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Repooc's Dedicated Home Theater Build

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Deal Addict
Jan 9, 2013
1722 posts
1627 upvotes
St Catharines
Repooc wrote: Project update and progress on the "how low/high can you go test"....

So this past weekend marks the completion of all buying all my gear to complete the HT. I bought a Behringer iNuke nu3000DSP amplifier for the 2x VBSS subwoofers (more on that below). And 4x 10" coaxial DIY speakers for my Atmos height channels... I still need to assemble/paint the cabinets and build the crossovers, so it may take some time before I have Atmos enabled in the HT.

The equipment rack is pretty well completed now, and I've included a pic below to show what powers this beast. Surprisingly, it's not a lot of gear compared to some other HTs (in terms of discrete amplification for different channels). The Anthem MRX-1120 receiver/amplifier is an absolute beast and does a VERY good job at providing the horsepower for all of the HT. Honestly, If I didn't go with the passive subwoofers, all I would need is the Anthem and just run (bigger) powered subs, like SVS or HSU Research.
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equipment rack.jpg
.
Order of gear (top to bottom)
- Xiaomi Mibox 3 Android STB (not really visable... want to replace it with a Nvidia Shield)
- Laptop cooler
- Anthem MRX-1120 Receiver/Amplifier
- Panasonic UB900 4K BRD Player (with external WD hard drive plugged in via USB... trying some downloaded 4K content out)
- Logitech Harmony Hub (on left side)
- Behringer iNuke nu3000DSP Amplifier (for 2x 18" VBSS subs)
- Sony PS3 phat (I'm not a huge gamer anymore, this is a remnant from pre-kids/D.I.N.K. days)
- APC UPS (for my projector and harmony hub)
- Furman Power Conditioner (everything in rack is plugged into this)

The mess of ethernet Cat-6 cables on top is another future project of relocating my network to the basement, NAS, patch panel, switch, security camera NVR into a wall-mounted rack above the HT gear. After that's all done, I plan on installing a barn door to slide in front and stop my kids from pushing all the interesting glowing buttons.


Going back to the "how low/high can you go before your piss off your wife challenge" LOL..... Last night was another HUGE win.
At around 12:30 (kids and wife sound asleep upstairs) I hooked up the 2x 18" subs for the first time to the iNuke amp and threw on Black Panther. Mind you this is with the 2x 12" subs too... so 4x subs in total going. The iNuke is turned up to about 3/4 on both channels (still not maxed out).

With cell phone in hand (waiting for an angry text in all caps) I started out at -45. Couple minutes into the movie.... not bad. No texts. So, I went to -35; and could start to feel the 18" subs delivering some punches, but still pretty contained within the room. Gave it a few minutes before turning it up anymore. At -35 tactile response in the back row is feeling pretty good. So, I went down to -25 (my preferred listening level) and things REALLY got moving at this point. I FOR SURE thought my wife was going to kick the door down... gave it a few minutes. Nothing! So, I let the movie run, went upstairs to the kitchen directly above could feel VERY slight rumbles on the floor... nothing more than if I were watching TV in the family room. GREAT! AWESOME!! I went up to the second floor and stood outside the bedroom doors, and it was virtually silent. In fact, I could hear my kids' night time noise machine coming from the bedroom. WINNING!!

So, I gotta keep going right? Headed back downstairs and proceeded to go to -20.... at this point the HT is just BOOMING. The 18" subs are really showing their power here. And it just so happened that this was the car chase scene after they leave the club and Black Panther is jumping all over cars and blowing them up. Sitting in the front row and I'm getting amazing tactile response throughout my chair and body.... back row was just bananas!! I ran upstairs to the kitchen and can feel the floor vibrating now and dishes/glasses in the cupboards tinkling every so often. Went to the second floor, and while you could hear SOMETHING it was as if I had the TV on in the family room at this point. BUT still not enough to wake my wife up and get a text!!

But I must admit, at -20 I think it's a bit much... it's ridiculously loud. I couldn't sit through an entire movie like that. Really only good for demoing clips and and showing the room's capabilities. It's just crazy to think that the system's power is nowhere near it's maximum of being tapped out. So, all in all, the added cost of adding the sound dampening was WELL WORTH IT. Especially, if you're the type of person like me that wants to watch a movie the way it's supposed to sound. At this point, I don't even think I'll need to install the butt-kicker transducers in the chairs. I also think because of the sealed nature of the room, the room gain and ported subs combine to really fill the space.... not so sure you'd get the same sensation in a open-concept media room.

