# Hunt Family Theater



## chris0228 (Feb 25, 2014)

Well here we go. Our home will be complete in about 6-8 weeks and then the process will start. Here is a list of what I will be doing and the initial gear list:

Dedicated Media Room - 10x18 w/ 9ft Ceilings
Two Rows of 3 Seats
Back Row Riser
Front Riser
Custom Built-In Rack - Back Right of Room
Add 6-8 LED Pin Spots
Acoustic Treatment - If Needed After System Setup and Tuned

Gear:
Denon X4000 or 4520ci
Oppo 103d
XBox 360
Direct TV Genie
106" White Screen
Epson or BenQ Projector
SVS Ultra Bookshelf 7.2 System with 2 SB13 Ultras

I'll post lots of pics along the way. Suggestions and opinions/observations are desired and expected. I've learned a lot from this forum and will continue to learn thru this build. Thanks everyone!!


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## NBPk402 (Feb 21, 2012)

In for progress of your new HT build. :T


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## Prof. (Oct 20, 2006)

That's going to be a bit of a squeeze with 3 seats across a 10' wide room..bearing in mind that an average recliner is about 3' wide..


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## chris0228 (Feb 25, 2014)

Prof. said:


> That's going to be a bit of a squeeze with 3 seats across a 10' wide room..bearing in mind that an average recliner is about 3' wide..


Yep, a topic that I have spent a lot of time looking into. There are several options of space saver theater seats out there that would leave 22-24 inches with the row of seats pushed up next to the wall. What I may end up doing is a row of three pushed to one side as the front row and a row of two on the riser centered in the room.


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## Prof. (Oct 20, 2006)

I guess if you have 3 of the old fold up type theatre seats it could work, but I can't imagine anything else that would be suitable..
Interested to see what you come up with..


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## chris0228 (Feb 25, 2014)

Update:

I've officially started the build. Today I ripped out the carpet, tested all the pre-wire connections, cut out some drywall to prep for my connection wall, finalized all my discussion with Roman solidifying size of chairs for riser construction, made final calculations on seating distances to nail down screen size, and started the rack build. 

Here's the plan: 100" Screen, 2 rows of 3 seats - Fusion Escape setup IOOIOI @ 93.75" wide, first row of seats at 10', riser height 12" with dimensions of 94"X65", equipment rack in rear of room with a 21U rack up top (for AV gear, power, etc.) and a 16U rack on the bottom (misc shelves and drawers).

I should have the rack completed tomorrow and start working on the riser. Here are some pics (sorry for the last 2, you'll have to rotate your head :R):


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## Medi0gre (Oct 30, 2012)

Subscribed, looking forward to your progress!!
I have a similar size space.


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## Heath Cunningham (Jun 28, 2014)

Some of the cinema style chairs look really good in home theatres,I have seen it done a few times, best for space saving and can also be quite comfortable.
Good luck with the build mate.


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## phillihp23 (Mar 14, 2012)

Prof. said:


> That's going to be a bit of a squeeze with 3 seats across a 10' wide room..bearing in mind that an average recliner is about 3' wide..


Agree with this comment. I have 3 recliner seats in a row in my theater. The theater is 14 ft wide. It left me with 2ft on each side to walk past. You would definitely have to be creative with your seating as pushing it left or right will not really make a difference. You will need 3 seats that combined will take up at least 2 ft less space and then push them to the right or left to give you a 2ft walk path.


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## chris0228 (Feb 25, 2014)

phillihp23 said:


> Agree with this comment. I have 3 recliner seats in a row in my theater. The theater is 14 ft wide. It left me with 2ft on each side to walk past. You would definitely have to be creative with your seating as pushing it left or right will not really make a difference. You will need 3 seats that combined will take up at least 2 ft less space and then push them to the right or left to give you a 2ft walk path.


