Mistakes, Enhancements, and Summary
When I started working on this theater room, I had a good idea of what I wanted to do. However, as I mentioned in some of the other sections, during and after the build, there were many things that, in hindsight, would have been better to do differently. As technology progresses, enhancements could be made, assuming time and money are available. The following sections gather a list of the “known issues” into one sad section, followed by a list of possible enhancements. Then, at the bottom of this page is a short summary section.
Favorite Oversights, Mistakes and Regrets
Last Updated: 03/24/2024
I wonder if I missed any "mistakes." Should I add more to this list, or is it already embarrassingly long enough?
Not implementing HVAC​
As discussed in the HVAC section, no HVAC is in the theater room. This is mainly because I was lazy and did not want to go through the hassle of hiring a contractor for this. Also, finding an HVAC expert who understands the requirements for sound isolation can be difficult. Ideally, this should be fixed, and the best choice is to install a ducted mini-split, but likely, what I’d do is install a ductless mini-split. These can be quiet enough when oversized for the room and are more cost-effective.
Not using Hat Channels and Clips on the Ceiling.
Using resilient clips and hat channels to attach drywall instead of directly to the studs or rafters, which will better isolate the room from its surroundings, would have been more work and probably unnecessary for the theater walls. Still, it would have been an excellent idea for the ceiling. The most noticeable sound leakage from the theater is to the floor above. The clips would have significantly reduced noise, even using dual-layer drywall and green glue.
Not using backer boxes around ceiling lights.
For some reason, I thought the recessed lighting's housing would provide some isolation. Later on, I discovered that it was just dumb. The ceiling recessed lights do not have backer boxes for sound isolation. At the time, the light frame was possibly thought to provide some isolation, but it does not. Fixing this could be difficult since the recessed light must be removed and the backer box added. Another retrofit possibility that may help with sound isolation is adding a retrofit round LED downlight that would fit over the existing recessed light with some isolation between it and the original light.
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Figure 1. Potential Idea for adding a backer box to a replacement recessed lighting bulb
Not using conduit for HDMI cables.
This oversight for this theater room is not as big an issue as it could have been because the right side wall is open on its backside. Thus, running a new HDMI cable should not be as tricky because only about 7 feet would need to be run behind a wall. However, it would have been much easier if I had installed some 1-inch or 2-inch conduit piping before closing the walls. Conduit is usually unnecessary for other wiring since things like speaker wire stay the same over time. However, HDMI seems to be continually evolving, and when I upgrade to 4K UHD, the HDMI cable will need to change.
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Figure 2. Blue Conduit Pipe (aka Smurf Pipe)
Raise the riser by 2 inches (or more).
Or maybe it should be raised 4 inches. The main point is that if one designs a home theater with multiple rows, one should do the proper analysis to ensure a clear line of sight for everyone. This was lacking in my original analysis. A side effect of a higher riser is that I’d need to add a step to the riser, which would slightly complicate the design. If we were to retrofit something, adding one to two-inch height to the seats would be easy to do by placing wood boards under the seats.
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Figure 3. Profile of the Riser
Additional Base Trapping, upgrade from 2-inch-thick panels.
When I initially decided which acoustic panels to purchase for the home theater, it seemed that two-inch panels would not stick out from the wall and provide some reasonable damping. In the years afterward, I discovered that two-inch panels provide damping mainly to the mid and upper-frequency range and do not impact the upper base like a 4-inch panel would. Thus, two-inch panels are ineffective for home theater and help upper base frequencies. Later, I realized the thicker panels were hardly noticeable, and I should have used them throughout. ​​
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Figure 4. 4-inch Thick Acoustic Panel (left) and 2-inch Thick Acoustic Panel (right)
Modify/Reduce Soffits and Hide Projector.
Adding soffits to any room provides a nice visual touch, but where the soffit meets the screen wall can impact the screen positioning. In the current theater design, the screen's width is limited by the distance between the left and right soffits. So, a narrower soffit could have allowed for a slightly larger screen.
