# Who likes helping Newbies? :)



## cscmtp (Jul 25, 2011)

Hi everyone! We are in the process of building our first house and are hopefully about 6 weeks from completion. Our basement will have a designated home theater room (my first one!) The room is 15x27 with 9 foot ceilings. I have purchased the following equipment so far:

Epson 8700 projector
Jamestown 130" White Screen
Onkyo TX-SR608
Klipsch RC-52 II
Klipsch RW-12d
Klipsch RF-52 II B
Klipsch RF-52 II B
Klipsch RB-51 II
PS3
Direct TV DVR 
Harmony One Remote
Disney WOW World of Wonder Calibration DVD
Ekornes Stressless reclining sofa
Ekornes Stressless recliner
2 Berkline recliners 

Items I still need to purchase- ceiling mount for the projector, HDMI cables 


First question out of the gate, I bought the receiver and speakers online, and will admit I never had the chance to listen or test any items in a store. Does that look like it would be a good system for a room of my size?

I am planning on painting the ceiling and the wall the screen will be mounted on in the darkest flattest black that Lowes sells. But I was thinking of painting the side walls a royal or Duke blue (we are big Duke fans) Does anyone think that would cause any issues? The room doesn't have any windows or ambient light. Right now I can walk into the room (there is no door hung yet) and can't see my hand in front of my face. 

The floors, at least initially, will be a stained concrete. Is that going to be tolerable short term? Do you have to get those sound boards/boxes I see many people hang on their walls? If so, what is the most economical place to buy or does anyone make their own? I assume eventually we'll get some carpet installed, but may not have money in the budget initially. 

For lighting the room will have a dozen or so canned lights. If budget allows it, we'll get some LEDs, if not, we'll use CFLs. I read that the Harmony One remote can sink up with light dimmers. Has anyone done this, and if so, what brand device did you buy that interfaces with the remote and lights?

Am I on my way to having a nice home theater room? Is there anything I've overlooking or should change? Any suggestions for the ceiling projector mount and all the cables I'll need? 

I am going to start posting pictures once we start the painting process, hopefully next week. 

Thanks in advance to everyone who's willing to help out an extremely green newbie when it comes to nice stereo equipment and home theaters! I'm clueless but SOOOO excited!!!


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## cscmtp (Jul 25, 2011)

Anyone have a suggestion or recommendation for the Center Channel Speaker? I looked at the specs and the RC 52 II weighs 22 lbs, and has a depth of 10.5" and width of 20.5". 

I guess I'll also want to get stands for the 2 back speakers right?


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## sga2 (Nov 14, 2009)

Welcome to Home Theater Shack!

I have Klipsch Reference speakers for all of my 7 channels and think you'll be happy with them for this room. However, if not too late you might consider upgrading the receiver to get more W/ch, Audyssey Multi-EQ XT, and pre-outs for external amplification (whch you may want to add later). Onkyo TX-NR1008 is available for $750 from www.Accessories4Less.com.

Also, I think the sub will be lacking for the size room you'll have. Not sure how much bass you like, but you'll probably want to upgrade that as well if you can still return. Or get at least 2 (or even 4) of those. 

Congratulations on the new home.

Regards,
sga2


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## bpape (Sep 14, 2006)

Try to get the center channel to be voice matched to the mains. That would preferably not only Klipsch, but from the same series.

Bryan


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## sga2 (Nov 14, 2009)

cscmtp said:


> I am planning on painting the ceiling and the wall the screen will be mounted on in the darkest flattest black that Lowes sells. But I was thinking of painting the side walls a royal or Duke blue (we are big Duke fans) Does anyone think that would cause any issues?


 This should be fine - just stick to flat paint on all surfaces.



cscmtp said:


> The floors, at least initially, will be a stained concrete. Is that going to be tolerable short term?


 That's what I did. Eventually we will get carpet, but not until the rest of the basement is finished. A decent throw rug might help control highs bouncing off the floor - Thoughts, Bryan?



cscmtp said:


> For lighting the room will have a dozen or so canned lights. If budget allows it, we'll get some LEDs, if not, we'll use CFLs.


 LED's are still VERY expensive and take a very long time to pay back which is difficult for a room that is not getting much usage. Assuming that you are not using this room very often (relatively speaking) and will have the lights dimmed or off when in use, I would go with incandescents and use lighting budget to put LED's in other rooms that will be used for hours every day (living room, bedrooms, kitchen).



cscmtp said:


> Am I on my way to having a nice home theater room? Is there anything I've overlooking or should change? Any suggestions for the ceiling projector mount and all the cables I'll need?


 I installed 2 HDMI's (in case #1 gets damaged) and 2 Cat6 (just in case future PJ will be firmware upgradeable). A 2" conduit with pullstring is good for future proofing, too.



cscmtp said:


> I guess I'll also want to get stands for the 2 back speakers right?


 Don't the RB's have wall-mounting backplates?

Regards,
sga2


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## bpape (Sep 14, 2006)

You'll definitely want a large area rug between you and the speakers in the front at a minimum. Overall carpet would be added eventually as budget allows.

Bryan


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## cscmtp (Jul 25, 2011)

hey guys, I just saw that the Klipsch Reference RW-12d 12" Powered Subwoofer I have is on sale right at newegg for $350 shipped. I think i've seen some pictures where people have 2 subs. For my room setup, would anyone consider getting a 2nd one of these, or not needed/overkill?


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## sga2 (Nov 14, 2009)

Go for it. One may not be enough anyway. But two will really help even response in the room. Getting my second sub made a bigger difference than any speaker/amp upgrade I've made.

Regards, 
sga2


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## cscmtp (Jul 25, 2011)

sga2 said:


> Go for it. One may not be enough anyway. But two will really help even response in the room. Getting my second sub made a bigger difference than any speaker/amp upgrade I've made.
> 
> Regards,
> sga2


Would you put one in the front and one in the back, or have both up front (or in back) but just spread out the full length of the wall?


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## cscmtp (Jul 25, 2011)

just purchased the 2nd sub. Thanks for the input guys!!


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## sga2 (Nov 14, 2009)

cscmtp said:


> Would you put one in the front and one in the back, or have both up front (or in back) but just spread out the full length of the wall?


A good place to start would be to locate each sub on the front wall on either side of the center speaker (between center and L/R speakers). However, placement depends on the room - might be along front, one each side, or one in front and one in back. Corners are not a great location despite what we thought back in college. Some think placement symmetry is critical while others say that intentionally locating them asymmetrically will give better results. If you want ultimate flexibility to tweak locations, you might put RCA jacks on each wall and two up front. I'd have each wired separately to the AVR since your next AVR may support 2 sub channels.

Congrats on the great deal. Let us know how it all sounds.

Regards,
sga2


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