So, next steps are to build my Atmos speakers, and then I'll run the room correction software while looking into treating some of the walls with absorption panels to get rid of some reflections and "tuning" the seat riser by drilling holes into the front face. THEN, I'll bring in the ISF calibrator to work his magic on the projector. But honestly, to the non-audiophile and non-videophile (ie: my entire family) it's really impressive in its current uncalibrated state.


.... more to come. Stay tuned!!
Awesome feedback on the sound isolation. Seems like a lot of work but definitely worth it if you can crank it up and not get the "turn it down" texts!
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Apr 26, 2003
2761 posts
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GTA
Where do I buy tickets for a movie showing?
Deal Addict
Jul 6, 2005
4451 posts
2140 upvotes
Toronto
2kfire wrote: Awesome feedback on the sound isolation. Seems like a lot of work but definitely worth it if you can crank it up and not get the "turn it down" texts!
Yeah, I was watching Everest lastnight with the rest of the family sleeping upstairs. It honestly felt like I was in the middle of a snow storm in the HT.

I often caught myself flinching thinking that the ice pellets were wizzing past my ears. I can't belive how immersive of an experience this is... Between the size of the screen, the encasement of sound and the tactile response in the seats, its like a sensory overload!!

I need to rethink that earlier idea of getting those 4D seats that can spray water and emit smells. Hahhaahaha.
exrcoupe wrote: Where do I buy tickets for a movie showing?
I'm setting up an online booking system, it will be like an "Uber for home theater", a movie experience sharing service. Going to revolutionize this industry!!!... Stay tuned.
Deal Addict
Apr 26, 2003
2761 posts
1830 upvotes
GTA
Repooc wrote: Yeah, I was watching Everest lastnight with the rest of the family sleeping upstairs. It honestly felt like I was in the middle of a snow storm in the HT.

I often caught myself flinching thinking that the ice pellets were wizzing past my ears. I can't belive how immersive of an experience this is... Between the size of the screen, the encasement of sound and the tactile response in the seats, its like a sensory overload!!

I need to rethink that earlier idea of getting those 4D seats that can spray water and emit smells. Hahhaahaha.



I'm setting up an online booking system, it will be like an "Uber for home theater", a movie experience sharing service. Going to revolutionize this industry!!!... Stay tuned.
Awesome! Everest was an awesome movie, but the family was traumatized by the actual story. :)
Member
Aug 14, 2011
428 posts
159 upvotes
Calgary
Repooc wrote: Project update and progress on the "how low/high can you go test"....

So this past weekend marks the completion of all buying all my gear to complete the HT. I bought a Behringer iNuke nu3000DSP amplifier for the 2x VBSS subwoofers (more on that below). And 4x 10" coaxial DIY speakers for my Atmos height channels... I still need to assemble/paint the cabinets and build the crossovers, so it may take some time before I have Atmos enabled in the HT.

The equipment rack is pretty well completed now, and I've included a pic below to show what powers this beast. Surprisingly, it's not a lot of gear compared to some other HTs (in terms of discrete amplification for different channels). The Anthem MRX-1120 receiver/amplifier is an absolute beast and does a VERY good job at providing the horsepower for all of the HT. Honestly, If I didn't go with the passive subwoofers, all I would need is the Anthem and just run (bigger) powered subs, like SVS or HSU Research.
.
equipment rack.jpg
.
Order of gear (top to bottom)
- Xiaomi Mibox 3 Android STB (not really visable... want to replace it with a Nvidia Shield)
- Laptop cooler
- Anthem MRX-1120 Receiver/Amplifier
- Panasonic UB900 4K BRD Player (with external WD hard drive plugged in via USB... trying some downloaded 4K content out)
- Logitech Harmony Hub (on left side)
- Behringer iNuke nu3000DSP Amplifier (for 2x 18" VBSS subs)
- Sony PS3 phat (I'm not a huge gamer anymore, this is a remnant from pre-kids/D.I.N.K. days)
- APC UPS (for my projector and harmony hub)
- Furman Power Conditioner (everything in rack is plugged into this)

The mess of ethernet Cat-6 cables on top is another future project of relocating my network to the basement, NAS, patch panel, switch, security camera NVR into a wall-mounted rack above the HT gear. After that's all done, I plan on installing a barn door to slide in front and stop my kids from pushing all the interesting glowing buttons.