Yep that's the plan. The Escape seat setup IOOIOI leaves me 20" when pushed all the way up against the wall. The love seat will be centered in the room with the single seat against the wall. Not completely ideal, but it's the only way to get 6 full size seats in my room.


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## Owen Bartley (Oct 18, 2006)

Good start, Chris. I like to see the innovation come through in small room projects. I'll likely be in the same ballpark, and my early sketchup plans had a 2-seat Fusion front row and a rear riser with a couch. I'll be following with interest!


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## chris0228 (Feb 25, 2014)

Trim done. Slow but steady progress.


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## chris0228 (Feb 25, 2014)

100" Elite Aeon zero edge screen went in today. Very happy with the way it looks in the room. Led kit is great as well. My gear starts getting ordered this week. Can't wait!!!! Also finished painting today and the electrician came to give me another dedicated 20. Here we go...


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## chris0228 (Feb 25, 2014)

Led kit:


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## mechman (Feb 8, 2007)

Looking good Chris! :T


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## mpompey (Jan 5, 2007)

I would love to see what you end up going with as far as seats. I have a small room myself. I currently am using 3 Ikea Poangs side by and have very little room between them. I may need to add a riser and put seats behind the MLP and only go with seats in the front row.


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## JQueen (Jan 11, 2012)

That LED kit watching TRON!!! Would be awesome haha. Looks great man


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## mpompey (Jan 5, 2007)

Does the LED kit customize the back colors based what is on the screen? Can you adjust and dim it down if you need to?

I would love to see it in action!


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## Talley (Dec 8, 2010)

haha...

your dual sub setup in a 1500cu-ft room. uhhhhhh

one would be fine and you could spring for some better front three speakers which gives you better mid-bass. I have this issue with my speakers.


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## phillihp23 (Mar 14, 2012)

If you haven't already purchased the SB13 subs, have you considered PB...Ported subs?
Typically for movies PB subs are preferred, SB usually preferred for music.
Just wondering.

And as far as too many subs...:rofl: I don't believe in that statement, just check out my signature line.
More subs if placed correctly in a room create a better equalizing effect, less directional. You just don't need to crank them, its more about the pressurizing the room equally.


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## chris0228 (Feb 25, 2014)

Yeah I've since changed my plan for subs. No more sealed and no more dual at first. Going ported and either the PB2k or PB12+. If I need or want more and the response isn't as smooth as is like, I'll add later. 

The LED kit is great but does not change to the content. It has a remote and I'm able to change colors and dim up and down. Curious to see how it looks while watching movies and TV. Tron..... YEAH!!

I am ordering two rows of three seats from rtheaters.com. The 1019s setup IOOIOI are 96" in total width which is exactly the width of my riser and leaves 22" to walk by on side. Both rows will be pushed to one side. 

More pics to come. Ordered my Oppo 103d today. Still racking my brain over a Yammy RX-A3040, SR7009 or the AVR 4520ci. Decisions decisions.


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## chris0228 (Feb 25, 2014)

Edit: Updated equipment list:

Purchased:
Elite Aeon Zero Edge 100" Cinewhite Screen
Oppo Digital 103d BD Player
OmniMount 27u Rack Enclosure

Still Deciding:
Speakers - SVS Ultra Bookshelf system, ML Motion system, Motion Audio Silver 6 system
Subs - SVS PB2k or PB12+
AVR - 4520ci, X4000, SR7008, A3040, A2040
Projector - HT5030ub, HT5025ub, Panny 8000
*may go eMotiva XPA3 with a few year old AVR??

Suggestions? Go..........


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## Talley (Dec 8, 2010)

Well hard to not recommend what I did personally. I have a single HSU VTF-15H MK2 sub that can be purchased for 1008 shipped to your door. I have a room thats 14.5x20.75x10 = 2950cu-ft which is close enough to exactly double the size of your room and even though I want more... this sub shakes the couch, walls etc... I watched "FURY" and was floored at the performance of this single sub. Take a look here: http://www.hsuresearch.com/products/vtf-15hmk2.html

You have a smaller room so output (db) shouldn't be an issue as you'll have lots of room gain however I was told here and followed the advice that for movies you want a sub that can hit very low. 

