Monday, October 22, 2007

I'm building a home theater room

I'm planning construction of a home theater room that also serves as a listening room. This is to be part of a new (as yet unbuilt) house. Here are my rough notes so far (I'm meeting with architect and contractor this week, so need to gather my thoughts):

  • First question was dimensions. The golden mean seems to be 26x16x10 per Cardas. Ideally it'd be trapazoidal, but I'll probably settle for rectangle with acoustic treatments to limit echo off parallel surfaces.
  • It'll be a room within a room, isolated from the surrounding structure by cavities, insulation, rubber, etc.
  • The HVAC needs to be as quiet as possible, so low noise air con
  • Ensure all appliances and heating and other large basement utilities are quiet and as far away as possible from listening area.
  • Dedicated hospital grade power outlets, separate form those used for lighting, air con or anything outside of core components.
  • Seating will be four armchair recliners built together in crescent, cloth finish. Not sure i'm ready to commit to two rows of seats but may build raised platform ready for a second set.
  • Acoustic treatment: Wall to wall carpet, then baffles, bass traps: a balance of absorbing surfaces, and one random surface to break up the sound.
  • Lighting should be quiet and subtle, but enough to go bright, and see components when required.
  • Equipment should be in dedicated closet, easily accessible from behind to swap out cables.
  • Screen: I had thought the largest LCD display available. But am reconsidering projection onto grey screen.
  • Door needs to be airtight with all-weather seal.