# Geeky Talkies Build



## JK Saabh (Sep 12, 2014)

For the longest time I have dreamed of setting up a home theater in my house. At first it was lack of space (we lived in an apartment), later it was change in priorities (we had a baby), but after years of waiting the time is right; the time is now. I always thought I would just hire a bunch of HT professionals, have them to make all the decisions, and set everything up for me. But I’ve been lurking these forums for several months now, and thanks to the experts on here I feel pretty confident that I should be able to do this this on my own (and it has nothing to do with the fact that I can not afford said HT professionals). So before I get started documenting what should be a fun project, I wanted to thank all the experts on the forum for their wonderful contributions and advice. This is not only my first home theater setup, but also my first home improvement project ever - so I’d really appreciate your advice, suggestions and corrections.

I’m planning to do up half of my basement as a home theater and temporary office space, and keep the other half unfurnished for storage. I am an action figure collector (which sounds so much better than “hoarder”), and comics nerd so my plan is to incorporate this theme into the basement. I can not wait to finally display my action figures, and geeky memorabilia that are resting in large brown boxes all over my basement.
I have sketched the floor plan of the basement (mostly to scale), and if building it is half as much fun as drawing it I am in for a fantastic couple of months. I plan to have the home theater area be 22ft (6.7m) long and 16ft (4.9m) wide. I’m sure some part of this will be lost to the framing and drywall, so lets say it’ll be 21ft x 15ft (6.4m x 4.6m). The height of the room is 8ft (2.4m).



The floors will be carpeted, and the sides of the basement will be dry-walled, and I plan on using drop ceiling. All the exterior walls will be R/13 insulated, and the ceiling will have R/30 insulation. I will also use R/30 insulation on the left sidewall that lines the stairs - that way the baby can sleep peacefully while dad watches the Avengers.
The problems designing the basement are as follows:
1. Egress window on the right of where the projection screen will be: I am seeking permissions from the township to cover this with dry wall. If that doesn’t go through, I will cover it with curtains.

2. Large sliding doors on the bottom right corner: a couple of dark curtains should fix this.



3. Pillar: I have metallic pillar in on the left as you come down the stairs. I plan on making it bigger by covering it with dry wall. That way it can house my left surround speaker.

4. Heating: while the basement is rather cool in the summer, it’s pretty frigid in the winter. Since there is no HVAC outlet in the basement, I will be installing two new 8” ducts with dampers in the finished area.
5. Sprinklers: for whatever reason, the builder had the sprinkler heads in the basement way up high. I will be reaching out to the fire department and a plumber to lower this below the ceiling.

6. The “hole”: by far my biggest problem. We have a water outlet on front-right corner of the room, which I originally thought, was a sump-pump but it’s really just a hole in the ground (much like the one in Sparta). The water just trickles into the earth. I had a plumber come over and have a look, and he said that since we were atop a hill there really wasn’t a need for a sump pump.



I was originally thinking of creating a large box over the outlet going all the way to the ceiling with a door for access. I would then add a similar sized box on the opposite corner, which would house my media. The problem with this was it ate a lot into my projector screen space. Back to the drawing board.

So my new plan is to add a stage that goes across the length of the theater, around 3ft (0.9m) wide. I will have a door with a hinge on the right so we have easy access to the hole. I will also add a water indicator below the pump so we know if the water level rises above a certain level.

I read a lot of debates on the acoustic properties of sand, and I would have really liked to fill the stage with sand. But I would need several bags to fill up such a huge area. So I’m thinking of filling it with insulation. I’ll fix the stage to the concrete floor, but will keep a gap from the wall and fill that with insulation.
That’s about all the problem areas, really. I think I went a little overboard with this post so will stop now. In my next post, I’ll tell you guys my plans for the projector screen and speaker setup.



*
What are your thoughts so far?

I am getting a second opinion on the sump pump, but what do you guys think?

What are your thoughts on my stage? Should it have any specific shape? What is the ideal height for the stage? 
How far do you think I should keep it from the wall?
*


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## JK Saabh (Sep 12, 2014)

Not sure why my images are not showing up :doh:

*Ah, the images are visible now.*


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## NBPk402 (Feb 21, 2012)

You have 4 images that I can see.


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## JK Saabh (Sep 12, 2014)

ellisr63 said:


> You have 4 images that I can see.


Thanks, looks like the issue is fixed now. I cant wait to hear what you guys think of my design. Looking forward to some great collaboration on this thread.


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## JK Saabh (Sep 12, 2014)

So now that I have outlined the plans for my basement, let me go a little more in detail about my plans for the home theater area. My plan is to have a four seat recliner in the theater area. The area behind the seats would be used to display my action figures, and have a temporary office.

I plan to design the theater in phases:
Phase one: I would like to get the basement done, temporary office space, install a projector, a screen and 5.1 surround sound system. I will use my existing recliners for now, and look for deals on home theater recliners during thanksgiving.
Phase two: I would like to replace the recliners with leather home theater grade recliners. I would also like to install bass kickers on the new seating.
Phase three: I would like to add two speakers and another subwoofer to make it a 7.2 surround sound system.
Phase four: convince the wife to have two row seating.

So I need to keep the ideal end state in mind while designing the home theater. In this post I wanted to discuss the projector screen and get your recommendations (and while you are at it, please feel free to share your thoughts on my previous post).

Since I have the pole to the left of the seating, I am thinking of dry-walling it and having it house my left surround sound speaker. This works well as it helps align the right surround speaker just next to the corner. With this arrangement, the viewing area is around 13ft (4m) from the wall housing the screen.



