# Small HT room design....



## rumonkey2 (Jul 24, 2006)

I've been in the process of planning small media/ht room for some time.
Already have basic layout that I know will present some challenges...mainly acoustical. I'll be using AV123 X series 5.1 system...still trying to determine best front pj for my situation - will be a "small" screen I know - but bigger than what I'm viewing on now:bigsmile: ...
Video properties not a big concern...room already has very good light control. But for acoustics, should I put heavy drapes on window? Absorbent or diffusing material in rear behind seats? Can't do any in wall wiring - eqpt will be up front in lo-boy stlye cabinet w/ center speaker on top under a DIY screen. Have thought about throwing against opposite wall or even putting eqpt in closet & throwing toward window (pull down screen) - but wiring limitations & offset of closet to window would make this undoable in my situation.....Attached is a pdf of proposed layout(sorry, not to good w/ Smartdraw:dunno: :dunno: )
Have had to alter because of file size....Recliners are Berkline 990 group w/ small wedge in between ( i already have these ready for room) Any comments/suggestions will be greatly appreciated....


----------



## bpape (Sep 14, 2006)

I'd turn the room so the screen is at the top of the drawing to get better symmetry left to right in the front of the room.

IMO, the room is not big enough to get diffusion to work effectively. Plus, in a room that size, not to mention square, you're going to need all the bass absorbtion you can get.

Bryan


----------



## rumonkey2 (Jul 24, 2006)

Bryan - are you saying have the screen pull down over window & move seating to in front of closet? I have thought about that - "entrance" in the rear, manual pull down screen over drapes, bifold doors "slight" diffusion - but wiring is an issue - electrical outlets are on entrance wall & seating wall, cable outlet on seating wall - I can't do anything about this for various reasons.....and not willing to "hide" that much wiring...
As is, will just have to hide wiring to PJ & surround speakers...
But, it does help knowing I'll need as much absorbtion as possible, that was really the answer I was looking for w/ it being a small square room....
Traps & panels? W/ this layout - where would be the best (I know hard to say unless there were some graphs - but I imagine a square room, there would be some general ideas....
Thanks


----------



## bpape (Sep 14, 2006)

Well, if you have all those issues, can't move anything, and won't hide wires, then I guess you're stuck the way you are. 

Do the standard things for treatments:

- Good, thick, solid absorbtion in the corners, kill the front wall, hit the side wall reflection points.
- In your case, you'll also likely need to do some at least 4" centered on the rear wall behind the seating position to kill the null off the back. If you can get the seating away from the rear wall a little, plan on a good solid absorber on the floor straddling the wall/floor corner behind the couch.

Bryan


----------



## basementjack (Sep 18, 2006)

I'm with Bryan. 

you could always do sliding closet doors instead of bifold to allow for room in the room.

Also if you put everything in the room, the only thing you'll need to run wires for is speaker wire - the projector can sit on a shelf in the closet (look for models such as the Sanyo Z5, the Epson 400, the Panasonic AX100 - all feature a 'lens shift' function that allow for projector placement flexibility.

As for the speaker wire - you're going to have that anyway right? (by the way, there are systems that conceal wire behind your baseboard trim)


----------



## basementjack (Sep 18, 2006)

For acoustics, you might consider building a false wall out of fabric around the entire room.

Behind the fabric, you want to put 1" or 2" rigid fiberglass. This isn't the kind of thing you'll find at home depot, but if you look in the yellow pages, you're likely to find an insulation distributor that carries it.

Fabric panels work wonders, but often look out of place.

As soon as that fabric covers the whole wall, you don't even notice it..

I first saw a theater like this at a local Home theater store - I went from one room to the next, and noticed panels in each room, then I got to a room that had no panels at all - I asked the salesman why there were no panels, and he said - they're built into the walls and pushed his hand into one of the walls. Up until that point, I hadn't noticed it was fabric.

Normally, fabric walls are pretty expensive to do, but since your room is so small, and you need so much anyways, it might work out as a DIY project. Of course if you do a fabric false wall, then running speakerwires, and antenna cables are no problem... I should tell you that fabric walls require special fire and moisture resistant fabric, and that can run $15-25 per 3ft x 5.5ft yard.


----------



## Sonnie (Apr 11, 2006)

pHill... that avatar is about as ugly as they come... it's blinding me! :whistling: 

Here's a image for everyone to see a little easier...


----------



## rumonkey2 (Jul 24, 2006)

Sonnie said:


> pHill... that avatar is about as ugly as they come... it's blinding me! :whistling:


LOL Sonnie So you telling me you're one of them 'Bammer fans?:yawn: 
Good 'Old St Nick - right? Gonna make things interesting in the SEC for sure...
Already itchin' for late August (and I know this room will be ready by then!)Maybe you'll like this pic even more.....

After delibiration, I do believe I will reverse arrangement of room -
Seating along entrance wall w/ eqpt behind it. This will help me w/ wiring runs & only hiding wiring to front 3 speakers.....


----------



## Sonnie (Apr 11, 2006)

I'm a Tubby fan too... but a really big BAMA fan. I've one of the few BAMA fans out there that actually like Tubby. I don't care a terrible lot for the team as a whole, but the coach is a pretty good ole boy. 

I may end up having to block your images... addle: Yeah... abuse of power... :bigsmile:

I'm not sure I follow you on the reverse arrangement of the room... :scratch: Can you do us another diagram?


----------



## Sonnie (Apr 11, 2006)

BTW... prediction... might as well go for the gusto... be brave... hold nothing back!


----------



## rumonkey2 (Jul 24, 2006)

*Smart Draw Trial over....*

...and I'm to cheap to pay for full version:R I would have no use for it anyway...

Simple explanation though -
This is a pre-existing 3rd bedroom, so I would just put seating , pj, eqpt & surrounds along 13'6" wall & screen and L/C/R on 11'6" wall....make sense?


And I'll take what happened @ Beard-Eaves earlier for now!!:jump: :neener: :wow: 
As always.....It's Great to be an Auburn Tiger!!


----------



## Sonnie (Apr 11, 2006)

Yeah... I see what you mean. That probably does make more sense.

I don't follow hoops, but I heard the score on ESPN... definitely a WOW! Probably luck... :huh:


----------

