# Basement 12x30'



## BD55 (Oct 18, 2011)

I've got a future theater room in mind for my basement family room. It's a finished basement, and the room is approx. 12' by 30', though I think I would only want to use about 15-20' feet of that 30 so there would still be space for a Foosball table or something else.

I would like to start planning and looking at material, equipment, etc to have a nice projector setup. I am a cheapskate, however, and my mission is to do it well, but not using necessarily the top of the line or even prosumer-grade stuff. I just don't have that good of perception of fidelity of sound or video for it to matter. I would rather have a nice compromise between frugality and quality. 

I am well aware that price does equate to quality 8/10 times. I am an engineer and know that to do something right does take money. So what would a decent basement HT run? Consider this as starting from scratch (because literally it since I don't have a good receiver, speakers, projector, etc...)


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## Ted White (May 4, 2009)

Can't speak to the equipment, but would suggest you build the structure with an eye to being able to upgrade later if you want. For example, frame the walls in a decoupled fashion. This will help with sound isolation now, even with a single sheet of drywall. You can always add more drywall and damping compound later. Consider how the ventilaton will run so you don't spread the noise throughout the house. That sort of thing.


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## BD55 (Oct 18, 2011)

Does decoupling really make that big a difference in sound quality or does it only affect how the sound can be isolated from the rest of the house? I wouldn't mind if someone was upstairs and could hear the theater room.


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## Ted White (May 4, 2009)

The decoupling is mostly a soundproofing consideration. Generally deployed to avoid the dreaded "TURN THAT DOWN!" in the middle of The Avengers movie late at night.


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## kwalikum (Oct 31, 2011)

I'm on a tight budget as well - welcome to the cheapskate club 

One thing I failed to budget for initially was A/C. I am in the process of a home theatre build and am using sound isolation techniques per Ted's suggestion - easy enough to add now and hard to add later. Most of my budget is going into walls, carpet, lighting, paint, etc. rather than audio/video equipment, altho I do seem to be picking up bits and pieces to fill the gaps anyway, usually used items on ebay. My current budget is around $5k.


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## phreak (Aug 16, 2010)

BD55 said:


> I've got a future theater room in mind for my basement family room. It's a finished basement, and the room is approx. 12' by 30', though I think I would only want to use about 15-20' feet of that 30 so there would still be space for a Foosball table or something else.
> 
> I would like to start planning and looking at material, equipment, etc to have a nice projector setup. I am a cheapskate, however, and my mission is to do it well, but not using necessarily the top of the line or even prosumer-grade stuff. I just don't have that good of perception of fidelity of sound or video for it to matter. I would rather have a nice compromise between frugality and quality.
> 
> I am well aware that price does equate to quality 8/10 times. I am an engineer and know that to do something right does take money. So what would a decent basement HT run? Consider this as starting from scratch (because literally it since I don't have a good receiver, speakers, projector, etc...)


There are a pile of variables, and we would need somewhat of a budget framework to get a feel for your perception of "compromise between frugality and quality". Audio and video for $1000 is quite frugal, $20,000 is quite high quality.


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## BD55 (Oct 18, 2011)

phreak said:


> There are a pile of variables, and we would need somewhat of a budget framework to get a feel for your perception of "compromise between frugality and quality". Audio and video for $1000 is quite frugal, $20,000 is quite high quality.


Ha ha, there are too many variables sometimes for my poor little brain! I am pretty sure that getting more than $2K "approved" will surely be the real challenge (isn't it for everyone?). Oh well, I am up for the challenge (it ups the value of the house, right? #shameless_justification )


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## MikeBiker (Jan 3, 2010)

BD55 said:


> Ha ha, there are too many variables sometimes for my poor little brain! I am pretty sure that getting more than $2K "approved" will surely be the real challenge (isn't it for everyone?). Oh well, I am up for the challenge (it ups the value of the house, right? #shameless_justification )


Of course it does!
Just don't read articles like this one.



> “Lifestyle projects” are those that serve a single purpose. Examples of lifestyle projects include an indoor outdoor pool, home theater, a safe room or panic room, and a home wine cellar. Elements that are perhaps of prime importance to the homeowner, but not necessarily to a buyer. Although alluring, these type projects often represent a poor expected investment return for the person preparing to sell their home.


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## BD55 (Oct 18, 2011)

Such blasphemy from that article! I know that building things into a home that are intrinsically important to me most likely aren't going to be selling points for someone else, but I will blatantly go and do what I want to do because it's mine! Come on folks, let's stand together in building things for our homes that _we_ feel add value!!! Who's with me?? :gah:


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## phillihp23 (Mar 14, 2012)

Well lets see:
You can get:
projector and screen for $1534 Mitsubishi HC4000 / 120" fixed screen visualapex.com 
receiver for $250 Denon AVR1612 600 Watts 5.1 CH 3D Pass Through bestbuy.com
Speakers for $799 Definitive Technology ProCinema 600 system 4 satellites 1 center 1 subwoofer
Blue Ray Player for $100 walmart or any retail outlet
$2684 Total


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