Coming to the screen, I want to have the screen be electric and mounted on the ceiling. This way I can mount a TV on the wall, and have the screen drop down only while watching a movie or a game.
Given that the height of the room is 8ft (2.4m) and the length of the wall with the screen is 15ft (4.6m), I was thinking of using a 120in screen. More particularly, I was thinking of the 120in EliteScreen Starling Tension series electric screen. I have more or less decided on my projector: the Epson 5030UB, of course I haven’t bought one yet.

I spent most of yesterday researching the best screen size for my setup and found several recommendations. I read that the THX recommendation is that the top of the screen should not be more that 15degrees above eye level.

So in my case, if the height of the viewers eye from the ground is 3.5ft (1.07m) that would mean that the angle to the top of the screen would be 14degrees for a 120” screen and 15deg for a 100” screen (I had to refresh some high school trigonometry to calculate this). However, if the height of the viewers eye from the ground is reduced to 3ft (.91m) the angle of viewing to the top of the screen would increase to ~17degrees in the case of the 100” and ~16.7 degrees for the 120”. So recliner selection is going to be key – will drop into a couple of stores to check out the height. *How high is your eye from the ground when seated on your recliner?*

Based on my calculations, the 120” screen would be around 23inches (60cm) off the ground and the 100” would be around 34inches (86cm) off the ground. *Is there a recommended height the screen should be off the ground?*

In my case, I also have to consider the stage. Assuming the stage is around 8” (20cm) that would mean the bottom of the projector would be 15 inches (38cm) off the top of the stage in the case of a 120” screen, and 36 inches (91cm) for a 100”.

While I would love to go in for the 120” screen, I fear that there will be little or no place for my center channel and if I have enough space on either side of the screen to house my front speakers and sub woofer. Here are some mockups:





*What are your thoughts? I would appreciate it if you could tell me:
Your ceiling height
Your length of the wall
Viewing distance from screen and
Screen Size*

Loads more to come. Need to get back to work now.


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## sawzalot (Apr 22, 2009)

Seems like that hole in the floor is just a place for your condensation line to drip into from your heating / ac unit maybe you just re-route that pvc pipe into a drain or straight outside then eliminate the need for the hole in the floor.


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## JK Saabh (Sep 12, 2014)

sawzalot said:


> Seems like that hole in the floor is just a place for your condensation line to drip into from your heating / ac unit maybe you just re-route that pvc pipe into a drain or straight outside then eliminate the need for the hole in the floor.


Interesting! I'll check with my plumber if that could be done. The good news is there is a egress window right over the hole. 

Thanks, this is a good idea.


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## dougc (Dec 19, 2009)

My eyes are 38" from the floor in my seating. I might have missed it, but do you plan to have a riser for your recliners? Having the chairs on the concrete floor will rob you of that awesome feel that your subs give that add to the effect. A riser will help give that tactile feel back without having to spend the money on tactile transducers. It can also serve as a bass trap.


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## JK Saabh (Sep 12, 2014)

dougc said:


> My eyes are 38" from the floor in my seating. I might have missed it, but do you plan to have a riser for your recliners? Having the chairs on the concrete floor will rob you of that awesome feel that your subs give that add to the effect. A riser will help give that tactile feel back without having to spend the money on tactile transducers. It can also serve as a bass trap.


I really wanted the risers, but the wife was against it. She's trying to make it as generic a room as possible, and I'm trying to make it a home theater. We are both trying to find that happy middle ground.


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## JK Saabh (Sep 12, 2014)

So I decided to make some changes to the blueprint:
1. According to THX guidelines, the distance between two towers, the distance between the towers and the viewer should form an equivalent triangle. Since the viewers distance from the screen is 13ft (3.9m) the two towers should be 15ft (4.6m) apart. I'm hoping I should be able to get them to be separated by this much. My wall is 16ft wide, and I hope not to loose more than half a foot on each side. What this would also mean is I would have to swap the position of the left tower and the sub. I would have ideally liked to have the sub in the corner, but I don't think that will be possible. *Has anyone not placed their sub in the corner of the room?* Here is the updated mockup.



2. The next change is to the stage shape, I made the center jut out so my daughter could perform for us when she grows up a little (and boy, they grow up fast).



Also, this weekend I auditioned the Klipsch Reference II speakers: The RF-82 II Towers, the RC-62 Center, the RS-52 II Surrounds and the SW-112 sub. I had to call several dealers before I found one with the RF-82's on display. It was quite a drive, but it was worth it. I loved the speakers, as did the wife. The dealer I visited had a deal where you get the subwoofer free if you buy the speakers - I doubt I'll buy it from them though as I've seen much better deals online. Looks like I've decided on my speakers, although I may go in for two subs.


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## JK Saabh (Sep 12, 2014)

Alrighty then, this weekend I decided on my A/V gear.

Speakers: RF-82 II Towers, RC-62 Center, RS-52 II Surrounds and two SW-112 subs with WA-2 wireless subwoofer kits.
Receiver: Denon AVR-X4100W
Projector: Epson 5030UB

I've been doing some reading on pre-wiring, and I'll be posting my design shortly. Speaking of wiring, *how have you wired your subwoofers and ceiling projector?* I was thinking using outlets from my power conditioner in the rack to the projector and subs, but I'm not sure of the best (and safest way) to get power to the ceiling? Also, since I'll have around eight power outlets for the subs (two on each wall, as I don't know where they would work best), h*ow do I connect all of them to the power conditioner?*

Thanks


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## Prof. (Oct 20, 2006)

That speaker spacing is not set in concrete and in some situations it's not possible to have them set in an equilateral triangle, particularly if you're sitting some distance from the screen in a narrow room..
It's more practical to keep the L&R speakers away from the side walls and angle the speakers toward your centre seat..


