picky

Need I say more? (see attachment) Just another Pollock from Detroit! -Picky

Here's what I use to remove the grills from my RCW-5's..(see attachment) -Picky

Hey m00n: Looks like I'm gonna have all kinds of new tools to play with when I come out to your place to help you build that kitchenette! -Picky

rscotth: Nice, clean setup! And, I have always loved wooden floors. It's too bad I can't install one in my basement theater without a lot of worrying. Thanks for sharing your room with us! -Picky

Sorry for the late replies, as I have been away for about a week. michael hurd: Thanks, man! We'll look forward to meeting you when you are able to make the trek out here. I'm sure we'll have lots to discuss about the whole home theater hobby, not to mention that fact that we live in very different but neighboring areas (Ontario and Michigan). jorgen: Thanks, but my wife has become so attached to viewing movies and televison in our theater that she'd probably give ME up before she'd turn loose of the theater! Thanks guys! -Picky

Rdog: 7's Rule!! Have fun and congrats! -Picky

garymd: Well, they HAD a red truck 15 years ago, but it rusted. So they sold it and got a white van.

dkp: From Davison, eh? Know the place well. It's beautiful. Lots of trees. We have friends that live next to the park entrance. There seems to be quite a few Michiganders on this forum as well as a lot of our neighbors in Ontario. I'm in Allen Park. This is by far the best forum I have been involved with. Thanks for your kind words. Yeah, Go Wings and goodbye Hasek. And as of last night's game with San Jose, Joseph re-injured his ankle that he'd had surgery on during the off-season. Doesn't is figure that Manny Legacy, the best back-up goalie in the NHL, is again, the star-of-the-show for the Wings? And he earns less than 1/6th of what those other guys make! GO WINGS! Thanks. -Picky

gtDark: Bombay Sapphire is the only gin that I can stomach drinking straight, although I seldom do so. It's just that smooth. I'd love to see a picture of that 12-gauge stainless mouse pad! How cool! You are correct: It is a huge treat to have this room to entertain in now. Our "big debut" (even though there is still work to do) was Super Bowl Sunday. There were 12 of us (standing room only) enjoying the room and the screen. Thanks a lot for the good words! Joe Shmoe: Thanks for the compliments! I have been staring at this room now for 1-1/2 years and it's great to now see it through (everyone else's) fresh eyes, if you know what I mean. I think it's terriffic that you were able to get some ideas from my work. > About the fridge: It's a Sears Elite 4.9 Cu. Ft. compact fridge. It's about 1 inch away from the rear wall. That allows room for the cord to plug into the outlet right behind the unit. Thankfully, Sears was smart and provided a 90-degree plug. There is a slight gap to the left, right and top of the fridge and the adjacent oak trim pieces. This seems to provide enough ventilation and airflow. I love this fridge becasue there is no freezer in it. That allows it to hold more beverages (it has a lot of glass shelves). We have an upright freezer in the ulitity room adjacent the theater, so we store ice in there and just use the ice bucket on the bar. Basically, I just slid the fridge in under the counter until the face was flush properly with the cabinet. I don't think the room behind it is an issue for this installation. > About the light box: It's a plain, 4-foot florescent black light (ultraviolet) tube, which I have had for 35 years, since the psychedelic 60's, when I used it to illuminate my black light posters during my high school years!! GROOVEY BABY!! It is mounted in a standard, 48-inch florescent fixture that sits on the bar counter. Then, I built a 4-sided particle board box around the fixture that was 5 inches deep (front to back) to enable it to have the depth of hold up to half-gallon sized liquor bottles. The height and length are such that they compleley contain (surround) the lamp and the fixture. I topped it with a sheet of 1/4"-thick clear plexiglass (Home Depot or Lowe's has it). There is about a 1/2 inch gap inside between the top of the tube and the bottom of the plexi. I then laminated the outer face of the box to match the countertop. The wiring is all hidden beneath. It was actually fairly easy to construct. Just pay attention to your measurements and the clearances you'll need to the fixture and bulb. Good luck! Thanks folks! -Picky

