My Basement Projector Setup

adb3da

Hello everyone - I'm a long time member that for the most part has been a lurker. I recently acquired all the pieces for my longtime dream of having a projector in my basement and now I am looking for some feedback.

My room is full of compromises. It is by no means a dedicated room. I have 3 kids all aged 5 or under and this basement serves as a play area for them as well as an extra space for the family to gather or entertain friends and family. And it's also the main point of entry of the house as we have a tuck-under garage (a walkout basement has pros and cons). It's not decorated the way we want yet as we've only been in this house 1.5 years, but we plan to be here a long long time so things will improve as we go.

So to reiterate, I just wanted to share and get a little feedback here. I can't change things too much as this room needs to work for all of our needs but I am open to any suggestions people have. At some point I may relocate the electronics to another part of the room so I can move the screen lower and bump it up in size. All my wiring is routed just fine now and I kind of dread the idea of doing it all over again.

The video portion of the room is quite excellent in my opinion. The audio side of things could use improvement. It sounds somewhat thin. Not sure how to describe it. I'm sure my awkward layout is mostly to blame. Also this setup is for movies and watching sports only. I love music, but this isn't the place I am able to really enjoy it. My office serves as my music consumption room and I'll post pics of that once I get it properly arranged.

Components are:

• Epson Pro Cinema 6010
• 92" Fixed Frame screen - not sure who makes this. I bought it on craigslist for $100 and I feel like that was a great price. The material is perfect and has no blemishes or wrinkles and the frame is sturdy
• Denon AVR-4310CI - this is area I think I could use an upgrade as it does not support 3d
• Sony TA-N9000ES
• Samsung BD-J5900 BluRay Player
• Apple TV Gen3
• Dish Hoper Super Hoey
• Polk Audio RT3000p
• Polk Audo CS1000p
• Polk Audio F/X 300i
• HSU VTF-2 Mk2

EndersShadow

So the first picture directly above this post is from a hallway I assume? If so I think its likely sucking your bass out of the room to some extent...

I'm going to make a suggestion.

Buy a UMIK-1 Mic and download and learn to run REW. That setup is pretty good but I am 99% sure you need some room treatments (look at @hochpt21 WAF treatment thread).

Additionally those graphs would give you an idea of what your room looks like from top to bottom of the frequency spectrum.

You can then use that to try and position/toe in the speakers a bit better, and it will help you place room treatments, but that room is going to be a bit of a struggle.

That said, I dont think your setup is ANYTHING to be ashamed of. Looks quite nice, your room is just a bit compromised, but thats something a lot of us deal with.

DIY treatments and REW can help you correct as best you can, and provide the best bang for your bucks as compared to new gear.

adb3da

EndersShadow wrote: »

So the first picture directly above this post is from a hallway I assume?

Yes, more or less the entire basement is finished with a central area unfinished with the furnaces and water heaters. That unfinished area is behind the ugly wood paneling. So picture it like a circle with access to the other side of the basement to the front left and also to the rear left. Basically an acoustic nightmare I assume

adb3da

Also, wish I could move that damn support column for the steel beam that's to the left of my couch. I wish I could move it about 4 feet and place it in the unfinished area, but I am guessing it's there for a reason.

Willow

Only thing I could add is for the window right behind the screen, get a fitted blackout screen. Seems to be lots of light coming from that side of the house and especially top right of the screen. Otherwise looks nice and clean.

oldrocker

A buddy of mine had about the same layout. Sitting on his couch/like yours, he had a good right wall, good forward wall and the rear area was open also. We framed in a simple wall with a door at the open area where your kids toys are (last pic). He also had some limited paneling that was painted and then later was replaced with Drywall.

It did give him more bass after we re-positioned some of his gear. I agree on the window thing willow said, as we had a similar basement window situation.

One thing we did run into was some slight vibrations from the new door we put in but solved that with some weather stripping along the edges where the door closes.

Treatments can always help, my friend is experimenting with various types.

All and all, I think it's an open canvas and with a few tweaks here and there, it will be just fine. Nice area...

lightman1

And acoustical tile ceilings like to rattle. Are they the fiberglass backed ones or the paper mache` kind?

adb3da

lightman1 wrote: »

And acoustical tile ceilings like to rattle. Are they the fiberglass backed ones or the paper mache` kind?

Mine are fiberglass. They don't rattle but the basement Windows make some noise.

westmassguy

adb3da@yahoo.co wrote: »

lightman1 wrote: »

And acoustical tile ceilings like to rattle. Are they the fiberglass backed ones or the paper mache` kind?

Mine are fiberglass. They don't rattle but the basement Windows make some noise.

Steel hopper windows will rattle, not to mention leakage and poor insulation. You can order custom size replacements from Home Depot, and many other Dealers, either hopper or sliders. Make a big difference.
Nice job though!

txcoastal1

I'll have to agree with Dan here...Invest in a mic and REW or like software and run room sweeps.

You make a to much dampening in the room with the acoustic ceiling and all the carpet.

You can replace some of those tiles with vinyl covered gypsum tiles and shape the sound of your room. Also darker panels will improve the lighting for your screen.

You can experiment with the tiles by even placing the gypsum above or below the existing tiles. You can add T-bars and create 2x2's if needed. You can further shape the room by adding diffuser tiles (see image) but I recommend laying the gypsum tiles on top above the ceiling diffuser to weigh down the diffuser tiles.

You can over due the process and drive your wife nuts but will more than likely will see improvements.


https://acousticalsolutions.com/product-category/sound-diffusers/

Gatecrasher

It looks nice. I love the RT3000p & CS1000p speakers. You might be able to gain a little more punch if you move the extra sub out of the corner a little. It might be a little tight. You could also add another one. I run two placed diagonally in my basement. One is up front like yours is and the other is in the rear. When you crank the rear one up the seats vibrate for some extra realism (sometimes too much).