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## JK Saabh (Sep 12, 2014)

*Pre-wiring Part One*

So I spent some time designing how I want to do my electric pre-wiring and have several questions. My media center will not be in the home theater, rather be in the "unfinished area" behind the door. This is depicted by "M" in the floor plan I included in my last post. I have some concerns about this location: 1) its unfinished, and 2) its near the water heater unit. I'm still looking for a better place to house my electronics, and am open to ideas.
I plan to connect a dedicated line to a power conditioner in my media rack (I'm leaning towards the Belkin PureAV Home Theater Power Console). Then power the following from the conditioner:
1. Outside the media rack (this is where I have questions):

a. Projector: I was originally thinking of getting a really long power cable and directly connect the ceiling mounted projector to the conditioner, but read that its a fire hazard. Can I use some Romex cable from the conditioner to a power outlet on the ceiling, and connect the projector to that? *What is the best way to power a ceiling projector? *

b. TV: Here the wiring will run behind the dry wall, so *can I use Romex from the conditioner to a power outlet on the front wall?*
c. Subwoofers: I plan to have two power outlets on each wall - so I can move my subs around. *Whats the best way to power all eight power outlets, knowing that only two of them will be in use at any given time? Can I take two Romex cables out of my conditioner, and daisy chain them to four outlets each?*

2. Inside the media rack:

a. PS4
b. Apple TV
c. Butt Kicker Amp (phase two of my HT build)
d. Harmony Hub
e. DVD Player: I need a dedicated dvd player as I used to live in the UK, and I have a whole bunch of region 2 DVDs which wont play on a US DVD player/PS3.
f. A/V Receiver
g. Verizon Fios DVR



I'm working on my speaker wiring as well, will post my ideas (and questions) tomorrow.


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## JK Saabh (Sep 12, 2014)

Prof. said:


> That speaker spacing is not set in concrete and in some situations it's not possible to have them set in an equilateral triangle, particularly if you're sitting some distance from the screen in a narrow room..
> It's more practical to keep the L&R speakers away from the side walls and angle the speakers toward your centre seat..


Thanks prof! Do you forsee any issues with the surrounds? The one on the right will be near a corner, and the one on the left will be on a pillar with space on either side.


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## JK Saabh (Sep 12, 2014)

All this while I was planning to have my media rack in the unfinished part of the basement. The problems with this design are:
1) I have to go into a different room to change a Blu-Ray.
2) It was very close to the water heater.
3) I would have to buy longer wires/cables. 

So the wife and I spent some time this afternoon thinking of alternate locations for the rack. The best spot we found was under the stairs:



Only problem is the framing is done such that the components would not fit flush against the drywall (its around 14" between the wooden bars). So we decided on getting a couple of short media racks and have them placed side by side under the stairs. We would then have a hidden door in the dry wall which would give us access to the rack. Also, for the cabling one could always go from behind the stairs to reach the rear of the rack. Of course, there would be two wooden bars in front of the rack but I think we should be able to position the rack so that it's doors can be opened in spite of the bars. The wife also found the Sonax CR-2360 which fits nicely in the space under our stairs.



I could get one of these to house my receiver, dvd player, ps4, dvr, apple tv and harmony remote. I could get another to house the power conditioner, or I could just have the conditioner on top of the rack. The other advantage I get by moving the rack under the stairs is I can easily have the harmony hub's IR blaster visible to the projector.

*As always, I am open to ideas and suggestions.
*

Looks like we should be good to start construction next week. Oh boy, I can't wait.


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## Prof. (Oct 20, 2006)

JK Saabh said:


> Thanks prof! Do you forsee any issues with the surrounds? The one on the right will be near a corner, and the one on the left will be on a pillar with space on either side.


There will probably be some tonal difference between the two surrounds..The one on the right will get some reinforcement from the corner, whereas the left will have open space around it..Not much you can do about it..Just balance the output of the two with EQ'ing..


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## JK Saabh (Sep 12, 2014)

Prof. said:


> There will probably be some tonal difference between the two surrounds..The one on the right will get some reinforcement from the corner, whereas the left will have open space around it..Not much you can do about it..Just balance the output of the two with EQ'ing..


 Thanks Prof. I'm considering not having the gap between the stairs and the pillar. At least that way the two walls will be symmetrical. Not much I can do about the corner though. Hopefully the Audyssey xt-32 calibration helps a bit.


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## Prof. (Oct 20, 2006)

That should help considerably..


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## Owen Bartley (Oct 18, 2006)

Any chance of changing the framing in that area to allow an equipment rack? It sounds like your studs are spaced about 14" apart, so it would give you maybe 26 inches or so of width, which would let you place odd sized components next to standard ones (usually about 17 or 18 inches I think).

Here's a quick pic showing the reframed area...


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## JK Saabh (Sep 12, 2014)

Owen Bartley said:


> Any chance of changing the framing in that area to allow an equipment rack? It sounds like your studs are spaced about 14" apart, so it would give you maybe 26 inches or so of width, which would let you place odd sized components next to standard ones (usually about 17 or 18 inches I think). Here's a quick pic showing the reframed area...


That's a great idea. That would help bring the media closer to the wall. Do you have any recommendations on how to conceal it? I don't want to use a reflective surface as this area is to the left of the projector screen. Thanks so much.


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## Owen Bartley (Oct 18, 2006)

I might just leave it an open type built-in shelf, but give yourself enough depth that the components can sit an inch or two back from the lip, which should help to keep them from being too noticeable when you're watching something. Here are a few references with pics

See partway down this post for a simple way to build between studs: http://forums.anandtech.com/showpost.php?p=30653285&postcount=46 

And some good pics here of a plain, uncovered rack: http://www.hometheatershack.com/for...n-construction/7356-build-equipment-rack.html


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## JK Saabh (Sep 12, 2014)

Owen Bartley said:


> I might just leave it an open type built-in shelf, but give yourself enough depth that the components can sit an inch or two back from the lip, which should help to keep them from being too noticeable when you're watching something. Here are a few references with pics
> 
> See partway down this post for a simple way to build between studs: http://forums.anandtech.com/showpost.php?p=30653285&postcount=46
> 
> And some good pics here of a plain, uncovered rack: http://www.hometheatershack.com/for...n-construction/7356-build-equipment-rack.html



Thanks man, this was of great help. I'll be doing something similar to hold my gear.


