# Is a Home Theater Possible in this room?



## sab340 (Jan 28, 2014)

Hi Everyone-

Let me start by saying that I am new to the world of home theaters...very very new...but it is one thing I have ALWAYS wanted in a home. I bought a house a few years ago and, in the basement, the previous owners had a bonus room where they did crafts and used it as storage. Well, thanks to the polar vortex, a pipe burst in the room and flooded about 5 inches up the wall. I now have a room that can pretty much be a blank slate. In the past, I have used the room as a gym but I am wondering if now is the time to maybe make the move to get that which I have always wanted. 

I am a little concerned, however, about the usability of the room. I will post some pictures below and the design specifications of the room. 

The basic layout of the room is as follows. There are two doors sitting on opposite walls. One is to the outside, the other is to the remainder of the downstairs. There is one window in the room on the same wall as the outside door. These are both in a recessed area and could be blocked easily with a curtain or other object. Along one wall are two closets which I could probably tear out if necessary but one is sharing a wall with a vent.

I feel like, if I did this, I would place the screen on the wall with the door that enters into the rest of the basement (facing the interior of the house). The wall (minus the door) is only about 7 and a half feet. I have not met with any contractors to see if the door could possible be relocated to where the closet is currently. That would offset the speakers and such to the side but might create an "aisle" where people could walk. 

So please take a look. I am really new so I would love suggestions or comments or, if you think this isn't reasonable, I will take that as well. I just figured now is the time because running wires and such will be much easier with drywall already torn out. 

Thanks in advance for all your help!


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## Andre (Feb 15, 2010)

lets say you leave the doors where they are, take out the closets and the cabinets. You would have close to 14 feet to put the screen on the long wall. If you only want one row of say 4-5 a few feet from the back of the room so that you get some decent sound from the rears your about 10 feet from eyes to screen on the wall. With that (depending on where you like to sit in a commercial theater) will give you a decent viewing angle for a 100 inch screen


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## sab340 (Jan 28, 2014)

Interesting! I hadn't thought about going wide angle in the room...Just had thought about going the length of the room. Just so I understand, you are thinking a long the lines of the diagram below?

One question...I think that above the closets is duct work which you can sort of tell by the return vent above the doors. Would that interfere with mounting a projector?


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## sab340 (Jan 28, 2014)

Forgot to attach image...sorry


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## ALMFamily (Oct 19, 2011)

Definitely possible - and I concur with Andre's suggestion. 

You could probably mount the projector in front of the duct line - you would just have to get a projector that would work at that distance is all.


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## bpape (Sep 14, 2006)

Seating is awfully far back that way and mounting side surrounds for 7.1 will be interesting.


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## Andre (Feb 15, 2010)

Put he seating under the ductwork, the projector can be ceiling mounted beside the return vent opening (now you have a conduit for running some fo the wire. What Bryan sayes is correct, your side surrounds because of the door and window will not be optimal. I would probably recommend an in ceiling with an anglable tweeter houseing so you can point it at the listening position. For the rears I would probably go with a bipole (e.g. Axiom QS4), since you will be so close to the rear wall. The exterior door looks to be in a small niche so it should be fairly east to hang a curtain rod just inside and hang some accoustic/light controlling drapes, I would also probably replace the french door with a solid. If you will be looking at theater seat check out http://www.hometheatershack.com/for...w-fusion-collection-home-theater-seating.html I would have got them myself but getting themt to Canada was almost as much as the seat itself. Many of us recommend www.Accessories4less.com if you don't mind refurbished AVRs for a great price. Picking a screen shouldn't be a problem for your room considering the size, throw distance and being able to control the light well. Speaker are to me a very personal thing i.e. what I like you could hate to high heaven. We always recommend you go listen to as many brands as you can then if you can't deside come back and tell us what you liked and disliked about those brands and perhaps we can put in a few cents to help you out.


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## sdurani (Oct 28, 2010)

bpape said:


> Seating is awfully far back that way and mounting side surrounds for 7.1 will be interesting.


With the seating that close to the back wall, there wouldn't be enough space behind the listening area for the rear speakers, not to mention no meaningful separation between the rear and side speakers. Better to stick to a 5.1 layout with a single pair of surrounds. 

However, if the OP is willing to put a false wall in front of one of the doors and use the room lengthwise, then the 20-foot length will allow for a good 7.1 layout with excellent rear-vs-side separation in the surround field.


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## ALMFamily (Oct 19, 2011)

What about instead of doing rears, doing a 7.1 doing front wides? You would definitely have the space...


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## Mike0206 (Jul 14, 2013)

ALMFamily said:


> What about instead of doing rears, doing a 7.1 doing front wides? You would definitely have the space...


 I would lean towards this as well.


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## Andre (Feb 15, 2010)

Since you can get into the wall easily now, I would recommend running the wires for both, try them in both areas and go with what you like the most.


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## Tedd (Feb 2, 2007)

What's outside the room boundaries? Is it possible to create a new circulation path to the room at the rear?
If so, then that doorway could be closed off and that end of the room be used as a screen wall.