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Further, since the soffit runs across the back of the room, pushing the projector's mount into the soffit would have been” not too hard.” Even if I had not bothered fully isolating the projector, the noise would have been reduced. However, doing so would have required some additional work to figure out how to ventilate the projector adequately.
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Figure 5. Close Up View of Soffit and Moulding
Build a False Wall
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Technically, this is probably not a mistake; it is more like an “It would have been better if.” As discussed on another page, since this is a projector-based home theater, if I had gone to the extra effort to build an acoustically transparent false wall, I could have hidden and improved the front sound stage, added more acoustic elements behind the false wall, and enlarged the field of view.
Elac UniFi Speakers
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These speakers sound "fine." However, after reviewing their frequency measurements and sensitivity specifications, I realized they were not the best choice for the front three speakers. Secondly, they have relatively low sensitivity, and given Denon's 100W (at best) amplifiers, they cannot technically hit reference volume, although they are more than loud enough for me. For these reasons, I consider their selection of a home theater a small mistake. These speakers may be a better fit for music listening, where it is less important to drive higher volume levels. In the following section, I speculate on some upgrades to fix this.
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Figure 5. Elac Uni-Fi Bookshelf Speaker
Last Updated: 11/02/2024
​This section documents possible upgrades for this theater. With new products continually being released, this section will likely become outdated very quickly, perhaps even before it is finished being written.
A Display Upgrade (Obviously)
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The most apparent short-term upgrade is to the display. A display that supports HDR and 4K would be a noticeable upgrade. The original idea was to swap the old projector for a new one. But another consideration is that flat panel displays are increasing in size very quickly and may soon be an option.
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Assuming a budget of around $5,000, a brief look at some of the better options to consider are:
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​The JVC D-ILA Projector DLA-NP5 is an outgoing model discounted to $4,000, but it won't (didn't) last long. It has been replaced by the DLA-NZ500, which is $6,000 (slightly out of budget). JVC is known for its excellent contrast and HDR tone mapping. These options would be my favorite for a projector.
Another option in this price range is the Epson LS12000, which costs $5,000. This projector seems brighter but has a lower native contrast than the JVC. Another attractive and less expensive option is the 5050UB for around $3,000.
It's not quite an option yet, but since this theater has a 115-inch screen, it soon won't be out of the realm of possibility to consider a flat panel of that size. The TCL 115" Q Class 4K UHD HDR QD-Mini L.E.D. - 115QM891G is nowhere near my current cost target, but it is surprisingly reasonable compared to other LCD-based TVs, priced at $20,000. It could be close to my budget if one is willing to wait a few years for the price to drop.
If I do not wait, the best we could do to stay within budget is buy a 98-inch TV. The Samsung Q80C for $5,000 could be an option, or the Hisense 100U8K or maybe TCL 98QM751G are 98+-inch options that cost even less.
The picture quality of these LCD-LED TVs is not nearly as good as that of the best OLED TVs or even the best LCD TVs, but compared to Projectors, they are capable of a much brighter picture. Thus, they would better display HDR, which can be much brighter than a projector.
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Upgrade Sub-woofers
Some would argue that using two SB12-NSDs in a 1700 cu-ft room is insufficient. Their frequency response is down to 25Hz, not the desired 20Hz, and their SPL output for this room is sufficient. Additional output would be helpful when I want a "too much" base. There are many excellent powerful, sub-20 Hz subwoofers one could choose from (my favorites, based on specs and reviews, are HSU Research VTF-TN1, SVS PB-2000 Pro, PSA S1512M, Rythmik FVX12, or Monolith M-15 V2), but I feel these are too big and a little expensive for this theater.
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Adding two smaller, less expensive (small) sealed subwoofers would fit better and achieve a frequency response close to 20-25Hz. Three of my top choices are Rythmik's L12, Rogers Sound Labs Speedwoofer 10S MkII, and SVS's SB1000 Pro. Another intriguing option is the very small SVS 3000 Micro, roughly a small 11-inch cube whose frequency response can reach below 25Hz. The 3000 Micro's size makes it less likely to block traffic when placed on a sidewall.