Now... I have smaller bookshelfs but you don't want to short change yourself on the front 3 mains. I still recommend towers... I need them bad. I lack that mid bass punch.

projector is up to you, I'm happy with mine. You'll have to play around with the mounting distance now based on what projector to get since already got the screen size. Play around with the projector central's throw distance calculator to get an idea of brightness etc/compatibility. Based on that chart I'm around 17FL and it's perfect for me. 

my room is 14x20ish and I set my room up opposite so my screen is on one of the 20' walls and my couch on the other this means I only sit 13' away from the screen. So I only have a long couch (1 row)... I'll tell my kids to sit wherever. Reason I mention this is I'm worried that 22" is not enough space. It will be tight.... your gonna have to scoot sideways kind of tight. You have a wall on one side so it will make you scoot.

I have some closet doors that are 24" and my upstairs bathroom are 24" and that without noticing kind of a natural thing is you enter kinda swaying your shoulders not to touch the sides. I couldn't imagine trying to cross two rows of seating.

The AVR I got was the X4000 from accessories4less.com but I am only using it as a processor/preamp to drive my krell.

You seem to be slinging money into this without really thinking things through on some of the details. I spent three months planning what I wanted to achieve and I'm slowly working on that process now.

bookshelfs for the rear would be OK but try going to a L/R tower and matching center.


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## mpompey (Jan 5, 2007)

If you can wait a bit, Emotiva usually has sales around the major holidays like Memorial and 4th of July and you can score some pretty sweet deals. That's how I got my XPA-5.


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## chris0228 (Feb 25, 2014)

Bmxer241 said:


> You seem to be slinging money into this without really thinking things through on some of the details.


Man you were good until this quote. Try 9 months of research and the only money I've thrown around is gear I know for a fact I want. I appreciate the info on the sub, I'll check it out. That's prob one of the only ID subs I haven't done a lot of research on. As far as seating, the wife wanted 6 seats, she gets 6 seats. Yep, not ideal to squeeze by on the side but that's the room size I've been dealt. There will be plenty of room in between rows. 

Seriously looking at the X4000/eMotiva combo.


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## willis7469 (Jan 31, 2014)

You mentioned pb12+. I have 2 pc+ (and an sb2k) and love them. More to be had? Sure, but they are tunable. Very musical, and hard hitting.


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## phillihp23 (Mar 14, 2012)

If you decide to go the SVS way give them a call. A great company that will give you good advice and won't upsell you. if they think your going crazy they will recommend less. Great folks, and in the end they won't pressure you to buy, they will leave it up to you.

As for room speakers I would recommend towers for the L and R mains. Give you better range. The others should be fine as satellites.

In the end its ultimately up to what you want to do. Just becarefull, HT Rooms are a disease.  You start out with one idea and then you keep wanting to grow. Its more cost effective to go bigger now than spend that money all over again re-buying bigger. Take it from me...started out with a build of 5.1 and budget of $3000 and by the time i was done my HT Room two years later I had 11.4 and total spend of $20,000....:scratch: feel free to check out my HT Build Thread. 

And, enjoy it along the way...I love watching the creativity of a build and the different ideas and options people implement.


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## willis7469 (Jan 31, 2014)

I agree with towers. More range and more dynamics. They sometimes have higher sensitivity and are easier to drive. I think Sonnie might still have his ultra setup FS. He's really good about pricing.


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## phillihp23 (Mar 14, 2012)

willis7469 said:


> I agree with towers. More range and more dynamics. They sometimes have higher sensitivity and are easier to drive. I think Sonnie might still have his ultra setup FS. He's really good about pricing.


Ya Sonnie is listing his SVS Ultra Setup on here for $2500 shipped right now, think he has had them less than a year.