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## JK Saabh (Sep 12, 2014)

So purchased most of my cables yesterday from monoprice.



The CAT6 cable is to have a network port at my desk which will be situated at the back of my basement (near the patio door). I picked up clear 12AWG cable for wiring my speakers to the wall mounts.
I spent a lot of time debating on whether I should get a 14x4 or a 12x2 cable. In the end I bought 12x2. Since I'm running 30' of HDMI cable, I went with monoprice's redmere cable. I'm interested to see how it performs.
I am expecting to get my permit to start construction this week. I'm also expecting my plumber to come in on Tue/Wed to start lowering my fire sprinkler heads. Like I had said before, they are much higher than where the drop ceiling would be.

More later.


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## JK Saabh (Sep 12, 2014)

I have decided to have the media rack under the stairs. I'll make wooden shelves under the stairs to hold the equipment. I'm still a little undecided on the front of the rack though. Ideally I would have liked to display it, but since its so close to the screen I don't want it to be distracting. Also, I'm thinking of options on how to conceal it: a wooden door, or non-reflecting glass.



Since I will have a drop ceiling, I am not running conduit all over the place. I will run conduit from the media rack to the top of the ceiling, and try as much as possible to run the low voltage cable along the sides of the drop ceiling. That way I should be able to access it in the future, if required.



I'll be pre-wiring the speakers as follows: four outlets for the left and right channels - that way I can bi-amp in the future. Two outlets for the center, and two for the side surrounds. I'll run speaker cable to the rear wall all the way to the ground, so I can place the rear speakers at any height. Lastly, I'll have two runs of speaker cables to atmos ceiling speakers. My X4100 supports 9 channels (with an additional stereo amp), so I could have a 7.2.2 or a 5.2.4 atmos config if I choose.

Another decision I've made is I will not be filling up the stage with sand, rather fill it with insulation. Based on my calculations, for my size of stage, I would have to carry more than sixty bags of sand to the basement. It's too much of effort, especially since I don't know if I will be placing my subs on it. I read the THX recommendations which said that in the case of two subs, they should be placed in the middle of the left and right walls. So if that works out, then fine, if it doesn't and I need to place the subs on the stage, I'll get myself a couple of sub dudes and hope that it works out.

For my remote, I plan on using the Logitech Harmony Smart control. In my next post, I'll talk about how I plan to hook it up.

More later.


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## JK Saabh (Sep 12, 2014)

Received the permit to start construction today, and the first thing we had to do was clean the basement. There was a whole lot of junk in the HT area, and it took much longer than anticipated. We received delivery of the insulation, lights, romex and 2 by 4s. My monoprice cables should arrive on Friday. So here are some "before" pictures:


The front of the HT room.


The rear of the HT room. The office will be on the left, and a bar on the right. I plan to place my action figures along this wall. 


This is where the media rack will go.


Supplies, action figures, and a whole lot of junk. The R13 insulation is for the exterior walls.


R30 insulation for the ceiling, and inside wall.


Recessed Lighting. There will be three zones of lights: a two way switch which controls the lights on the stairs (switch on either end of the stairs), six lights in the HT room controlled by a dimmer (with IR remote), and a third of two lights controlled by a switch in the office.


Our first frame. Woo hoo.

And here is the updated floor plan:

The changes include:
1. New location for media rack.
2. New location for subs, although I'll need to rely on the "crawl" to determine best position.
3. Bar and office at the back of the room.
4. I plan on displaying my action figures in clear tiered acrylic risers in IKEA Detolf cases. It'll be interesting to see if the glass can handle the sound. If it rattles, I may have to swap out the bar and the display cases.
5. Instead of a pillar to house the left speaker, I plan to extend the left frame back. This way the left and right corners more or less align. Hopefully this improves the quality of sound from my surrounds.


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## JK Saabh (Sep 12, 2014)

Quick update: the framing has begun, and is looking good. The home theater room is finally taking shape.


The front, where the screen will be ceiling mounted.


The egress window is no more.


The wall along the stairs is extended to cover the pole.


The left and right walls are aligned.


The double doors to the unfinished side.


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## JK Saabh (Sep 12, 2014)

All this while, I was thinking of using wireless transmitters with my subs. Then a horrible thought struck me: what if they fail or are unreliable, or what if I upgrade to a pair of subwoofers that don't have a wireless transmitter option. Something had to be done; and fast!

To save the future me from a ton of trouble, I thought it best to pre-wire the subs. Two coax cables to the front of the theater, and one each on the sides. I would use a wall plate to terminate the coax cables, and hook it up with the subs using subwoofer cable. 

Since I was placing an order with monoprice anyways, I bought four HDMI cables to connect the Roku3, PS4, DVR and DVD player to the receiver. Also, bought some stereo/mono cables for the Logitech Harmony remote (may get one next week). I'll post my plans on how I plan on using them in a future post. Here is my shopping cart from earlier today:


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## JK Saabh (Sep 12, 2014)

Weekend update:


Received my first order from Monoprice.


Framing of the office area is done. 


Front wall







What do you guys think?


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## Prof. (Oct 20, 2006)

Looks like you have everything covered for power requirements..
I presume you've also included a power line for the projector..


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## NBPk402 (Feb 21, 2012)

Prof. said:


> Looks like you have everything covered for power requirements..
> I presume you've also included a power line for the projector..