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I have gravitated toward internet-direct subwoofer-centric manufacturers because they tend to be of better value than retail speaker manufacturers.
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With four subwoofers, I'd initially connect all four in parallel and optimize them as one virtual subwoofer, following the research that placement on all four sidewalls or corners would sufficiently even the room response. This should work well since the room is rectangular and has proper subwoofer placement. Still, this could be improved further (so I am told) using a MiniDSP 2x4 HD, Room EQ Wizard (REW), and Multi-Sub Optimizer (MSO) further to optimize the frequency response across the listening area. I have not used MSO, so I cannot comment on it, but MiniDSP has a nice App Note.
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Upgrade LCR Speakers
There are many speaker brands and types, making it difficult to narrow down an upgrade. The requirements for an upgrade are a bookshelf speaker with better (more even/flat) frequency response both on and off-axis, a sensitivity specification close to or above 88dB (tough to find in a bookshelf), and a price around or less than $700. Some options, in no particular order, are:
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Ascend Acoustics Sierra-LX—This does not quite meet sensitivity requirements (87dB) and is slightly over budget ($775/speaker), but it is reportedly an excellent option.
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KEF Q Concerto Meta—This speaker has a lower sensitivity (85dB), similar to my current ELAC speakers, but has been reviewed well and is within budget ($650/speaker). The lower sensitivity may rule this one out.
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SVS Ultra Evolution Bookshelf—This has about $600/speaker and an 87dB efficiency and thus seems like a good choice
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Bowers and Wilkins 606 S3—A slightly under-budget choice ($550/speaker) with a good sensitivity (88dB)
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Wharfedale EVO4.2—This speaker is a $600/speaker bookshelf with an 88dB sensitivity. It is the only speaker on this list that uses a ribbon tweeter, which Wharfedale calls an AMT.
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Power Sound Audio MT-110-M—This speaker is one of the few bookshelf speakers within budget. With a sensitivity of 95 dB (according to PSA), I suspect it is an in-room measurement.
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PSB Alpha P5—PSB is known for flat response and good dispersion, rated at 89dB in room sensitivity.
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Martin Logan B 10—This is a $600 bookshelf with a 92dB sensitivity.
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To achieve speaker sensitivities above 88dB, it seems there would be more options if we include consideration for tower speakers. Tower speakers tend to have a few dB better sensitivity specifications.
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I'd probably try to find speaker performance data and compare the candidates to narrow down the above list. For example, SPINorama has references to measurement data for many speaker models.
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Wishlist Enhancement Possibilities
Summary Thoughts
Last Updated: 10/29/2024
The home theater section of this website walks through (perhaps in nauseating detail) my attempt at designing and building a dedicated home theater, starting with space planning, seating, acoustics, and sound isolation design, and finally selecting, purchasing, and installing the equipment. The project began by converting my unfinished basement room into a theater that could (hopefully) fit 4-6 people, with a screen size between 110-120 inches and a surround sound system.
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A big part of the process was trying to get the audio and visuals right, with some trial and error around speaker setup, seating distance, and screen placement. I learned about different soundproofing techniques but should have used hat channels and clips to improve the isolation. There was also the challenge of figuring out multi-subwoofer setups, adding Dolby Atmos, installing acoustic panels to enhance the sound quality, and finally, deciding who would implement the electrical power and control wiring and equipment—a learning experience to get everything powered and controlled smoothly.
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Looking back, there were definitely some decisions I could've improved, like where to put the door, how high the riser should've been, and that the room should have had proper ventilation installed. But it works! The home theater met my main goals, and there's always room for future upgrades, like better gear and tweaking the acoustics. In the end, a mix of planning, trial and error, and personal taste made this theater what it is—still a work in progress, but one whose initial version turned out well. Figure 6 below summarizes the complete floor plan for the home theater.
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This summary was generated with the assistance of AI, so it's not surprising that I had to edit it heavily.
Figure 6. Overall Home Theater Floorplan