HOME THEATER-PRO 1 (with before/after pics)
March 1, 2010 by hometheaterplus
Filed under Home Theater Surround
Audio/Video by Lynn-Special thanks to:Richard Hines,Julio Davila. Best crew ever! Uhpolstery by:Tim Williams from First Impressions Theme Theaters. You are Awesome! Also thanks to The Berlin Family for their putting up with the noise and mess these kind of jobs create. This is a True HD theater in all aspects. The sources include Appletv (for 1080P movie rental/purchase downloads and youtube viewing),HD Satellite,HD Cable,Bluray,FM Radio,XM Radio. The system incorporates 7.3 Klipsch surround sound and a 30,000:1 contrast ratio JVC RS2 projector. The projector fires through a port in the wall and is mounted on a hanging bracket in the garage. This allows ample breathing room and a quiet environment for the theater room. The remote dock was designed to be backlit when the system was on, giving the occupants a visual indicator that the system was in fact on during warm up times,or source switching. The placement of the speakers follow the “Golden Triangle” rule which includes the surround speakers located in the drop down ceiling. The drop down ceiling was nessicary due to the location of the studs and the Golden Triangle rule for speaker placement. The overhead surrounds are EXCELLENT for reproducing “Fly over” effects in movies and the rear speaker locations are at the exact same height as the front sound stage. This creates a stunningly realistic experience when watching movies,and with three subwoofers totaling 30” of cone area,you will be blown back into your seat if you try to escape. Pioneer Elite VSX 94 reciever with sonance amplifiers are incorporated to bi-amplify the front left,right,and center speakers. the calibration process for this configuration is not for the timid! But the results are astounding clarity at low levels and of course nose bleeding drum solo’s. The Fiber optic star ceiling has his and her constellations indicating “A match made in heaven” for the clients when they admire the night time stars. A center mount A/C vent ensures no over heating will affect them as they enjoy the movie due to the amount of hot equipment residing in the nearby closet. Accoustic panneling was used to absorb reflection and reverberance from the array of speakers surrounding the viewer. Sound proofing was also used to keep the neighbors in their own yard. The white recliner shown to the left of the screen is for the family pet. A near sited PUG that is more than just a pet. “TY” also has a pet bed and will grudgingly allow guests to occupy her recliner as long as an ear rub has something to do with the deal. A refridgerator with a bar is also at hand for snack making, wine or beer, and general munchie satisfaction. A bathroom is a few inches away in the same room, so relief does not involve leaving the theater. Solid wood construction commands respect when entering this theater and the intimate size demands love. A true pleasure to build and to enjoy, this theater employs a gift to the client that was not part of the original deal, but after his daughters allowed me to work in their houses, a heartfelt thanks was in order. but words would not do,as I am a man of action, I remembered a conversation over coffee when my client revealed that his first job as a young boy in New York was as an usher at a very famous theater in manhattan. After much thought, the curved starlight ceiling was born. A first for me was the fiber optic embedded into wood. This seemed like an impossibility, but with a little creativity ,and a shaky hand, I gave it a shot. My client is glad that I did. I thank the Berlins for their patience when things were loud, and when things ran on longer than expected.And of cousre “The Mess” My name is Lynn, and I would love to show you how good a home theater can sound when an A/V guy absolutely LOVES what he does.
Duration : 0:8:57
@KenStanly
damn …
@KenStanly
damn those engineers! try turning it back on, you should get a low frequency effect test tone through your speakers. set the left and right to large as well if you havent, and cross over at the right point for the sub. there is always a significant amount of calibration as you discover your recievers true potential…
@lynntinymite2
…
@lynntinymite2
Lol!!! your funny man! but yeah i do the same thing normally with the sub setting. as turning the sub volume all the way up and making the adjustments in the receiver. but with this new way of set up with the sub plugged into the center pre out i was wondering how you set yours. because i also set the sub to off in the reciever, and by doing so it doesnt send a test tone to the sub because of that.
(* if the SUB has …
(* if the SUB has an LFE input*)
i gotta warn you …
i gotta warn you though, these adjustments take responible listening levels! full range audio calibration has the benifit of excellent quality at lower levels, but be care full with the over zelous cranking it up for friends past the normal volume levels! you don’t want the dreaded buzz…
@lynntinymite2 a …
@lynntinymite2 a quick way to calibrate it if you don’t have a tuneing dvd or cd is to use a movie like finding nemo…are you ready for this…they got a thx calibration mode in the dvd’s menu!
just find the thx logo and click on it, it will go through video and audio calibration modes , and it’s probably in your library of movies. I love pixar’s attention to this area!
check it out and let me know!
@KenStanly WELL, …
@KenStanly WELL, YOUR SUB SHOULD HAVE A LEVEL KNOB! lol, if you turn it left, it makes the sub play lower…lol
jus’ havein a little fun with ya, but seriously, i usualy set my subs all the way up, with the volume being adjusted in the recievers level settings, and at the same crossover point as the rest of the speakers since the subs crossover works in reverse of the speakers’.
a good calibration dvd or cd is a staple of my tool box, for rechecking my settings.
@lynntinymite2
…
@lynntinymite2
Hey Lynn what do you use to calibrate your sub level. i have DVE HD Blu Ray and the Spears and Munsil Blu ray. i cant seem to find the right scene on the DVE to set my sub now that i have my speakers set to large and no sub setting in my receiver. just wondering which scene on either disk you use. i have recalibrated all the other speakers to the correct 75db reference level using DVE and my spl meter.
@KenStanly thanks, …
@KenStanly thanks, i was going to say there was a bit of calibrating, but you already know. i prefer my sub levels about 3 db lower than the rest of the speakers.( with a db meter)
DAMN Lynn you are …
Lynn you are good!!! i changed my settings in my receiver to large for the speakers and connected the sub to the center out as you suggested and WOW! does the sound really sound full! Man keep the exellect tips coming! Only thing i have to do is to get the sub tweeked to the right level.