Hopefully an UPS too. :T


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## JK Saabh (Sep 12, 2014)

Prof. said:


> Looks like you have everything covered for power requirements..
> I presume you've also included a power line for the projector..





ellisr63 said:


> Hopefully an UPS too. :T


Thanks for your input, guys. Yes, I have a power line for the projector and it will receive power from a UPS. I'm still trying to figure out which UPS would serve me best. *I'd really appreciate your suggestions.*

I an leaning towards the CyberPower CP1000PFCLCD PFC Sinewave UPS 1000VA 600W PFC Compatible Mini-Tower. This UPS has a rating of 1000VA/600 watts and protects my gear for up to 1030 Joules. I don't intend to watch movies on battery power, I just need enough backup to shut down the projector safely. 

The UPS has four battery backup and surge protected outlets, to which I plan to connect:
1. Projector (so the lamp can cool)
2. DVR (so it can continue to record in case of a short power outage)
3. Logitech Harmony Hub (so I can turn off the projector in case of an outage)

It also has four surge protected outlets, to which I plan to connect:
1. A/V Receiver
2. TV
3. Roku3
4. PS4

I'll use a regular surge protector for:
1. DVD Player (I lived in the UK, and have a whole bunch of region 2 DVDs)
2. WiFi Router (I don't need Wifi in the dark)

*Thoughts?*


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## NBPk402 (Feb 21, 2012)

Do you have all of your equipment next to your projector... If not I would get 2 UPS units, and have one for your HT Equipment and one for the projector. :T


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## JK Saabh (Sep 12, 2014)

ellisr63 said:


> Do you have all of your equipment next to your projector... If not I would get 2 UPS units, and have one for your HT Equipment and one for the projector. :T


No, my media rack is quite a distance away. I'm connecting my projector to the receiver via a 30' HDMI cable. I guess for now, I'll use a UPS for just a projector and look for another during black friday. What are your thoughts on the CyberPower CP1000PFCLCD PFC Sinewave UPS? I figure 600W should be enough for a projector, but I'm not sure.


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## JK Saabh (Sep 12, 2014)

So the wife felt that the area in the landing wasn't enough, so we pushed the frame four feet away from where it was originally planned.



The media rack is slowly taking shape.


The HDMI pre-wire is done: since I will have drop ceiling, I'm not running conduit. I'm using the monoprice redmere cable - one going from the receiver to the TV and another going to the ceiling mounted projector.


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## NBPk402 (Feb 21, 2012)

JK Saabh said:


> No, my media rack is quite a distance away. I'm connecting my projector to the receiver via a 30' HDMI cable. I guess for now, I'll use a UPS for just a projector and look for another during black friday. What are your thoughts on the CyberPower CP1000PFCLCD PFC Sinewave UPS? I figure 600W should be enough for a projector, but I'm not sure.


I am not familiar with that model... What is the power consumption of your projector? Once you have that I would look at the ratings on the UPS, and see how big of one you need to run x amount of minutes (what ever you think would be enough time for you to power it down and let the fan shut down as normal). Looking briefly at it... You can run full power for 3 minutes with half power for 9 minutes. I think the capacity is most likely enough as you will be in the room if you ever have a power outage. 
I am not sure but you might even be able to send a power off command to the projector when the UPS loses power (it would be nice if it is possible). I know you can have it power down a PC so why not your projector? :T


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## JK Saabh (Sep 12, 2014)

So last evening I called Verizon to request an additional setup box for the basement. They said it would increase my monthly bill by around $15, which I felt was okay as it gave me access to the recordings on my existing DVR. I was just about to ask them to ship the box, when the representative then gave me the new total and to my shock it was almost two times what I was paying before. On questioning the sudden and huge hike in rates, I was informed that my two year contract was just up and the new price was the best they could offer. I asked if removing our unused landline service would help reduce the cost, and I was told that removing it actually increased it. We asked if it would be possible to retain only the internet, and cancel the cable and landline, and we were told that they needed the phone line to provide internet (which didn't make sense to me). Anyways, at the end of a rather long call we knew that we had no choice: we had to switch providers.

We found Comcast a plan called "blast plus" where they gave you _upto_ 110mbps internet, local TV channels (non-HD), and a HBO Go account for around $70 per month. Now this was less than half I was to pay Verizon, so we decided to make the switch. Since we will not be getting HD channels, I will not need a setup box in the basement. I guess I will just have to create a HuluPlus account, and watch everything on my Roku3. I am also looking at indoor antennas to receive local channels in HD.

I can have then have Comcast setup box in the living room, in case we ever want to watch something in "regular D". What this also means is I can move my LG smart TV from my living area to the basement (behind the projector screen). Of course, the 47" TV, is small for my basement but it will have to do for now. Maybe I'll find something during BlackFriday to replace it. I have an old 720p TV in the guest bedroom, and I plan to move it to the living room.

We have kept a two day overlap between the service providers, just in case we are not pleased with Comcast's internet service. I have my fingers crossed, but am rather pleased with the fact that we may actually have reduced our monthly cable bill by a hundred bucks. Is this a wise decision, only time will tell.


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## JK Saabh (Sep 12, 2014)

In other news, I'm putting off buying a UPS - I'll pick up a surge protector with a high joule rating, and look for a good deal on a UPS during Black Friday. Same applies to the Roku3, although I don't see it going on discount this year.


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## JK Saabh (Sep 12, 2014)

So quite a few things happened yesterday: 
Early in the morning, we had the Comcast technician come over and swap the service. I decided to rent Comcast's modem until I find a good deal on a dual band modem. When the comcast guy left, our electric inspector arrived and we passed. 

The media rack is getting more accessible:


The stage is almost ready:




In the evening, I received my first set of speakers: my surrounds. I guess they were shipped individually. 


