# Forrester Dedicated home Theater



## mandtra

I have had some request to post some pictures , so here it is.
Room is 17.5' X 21.5' 
Ceiling is 103"
Front sound stage Infinity Classia
Rear sound RBH
Projector Epson 8700
Front row seats Berkline
Rear row seats Coaster Pavilion
AV RX, Onkyo 807


----------



## GranteedEV

amazing!


----------



## mandtra

GranteedEV said:


> amazing!


Thanks


----------



## Prof.

A very nice clean look..The ceiling beams look great..:T


----------



## bambino

Very nice! I only hope to have that much space available for a room someday, great job.:T


----------



## Owen Bartley

Beautiful theatre, Mike. I love the beams and the molding. The little details are well done too, like the lighting for your steps and the equipment rack that looks like it has access from the rear. And the lobby! All together that's a huge space. Very nice! :T


----------



## TypeA

Very cool, looks good.


----------



## fitzwaddle

Great looking room - looks nice with the lights on, and even better with the lights down - showtime!


----------



## spartanstew

Really like the look of that room. Only thing I would have done differently is painted the whole front wall and ceiling a darker color.


----------



## mandtra

spartanstew said:


> Really like the look of that room. Only thing I would have done differently is painted the whole front wall and ceiling a darker color.


I originally had it painted flat black, and didn't like it. plus haven't decided what screen to buy , so i needed a lighter color on the front wall to project on. I cant even imagine that the picture will be any better on a screen. It's amazing on the wall

The Theater room started off bare, mostly concrete poured walls, and bare slab and the lobby room was sheet rocked and painted with no molding . I started by studding walls up , wired,insulated, rocked etc . The lobby i had to acid wash the tile floor , add all the moldings , and paint everything. The really only unforeseen cost ($2500) was the addition of a lennox 2 ton heat pump,I found out I didn't have enough capacity on my existing system to supply the theater .

I shopped for three months buying materials before starting the project. All the electronics were bought new as closeouts from various sources , and the lighting fixtures were discontinued items at home depot. rough electrical materials were bought at a local supply house , as was all the moldings (much cheaper than home depot)


----------



## Slyder01

nice job, looks great! I like the trim work as well, i know that took some time to install, most people wouldnt take that extra time and money.


----------



## engtaz

Great looking HT. Congrats


----------



## porthopeguy

Exceptional !!!
Well done indeed.


----------



## fusionrx

I am projecting on a painted wall as well and can't see the need for an actual screen.


----------



## mandtra

fusionrx said:


> I am projecting on a painted wall as well and can't see the need for an actual screen.



I really would like to see the difference side by side , So i have requested screen samples from Elite. but so far none have arrived. I plan on hanging them on the wall and see if i can notice any change, from painted wall to screen material. 


Anyone know how i can get screen samples, of Carada ? Da-lite ?


----------



## nezff

very nice


----------



## GranteedEV

mandtra said:


> I really would like to see the difference side by side , So i have requested screen samples from Elite. but so far none have arrived. I plan on hanging them on the wall and see if i can notice any change, from painted wall to screen material.
> 
> 
> Anyone know how i can get screen samples, of Carada ? Da-lite ?


Also contact SeymourAV. They have really well priced acoustically transparent screens


----------



## iskandam

very classy and elegant room. I would never leave that room if I had one :T


----------



## mandtra

iskandam said:


> very classy and elegant room. I would never leave that room if I had one :T


Thanks :R


----------



## mandtra

I now have a C&S screen using the new silver paint (slight blue push) and I have to say it is a night and day difference. The colors have MUCH more pop and everything looks cleaner. I would say 50% better . and now my samples have arrived for screen material , and this what I done . I adjusted the screen a few feet off the c&s screen onto the painted wall and taped up the Elite screen samples. I was very surprised at the results. #1 the plain painted wall portion looked washed out and dull by comparison, the c&s wall portion looked great , and the cinewhite elite looked just a touch better than the C&S . Just a little sharper , and a slight more pop, the cinegray looked dull to me as well , And yes I do know it is a bad idea to compare a white and a gray screen side by side. 