Two towers, center, two sattelites...link below.

http://www.hometheatershack.com/forums/classifieds-speakers-subwoofers/112106-svs-ultra-towers-ultra-center-ultra-bookshelfs.html


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## Talley (Dec 8, 2010)

chris0228 said:


> Man you were good until this quote. Try 9 months of research and the only money I've thrown around is gear I know for a fact I want. I appreciate the info on the sub, I'll check it out. That's prob one of the only ID subs I haven't done a lot of research on. As far as seating, the wife wanted 6 seats, she gets 6 seats. Yep, not ideal to squeeze by on the side but that's the room size I've been dealt. There will be plenty of room in between rows.
> 
> Seriously looking at the X4000/eMotiva combo.


I didn't mean any disrespect at all. I myself thought the smaller speakers and large sub would be sufficient until I got some better speakers but I find myself on the front line of purchasing better speakers after watching only two movies on my system.

Just something to consider. That size room and size wall I would of done an acoustically transparent screen and stuck all three speakers behind the screen. That would be an amazing setup.


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## jeremyekennedy (Jul 16, 2013)

Looks great Chris. Can't wait to see how it turns out!


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## Owen Bartley (Oct 18, 2006)

Looking good Chris! I was wondering if you had finished the room and forgotten about us. Keep it up, and you'll be done before you know it. 

Oh, what are you running on the 20 amp circuit?


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## chris0228 (Feb 25, 2014)

Owen Bartley said:


> Oh, what are you running on the 20 amp circuit?


The 20 will be solely for my equipment rack.


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## chris0228 (Feb 25, 2014)

It has begun!!


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## mpompey (Jan 5, 2007)

Oh. yeah!


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## cavatina (Feb 21, 2015)

Looks great Chris! I`m just beginning home theater project so pictures are helpful.


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## chris0228 (Feb 25, 2014)

I know I'm preaching to the choir, but if you're looking to purchase a very well built, feature rich, plays everything well BD player, this Oppo 103d is amazing. From the way it's boxed to the ease of use and options for setup and configuration, I am super impressed. And it comes in its own bag....seriously!


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## mpompey (Jan 5, 2007)

Oppo definitely makes opening your box a quality experience. Their customer service is top notch too. I remember communicating with them regarding firmware support for the 83 and helping to flush out an undocumented issue with a previous rollout.

I have a bdp83 and looking to go to the 103D in the near future.


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## chris0228 (Feb 25, 2014)

LED kit installed inside rack.


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## Owen Bartley (Oct 18, 2006)

This is going to be a really cool looking room, with the LED kit behind the screen, and the one in your equipment rack. I've seen some pretty cool examples of Martin Logans being backlit as well, are you add more LEDs there, or just use what is put out by the screen kit?


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## chris0228 (Feb 25, 2014)

Owen Bartley said:


> This is going to be a really cool looking room, with the LED kit behind the screen, and the one in your equipment rack. I've seen some pretty cool examples of Martin Logans being backlit as well, are you add more LEDs there, or just use what is put out by the screen kit?


No, no more LED. Don't want to go overboard with that stuff. Just waiting on gear now to install in the room. Acoustic treatment is absolutely in the plan but I'm gonna have to wait on that a little bit as, surprise surprise, I went over budget a little on everything else!


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## chris0228 (Feb 25, 2014)

Carpet done. Deliveries today:

Epson 5025ub
All Cables and Center Channel Stand
Yamaha RX-A3040
ML 50XT and FX Surrounds
SVS PB2K

1019 Escape seats from Roman here on Friday. Gonna be a good week!!


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## chris0228 (Feb 25, 2014)

Pic of riser:


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## mpompey (Jan 5, 2007)

How high is your back riser? Did you design it yourself or did you use a service or a kit to build it?


