MPNX2 Posted October 30, 2005 Share Posted October 30, 2005 Well I got my Prelim floorplans done and the should be finalized in about 4 weeks or so than its time to break ground. Just wanted to get and input from all of you on it. I am planning on using the "Family Room" as am theater\enterainment room. The whole house measures 3113 sq ft with the family room measures approx 18'Wide by 19.5' Deep. I plan on putting blackout blinds on the French doors that exit to the patio and the window. I want to put in a projector with an approx 110" screen and have the screen on the wall that commons the garage. I will be using my Harman Kardon AVR7200 and a pair of Kilpsch RF-7's and an RC-7 up front and my exsisting RF-35's and RC-35 for the rear soundstage and an SVS subwoofer. So anyways please let me know what you guys think either positive or negative with either my setup or the whole plan.....oh and BTW I havenet figured out seating yet... Floorplan.pdf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrWho Posted October 30, 2005 Share Posted October 30, 2005 Unless your family room has an open floorplan to the rest of the room, that 18' x 19.5' is going to present some bass problems. How tall is the cieling? 8' puts you real close to half the other frequencies which is really going to compound the problem. What I'm talking about are room modes, which are basically standing waves that occur due to the dimensions of the room. Every room has them, but the idea is to spread them out as much as possible so that you don't end up with boomy and lacking bass response at the same time. There are websites all over the net with mode calculators and better explanations. But if your family room is open to the rest of the house, then this won't be a huge problem. Sounds like you got a good plan going and things should sound really good. Are the french doors doing to be behind you? If so, you will really want to make sure those blackout blinds work really well. Is the viewing in this room going to be strictly via projector? You might consider installing a remote screen that comes down in front of a TV. This would be very beneficial for just casual TV watching so that you don't have to turn down the lights all the way to get a decent picture. Btw, great choice in speakers [] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrWho Posted October 30, 2005 Share Posted October 30, 2005 Oh, I see you posted the floorplan....nice house Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MPNX2 Posted October 30, 2005 Author Share Posted October 30, 2005 Yeah I forgot to post it you beat me to it.....the celings are 14' tray.... Yes the french doors are going to be behind me. I hadnt thought of the remote screen idea. I will look into it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrWho Posted October 30, 2005 Share Posted October 30, 2005 Any chance of moving that wall with the french doors back about 3 feet (putting it parallal to the left wall of the bathroom). That would put you at about 22 feet deep by 18 feet wide, and with a 14 foot cieling this would be really good dimensions for a room...at least I think they would be (just running the numbers through my head). As far as seating....are you looking for a HT recliner look, or more of a couch type seating? Picky and Indyklipsch fan all have some really cool seating in their dedicated home theatres, so perhaps they will chime in and share what they're using. Colterphoto also has some similar seating in his living room system - I'm not sure if it's the look you're going for, but they are insanely comfortable. Just make sure the backs of the seats are below ear level so that you have no problem hearing the surround sound. I noticed on your diagram that you have diagonal corners....have you considered flush mounting your mains? There are some sonic benefits to this while hiding the speakers from view. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MPNX2 Posted October 30, 2005 Author Share Posted October 30, 2005 Any chance of moving that wall with the french doors back about 3 feet (putting it parallal to the left wall of the bathroom). That would put you at about 22 feet deep by 18 feet wide, and with a 14 foot cieling this would be really good dimensions for a room...at least I think they would be (just running the numbers through my head). As far as seating....are you looking for a HT recliner look, or more of a couch type seating? Picky and Indyklipsch fan all have some really cool seating in their dedicated home theatres, so perhaps they will chime in and share what they're using. Colterphoto also has some similar seating in his living room system - I'm not sure if it's the look you're going for, but they are insanely comfortable. Just make sure the backs of the seats are below ear level so that you have no problem hearing the surround sound. I noticed on your diagram that you have diagonal corners....have you considered flush mounting your mains? There are some sonic benefits to this while hiding the speakers from view. I will have to ask the fiance about moving that wall and of course the architect...LOL The wall that commons the garage has shelves built in the corners I guess I could eliminate those and put the mains (RF-7's) in those corners..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrWho Posted October 30, 2005 Share Posted October 30, 2005 I went ahead and ran the room mode calculator...This first one is the mode distribution of your current plan: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrWho Posted October 30, 2005 Share Posted October 30, 2005 and here is the distribution with the larger room: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrWho Posted October 30, 2005 Share Posted October 30, 2005 And here is the distribution of a really really suck room (just to give you an idea of what you're looking at): Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MPNX2 Posted October 30, 2005 Author Share Posted October 30, 2005 LOL.... I guess I am a newbie I have no idea what any of that means. What do the numbers on the bottom represent? