Home Theater Remodel - A Trip Down the Polk Forum Spending Rabbit Hole

dpowell
dpowell Posts: 3,067
edited March 2023 in The Clubhouse
I completed a total remodel of the home theater last summer and am finally getting around to organizing some pictures to share. I probably won't get to all of it today so check back periodically for updates.

First off, a HUGE thanks to @nooshinjohn who provided a lot of cool ideas that made this project so much more that I originally intended it to be.

A few things prompted this project and it certainly experienced major scope creep along the way. The primary motivations for this project were my own audio 'needs' and aging carpet. The original screen and equipment cabinet were a present from my wife over 15 years ago and it was designed/installed in 9 sections. For reference, this cabinet was designed specifically for the Polk RT5000 HT system. The opening in the middle cabinet perfectly fit the CS1000P (and later the SRT center channel). As a built-in, the carpet was installed around it, which meant if there was going to be a change in the theater configuration, it had to happen concurrently with carpet replacement.
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When we moved into the house, this cabinet system came with us and fit fine in the family room. However, it placed the right SDA speaker in a horrible location. When I bought the 1.2TLs from @nooshinjohn, it was even worse. You can see in the above picture that I had to remove the baseboard in order for the 1.2TL to fit.
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Rooms are never perfect and I have had it in mind for years to figure out a way to get the SDA's optimally placed.

I kicked off this remodel mid-July with the goal of completing the entire thing by September 2. Why that date? World premiere of Amazon's Rings of Power series. :smiley: No way did I want to watch that on a small TV and hear it on a pair of Monitor 4 bookies.

My initial project scope was:
Remove the cabinet and motorized screen
Create an opening between the faux screen wall and secret hallway behind it
Carpet the room
Place a pre-fab cabinet in front of the opening in the wall and install the components.
Install a fixed screen on the wall after repainting it.

This seemed like an innocent and not-too-expensive goal.

Then @nooshinjohn got involved providing some ideas (barnwood wall to be exact) plus the idea to re-use the bottom portion of the solid oak cabinet but stain it to match the new wall behind it (thus keeping part of the cabinet gift from my wife in place). He also scored me a killer deal on an Epson 6050UB. Enter the need to re-wire for 4k and different projector placement.

After that @DSkip decided to sell his Marantz 7704. Enter the need for an upgrade to ATMOS which = speakers, wiring and the search for another power amp.

I figured I might as well just get it all done....and all of it by September 2.

The first step was removing the cabinet and doing wall repair. When we originally moved in to the house, my wife had the incredible idea of building a closet space behind the screen for each access to the back of equipment for wiring. It also added some much needed storage space. I pulled out the old 42U equipment rack and cleared the space. That left a bunch of audio and Cat6 cabling spaghetti to sort through.
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Once the cabinet was out, all of the openings had to be patched up. My daughter helped out quite a bit with this process.
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The next part of the process was to build a new opening to support the new cabinet design. Here you can see the cabinet moved left enough to give me the ability to place the right 1.2TL exactly 3 feet from the wall.
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I was fortunate to have multiple circuits available and installed a dedicated 20amp circuit for the ADCOM 8507 I picked up to run the surrounds and ATMOS speakers. The Sony ES Carousel CDP helped itself to the second outlet because it was nearby.
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The second circuit was a 15amp to support the remaining gear. With the power off, this was a great opportunity for my daughter to learn some basic electrical wiring skills.
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All of the home networking gear and wiring was moved and organized to small panel up and out of the way.
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Next step was to paint the room and stain the cabinet. I found a cheap can of oops paint to serve as a dark color to place the barn wood on and spent a lot of time going through different stain color options. After painting we got down to business learning to install the barnwood.
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The Middle Earth map was lucky enough to score some leftover barnwood for a frame.
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The four Polk TC265i in-walls got a paint job as well. The plastic had yellowed over time.
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I had purchased a pair of Klipsch in-walls at 90% off when a Best Buy Magnolia moved locally and those became the easy, low-cost option for the front overhead ATMOS speakers.
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I purchased a Silver Ticket 120" grey matte screen. I was sure glad to have a laser level to help get it installed.
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Next up was carpet. Before that was installed, I purchased two BlueJeans Subwoofer cables and some 12gauge speaker cable to run for the rear placement of the SVS PB13 Ultras and rear bookshelf speakers that would begin serving as the rear surrounds (compliments of a donation of 2 sq ft from my wife of her sewing space). I ran this in-wall behind the screen and then along the wall for careful installation under carpet.
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The sound closet behind the screen came together nicely with the carpet in place. We were able to use another piece of the original cabinet for storage.
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Carpet installation.
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With that, I'm calling it a day. I'll get some pictures of the gear installation up hopefully tomorrow.
____________________________________________________________