Final thoughts. I would never go back to a plain painted wall now , is it worth the $$ to go with an elite screen for just a little bit better? no , not right now anyway. I have $83 in my DIY screen and love it


----------



## mandtra

For those of you building your own HT . here's a tip if using dimmers . if controlling more than a couple of lights , go ahead and skip the 600watt versions and go with the 1000watt versions. I went with all 600watt versions and four have already failed. the problem is that you cant simply add up the wattage of the bulbs your using for the total , you must also deduct 50watts from the rated capacity for each fixture , and for being next to another in another wall box. F.Y.I i have 31 lights installed in my room


----------



## H_Roark

Very nice! I like the columns and the built in rack. That is very clean. I love the Epson projectors, always very clean. I sell the Elite screens and my customers really love them, especially for the value. There are nicer ones but at a much higher price. Again really great room. I love my modest theater room, it gives me something nice to look forward to each day.


----------



## btinindy

mandtra said:


> I have had some request to post some pictures , so here it is.
> Room is 17.5' X 21.5'
> Ceiling is 103"
> Front sound stage Infinity Classia
> Rear sound RBH
> Projector Epson 8700
> Front row seats Berkline
> Rear row seats Coaster Pavilion
> AV RX, Onkyo 807


Is the trim painted brown? Just curious. Room looks great. I am adding some trim in places and I hate to stain in place.


----------



## mandtra

Yes the trim is a dark brown


----------



## btinindy

mandtra said:


> Yes the trim is a dark brown


I don't know why this is such a revelation, but I have never thought of painting trim anything other than white or staining. I have done 1000's of feet of trim including crown, etc in the last 3 houses that i have done. It looks really good. thanks for sharing.


----------



## GeerGuy

Very nice, I really like the lighting on the walls.


----------



## hddummy

The trim and style of your theater are exctly what I'm going for. I have pictures of magazine and showroom theaters to use for examples, but yours is the first real world theater I've seen with exactly the style I want. I hope you don't mind me copying


----------



## mandtra

update*** since changing out the dimmers to 1000watt versions I haven't had any more problems . I will post some new pictures soon showing my cream and sugar screen that looks fantastic


----------



## orion

That is a really cool looking theater. Hope you are enjoying it. How do you like the inwall speakers? I am finishing my basement currently and I have bought Polk RT4 for surrounds and I may not like how far they stick out into the room


----------



## mandtra

orion said:


> That is a really cool looking theater. Hope you are enjoying it. How do you like the inwall speakers? I am finishing my basement currently and I have bought Polk RT4 for surrounds and I may not like how far they stick out into the room


I have no problem with them, I too was going to use bookshelf speakers for the rears and surrounds at first but they stuck out way too far, These sound really good , but when watching movies there's not that much that comes out of the rears anyway , just the sound movement and special effects . I have since designed and consulted on five more dedicated HT's for a customer of mine , and on one with a small budget we used all Entry level polk , monitor 70's front left and right and RC85's (in-walls)for the rears and surrounds , and a pioneer 1122-k RX powering, and i have to say i was very pleased with the results , sounded very crisp , clean and realistic , i was shocked at how well it sounded

and in another we put 7 speakercraft in-walls for everything but the sub of-coarse , and even though i didn't like it as good as the polks , it sounded really good as well, just not as crisp as the polks.

For me , I rather have the cleaner look with matching painted grills of the in-walls for the rears . and if you build a sturdy box inside the wall and insulate it , i think you you would be happy with how in-walls sound, but before some of the others jump in and say it , box speakers will always sound somewhat better , ESP if listening to music , movies on the other hand not so much, very little comes out of them anyway


----------



## GrailsEdge

Nice work.


----------



## Lunchietey

Wow, very nice room, and I'm sure it has pretty high WAF too 

Looks like a very comfortable, classy yet dedicated room, very jealous!


----------



## orion

When you painted the front wall did you have to do anything special with a drywall joint assuming there is one. Just wondering if you taped and mudded the joint as usual or if you had to do anything extra


----------