The wife and I also went to Lowe's looking for a dark carpet, but didn't find any. All the colors they had were light and pastel. I picked up a 100' coaxial cable and an IR dimmer switch while we were there. But on getting home I found that Home Depot had the same coax for half the cost. I guess I have to make another trip to Lowes later this evening.


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## JK Saabh (Sep 12, 2014)

So here is my electrical cabling:

1, 3, 6, 7: Dedicated line for subwoofers
2: Line for LED lighting that would line the stage. This will be a low plug.
4: Surge protected line for TV.
5: Line for electric screen.
8, 9: Lines for home office.
10, 11, 12, 13: No plans as of yet.
14: 20amp dedicated line for media rack.
15: Surge protected line for Projector. Will be backed up by a UPS eventually.

And my speaker cabling is more or less done, I grossly underestimated the amount of cable I needed. So had to put in another order for 150ft of speaker cable from monoprice. Here is how I plan to pre-wire my speaker cable:


Start state: 5.2 setup.
Intermediate state 1: 5.2.4 dolby atmos setup.
Intermediate state 2: 5.2.4 dolby atmos setup, with two speakers in zone 2 (home office). This will require an additional 2ch power amplifier for my Denon x4100. I'll just pick up a 5ch amp, so I can use it in the end state.
End state: 7.2.4 dolby atmos setup, with two speakers in zone 2 (home office).

I'll pre-wire coax for four possible locations for subwoofers: two up front, and two on the sides. Will also run coax so that I can house a modem and comcast receiver in the media rack. There will be two HDMI cables (redmere from monoprice), that run from the media rack to the TV and projector. The other cable I'll be pre-wiring is a CAT6 network cable to the office from the modem in the media rack.


*What do you guys think?
*


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## JK Saabh (Sep 12, 2014)

*Harmony Setup*

Since my gear will be in a behind the wall, I am planning to use the Logitech Harmony Remote. Here is how I plan to hook it up. *I'd really appreciate feedback on the setup. *


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## JK Saabh (Sep 12, 2014)

Some updates from the last couple of days:

Rather than running conduit all over the house, we have a conduit from the media center to the drop ceiling.


Insulation is in the newly constructed left wall:


Received my second shipment of cables from monoprice. This mainly had coax, and wall plates to run subwoofer cable: 


and stereo/mono cables for the harmony remote setup:


The four sub locations now have a coax cable as backup, in case the wireless fails:




And last, but not the least my speakers and receiver arrived.


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## JK Saabh (Sep 12, 2014)

For the projector, I was more or less set on the Epson 5030UB. The things I wasn't too pleased about were:
1. It comes only in white, and it would clash against my black drop ceiling. I would have to cough a thousand big ones to get the noir 6030UB.
2. I have read a lot about lag while gaming. I am not an avid gamer, but go through phases when you cant get the controller out of my hands. I read about a firmware update that should be out sometime later this month that addresses some of the lag issues.
So, I read about the VPL-HW40ES and was able to audition it at a local dealer. It was fantastic (and black, woo hoo), but of course it had it's drawbacks:
1. It comes with IR glasses, whereas the Epson comes with RF glasses. I would have to buy the RF glasses and an RF emitter for the Sony.
2. It does not have a 12V trigger. 

Decisions, decisions!


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## JK Saabh (Sep 12, 2014)

*Dry wall: Done*

Weekend Update: Dry wall is up.


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## JK Saabh (Sep 12, 2014)

One of the things we did this weekend was decide on our carpet. We had visited Home Depot, Lowes and local carpet dealers several times over the last few weeks so it was very satisfying to finally make a decision. With the carpet selected the next thing to do was select the color for the walls. We plan to use three colors: one a dark gray which would be used for the three main walls of the home theater, a lighter variant which would be used for the others, and a bright yellow accent.





What do you guys think?


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## JK Saabh (Sep 12, 2014)

Spackling and sanding have been completed, we are ready to paint! Apart from the two shades of gray on the wall, we will be painting one of the walls in the office area with chalkboard black paint. I have also started looking into how best to display my action figures. While the Ikea Detolf cases are excellent, the shelves are very tall. I'm looking for clear acrylic three-tired risers (clear so that the light passes through to the shelves below). The ones I have found so far are way too expensive, so will have to look for a DIY alternative.


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## JK Saabh (Sep 12, 2014)

One step forward, and two steps back. This kinda summaries the last couple of days. The basement, and the stairway were given their first coat and all looked well. Until later in the evening, when we noticed that the lighter shade of gray looked almost the same as the darker shade. While I love a dark basement as much as the next guy, I'm not too keen on creating a winter retreat for bats.



We had no choice but to find a new "light" gray, and this time around we picked a much lighter variant. We also picked up a sample and painted different areas of the basement just to see what it looks like at different times during the day. Herein lies today's lesson: always buy a sample of paint, and leave it on overnight before you make a decision.

While it may be back to square one on the light colored walls, the dark walls are looking pretty cool.



The new colors:


The stage getting insulated:


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## JK Saabh (Sep 12, 2014)

I decided on the Epson 5030UB after reading favorable reviews of the firmware update. Also, I noticed that Visual Apex were having a deal by which you get a $200 gift card on purchase of the 5030UB so I took this deal to my local Best Buy and asked them to match the price. I expected some kind of resistance, but there was none. Unlike Vapex, who give you a $200 visa card, BB gave me a store card. I also opened a BB credit card which the manager said would give me 10% of my initial purchase in cash back which can be used in store. I am yet to receive my card/first statement, so only time will tell if I do get the cash back.