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrWho Posted October 30, 2005 Share Posted October 30, 2005 To be honest, your current configuration is actually better in the 100-400Hz region. Notice that there are less peaks on top of each other (4 versus 1). But the extended floorplan would be better in the 20-100Hz region (notice that the modes are more evenly spaced out). So I guess it's pretty much a toss up...much ado about nothing and all that. Good thing I ran the calculator [] Do you already own the subwoofer? Having your garage behind the front wall of your HT makes you a prime candidate for an Infinite Baffle subwoofer. For a lot less money than the SVS would cost you, you could end up with really insane bass. (How does 130dB flat down to below 10Hz sound? All for under a grand?) [] You would of course need to find a seperate amp, which wouldn't cost you any more than $1000 (though we can certainly go for a lot cheaper) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MPNX2 Posted October 30, 2005 Author Share Posted October 30, 2005 To be honest, your current configuration is actually better in the 100-400Hz region. Notice that there are less peaks on top of each other (4 versus 1). But the extended floorplan would be better in the 20-100Hz region (notice that the modes are more evenly spaced out). So I guess it's pretty much a toss up...much ado about nothing and all that. Good thing I ran the calculator [] Do you already own the subwoofer? Having your garage behind the front wall of your HT makes you a prime candidate for an Infinite Baffle subwoofer. For a lot less money than the SVS would cost you, you could end up with really insane bass. (How does 130dB flat down to below 10Hz sound? All for under a grand?) [] You would of course need to find a seperate amp, which wouldn't cost you any more than $1000 (though we can certainly go for a lot cheaper) Thanks for the explanation and the help. No I dont currently own the sub. I have just always heard good things about the SVS brand so thats what I was leaning towards. Those specs you listed for the Infinite Baffle sound great.....I am going to google it and have a look [H] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrWho Posted October 30, 2005 Share Posted October 30, 2005 LOL.... I guess I am a newbie I have no idea what any of that means. What do the numbers on the bottom represent? As you can see on the top I entered the dimensions for your room in feet. Each column lists the standing waves that correspond to the room dimension above it. At the very bottom is a graphical depiction of the distribution. The numbers are there just for reference (the first number on the left corresponds to the lowest frequency that has a standing wave). As you move to the right you are increasing in sensitivity and because we hear sound in a logorithmic scale and the chart is linear, the programmer decided to label a few frequencies for our reference (so the numbers in white underneathe are merely the scale). The idea behind mode distribution is to make it as dense as possible so that it no longer becomes audible. You'll notice that the packing gets a lot tighter as the frequency increases. If we were to plot all the way up to 20kHz, then it would be practically shaded in all the way (so the more you see and the more evenly spaced they are the better). One thing you want to avoid is having a bunch of modes all occuring around a single frequency (notice the 10x10x10 room). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrWho Posted October 30, 2005 Share Posted October 30, 2005 Here's a great setup to get you started thinking: http://white.hometheatertalk.com/tips/ib.htm I would recommend using different drivers for the task though: http://www.ascendantaudio.com/archive/News.htm -Avalanche 18" ($400) For a more realistic design, you could go with just two of these drivers and then this amp from partsexpress: http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&DID=7&Partnumber=300-808 -1000 watts into 4 ohms ($350) This would give you a clean 120dB with flat output down to 10Hz [] Instead of floor mounting like that one dude did, I would install the subwoofer in your attic...perhaps even build a 20 cubic foot box around them to control their excursion and to limit the amount of bleed through to your neighbors [] Acoustically the floor would be better, but there's no need to take up space in your garage...though if you built the cabinet around the speakers, then you could totally use it as a shelf or bench or something like that. So after shipping that's like what, $1500 tops? [H] Here's a good how to...specifically scroll all the way to the bottom and note how they're mounting the drivers to the baffle: http://home.comcast.net/~infinitelybaffled/page2IB-IBmanifold.html Whatever you end up doing, make sure the drivers are firing at each other so as to greatly reduce cabinet vibrations (in fact, there should theoretically be none). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MPNX2 Posted October 30, 2005 Author Share Posted October 30, 2005 Here's a great setup to get you started thinking: http://white.hometheatertalk.com/tips/ib.htm I would recommend using different drivers for the task though: http://www.ascendantaudio.com/archive/News.htm -Avalanche 18" ($400) For a more realistic design, you could go with just two of these drivers and then this amp from partsexpress: http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&DID=7&Partnumber=300-808 -1000 watts into 4 ohms ($350) This would give you a clean 120dB with flat output down to 10Hz [] Instead of floor mounting like that one dude did, I would install the subwoofer in your attic...perhaps even build a 20 cubic foot box around them to control their excursion and to limit the amount of bleed through to your neighbors [] Acoustically the floor would be better, but there's no need to take up space in your garage...though if you built the cabinet around the speakers, then you could totally use it as a shelf or bench or something like that. So after shipping that's like what, $1500 tops? [H] Here's a good how to...specifically scroll all the way to the bottom and note how they're mounting the drivers to the baffle: http://home.comcast.net/~infinitelybaffled/page2IB-IBmanifold.html Whatever you end up doing, make sure the drivers are firing at each other so as to greatly reduce cabinet vibrations (in fact, there should theoretically be none). Looks like I need to get to reading... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
damonrpayne Posted October 31, 2005 Share Posted October 31, 2005 Have you built a home before? Do you know what you're in for? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MPNX2 Posted October 31, 2005 Author Share Posted October 31, 2005 I am not personally building it. There is no way I would attempt that myself....otherwise no this is my first home building experience....is there something I should know? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
damonrpayne Posted October 31, 2005 Share Posted October 31, 2005 Yes I didn't mean to imply you were swinging the hammer yourself. I have had a horrid home building experience so far, and everyone has said to me that they also had very bad experiences with the first homes they built. I guess I was saying "Get ready for a bumpy ride" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MPNX2 Posted October 31, 2005 Author Share Posted October 31, 2005 Sorry to hear that but now you got my worried. Is there any advice you can give me so I know what to look out for? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
damonrpayne Posted October 31, 2005 Share Posted October 31, 2005 Read your contract carefully Become familiar with the arbitration rules of your local builder's association Start saving money Also a lot of the other people here have helped me keep my sanity with advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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