Hey! Thanks for all the replies and the great kudos!!! j-malotky: I was sort of going for a slightly industrial look (stainless steel) with a touch of class (darkwood work). I made a killing on the stainless. I live near Detroit, so there's a lot of industry around here. The sheet is about 4 feet long and not quite 24 inches tall, so roughly, I was searching for a 2x4-foot sheet. Most restaurant supply places wanted between $125 and $250 bucks for the sheet. I went to a bulk steel factory supply company and they sold me a sheet of 18 gauge stainless 6 feet long and 3 feet wide for $35 BUCKS!!!!!! I cut it myself with a 30 TPI metal blade in my Porter Cable Scroll Saw. I also had to make cutouts for the two electrical outlets. Worked like a charm (thanks goodness). I bought the steel last winter. Prices just shot up 30%-40% just over the last three weeks. So, I am glad I bought it when I did! {PHEW} As for the wood, it is red oak, with Rosewood water-based stain and 3 sanded coats of clear satin varathane. I'm glad you like it. I hadn't considering using my RSW-15 sub as a drink mixer but what a great idea! It would be handy to use as it is on a damped platform on the floor beneath the counter holding the microwave. There it sits directly behind our theater seats, so persons seated their really FEEL the bass! m00n: "Don't hate me because I'm beautiful!" Thanks, man! From seeing all of the wonderful work you have done yourself on your own projects I take your words as a HUGE compliment!! Thanks! I still consider my carpenter's skill-level as just a "weekend warrior". But, your words do mean a lot. Also, you're probably right about all the drinking!! C'Mon over and help me finish so I can get back to (HIC) work! Next time we're out West I'll be sure to bring my hammer and give you a hand, dude! ...I wonder if it'll be alright in my checked luggage? Hmmmmm...........? gtDark: Thanks. I'm glad to hear you like it. The Glenlivet sign was a gift from some great freinds of ours that made a trip out here to see us last year from Nevada, where we used to live. At first, we didn't think it was going to fit the wall, but it made it by 1/2" on each side! WOW! That was close! Actually, I too have about twice the booze that you see displayed. We have a rack in our utility room with about 3 shelves filled with a lot of other whiskies, wines, liquors and Schapps, etc. I didn't want to clutter it up too much as the bar isn't very long. Bombay Sapphire! IS there another gin???? Great stuff! I like Gin & Tonic. But, my favorite is: Long Island Ice Tea Thanks everyone! -Picky

Ear: I'll bet the electric company loves you every month!!! I am quite impressed. We just have the one RSW-15 in our 10.5 x 19 room and for us it seems to work fine. But, I would not attempt to compare it to yours (apples to oranges). Thanks for sharing your photos with all of us. mamacmil: Yeah, me too! Why plug 'em if you must remove the inserts to use bananas? Don't get me wrong. I LOVE my RF-7s and the rest. But there are three areas I find fault with that I think they cheapened on: The binding posts, the feet and the grills. I am occasionally breaking off the small, plastic posts that insert into the holes in the face of the speaker. I have done plastics design for the auto industry (I know we're far from perfect, too) and I know this is not a very robust design. I own last year's models. I think they went to magnetic fasteners in the newer models, didn't they? If so, it was probably a good move. The grill on one RF-7 and my RSW-15 sub each have one broken post. "Where's my glue gun????" As for the feet, I removed the threaded stud-type feet with the rubber buttons on the end and installed something from Lowe's that is self-stick and will not scratch our hard floor. The rubber buttons "self-destructed" in a year leaving bare, steel studs. Not very "floor-freindly". -Picky

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'nother.....

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Yeah, I've got at least another month's work to finish, but the following posts will show you the progress we've made in our little theater. These photos show the wet bar area that is in the aft-end of the room (screen is to the right). Shown in some you'll see one of our RCW-5s in white that serve as our rear channels in our 7.1 system. Also, an RS-7 in black is noticable on the wall representing one of our side channels. I hope you all enjoy the photos. I need to drastically update our web site now! Yikes! -Picky

Picky; which is how I am about my equipment, and is naturally the reason I chose the Klipsch Reference Series!