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## chris0228 (Feb 25, 2014)

12", I designed it myself but used one of the calculators I found here with regard to seating distances, top of head heights, etc. There are 6" holes cut all along the front and rear and there is quite a bit of absorption material inside. I found the calculator doing a search on HTS; it was very informative. Riser is sitting on aurelex ubolt floaters.


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## mpompey (Jan 5, 2007)

Thanks for the info. I plan on building a 7" riser for a second row of chairs this spring. And am looking for info and resources as I start planning.


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## chris0228 (Feb 25, 2014)

Worst thing about this pic besides the PB2K not being here yet.......... the last piece of equipment that comes in is my AVR. I've had this setup for three days and can't play a thing thru them. So, enjoy a few pics of the room until the last few items arrive!!


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## chris0228 (Feb 25, 2014)

Epson 5025ub.......such an amazing picture!


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## chris0228 (Feb 25, 2014)

The goodies, less a Yamaha RX-A3040:


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## chris0228 (Feb 25, 2014)

Done!!

Can't thank everyone here enough for all your help and insight into my room build. I am a few additional sound panels away from completing my room. Here's what I ended up with:

Martin Logan Motion 40s L & R
Martin Logan Motion 50XT Center
Martin Logan FX Surrounds
Martin Logan Motion 2 Rear Surrounds
SVS PB2000
Yamaha RX-A3040 Receiver
Oppo 103d BlueRay Player
Epson HT5025UB Projector
Elite Aeon 100" Zero Edge Screen with LED Kit
OmniMount 27u Equipment Rack
Fusion Escape 1019 Theater Seats (IOOIOI x2)
Audimute Metal 2x2 Sound Absorption Panels x8
Lutron Lighting Switches
Harmony Ultimate Home Remote
Direct TV HR22-700
Sonos Connect
Xbox 360
Panamax 5100

Enjoy some completed pics:


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## Heath Cunningham (Jun 28, 2014)

Well done mate, looks awesome, very nice set up enjoy!

How do you find the sub, I have been lead down that path, I've heard there pretty good, I'm currently running the sub12 by paradigm, but considering a trade


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## TheGimp (Jan 27, 2015)

Very nice looking setup!


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## mechman (Feb 8, 2007)

:clap:


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## Talley (Dec 8, 2010)

Looks like you did a great job for the space you have. Very good indeed.


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## TheGimp (Jan 27, 2015)

Wow! Fantastic looking setup and great usage of the space available.


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## Talley (Dec 8, 2010)

it's kinda hard to tell but whats the viewing distance from the front and second rows? in one photo it looks like you have some good distance but then another it seems the front row is only about 7-8' back.


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## chris0228 (Feb 25, 2014)

First row at 9.5 feet, second at 15 feet.


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## Talley (Dec 8, 2010)

chris0228 said:


> First row at 9.5 feet, second at 15 feet.


ah gotcha.

I'd def be in the middle seat front row for my liking  I'm 12.5' and 135".


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## ps3forlife (Apr 13, 2014)

the room turned out amazing, i love the looks of it, the carpet matches with the wall colors perfect and i love the back lighting of the screen, hope to one day get a room i can start fresh with and make it similar to this one


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## muzz (Nov 30, 2006)

That's a pretty narrow space, but you fit everything in there, and it looks fantastic!
The seating just fits in there, and they look comfortable.
How does it look and sound, have you really tested it yet?


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## chris0228 (Feb 25, 2014)

muzz said:


> That's a pretty narrow space, but you fit everything in there, and it looks fantastic! The seating just fits in there, and they look comfortable. How does it look and sound, have you really tested it yet?


Really really like the 5025 from Epson. I used the calibration disc that I got from Oppo and it looks fantastic. I'm about 75% there on the audio as I'm having a few bumps in the road with REW. That said, the DACs in the 3040 are impressive. I've gotten into the lossless thing and am addicted!! FLAC file sound insane thru this system. Sub placement in my room is a bit of a challenge as well but it sounds good regardless. I've had several friends over who have said without question its the best sounding and looking room they've been in. 