@lynntinymite2
Ok …
@lynntinymite2
Ok thanks again! im going to try this asap. i’ll let you know how it turns out.
…by the way, i am …
…by the way, i am contracted to install a full night vision motion sensing DVR security system in this home, as well as upgraded remotes for the rest of the home, so i will be filming that install soon, if we decide on i.p.addressable cameras, the whole family will be able to keep tabs on their parents! This could be good or bad depending on the parents behaviour!!! lol
also, i have a 3 tv setup in a living room of a famous retired coach!!! A 42″ with 2- 20″ TV’s above it. It was a retro-fit.
* to those who …
* to those who don’t know what LFE stands for, it’s ” low frequency effects ”
The digitization process for LFE is different than subwoofer output in most surround decoders.
A little tip i learned from Johnathan Bass, chief engineer of pioneer electronics.
Yes, if you hook up …
Yes, if you hook up your sub to the center channels line level output from the reciever.
Since the center speaker is the most dominant channel in any surround setup, the large setting in the reciever produces a cleaner and larger sound from your reciever. Be sure to add a “Y” if your sub has a stereo input to allow both amps inside the sub to activate. If the reciever has an “LFE” input, and the reciever has an “LFE” output, use that instead.
@lynntinymite2
Ok …
@lynntinymite2
Ok cool! and thanks for the new outlook on doing custom hook ups. i also like the one below about using three subs hooked up to the front three speakers using the multichannel outs. i just wish i had three subs to try that out now! Lol..
By the way, would that same set up work for one sub using the multichannel outs and setting the front speakers to large. will there be a big difference in the sound. just curious?
There is an …
There is an amplified distribution block for ipod, and blueray, the tv’s that are in the living room and bedroom are only 1080i, so the blueray is wired up with component video, and the ipod dock is composite.
The theater has it’s own bluray, located in the rack, and there is another one in the living room. That’s the one that is shared. Once 1080p is activated, most blurays will only put out video on HDMI. I prefer the simplicity of seperate recievers over devices like matrix switchers.
@lynntinymite2
…
@lynntinymite2
Thanks! I have another question. How are you getting all three recievers to share video from the bluray player? and are all three recievers able to access the same audio at the same time?
I know russound and control 4 provide devices that can handle that but this is the first time that i have seen a reciever used for each zone!
Man your work is AWESOME!!!
You guys are …
You guys are awesome! Thanks so much for all the great questions! I enjoy the feedback more than you know.
Thanks for the flattering comments, and the not so flattering ones! LoL!!!
Feel free to ask me anything, and i have lots more where this came from, visit my channel to see the various situation i have encountered. Some really cool stuff is on the way, so stay tuned!
…or sub me for the latest crazy installs you won’t see on any TV SHOW!!!
To reproduce this …
To reproduce this system would run aproximatly 80-90K
if you hired a local A/V company.
I could tell you how much it cost…but then i would have to kill you with a rusty butterknife…(lol)
seriously though, if you are a do it yourselfer, it would cost aproximatly the same as a well equiped mercedes SUV.
I really can’t get any more specific than that for my clients sake. Sorry!
Aaahhh yes, the …
Aaahhh yes, the lights. Lutron makes I.R. Dimmers and can be found at home depot. The dimmer comes with a remote, and the R.F.extenders i used were assigned to each port. Each load was “learned” by the logitec 1000, and the programming was added into the command macro. I ran the assigned I.R. From the extender to the seperate dimmers, there is enough room inside the dimmer to install the emitter internaly.(no external I.R.)
this takes all of 2 seconds to do.
Then wha-la, complete control.
How did you get the …
How did you get the Harmoney 1000 to control the lights with no z wave control.
please provide details with whatever extra components you had to get to make it work.
Man your work is very inspiring!!!!!
i have to say well …
i have to say well done sir! i have a awesome 5.3 setup in my home and im pushing around 3 grand for the setup! now my question for you is how much do you have in your setup?
God…
Doesn’t …
God…
Doesn’t matter if it is a woofer or a subwoofer. Any low frequency your going to hear, chances are, are that your not going to be able to tell it’s coming from the tower/subwoofer on the left or right, or to the center, or to the rear right, rear left, side right, or side left, It’s just going to fill the room with sound, or a low frequency sound.
I know what I’m talking about, and no, I’m not talking about not playing or damaged speakers.
@americaneagle791 …
@americaneagle791
okay, let’s say there are no subs. just towers. and the woofer blows in one of the towers. are you saying you would not be able to tell that the speaker is damaged or not playing? (if you say maybe to it being behind you, then your argument is void)
i can! i have walked into a 1.7 million dollar theater and realised that certain speakers were not playing.
i got the same amount of resistance from the “Experts” when i pointed it out.
First off, lets …
First off, lets start off with the dolby decoders. I was just pointing something out. You don’t need to tell me anything about Dolby decoders my friend. If I know anything, its going to be about Dolby products and technology.
Next thing is your not going to be able to tell that a subwoofer is firing to the left, or the right, or behind you (maybe) or to the center or anything like that, your just going to hear a subwoofer. If you want to get technical, search up low frequency wave patterns…
if you must believe …
if you must believe what you have been told, that subs are to be used in mono fashion, then by all means, you set up your systems with mono subs, and enjoy.
and by the way, anything after the . in 5.0-ect, is accurate. if you have 5 speakers and 2 subs, it’s called 5.2, ect,ect.
if you’re saying that the low frequency effects are funneled to only one channel of your reciever, you are sadly mistaken.
i have had this argument before, all it took to prove my point was a demo.