# Building a Home Theater & Listening Room



## hydrovac (Nov 9, 2009)

Hi all,

My wife finally parted with a portion of her terrace garden and let me build a home theater.

First off all I find myself very fortunate to build a room that can be dedicated to music listening and watching movies. The room will be 3.96 meters wide, 7.38 meters long and a height of 2.7 meters. So with a little more than 29 m2 it's not a big room at all.

We live in a duplex penthouse (5th & 6th floors with terrace rights). So, traditional construction methods are a bit difficult. I plan to take the prefab route.

Proposed HT Room area.













Thanks


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## ajinfla (May 10, 2009)

Hi Krishna, lucky you!
Here are the instructions for posting pictures: http://www.hometheatershack.com/forums/forum-help-suggestions/72878-home-theater-shack-image-gallery-step-step-tutorial.html

cheers,


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## hydrovac (Nov 9, 2009)

Hi,

Thanks for that. I have uploaded the images to photo bucket. I would like to know how I can add the links to my post.

Thanks


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## Prof. (Oct 20, 2006)

Just click on the IMG tag in Photobucket and paste to your post..


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## hydrovac (Nov 9, 2009)

@ ajinfla
@ Prof.

Thanks for guiding me thru how to post pictures.

The progress in construction of prefab wall panels.


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## Prof. (Oct 20, 2006)

Looks to be quite a reasonable size extension..


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## hydrovac (Nov 9, 2009)

Prof. said:


> Looks to be quite a reasonable size extension..


Prof. 
The room size is 24' X 13'


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## hydrovac (Nov 9, 2009)

The 3 pics are of the composite decking sheet being fixed.... in fact today...the plasterers were skimming the walls and pouring the concrete slab....


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## hydrovac (Nov 9, 2009)

Started laying of electrical, speaker and signal cables. The cabling work is being carried out by a local guy and someone from my work giving him a hand.
To reduce hum and noise I want to install a dedicated line with only a single ground from the audio / home theater system to the electrical service panel. Don’t want to attach anything other than the A/ V system to this special dedicated line.
Expecting the result to be noise and hum free power with a 'deep black background'.
By this stage of the project, I have already identified the following :

Placement of all speakers
Placement of A/V components
Placement of video source
Lighting needs
Possible future enhancements
Thermal Insulation & Acoustic Treatment 

BTW I have provided a frame also…for supporting the screen.
I will try and post pics if there's interest...as soon as i work out how to do it....!!
I have all the kit i need already for this…mix of new and from old lounge... not top end by any means...but works for me...


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## Prof. (Oct 20, 2006)

Keep the pics coming..


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## hydrovac (Nov 9, 2009)

*Framing work in progress for rock wool slabs…*



*Checking out my old screen…*









*16:9 screen pulled down…*


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## hydrovac (Nov 9, 2009)

Framing work completed and AV cabinet in place…cabling almost done but for one sub signal cable. Got 30 Rock wool bags delivered yesterday. 
There was a leak from one point of the slab joint side…. getting the pressure grouting done today.

*Entry door to the theater on the left: *



*Bags containing Rock wool slabs:* 


*AV cabinet built into the window:
* 

*Ceiling panels getting ready: *


*Insulation panels being fixed :
* 



*Ceiling panels fixing:*


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## Prof. (Oct 20, 2006)

It's coming together nicely..:T


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## B- one (Jan 13, 2013)

Wow, great work and thanks for sharing your pics! Keep up the great work!


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## hydrovac (Nov 9, 2009)

Thanks Prof and B-one,

*Paneling of rock wool frames almost done:*








*Steel trusses being enclosed in wooden beams:*


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## Prof. (Oct 20, 2006)

Now it's starting to look like a theatre! 
What are you planning on doing about acoustic treatment on the walls?


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## hydrovac (Nov 9, 2009)

Prof..
I want to measure the room modes at this stage and decide on further treatment.

*Back row riser in place: *


*Front row riser:*


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## Heath Cunningham (Jun 28, 2014)

Wow, I just went through you're pics, it's coming along nicely. 
Can't Waite for the finished result, do you have the audio yet or what you plan on using?


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## ajinfla (May 10, 2009)

I think I saw a pair of Maggies earlier in the thread


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## hydrovac (Nov 9, 2009)

Heath Cunningham said:


> Wow, I just went through you're pics, it's coming along nicely.
> Can't Waite for the finished result, do you have the audio yet or what you plan on using?


Thanks Heath Cunningham!

As of now for room modes evaluation, I will be using Dali concept 2 front mains, Dali concept center, Dali concept 1 as surrounds... and SVS 20-39 PC Plus Cylinder Sub woofer.


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## hydrovac (Nov 9, 2009)

ajinfla said:


> I think I saw a pair of Maggies earlier in the thread


Yes AJ,

Rightly pointed out! that is my pure audio rig...

Magnepan 1.6 QR
DIY Pass B1 buffer pre
DIY 200 WPC power amp
Arcam Delta 270 CD player
SVS 20-39 PC Plus Cylinder Sub woofer


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## hydrovac (Nov 9, 2009)

Got few sample seats today... my folks liked the red one, the design part of it and not the fabric though. Actually it is wider by 2” and comfortable than the other two.