Going back to the "how low/high can you go before your piss off your wife challenge" LOL..... Last night was another HUGE win.
At around 12:30 (kids and wife sound asleep upstairs) I hooked up the 2x 18" subs for the first time to the iNuke amp and threw on Black Panther. Mind you this is with the 2x 12" subs too... so 4x subs in total going. The iNuke is turned up to about 3/4 on both channels (still not maxed out).

With cell phone in hand (waiting for an angry text in all caps) I started out at -45. Couple minutes into the movie.... not bad. No texts. So, I went to -35; and could start to feel the 18" subs delivering some punches, but still pretty contained within the room. Gave it a few minutes before turning it up anymore. At -35 tactile response in the back row is feeling pretty good. So, I went down to -25 (my preferred listening level) and things REALLY got moving at this point. I FOR SURE thought my wife was going to kick the door down... gave it a few minutes. Nothing! So, I let the movie run, went upstairs to the kitchen directly above could feel VERY slight rumbles on the floor... nothing more than if I were watching TV in the family room. GREAT! AWESOME!! I went up to the second floor and stood outside the bedroom doors, and it was virtually silent. In fact, I could hear my kids' night time noise machine coming from the bedroom. WINNING!!

So, I gotta keep going right? Headed back downstairs and proceeded to go to -20.... at this point the HT is just BOOMING. The 18" subs are really showing their power here. And it just so happened that this was the car chase scene after they leave the club and Black Panther is jumping all over cars and blowing them up. Sitting in the front row and I'm getting amazing tactile response throughout my chair and body.... back row was just bananas!! I ran upstairs to the kitchen and can feel the floor vibrating now and dishes/glasses in the cupboards tinkling every so often. Went to the second floor, and while you could hear SOMETHING it was as if I had the TV on in the family room at this point. BUT still not enough to wake my wife up and get a text!!

But I must admit, at -20 I think it's a bit much... it's ridiculously loud. I couldn't sit through an entire movie like that. Really only good for demoing clips and and showing the room's capabilities. It's just crazy to think that the system's power is nowhere near it's maximum of being tapped out. So, all in all, the added cost of adding the sound dampening was WELL WORTH IT. Especially, if you're the type of person like me that wants to watch a movie the way it's supposed to sound. At this point, I don't even think I'll need to install the butt-kicker transducers in the chairs. I also think because of the sealed nature of the room, the room gain and ported subs combine to really fill the space.... not so sure you'd get the same sensation in a open-concept media room.

So, next steps are to build my Atmos speakers, and then I'll run the room correction software while looking into treating some of the walls with absorption panels to get rid of some reflections and "tuning" the seat riser by drilling holes into the front face. THEN, I'll bring in the ISF calibrator to work his magic on the projector. But honestly, to the non-audiophile and non-videophile (ie: my entire family) it's really impressive in its current uncalibrated state.


.... more to come. Stay tuned!!
Don't sell those buttkickers without talking to me first.

I have been thinking about needing them in my theatre because I only got 1 subwoofer for my theatre, but I am planning on putting the sub nearfield so I might not need buttkickers but if nearfield doesn't pan out I will be wanting to do buttkickers so I would be happy to take them off your hands if it comes to that.
Deal Addict
Jul 6, 2005
4451 posts
2140 upvotes
Toronto
SAVINGSTAR wrote: Don't sell those buttkickers without talking to me first.

I have been thinking about needing them in my theatre because I only got 1 subwoofer for my theatre, but I am planning on putting the sub nearfield so I might not need buttkickers but if nearfield doesn't pan out I will be wanting to do buttkickers so I would be happy to take them off your hands if it comes to that.
Ummm.... I don't own any butt-kicker units yet. Probably how I worded it previously. But I was saying that I DON'T need to buy tactile transducers for the back row of seats. My room is wired up so that I have the capability of adding transducer units to both rows of seats if I ever wanted to.

If I were to buy/install tactile transducers in the future, it would be for the 3 front row seats only.

In other news.... I watched "Ready Player One" last night... that scene near the end where boss of IOI uses that capsule to explode/kill everybody in the oasis and reset the score. The bass and tactile response in the theater was absolutely BOOOOOMING. I was only running the system at -35 too and the gain on the subwoofer amp turned up half-way. My wife was with me watching it and even she was impressed!! Easily my most favourite movie to watch in terms of object based surround sound (better than Pacific Rim Uprising)... the movement of sound throughout the entire movie was non-stop.

Gah.... I need to build and install my Atmos speakers ASAP.

After she went to bed, I watched first 30 minutes of "Saving Private Ryan". Despite it not being filmed in cinemascope (so I had the black bars on the sides of my 2.35:1 screen), the soundtrack is truly impressive. I certainly never experienced/appreciated this movie like this in the past. As they stormed the beach, your body literally gets assaulted with the sound of bullets and explosives all around you.