Let the tweaking continue!!


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## mpednault (Dec 20, 2012)

Nice room! Simple, elegant and refined! Those chairs look extra comfortable. Someday I'll pick up some seats like that. Did you notice an immediate difference with the acoustic treatments?


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## chris0228 (Feb 25, 2014)

mpednault said:


> Nice room! Simple, elegant and refined! Those chairs look extra comfortable. Someday I'll pick up some seats like that. Did you notice an immediate difference with the acoustic treatments?


Yes. Check this out: the first center channel stand I got was too short and when sitting in the back row with the seats reclined, I could not see the center channel. Prior to treating the room I heard the center channel content coming off the side walls. Really no separation from the front stage of speakers. After side wall treatment, it was rather shocking how the discrete audio separation cleaned up. The clap test also proved to be pretty amazing. Obviously before treatment my claps would bounce all over the place. While the minimal side wall treatment didn't completely eliminate it, it cut it down by 70-80%. Thx for the kind words on the room. So far so good!!


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## sulliyan80 (Apr 16, 2015)

thanks for info


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## muzz (Nov 30, 2006)

Now that the rooms is completed, and you've had 2 weeks with it....how do ya like it?


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## chris0228 (Feb 25, 2014)

muzz said:


> Now that the rooms is completed, and you've had 2 weeks with it....how do ya like it?


I like it more every time I'm in there. Have really enjoyed listening to FLAC files in Direct mode on the AVR, streamed straight in using PLEX. Orchestral soundstage is fantastic, right down to hearing the difference from a piano slightly off center to stage left and the string bass section on stage left. I've played many tricks on friends that come over, have them sit in the sweet spot listening to Sting and ask them what speakers the vocal is coming out of. 99% of them say the center channel, then are blown away when they find out nothing is coming out of that speaker. 

Only thing I would have done differently is forego the rear surrounds. Since my room layout required my dipole side surrounds to be pretty close to the rears, there is very little audible difference, even when listening to 7.1 content. For the same money, I should have done 4 in-ceiling speakers to go 5.2.4 Atmos. Oh well, upgrade options down the road. 

Can't say enough good things about Romans seats. My wife just about killed me when I ordered seats we'd never sat in; she's since apologized. I have some weird red pixels that flash on the screen sometimes so I am troubleshooting that as we speak. Think it's a bad HDMI plate adapter. 

All in all, everything has exceeded my expectations.


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## RTS100x5 (Sep 12, 2009)

Yes Chris it's most likely an HDMI signal loss ... if you have a long HDMI cable laying around try running straight from the projector to the Directv box or AVR and see if that clears up...


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## thrillcat (Mar 25, 2014)

That's crazy. Your room is about the same dimensions as mine (my ceiling is much lower though) yet it seems much larger. 

My seats are too bulky. 

Nice job on the room!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## mpompey (Jan 5, 2007)

Are your switches controllable by your harmony?

Which switches did you go with?

I'm about to put in new pot lights and would like to go with either hue or controllable dimmer that I can use with my Harmony Ultimate Hub system.


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## chris0228 (Feb 25, 2014)

mpompey said:


> Are your switches controllable by your harmony? Which switches did you go with? I'm about to put in new pot lights and would like to go with either hue or controllable dimmer that I can use with my Harmony Ultimate Hub system.


Yes they are. I went with the Lutron IR switch (pic attached). It actually came with its own remote and has an IR sensor on the switch itself. It controls all my can lights and is controlled by the hub of my remote system.


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## mpompey (Jan 5, 2007)

Okay thanks for taking the time to include the 
pic of the switch. I appreciate that. I'll got to
Amazon and check it out.

Did you run an IR repeater to the switch as well?
Or can your Hub blast to it from its location?

...
MP


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## chris0228 (Feb 25, 2014)

The hub signal hits the switch and has a direct line of sight to it.


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