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## sab340 (Jan 28, 2014)

Thank you all for your input. Like I said, I'm pretty new at this so bear with me as I try to take in all of your suggestions and answer what questions I can.

The wall with the French door enters into the main living room of the downstairs. On the other side of the wall that currently has the closets is a small-one car garage. Outside of potentially relocating the French door on the same wall but further towards the garage into the existing closet, I'm not certain that I could change the flow of the room. 

Using the room as a wide theater likely would cost less money for the build and give more for the outfitting of the theater itself. The window and the door are in a recess and a curtain definitely could be hung. 

I think I am understanding the speaker situation...again, please bear with me. A 7.1 wide set-up would have two speakers on either side of the screen with one in front...and then two placed in the rear? I am a little concerned about the possibility that there won't be much room for rear audio speakers...but maybe that isn't so important?

I enclosed a crude mock-up with what I think you all are recommending. 

Thank you again for the help, please keep it up!


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## Andre (Feb 15, 2010)

I would consider that a 5.1 with two front height or wide presence channels. Normally a 7.1 would consider of:

Main Left and Right (either side of the screen)
Centre (under screen)
Left and right Surround (adjacent and slightly forward of the listening area, in your case because of the doors and windows you couldn't mount them on the wall so they would have to be either in ceiling or attached to a mounting bracket hanging from the ceiling.
left and right rear surrounds (behind, on either side of the listening area about 3 feet above head level OR you can go with 1 rear surround in the center, I would still recommend a bipole)
the .1 is a sub
Left and right rear surrounds (bh


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## sab340 (Jan 28, 2014)

Also, I don't want to jump the gun but woot.com has Optoma projectors on their site today.

Anyone think any of these projectors would work for the close-range projection for this room? 

http://tech.woot.com/plus/optoma-projectors-24

thanks!


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## Andre (Feb 15, 2010)

http://www.visualapex.com/projector-package-deals/for-Optoma-projectors.asp

take a look at these packages


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## sab340 (Jan 28, 2014)

Andre-

I cannot thank you enough for your help.

Do you have a particular package on that site that you would recommend?

I think I am understanding, after researching, why you are recommending bipole speakers. Are you saying that you would suggest a wide 7.1 with bipolar speakers in the rear? Would you recommend one or a pair behind the seating? Roughly how far would the seating be set out to give optimal sound with the bipole? 

Sorry again if these questions seem amateur. I am doing as much research as possible but I feel like there is no better way than to ask the experts.


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## phillihp23 (Mar 14, 2012)

ALMFamily said:


> What about instead of doing rears, doing a 7.1 doing front wides? You would definitely have the space...


I agree with this also if your going to do the layout as diagrammed. 

It would be a left, center and right front speaker, left and right wide front speakers, two sides and a sub. As indicated below by the blue globs.








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And you can decide to put the sub up front or in one of the rear corners.
Sorry for my artistic hack job.:hail:


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## Tedd (Feb 2, 2007)

How about creating an entry area? 

Lose the closets but soffit the entire room.


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## bpape (Sep 14, 2006)

Another thing that can be done in an absolute emergency situation, like this one, is to get sealed surrounds and lay them on their backs on the floor behind the couch. Not optimal but doable when needed. 

I guess my thought on the wide vs long is that while it will give you more $$$ to equip the theater now, equipment can always be traded, upgraded, changed, added, etc. Once you build the room, that's a MAJOR expense to change.


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## sab340 (Jan 28, 2014)

Would doing the room as a wide-based theater be sufficient? I don't want to go ahead with wiring and such and suddenly realize that the view distance is too close for comfortable viewing. I think that the sound can hopefully be worked out...I might even be able to sink the rear speakers into the wall?


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## Andre (Feb 15, 2010)

Screen size, here is a article for you to read:

http://www.projectorcentral.com/projection_screen_size.htm

Basically the width You would be comfortable with will depend on where in a commercial theatre you like to sit, getting the ratio of the screens width to how far you sit give you that. This will tell you at what point you would find a screen too big.

Next give an approximate distance of 10' from the screen I used this calculator

http://hometheaterhero.com/htcalc.html#top

I used a 120" 16:9 screen at 10' and clicked "seating distance guidelines' and use the "in cinema" number and it looks like that would work out (that is if of course you a mid cinema seater)

As for speakers: I can only tell you would I personally would try, but in the case of wiring I would wire a few scenarios (wire is cheap).

So I would wire for:

Front L and R
Centre
Front Height
Front Wide
in Ceiling side surrounds
dual and mono rear surrounds

As for a speaker configuration I would:

Front L and R and Centre: These three would be from the same manufacture and series, same size drivers, what brand is up to you, I highly encourage you go listen to as many as you can.

Now the side and rear surrounds I personally don't believe that they require to be the same as the fronts or ever from the same manufacturer, sure it is a "best practice" but sometimes you have to look outside the box for what is needed for your room.

In this case I would use amiable in ceiling speakers for your side surrounds. An example of which would be the AIM speaker from Speakercraft.