Ugh, so many great movies to watch, so little time.
Sr. Member
Jul 28, 2005
908 posts
216 upvotes
Mississauga
This would be the real test:
Saving Private Ryan, leading up to landing on Omaha beach.

You'll be ducking from the bullets whizzing buy your ears!
Ralphael wrote: Always buy!!! no regrets.... you can always return later....
MetalGear wrote: Nothing is more permanent than temporary
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Nov 4, 2006
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this deserves thread of the year. no question. that is an absolutely dazzling setup.
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Feb 25, 2004
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Longueuil
While not the same price (it is expensive), I would highly recommend a D-BOX system over buttkickers any day. The Ready Player One D-BOX Motion Code was released yesterday so I am going to watch it soon, it looks like a great movie.
Try not! Do or do not, there is no try...
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Dec 7, 2003
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JEDI Force wrote: While not the same price (it is expensive), I would highly recommend a D-BOX system over buttkickers any day. The Ready Player One D-BOX Motion Code was released yesterday so I am going to watch it soon, it looks like a great movie.
Do you have a D-Box system installed at home? I've always wondered how much a system like that would run.

I've been to their head office in Quebec a few times for work and am always impressed by their systems.
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Mar 15, 2005
869 posts
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if you buy a d-box system, do you have to purchase the motion codes indvidually for movies or are they all available for download ?
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Mar 15, 2005
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@Repooc for your atmos speakers are you doing on ceiling or in-ceiling?
how deep are your atmos speakers? if on ceiling, how do you mount them?
debating what i should do for my build. for my build - If i do decent soundproofing im going to have to build some sort of enclosure for them, and figure a way to mount the enclosure inside the ceiling should i do in ceiling.
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May 2, 2011
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Repooc wrote: Ummm.... I don't own any butt-kicker units yet. Probably how I worded it previously. But I was saying that I DON'T need to buy tactile transducers for the back row of seats. My room is wired up so that I have the capability of adding transducer units to both rows of seats if I ever wanted to.

If I were to buy/install tactile transducers in the future, it would be for the 3 front row seats only.

In other news.... I watched "Ready Player One" last night... that scene near the end where boss of IOI uses that capsule to explode/kill everybody in the oasis and reset the score. The bass and tactile response in the theater was absolutely BOOOOOMING. I was only running the system at -35 too and the gain on the subwoofer amp turned up half-way. My wife was with me watching it and even she was impressed!! Easily my most favourite movie to watch in terms of object based surround sound (better than Pacific Rim Uprising)... the movement of sound throughout the entire movie was non-stop.

Gah.... I need to build and install my Atmos speakers ASAP.

After she went to bed, I watched first 30 minutes of "Saving Private Ryan". Despite it not being filmed in cinemascope (so I had the black bars on the sides of my 2.35:1 screen), the soundtrack is truly impressive. I certainly never experienced/appreciated this movie like this in the past. As they stormed the beach, your body literally gets assaulted with the sound of bullets and explosives all around you.

Ugh, so many great movies to watch, so little time.
I would recommend watching Fury as well with your new system. I was impressed with my humble setup, can't imagine what it would be like with yours.
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Jul 6, 2005
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discoblues wrote: @Repooc for your atmos speakers are you doing on ceiling or in-ceiling?
how deep are your atmos speakers? if on ceiling, how do you mount them?
debating what i should do for my build. for my build - If i do decent soundproofing im going to have to build some sort of enclosure for them, and figure a way to mount the enclosure inside the ceiling should i do in ceiling.
This was another decision, that I probably spent more time than I should have; due to my tendency to overthink things. LOL.

While the idea to do in-ceiling speakers is certainly the cleanest in appaearance. I struggled to find a product that performed well in an atmos setup (ie: wide dispersion) AND not cost $1,000 per speaker.

So, going the DIY route (again) and landed on 4x Volt-10s (very well reviewed), which are a coaxial design speaker in a sealed atmos enclosure.

Now... This meant I could either install these boxes in the ceiling while taking the appropriate measures to build sound-proofed backer boxes. But the idea of cutting any kind of hole into my ceiling wasn't going to fly. So, I'm actually going with an pseudo-on-wall setup; mounting each of the encloures to the sides of my lighting cove overhang with a french cleat system.