polkaudio Fully Modded SDA SRS 1.2TLs + Dreadnaught, LSiM706c, 4 X Polk Surrounds + 4 X ATMOS, SVS PB13 Ultra X 2, Pass Labs X1, Marantz 7704, Bob Carver Crimson Beauty 350 Tube Mono Blocks, Carver Sunfire Signature Cinema Grande 400x5, ADCOM GFA 7807, Panasonic UB420, Moon 380D DAC, EPSON Pro Cinema 6050
Post edited by dpowell on

Comments

  • treitz3
    treitz3 Posts: 18,994
    I absolutely LOVE this! Everything about it!!!

    Tom
    ~ In search of accurate reproduction of music. Real sound is my reference and while perfection may not be attainable? If I chase it, I might just catch excellence. ~
  • tonyp063
    tonyp063 Posts: 1,081
    I very much appreciate good wire management.
    And the teaching of it too.

    Well, well done.
    Subscribed.
  • vader540is
    vader540is Posts: 190
    Wow awesome work
  • Milito
    Milito Posts: 1,958
    Looks great, nice workmanship. Congrats.
    Yamaha RX-A2070, Musical Fidelity M6si integrated amp, Benchmark Dac1, Bluesound NODE 2i, Audiolab 6000CDT CD Transport, Parasound Zphono USB Phono Preamp, Fluance RT85, Ortofon 2M Bronze, Polk L600's, L400, L900's, RC80i's, SVS 3000 Micro, Audioquest Interconnects and Digital Cables, Nordost Silver Shadow Digital Cable, Cullen Gold and Crossover Series Power Cables, Douglas Connection Alpha 12AWG OCC Speaker Cables, Douglas Connection Alpha Analog Interconnect Cables, Douglas Connection Alpha 11 OCC Custom Power Cable, Signal Power Cable, Furman PL-8C 15 Power Conditioner, Sony 65" 900F, Sony UBP-X700, Fios, Apple TV 4K, Audioquest Chocolate HDMI Cables.
  • nooshinjohn
    nooshinjohn Posts: 25,383
    Thanks you Doug for giving me the opportunity to blow your budget to hell. It’s what Polkies are for😂😂😂
    The Gear... Carver "Statement" Mono-blocks, Mcintosh C2300 Arcam AVR20, Oppo UDP-203 4K Blu-ray player, Sony XBR70x850B 4k, Polk Audio Legend L800 with height modules, L400 Center Channel Polk audio AB800 "in-wall" surrounds. Marantz MM7025 stereo amp. Simaudio Moon 680d DSD

    “When once a Republic is corrupted, there is no possibility of remedying any of the growing evils but by removing the corruption and restoring its lost principles; every other correction is either useless or a new evil.”— Thomas Jefferson
  • txcoastal1
    txcoastal1 Posts: 13,262
    Time, effort, and detail paid off....awesome!!