For your rear because your so dang close I would probably start off with only One rear surround in the centre of a bipole variety, some thing like the Axiom QS8 (I use that example because I know you can purchase them each)

However, with the additional wiring you can experiment with different configurations until you find the one YOU enjoy them most

As for the package deal in the Optoma the HD25e is a nice unit


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## sab340 (Jan 28, 2014)

Hi Everyone-

Thanks again for the help. I spoke with our construction guy at work today and he came up with another idea that I think someone else in the thread might have recommended. He asked if I would be up for building a false wall a few feet from the entrance into the room and recreating a new entryway into the "theater." Thus giving another 2-3 feet of space for a screen on one of the shorter walls. This would also give me some additional stoarage in the room with the added length.

This might also solve the issue of the rear speaker problem. I didn't know if it would be better to just shorter the room by a few feet or just recreate a "smaller theater" (9.5 feet by 16-17 feet length) by adding in another wall (blue on the picture). 

Take a look and let me know what you think...if this is better use of the space than the wide angle set-up.

Thanks again!


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## Andre (Feb 15, 2010)

I personally wouldn't do it, but in the end its up to you


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## NBPk402 (Feb 21, 2012)

Do you need both entries? I would stick with one entry and use the other end for your screen and speakers, or move one door against the side wall to give you more room to do what you wanted.


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## sab340 (Jan 28, 2014)

I do like the idea of the wide theater, I just want to explore every option before "biting the bullet." What do you think is the benefit of the wide versus the long theater?

I do need both entry points...one door to the outside and one door to the living room


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## sdurani (Oct 28, 2010)

sab340 said:


> I do need both entry points...one door to the outside and one door to the living room


In that case, do the wide theatre, with a pair of surrounds in the back tri-corners of the room (where the back corners meet the ceiling). The multiple reflective surfaces will help diffuse the sound for better envelopment. The wide spread will maintain strong stereo separation in the surround field. 

IF you want to go beyond a 5.1 set-up, I would go with height speakers next, mounted on the side walls as high up as possible, a couple feet closer than the front speakers. This will give a better sense of height (sounds above you) than the typical recommendation of mounting them high above the L/R speakers (which just makes the front soundstage appear taller).


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## Andre (Feb 15, 2010)

The Major problem with the narrow design as shown is that the main speaker will be stuck in corners, which Very few sound descent in, you will not develop and enveloping sound stage. I stand by my recommendation above


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## Tedd (Feb 2, 2007)

That's kind of along the lines I suggested, but with a room flip. 

Is there a perfect layout for this room, with doors at each end? I doubt it. Wide 
gives you all the square footage, and long means the screen ends up off center. 

I'd skip the side wall if you go that route. Visually you'd have something laid out 
like this room. You could get creative with the screen sliding over, with fabric covered 
door. This would give you the centered layout but I expect sliding the screen in place 
might get a little tiresome.


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## Tedd (Feb 2, 2007)

A further second thought is maybe the speakers go in a fixed baffle wall structure centrally located 
(or in wall speakers), and a floor to ceiling AT screen/panel slides over to become centrally located. 
The door could get a black fabric finish to match the front wall and sliding wall. The sub could be recessed into the front wall cavity where the screen wall resides, where not in use.


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## Tedd (Feb 2, 2007)

And the screen when not in use, out of the circulation space.


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## bpape (Sep 14, 2006)

While not optimal being off center, that setup is at least controllable and required treatment surfaces are all pretty much available, etc.


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## Tedd (Feb 2, 2007)

I should have drawn in the speaker locations and better label the drawing. 

The AT screen would be a floor to ceiling panel that slides into place and locks, for movie time. The 
off center position is merely it's stored position, where it is out of the way of the doorway and out of the circulation path. 

Centrally locating the screen this way might limit the screen real estate to something like 9' wide.


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## Tedd (Feb 2, 2007)

Maybe work the av rack in the back of the front wall, and use an infrared repeater system? 

That would give you a 13' wide by 16-16.5' deep room. Speaker locations work out well and no seat right 
up tight to a surround speaker.


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## sab340 (Jan 28, 2014)

Ok everyone, thanks again for all the help. After taking into account the expertise of the people on this thread, visiting some houses of people who have theaters, and perusing the Internet...I think I have decided to go with the wide-set theater. Cost-wise it makes the most financial sense and after sitting in various places in the room, I think the sound should be pretty good. 
I was able to cut a small section of the ceiling and should be able to easily set some speakers into the ceiling as well.

So it sounds like the most reasonable speaker set up would be then to do a wide-based 7.1 speaker set up and then use a solitary dipole rear speaker? Would that speaker be near the floor or at ear level in the back? Or would I be better served to do in ceiling speakers as well?


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## sdurani (Oct 28, 2010)

sab340 said:


> ...and then use a solitary dipole rear speaker?


Don't do that. Instead do a 5.1 layout and use the other two channels for wides or heights (the latter would be my choice to make the audio more 3D).


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## Tedd (Feb 2, 2007)

+1. 

But I would go with three better quality speakers up front, as opposed to five front channels.


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