EAR: HOLY COW, EAR!!! That's one, impressive set-up ya gots there! Nice labeling job, too. So, are you a SUB-A-HOLIC? Are those 2-15s and a 12, or 2-12's and a 10? Beautiful setup!! -Picky

Got mine (DVE) from Amazon.com. $18.74 -Picky

dougdrake: Yeah, ya gotta love that Franklin-guy! It was a busy weekend. I didn't get to experiment yet. We now have house guests! ACKKKK! At least they are GOOD houseguests! Finding free time is a real BEAR! I'll report back after I can find the time to fire-up the D-VHS and give it a whirl. -Picky

lancestorm: If you are near a Lowe's or Home Depot, they carry what you may be looking for in their electrical (home networking/automation) departments regarding normal-sized (single-gang) wall plates in which you can insert banana plugs. In fact, they have modular plates that allow you to insert up to 6 different (or same) types of connectors. Everything from CAT-5E networking connectors and coax cable to banana plug and telephone lines, etc. Sorry, I do not know where to find the larger plates you are asking about. -Picky

Many prayers and best wishes for you, your mom and the rest of your family. -Picky

lancestorm: In addition to the good advice the other members have given you, skonopa has given you some very detailed, good advice that I tend to agree with. I too, really have no real issues with a particular wire brand. As it turned out, my Klipsch dealer gave me a nice deal on some Tributaries 12-gauge wire. I bought and installed about 250-feet of the stuff in our 10.5 x 19-foot room to power our 7.1 speaker system. I used unequal wire lengths and I have noticed no issues or problems at all. The Klipsch Reference Series sound awesome at any volume! skonopa also points out a very valid concern regarding the future upgrading of permanently installed speaker (or other) cables. I think I may have a resolution for you: Available at places such as Home Depot, 'Smurf Tube' (as it's called) can be used as conduit to run your speaker cables within the walls and ceilings of your room. The blue convoluted, flexible tubing is available in 10-foot lengths with 1/2" and 3/4" inside diameters. I recommend the 3/4" diameter, which is what I have used. Plastic connectors and couplers are availalbe for joining two or more lengths together. Ends can be inserted into junction boxes using couplings and fastened inplace with a large nut. The tubing will allow you to do future upgrades with little issue. As for running speaker (and video-feed) wiring adjacent house-current wiring, I tried to maintain a distance of at least 1-foot in parallel runs and any time I needed to cross the house current wiring, I did so at 90-degree angles. The result is that there is no discernable hum or noise in our audio and no noticible scan lines in the projector image. I hope this helps. Our theater is about one month away from final completeion although we are already using it. We can't wait to be finished! Best of luck on your room! -Picky

Ear: Appologies. My sacasm wasn't meant to be aimed directly at you. Dave: Thanks for enlightening us on how this retail game works with the manufacturer/retailer contract. I never did understand why the prices are fixed on certain products, yet not on others. Now I do. Believe me when I tell you that I am not flaming Klipsch for doing this. I really don't blame them, especially now that I have a fuller understanding thanks to you. I did (and do) buy all of my Klipsch products from local, authorized brick-and-mortars and because of that I have a fully warranty and dealer service at my disposal. As you mentioned however, that was "In the day". But, today, things in the retail game seem to be changing faster than the manufacturers can keep up with due to online sales. I certainly know that I personnaly have saved an enormous amount of money by shopping online for some things, and yes, at the expense of local brick and mortars. As cruel as that may seem, it is now a reality. It's hard not to utilize such tempting resources when the most important thing to many consumers is price. Thanks for your insight. -Picky

Why not try out this site: http://www.racksandstands.com/ Some of the offerings from Bell'o are particullarly nice and some are not too pricey. -Picky