    Congrats and enjoy <3
    2-channel: Modwright KWI-200 Integrated, Dynaudio C1-II Signatures
    Desktop rig: LSi7, Polk 110sub, Dayens Ampino amp, W4S DAC/pre, Sonos, JRiver
    Gear on standby: Melody 101 tube pre, Unison Research Simply Italy Integrated
    Gone to new homes: (Matt Polk's)Threshold Stasis SA12e monoblocks, Pass XA30.5 amp, Usher MD2 speakers, Dynaudio C4 platinum speakers, Modwright LS100 (voltz), Simaudio 780D DAC

    erat interfectorem cesar et **** dictatorem dicere a
  • rooftop59
    rooftop59 Posts: 8,121
    That’s looking incredible! Can’t wait to see the finished project!
    Living Room 2.2: Usher BE-718 "tiny dancers"; Dual DIY Dayton audio RSS210HF-4 Subs with Dayton SPA-250 amps; Arcam SA30; Musical Fidelity A308; Sony UBP-x1000es
    Game Room 5.1.4:
    Denon AVR-X4200w; Sony UBP-x700; Definitive Technology Power Monitor 900 mains, CLR-3000 center, StudioMonitor 350 surrounds, ProMonitor 800 atmos x4; Sub - Monoprice Monolith 15in THX Ultra

    Bedroom 2.1
    Harmon Kardon HK3490; Bluesounds Node N130; Polk RT25i; ACI Titan Subwoofer
  • audioluvr
    audioluvr Posts: 5,574
    Super detailed! Let me know when you're done and boored. I'm thinking of doing something like this. :D
    Gustard X26 Pro DAC
    Belles 21A Pre modded with Mundorf Supreme caps
    B&K M200 Sonata monoblocks refreshed and upgraded
    Polk SDA 1C's modded / 1000Va Dreadnaught
    Wireworld Silver Eclipse IC's and speaker cables
    Harman Kardon T65C w/Grado Gold. (Don't laugh. It sounds great!)


    There is about a 5% genetic difference between apes and men …but that difference is the difference between throwing your own poo when you are annoyed …and Einstein, Shakespeare and Miss January. by Dr. Sardonicus
  • pearsall001
    pearsall001 Posts: 5,066
    Congrats on such a great project! Well worth the time & effort. You & the family will be enjoying that space for years on end. Beautiful work 👍👍🎵🎵
    "2 Channel & 11.2 HT "Two Channel:Magnepan LRSSchiit Audio Freya S - SS preConsonance Ref 50 - Tube preParasound HALO A21+ 2 channel ampBluesound NODE 2i streameriFi NEO iDSD DAC Oppo BDP-93KEF KC62 sub Home Theater:Full blown 11.2 set up.
  • Willow
    Willow Posts: 10,999
    Doug, I know it's been around 13 years, but it now feels like I've been over to your HT room and not just met you for lunch. Thank you. Amazing looking room. It was great to get your daughter involved too.
  • Dabutcher
    Dabutcher Posts: 2,594
    Thanks for sharing. It’s great that you are teaching your daughter life skills while she helps on this big project that she will enjoy along with the rest of your family. Love yours. D
    MIT Magnum MH-750, Monster HTS 5100MKII, Sony 77" Class - A80CJ Series - 4K UHD OLED,PS4, Def Tech 15” sub,LSIM 706c, Sunfire Signature Grand 425 x 4,Parasound hca 120, LSiM 702 x 4, Oppo 103D, SDA SRS 1.2, Pioneer Elite SC63 , Pioneer Elite BDP-05 “Why did you get married if you wanted big speakers?”
  • dpowell
    dpowell Posts: 3,067
    edited March 2023
    Willow wrote: »
    Doug, I know it's been around 13 years, but it now feels like I've been over to your HT room and not just met you for lunch. Thank you. Amazing looking room. It was great to get your daughter involved too.

    @Willow It has been a long time! If you are ever in California again, feel free to swing by!
    Post edited by dpowell on
    ____________________________________________________________

    polkaudio Fully Modded SDA SRS 1.2TLs + Dreadnaught, LSiM706c, 4 X Polk Surrounds + 4 X ATMOS, SVS PB13 Ultra X 2, Pass Labs X1, Marantz 7704, Bob Carver Crimson Beauty 350 Tube Mono Blocks, Carver Sunfire Signature Cinema Grande 400x5, ADCOM GFA 7807, Panasonic UB420, Moon 380D DAC, EPSON Pro Cinema 6050
  • BlueBirdMusic
    BlueBirdMusic Posts: 2,264
    Inspiring and Amazing!
    "Sometimes you have to look to the past to understand where you are going in the future"




    Harry / Marietta GA
  • treitz3
    treitz3 Posts: 18,994
    I am loving this thread and am enjoying seeing the progress/photos. It's great that you get to do this with family. Makes them appreciate all that went into this when they sit down to watch or listen to something.