Decided to order seven seats with individual arm rests… and different cloth material which I have to select.


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## Heath Cunningham (Jun 28, 2014)

Red looks good!


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## hydrovac (Nov 9, 2009)

Slow progress, but progress nonetheless. Tough to get things done when you are on carpenter’s schedule, but I'm grinding along. Got most of the ceiling done, preparing bass traps and acoustic panels…


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## Prof. (Oct 20, 2006)

It's coming along nicely..
What is that backing material on the acoustic panels?


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## hydrovac (Nov 9, 2009)

Prof. said:


> It's coming along nicely..
> What is that backing material on the acoustic panels?


Thanks Prof..

The backing material is ROCKINSUL Acoustic 6.
It achieve Noise Reduction Coefficient (NRC) values up to 1.05


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## Prof. (Oct 20, 2006)

Rockinsul Acoustic 6 appears to be the Rockwool that you would use as your acoustic material..
I was curious about that roll of mesh material that your placing on the back of the acoustic panels..


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## hydrovac (Nov 9, 2009)

Prof. said:


> Rockinsul Acoustic 6 appears to be the Rockwool that you would use as your acoustic material..
> I was curious about that roll of mesh material that your placing on the back of the acoustic panels..


The roll is woven wire mesh in a square pattern... this wire mesh is provided to retain the acoustic material
in the wooden frame, and the front is covered with acoustically transparent cloth.


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## Prof. (Oct 20, 2006)

What is that mesh normally used for over there? In the photos where it's fitted it looks like a flyscreen material, but the closeup looks to be a heavier mesh..:scratch:


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## hydrovac (Nov 9, 2009)

MARKET GRADE WOVEN WIRE CLOTH
Wire Mesh, also known as Wire Cloth, is amazingly versatile and is easily adapted to almost any application. Available in a wide selection of woven and welded wire mesh products with various mesh sizes, openings, thicknesses, and materials.


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## Prof. (Oct 20, 2006)

Thanks for the info..Do you see any benefit in using that mesh instead of an open weave cloth backing?


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## hydrovac (Nov 9, 2009)

Apart from providing structural rigidity to the otherwise flimsy frame... it gives you that weighty feel also


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## hydrovac (Nov 9, 2009)

Hey guys!

Here is an update on the build… I have spent countless hours on there reading and learning since I started trying to figure out what I wanted to do 6 months ago. It’s like a fun project for me... The entire room needs a good deal of sound work. Even still, I'm happy with how it sounds to my ears after watching a couple movies... I just need to contain it better for now. 

It's the old saying of "measure twice, cut once"… live it, learn it, love it the downside to that is since I have never done anything like this before who knows what I missed or what I underestimated on.


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## Prof. (Oct 20, 2006)

The lighting looks very nice..:T What type of flooring are you using?..You may have mentioned it before, but I can't recall..


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## Aquarian (Oct 16, 2013)

Hello Krishna,

Just gone through this thread, it was a very nice journey to see the entire structure getting built from scratch 
I think some more finishing work is pending, cant wait to see 

where are you from in India, am from Hyderabad, AP(now Telangana)
am starting to build a Home Theater, will start a thread with pics within 2 days 

Cheers,
Aditya


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## hydrovac (Nov 9, 2009)

Hello Aditya!

Nice to know that you are planning to setup a HT... all the best in your endeavor. 

Cheers
Krishna


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## Aquarian (Oct 16, 2013)

hydrovac said:


> Hello Aditya!
> 
> Nice to know that you are planning to setup a HT... all the best in your endeavor.
> 
> ...


Thanx Krishna 

I've just posted my HT Build thread, heres the link

http://www.hometheatershack.com/for...145-first-home-theater-setup.html#post1030545


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## hydrovac (Nov 9, 2009)

After a long gap... here is an update.
The past few months I've been gathering some more things to move forward. Here are a few goodies that were dropped off: 
*Video:
Panasonic DMP-BDT 360GA DUNE HD MAX Sony Playstation 3 (500GB)*









*Projector: Panasonic PT-AE8000U Full HD 3D Home Theater Projector
Screen: Screen Research 165” diagonal AT woven custom frame*



























*Electronics:
Pre Processor: Sherbourn PT-7020A preamp processor 
Power Amps: DIY TDA7293 based parallel design*



























*I decided to try out tactile transducers for my home theater. Spent a lot of time researching and reading feedback from users and forums. 

Ended up getting two of these*, 

















*Screen frame assembly:*


















*Grommets eyelets and Bungee tension ties:*


















*Here is a trial fitting and assembly of the screen frame... *




































*This is how my existing screen looks:*









*Existing Speaker setup:*








*
New Screen fixed:*


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## thrillcat (Mar 25, 2014)

Looking good! I have the same Blu-ray player and projector in my room, along with Emotiva processor and amp and a Seymour 115" screen.


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## NBPk402 (Feb 21, 2012)

Looks great! Pretty soon you will be sitting down enjoying all the hard work that has been done to get this project completed. :T :T


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