I got the projector home, set it up on a small stool, hooked it up to my PS3 and projected a 120" video on the bare wall. I first saw a few minutes of a silent Kill Bill on Netflix (speakers are not installed yet), and 120" looked a bit on the larger side. But when I switched to the Fifth Element on Blu Ray (2.4) on a 16:9 screen I found the image more pleasing. In the end, I let the wife decide and she liked the 120". This was unexpected as the last time I had to beg to get a 47" TV for the living room - she wanted something smaller. I have heard a lot of people say "I wish I had gone bigger", but not one has said "I wish I had gone smaller". Also, if the image feels large I can always move the recliners back a bit. In my setup the viewer is 13' from the screen.


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## NBPk402 (Feb 21, 2012)

JK Saabh said:


> I decided on the Epson 5030UB after reading favorable reviews of the firmware update. Also, I noticed that Visual Apex were having a deal by which you get a $200 gift card on purchase of the 5030UB so I took this deal to my local Best Buy and asked them to match the price. I expected some kind of resistance, but there was none. Unlike Vapex, who give you a $200 visa card, BB gave me a store card. I also opened a BB credit card which the manager said would give me 10% of my initial purchase in cash back which can be used in store. I am yet to receive my card/first statement, so only time will tell if I do get the cash back.
> 
> I got the projector home, set it up on a small stool, hooked it up to my PS3 and projected a 120" video on the bare wall. I first saw a few minutes of a silent Kill Bill on Netflix (speakers are not installed yet), and 120" looked a bit on the larger side. But when I switched to the Fifth Element on Blu Ray (2.4) on a 16:9 screen I found the image more pleasing. In the end, I let the wife decide and she liked the 120". This was unexpected as the last time I had to beg to get a 47" TV for the living room - she wanted something smaller. I have heard a lot of people say "I wish I had gone bigger", but not one has said "I wish I had gone smaller". Also, if the image feels large I can always move the recliners back a bit. In my setup the viewer is 13' from the screen.


You can always mask it down to whatever size you feel is best... That way if you decide some movies need to be bigger you have the option of going bigger. :T

When we got our screen for our Living room my wife thought it was going to be too big (we shined it on a large white sheet before we ordered the screen), but I ordered it a bit larger, and when we got the screen setup my wife thought it was perfect. I think that when she saw it on the sheet it didn't look as good so she wanted it smaller, but once she saw how good it looked she was fine with it.

Now when we built the HT, I told her I was going just a little bit bigger... What i didn't tell her was that I was going as big as the wall would allow. When we got the HT up and running I was shocked that she actually prefers the front row while watching movies on the 180" scope screen! :T


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## JK Saabh (Sep 12, 2014)

ellisr63 said:


> You can always mask it down to whatever size you feel is best... That way if you decide some movies need to be bigger you have the option of going bigger.


I'm thinking of getting an electric tension screen, so my masking options are limited. I'm still looking for DIY options by which I can mask the top and bottom back areas when I watch a 2.4 aspect ratio movie on my 16:9 screen. Unfortunately, the 5030UB does not have lens memory so I guess I would have to use some kind of mask that I could manually clip onto the screen. 



ellisr63 said:


> When we got our screen for our Living room my wife thought it was going to be too big (we shined it on a large white sheet before we ordered the screen), but I ordered it a bit larger, and when we got the screen setup my wife thought it was perfect. I think that when she saw it on the sheet it didn't look as good so she wanted it smaller, but once she saw how good it looked she was fine with it.


What I did was project a 135" image on the wall at first, and as expected it was large for my basement. I then reduced the size 120", and she said it was perfect. I switched off the projector before she could change her mind


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## JK Saabh (Sep 12, 2014)

Quick Update: 

The fire sprinklers were removed, painted red and lowered to below the line of the drop ceiling. 





The first coat of the new light gray has been applied to the rear wall. 


I put in an order for the Vapex 120" electric tension screen. This screen comes with a wireless 12v trigger that I can hook up to my projector. This way, when I switch on the projector, the screen will drop on its own. Visual Apex has a package where they include a basic universal remote, a ceiling mount for the projector, a 35' HDMI cable and a Disney WOW Calibration Disc along with the screen for not a lot more. I was originally planning on getting the peerless mount for my 5030UB, but will give Vapex's mount a shot. I guess, I'll use the universal remote for the TV in the living room.

Another design element I am considering changing is the location of my wireless router. I was originally planning on housing my router along with my A/V gear in the media rack under the stairs. I now fear that having it in such a concealed location would impact it's performance significantly. I already have a coax running to my media rack, so I plan on hooking it up to my router and checking the performance in the upper levels. If the performance isnt up to mark, I would have to run another coax to the office area and house the router there. I have pre-wired a cat6 from the office area to the media rack - it was supposed to connect to the router in the rack and be used by my Mac in the office. Now it will be used the other way around: the router would be in the office, and there will be a cat 6 splitter which will connect my A/V gear to the router. 

*Has anyone placed their router in a concealed location with favorable results?*


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## JK Saabh (Sep 12, 2014)

It's been a while since my last update, and loads has happened since. The drop ceiling is more or less completed:



The wall plates are done too:
Front wall:




Right wall:


Left wall:


The left wall has a HDMI plate, which has a HDMI cable running to one of the input ports of the receiver. This way, I can display images from my camera or computer on the projector. 

I also picked up eight 60W equivalent LED bulbs from Sam's Club. They light up the place really nice, but on adding the IR dimmer to the mix we noticed that the bulbs don't switch off. It was then we realized that the IR dimmer does not support LED blubs. I searched for LED bulb dimmers, and found quite a few but none of them had the IR feature. On doing some digging we found a hack: replace one of the LED bulbs with a normal bulb and the dimmer works. Of course, this is a ugly hack as one of the bulbs will look different from the others. So the idea is to now have a very low wattage bulb inside the drop ceiling, and add that as one of the bulbs connected to the dimmer. Also, will try using a busted normal bulb to see if that helps. I really don't want any light leaking through the drop ceiling.