This way I'm not completely fixed to any one position and can still fine tune it based on my 2 row setup. That wouldn't be possible with an in ceiling setup... You'd have to ber VERY committed to their positioning.
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Jul 6, 2005
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richuwo11 wrote: I would recommend watching Fury as well with your new system. I was impressed with my humble setup, can't imagine what it would be like with yours.
Thanks for the recommendation! Always appreciate hearing of good films to (re)watch.

I've seen Fury before, but would be nice if I can find a Dolby Atmos/DTS:X version of it
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Mar 15, 2005
869 posts
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french cleat to mount speakers close to the ceiling against a bulk head? ... very clever! - they'll even appear to be floating! Lets just hope the rattling from all that bass doesnt cause it to jump out of that groove :)

i guess thats another advantage of diy speakers vs buying overpriced ones - you dont feel so bad drilling obscure mounting holes in them!
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discoblues wrote: french cleat to mount speakers close to the ceiling against a bulk head? ... very clever! - they'll even appear to be floating! Lets just hope the rattling from all that bass doesnt cause it to jump out of that groove :)

i guess thats another advantage of diy speakers vs buying overpriced ones - you dont feel so bad drilling obscure mounting holes in them!
Yeah, i'd be surprised if the bass knocked them out of position. But nothing a little set screw wont fix.

The other added bonus of doing diy speakers/enclosures is that you can install your speaker wire binding posts exactly where you want them to give you the cleanest look.
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Jan 22, 2003
4797 posts
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Austin/Markham
Nice setup.

I have a similar room on my 2nd floor, only two issues I have.

1. The sound proofing sucks, I'll look into the insulation you used and see if just putting that in the walls fixes things.

2. My projector is 1080p and the HDR to SDR conversion is anemic. How do you deal with so much ATMOS content now being 4K HDR exclusive? Are you getting 1080p and 4K content and than ripping the ATMOS track out and muxing it into the 1080p version? Or just happy with the 4K SDR converted output of your blu ray?
__
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Jul 6, 2005
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webdoctors wrote: Nice setup.

I have a similar room on my 2nd floor, only two issues I have.

1. The sound proofing sucks, I'll look into the insulation you used and see if just putting that in the walls fixes things.

2. My projector is 1080p and the HDR to SDR conversion is anemic. How do you deal with so much ATMOS content now being 4K HDR exclusive? Are you getting 1080p and 4K content and than ripping the ATMOS track out and muxing it into the 1080p version? Or just happy with the 4K SDR converted output of your blu ray?
The HDR to SDR conversion on my Pansonic UB900 4K disc player is said to be the best, even better than the Oppo.

Honestly, im not bummed about not having HDR in the slightest. The brightness of my projector combined with having complete light control, I think, bridges that gap rather nicely.

For what it is on its own, I find HDR a bit overhyped. (flamesuit on). 4K resolution at the sizes/distances we're working with for projecton is stunning in its own right.

Definitely spring for native 4K projector if you can over a 1080P unit... Even something among the ranks of a "faux K" Epson with pixel shift would be money well spent.
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Jan 22, 2003
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Repooc wrote: The HDR to SDR conversion on my Pansonic UB900 4K disc player is said to be the best, even better than the Oppo.

Honestly, im not bummed about not having HDR in the slightest. The brightness of my projector combined with having complete light control, I think, bridges that gap rather nicely.

For what it is on its own, I find HDR a bit overhyped. (flamesuit on). 4K resolution at the sizes/distances we're working with for projecton is stunning in its own right.

Definitely spring for native 4K projector if you can over a 1080P unit... Even something among the ranks of a "faux K" Epson with pixel shift would be money well spent.
I agree, the whole HDR/Dolby Vision stuff is a mess and I wish they didn't tie the ATMOS sound tracks to it. There's still 4K TVs being sold at Costco that don't support HDR so its really messed up how folks buy 4K and than play 4K HDR content that's getting mapped to some garbage pallette.

Also, HDR doesn't even seem feasible on a projector so I've only been thinking about it so I can get around the mapping issue. (for TV show streaming like the Netflix Lost in Space) .

I recently switched from 5.2.4 to 7.2.4 speaker layout and didn't notice a difference due to my room being quite small, about 16x18 ft, online they say you don't really need to go 7.1 unless your room is bigger than 350 sq ft, so I'm curious how what factored into your 7.2.4 decision (since it requires moving up to a much more expensive receiver ):

https://www.themasterswitch.com/51-vs-7 ... -explained
How big is your room? If it’s larger than around 350 square feet, consider a 7.1 speaker setup. If it’s smaller, a 5.1 may be more appropriate.
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