    I do have a question though....where did you source these?

    qc6gr8ird8aq.png

    Tom
    ~ In search of accurate reproduction of music. Real sound is my reference and while perfection may not be attainable? If I chase it, I might just catch excellence. ~
  • dpowell
    dpowell Posts: 3,067
    edited March 2023
    treitz3 wrote: »
    I am loving this thread and am enjoying seeing the progress/photos. It's great that you get to do this with family. Makes them appreciate all that went into this when they sit down to watch or listen to something.

    I do have a question though....where did you source these?

    qc6gr8ird8aq.png

    Tom
    @treitz3 Yes definitely a great family project!

    I got the zip ties here.

    https://a.co/d/00GgIzV
    ____________________________________________________________

    polkaudio Fully Modded SDA SRS 1.2TLs + Dreadnaught, LSiM706c, 4 X Polk Surrounds + 4 X ATMOS, SVS PB13 Ultra X 2, Pass Labs X1, Marantz 7704, Bob Carver Crimson Beauty 350 Tube Mono Blocks, Carver Sunfire Signature Cinema Grande 400x5, ADCOM GFA 7807, Panasonic UB420, Moon 380D DAC, EPSON Pro Cinema 6050
  • treitz3
    treitz3 Posts: 18,994
    I won't mess up your thread anymore with off topic posts but I do want to chime in to say, "Thank you". I already ordered them. Much appreciated.

    Tom
    ~ In search of accurate reproduction of music. Real sound is my reference and while perfection may not be attainable? If I chase it, I might just catch excellence. ~
  • dpowell
    dpowell Posts: 3,067
    No prob!
    ____________________________________________________________

    polkaudio Fully Modded SDA SRS 1.2TLs + Dreadnaught, LSiM706c, 4 X Polk Surrounds + 4 X ATMOS, SVS PB13 Ultra X 2, Pass Labs X1, Marantz 7704, Bob Carver Crimson Beauty 350 Tube Mono Blocks, Carver Sunfire Signature Cinema Grande 400x5, ADCOM GFA 7807, Panasonic UB420, Moon 380D DAC, EPSON Pro Cinema 6050
  • Jetmaker737
    Jetmaker737 Posts: 1,045
    Brilliant work. I am jealous and impressed!
    SystemLuxman L-590AXII Integrated Amplifier|KEF Reference 1 Loudspeakers|PS Audio Directream Jr|Sansui TU-9900 Tuner|TEAC A-6100 RtR|Nakamichi RX-202 Cassette
  • skipshot12
    skipshot12 Posts: 1,148
    What an awesome build…
  • dpowell
    dpowell Posts: 3,067
    edited March 2023
    Quick quiz on Polk history for you all. Can anyone here answer the question: Where did the yellow 'WARNING' sign that is in the pictures above come from? I can think of a couple forum members who might know.
    ____________________________________________________________

    polkaudio Fully Modded SDA SRS 1.2TLs + Dreadnaught, LSiM706c, 4 X Polk Surrounds + 4 X ATMOS, SVS PB13 Ultra X 2, Pass Labs X1, Marantz 7704, Bob Carver Crimson Beauty 350 Tube Mono Blocks, Carver Sunfire Signature Cinema Grande 400x5, ADCOM GFA 7807, Panasonic UB420, Moon 380D DAC, EPSON Pro Cinema 6050
  • nooshinjohn
    nooshinjohn Posts: 25,383
    SRT…
    The Gear... Carver "Statement" Mono-blocks, Mcintosh C2300 Arcam AVR20, Oppo UDP-203 4K Blu-ray player, Sony XBR70x850B 4k, Polk Audio Legend L800 with height modules, L400 Center Channel Polk audio AB800 "in-wall" surrounds. Marantz MM7025 stereo amp. Simaudio Moon 680d DSD

    “When once a Republic is corrupted, there is no possibility of remedying any of the growing evils but by removing the corruption and restoring its lost principles; every other correction is either useless or a new evil.”— Thomas Jefferson
  • rooftop59
    rooftop59 Posts: 8,121
    treitz3 wrote: »
    I won't mess up your thread anymore with off topic posts but I do want to chime in to say, "Thank you". I already ordered them. Much appreciated.

