thanks for any help and advice you can send along! 
Best regards,
Christian


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## Jungle Jack (Jul 28, 2009)

Hello,
With that budget, you can certainly put together a capable HT. If a Projector and Screen is coming out of this budget, I would definitely be thinking more towards 2000 Dollars if you want a HT that will last.

I would start off going to AV Dealers and auditioning Speakers first. This is important because some speakers are much more difficult to drive than others and will inform the selection of the AVR. 

Once you have had a chance to find Speakers you like, I would search Audiogon and click the Search Button and enter the first 2 numbers of your Zip Code for local offerings. You live in an area where you should see a great number of used components that show up when searching.

Speakers I would go to listen to include Focal, B&W, Paradigm, PSB, Dynaudio, Klipsch, Definitive Audio, and Totem just to name a few. There are many Dealers in the DC Area so you should be able to find all of these lines and more.

Once you have found Speakers you like, then comes finding a Projector and Screen, Blu-Ray Player, and AVR.
Buying used will definitely help in hitting your budget target.
Cheers,
JJ


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## ChristianCrowley (Apr 18, 2011)

Greetings,

Thanks for your advice JJ, and the lead on Audiogon. I'll look around and test drive some of the speakers you mention at local dealers. My budget of $2000 is for the speakers and receiver. I don't know enough about projectors and screens to have a budget for those yet, though I'm hoping another $2000 would cover it. If I can do the whole thing for less, that would certainly be welcome! I think I'm not picky when it comes to sound and image quality ~ that might change once I start learning more!


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

Hi Christian, A very good 1080p projector can be had for as little as $1000 and a fixed screen can be bought for around $350. So with your budget of under $4000 for everything you will have a great setup 
Check out accesories4less for some great receiver prices here is one that I highly recommend. It wont pass the new 3D video but if your not going that route then its not a issue.


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## ChristianCrowley (Apr 18, 2011)

Thanks Tony, I'll definitely check out Accessories4Less and that Onkyo receiver you recommend. I'm glad to hear that there are some good projectors and screens are in the price-range I'm thinking of.

3D is not something I've been thinking of adding, so your Onkyo looks great.


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

That Onkyo is loaded with every feature you will ever need and has a good sized transformer to power the amps, something many receivers lack.


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## sga2 (Nov 14, 2009)

You could also consider using the wall itself as a screen, assuming it has sufficient space free of doors, windows, electrical panels, switches, etc., and can be finished smooth. When we first finished our project, I just projected onto a white primered wall with very decent results (note that the color was very comparable to Elite CineWhite screen material, which is regarded as a good cost-effective screen). After some tweaking, we now have a very light grey finish for improved black levels. There are other mixes (Black Widow, Cream & Sugar, etc.) which are detailed in the DIY Screens Forum. 

Don't let the information there overwhelm you - it is really quite easy as long as you prepare the surface properly and paint carefully. And you could get results as good as, or better than, a budget manufactured screen, all for less than $100. The savings would go far toward upgrades on the projector or other components.

Regards,
sga2


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## ChristianCrowley (Apr 18, 2011)

Great idea on using the wall. In our case, there's an alcove running right up the middle of the wall, so we don't have a flat surface. I'll keep my eyes open for a good screen that can be stashed away when we're not viewing.


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## ChristianCrowley (Apr 18, 2011)

I've taken the plunge: I bought the Onkyo TX-NR3007 and SVS speakers: PC12-NSD cylindrical sub, one SCS-02 center, a pair of SBS-02 for the front, and another pair for the side surrounds.

I've run wire for a single rear surround, so I'll be looking for ideas on what to use there.

The theater/listening room will be 6.1. I'm going to set up a 2nd zone for the adjacent kitchen (2.1) and a 3rd for the bathroom/sauna (1.0).

Unfortunately, I didn't quite manage to stick to my $2,000 budget for the AVR and speakers. I guess it'll be closer to $2,800, so I'll do some more saving up.

Thanks for all the advice helping me make my choice!


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## TypeA (Aug 14, 2010)

Good choices, the 3007 is a very capable three-zone unit. I highly recommend video support for all three zones. Can be as simple as a small lcd fed composite. Small inexpensive lcd panels with video inputs are hard to find but makes navigating pandora, fm radio ect much easier.

This is the best panel Ive found yet, I use it daily in zone 1 to avoid firing up my projector just to listen to music...

http://www.amazon.com/Audiovox-LCD-...UTF8&coliid=I291UISAD7H0V&colid=116XS749Z09UW

Not as good of a viewing angle but this is what I use for zone 2 to avoid firing up _that_ projector...

http://www.amazon.com/Artec-T28A-8-...TF8&coliid=I1D2BP6YYM8UNG&colid=116XS749Z09UW


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## sga2 (Nov 14, 2009)

For the rear speaker(s)... Maybe get another pair of SBS 02's go 7.1 in the main room? Hard to beat $200 for those speakers. You can always place the two rear surrounds close together per THX recommendations which I think works well for a smaller room. 

You'll be happy with the 3007. It is a great receiver.

Regards,
sga2


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