# Living room vs basement theater or both?



## jedispork (Jan 21, 2010)

We've had our basic basement theater going for a while. It has a black front wall and ceiling with dark grey for the rest of the room. Everyone thinks the room looks great. However I find that staying down there for more than a movie or so it becomes dull and sometimes depressing. We use it on fri and sat nights for 5 - 6 hours at a time. Part of the issue could be that I already work nights and I don't feel like sitting in a dark cave for that long of a period. 

We've been using our living room again to watch netflix or listen to music and a lot of times I would rather stay there than the basement. However all my good gear and acoustic treatments are down there. I have considered moving things back upstairs especially now that 80" flat panels are becoming more common. 

If you have a dedicated theater do you still have a full 5.1 setup and acoustic treatments in your living room? I'm thinking of possibly keeping it at 2.1 since its mostly for music and netflix. I could add a svs sub and acoustic treatments and have a cool setup in 2 rooms. 

I do like the basement however I'm not always in the mood for it.


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## Tonto (Jun 30, 2007)

It's really personal preference. I know dark colors are best to minimize reflections, but it is OK to add color. There are some really beautiful room that are brighter colors. You can also try covering your acoustic panels with printed fabric (make them art work). I would try to work out improving the basement.


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## hjones4841 (Jan 21, 2009)

I have my HT in the basement and have not considered moving it to the main floor. If I had it in the living room there would be no way to listen at reference levels unless I am completely alone.


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## Serenity Now (Mar 28, 2014)

I'm glad I found your post.  I went through the same thing. I think a lot of HT spaces are created with solely reference qualities in mind ie. no reflections for light, black or grey walls and ceiling. All seating bolted towards the screen. Mine was anyway. With the best intentions for a target experience HT wise. 

I think if you re decorated your space with lighter colors and communal seating you could get more mileage out of it.

HVAC is also huge for spaces to feel comfortable. If you think about it, purpose built HT spaces can be pretty objectionable at a subconscious level..... And depressing. Stuffy, dark and antisocial. Feels like the walls are closing in on you almost. Designers learn what color does to mood as part of their toolset.

Spruce it up! Uncover those windows and let the light in when you aren't in there. Make it a welcoming airy space.  project time!  paint is cheap and easy.


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

I agree, keeping the theater space separate from the living room is ideal. Use color and dont be afraid to let the light in when not needing it dark. Comfortable seating is also a must and make it a multi use space such that you can use it to play video games with the family as well.


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## jedispork (Jan 21, 2010)

We don't have any windows in the room. I do have a cctv setup so maybe I could mount a tv on the side wall and surround it with some framing to make it look like a window :bigsmile: kidding of course ... or maybe not? I could even add in a SAD lamp. We have berklines and a proper hvac hook up although not controlled separately. 

I do have a plasma behind the screen so maybe I should use that more often with the lights on and only go dark with the projector for a movie. I still like the living room during the day for some casual netflix viewing on our other 60" set. The windows are like a big tv for our dogs. The room doesn't feel as disconnected which is why maybe its nice to have both because sometimes you want the isolation and others times not. I guess the question I'm asking myself is how much more should I spend to improve the living room. 

I have a 2.1 setup with a cheap sub. Some basic room treatments would probably cost $400-500. I don't want to buy or make any right now after what I spent putting them in the basement but once you have them its not something that wears out or needs to be replaced. I could bring my pb10 upstairs and replace that with a pb13 ultra for the theater. Already have a roku 3 on order because the apps on the panny player lag terribly. 

Do most of you still have something in the living room? Or does everyone use your theater room whenever watching tv?


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

I myself use my living room to watch TV (see signature for list) and I have a simple 5.1 surround setup but for movies and playing games we always head to the Theater room. I also dont have any windows in my theater space but the colors are pleasing and I have good lighting.


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## Owen Bartley (Oct 18, 2006)

Our plan is to put a theatre in the basement which would likely get used for movies, some certain shows that we think would benefit from a bigger screen and sound, and maybe some gaming. We will still keep the 6.1 setup in the upstairs living room. Even now (no theatre yet) if we're just watching plain old TV, we often just leave the TV speakers and don't turn on the surround. That might have started when the baby came, so I guess it was for a practical reason. 

To get back on track... I'd say keep the theatre intact, and use your upstairs setup more often. Even one of the fancy new soundbars that include some kind of simulated surround could give you more oomph than the TV speakers, but keep setup simple. Sometimes you just WANT to be in a dark isolated area with a good movie on, and I wouldn't want to give that up.


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## Jeff Aguilar (Apr 11, 2006)

We have a dedicated theater room upstairs. I really only use it for movies. In our family room, we have a sound bar for the TV and that is a great for that room. We watch most of our TV shows in the family room and the Theater Room is really only for movies. My two channel system is also in the family room. I do enjoy sometimes just listening to music rather than watching TV. I really like having the systems separate. Plus, it saves hours on my bulb only using it for movies. We decorated our Theater Room with different color walls and all of my Star Wars, Star Trek and Superhero statues and ships. Makes that room fun and I get to decorate it however I want it. I couldn't do that in the Family Room! Way, way outside of the WAF!


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