The media rack is slowly taking shape:


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## JK Saabh (Sep 12, 2014)

It's been a while since my last update, so here goes:

The drop ceiling support structure is up, and the ceiling tiles are being put in place. The black drop ceiling looks pretty neat.










Also, found a fix to the IR dimmer not working with LED lights. I have one very low wattage nightlight included in the bulbs attached to the dimmer. With this arrangement, I am able to dim the LEDs using the remote.
The Visual Apex 120" screen has arrived, as has the free projector mount, Disney WOW Blu Ray, universal remote, and 35' HDMI cable. 

Also, scheduled the carpet installation for this Saturday. Oh boy, we are in the home stretch, folks.


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## JK Saabh (Sep 12, 2014)

The carpet installers were visiting us this rainy morning, and before they did the stage had to be completed. The stage was stuffed with insulation, and a heavy OSB board was installed on top. The right of the board was cut so that it could be removed to access the condensation drip hole. The original idea was to have this on a hinge, but that would mean the hinge may be visible. So we dropped the hinge idea, now to access the hole all one has to do is lift the door.

We were very nervous that the carpet may not go with the other grays in the room. But as it turned out, the carpet went rather well. After the carpet was installed, I *finally* opened my speakers and a/v receiver. Since the projector wasn't setup yet, I impatiently connected the receiver to my old toshiba TV. In a room, devoid of all furniture, I saw X-Men first class on a 32" non-HD TV while sitting on the floor.

And it was fantastic!


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## mpednault (Dec 20, 2012)

The end is near!!! Nice work man!


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## B- one (Jan 13, 2013)

Looking great! I remember my old 32" tv use to think it was great.


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## willis7469 (Jan 31, 2014)

Wow! Those speakers must be 8' tall! Lol


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## JK Saabh (Sep 12, 2014)

Unfortunately, it appears like I have jinxed my project. After mounting the visual apex 120" screen on the front wall (leaving space for the TV to be mounted behind it), I noticed a small black mark on the bottom middle portion of the screen. On holding a flashlight behind the screen, it was plain to see that it was indeed a small tear in the screen material. I immediately called up Vapex, and spoke to one of their support personnel. They were very professional, and said they would send me a replacement right away (it's expected to arrive later this week). 

We also mounted the projector using the visual apex mount (that came free with the screen). Maybe I didn't do it right, but my projector turns rather freely horizontally. This made the initial alignment, and calibration quite a nightmare. Every time I tried to change the zoom or focus settings, I ended up moving the projector itself. 



Later, after I got the projector setup the way I liked it, I noticed that on playing a movie there was a vertical black line on the screen. This line seems to pass through the tear on the screen, which makes me think they are related. Since I'm getting a replacement anyways, I did not bring it up with Vapex. 

On the positive side, though, the screen casing looks awesome and the wireless IR trigger works like a charm - dropping and raising as I switch on and off my projector. I'm hopeful that the replacement will have no issues. 

The two single power recliners from Overstock arrived, and they seem pretty good. I should be receiving the loveseats sometime this week. The problem with the loveseats is they don't have cup holders, but since the single seats have one on each arm I guess we should be alright. 

We also mounted my surround speakers, I based the height off the Klipsch recommendation: a couple of feet above the listening position. So my surrounds are around five and a half feet off the ground. I cant run it any lower as it would then obstruct anyone walking the narrow aisle between the recliner and the wall. I ran the XT32 calibration, and boy the speakers sound really amazing. I do have concerns about the speaker height though. Dolby suggests that for an atmos setup the sides should be as close to ear height as possible. I, unfortunately, will not be able to achieve that so it will be interesting to see how the setup sounds after I add my ceiling speakers. 





Speaking of ceiling speakers, I have been debating on whether to have a 5.2.4 or a 7.2.2 atmos setup. I'm leaning towards the former, but I would love to hear your opinions.



In the evening, we saw our two year old's favorite movie, the Jungle Book. It was fantastic. Later that night, I saw the Avengers on Netflix. Having the wifi router in the media cabinet means that I get to hardwire my receiver and PS3, and boy I didn't have any buffering issues. I wasnt expecting such good sound from a streamed movie. Since the wife wasn't interested she called one of her friends. She has a habit of pacing around the room when on a call, and every step she took in our living area shook the projector quite a bit. I expected there to be some amount of vibrations from someone walking directly overhead, but this was more than I imagined. I am switching my mount with the peerless mount, which has fantastic reviews on Amazon. If nothing else, it should at least keep the projector fixed in one position.



Also, the stairs are completed too. I think they look pretty cool in black and the yellow railing complements it rather well. 





I also hooked up my harmony remote the way I had planned (details in earlier post), and it works fine. I had to have the IR blaster up front on top of the screen so that it can interact with both the projector as well as the dimmer (which is on the left wall). So now on one button click, the receiver, PS3 and projector start up, the screen drops down and the lights go off. On clicking the same button again, all devices switch off, the projector screen returns to its casing and the lights... stay off! I haven't found a way of adding a "turn on lights" step in my activity. Need to do some digging there.

That's about it for now, more later.


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## JK Saabh (Sep 12, 2014)

mpednault said:


> The end is near!!! Nice work man!


Thanks man. Let's hope there are no more surprises.



B- one said:


> Looking great! I remember my old 32" tv use to think it was great.


I have fond memories of my Toshiba. It was the first "flat" screen TV I had. Earlier today, the wife sold it on craigslist. 



willis7469 said:


> Wow! Those speakers must be 8' tall! Lol


ha ha, they do look rather large in my room; especially when seated on the floor.


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## B- one (Jan 13, 2013)

What no pics with the grills off?!?! Copper is such a pretty color!


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