    Tom

    As did I. Those look very handy!

    And the theater looks awesome!
    Living Room 2.2: Usher BE-718 "tiny dancers"; Dual DIY Dayton audio RSS210HF-4 Subs with Dayton SPA-250 amps; Arcam SA30; Musical Fidelity A308; Sony UBP-x1000es
    Game Room 5.1.4:
    Denon AVR-X4200w; Sony UBP-x700; Definitive Technology Power Monitor 900 mains, CLR-3000 center, StudioMonitor 350 surrounds, ProMonitor 800 atmos x4; Sub - Monoprice Monolith 15in THX Ultra

    Bedroom 2.1
    Harmon Kardon HK3490; Bluesounds Node N130; Polk RT25i; ACI Titan Subwoofer
  • indyhawg
    indyhawg Posts: 1,641
    Outstanding work. Really cool having your daughter involved. My daughter loves to help out on some of my audio projects at times a we have some great memories from these projects.
  • jbreezy5
    jbreezy5 Posts: 1,141
    @dpowell - Uh…you win! 😮 😅
    CD Players: Sony CDP-211; Sony DVP-S9000ES; Sony UDP-X800M2 (x2); Cambridge Audio CXC

    DACs: Jolida Glass FX Tube DAC III (x2); Denafrips Ares II (x2)

    Streamers: ROKU (x3); Bluesound Node 2i and Node N130 w/LHY LPS // Receivers: Yamaha RX-V775BT; Yamaha RX-V777

    Preamps: B&K Ref 50; B&K Ref 5 S2; Classe CP-800 MkII; Audio Research SP16L (soon)

    Amps: Niles SI-275; B&K ST125.7; B&K ST125.2; Classe CA-2300; Butler Audio TDB-5150

    Speakers: Boston Acoustics CR55; Focal Chorus 705v; Wharfedale Diamond 10.2; Monitor Audio Silver-1; Def Tech Mythos One (x4)/Mythos Three Center (x2)/Mythos Two pr.; Martin Logan Electromotion ESL; Legacy Audio Victoria/Silverscreen Center; Gallo Acoustics Reference 3.1; SVS SB-1000 Pro; REL HT-1003; B&W ASW610; HifiMan HE400i

    Turntable: Dual 721 Direct-Drive w/Audio Technica AT-VM95e cart

    Cables: Tripp-lite 14ga. PCs, Blue Jeans Cable ICs, Philips PXT1000 ICs; Kimber Kable DV30 coaxial ICs; Canare L-4E6S XLR ICs; Kimber Kable 8PR & 8TC speaker cables.
  • Toolfan66
    Toolfan66 Posts: 17,210
    Freaking awesome!! I love it!!!
  • gurot1
    gurot1 Posts: 519
    Looks great! Great to see the kids helping out as well.
    lsim705,lsim706c,lsif/x(4)+mc80(atmos)
    rti6,csi5,fxi5
  • Clipdat
    Clipdat Posts: 12,933
    Really stunning build and appreciate all of the behind the scenes photos you took of the setup process. Congratulations on your accomplishment, it's definitely something to be proud of.

    I've always thought that projectors were best for HT. There's just something about them that makes them easy to look at for extended periods of time. Zero eye fatigue. And projector technology has really gotten better in recent years.
  • mrloren
    mrloren Posts: 2,461
    Very nice, job well done
    When I was a kid my parents told me to turn it down. Now I'm an adult and my kids tell me to turn it down.
    Family Room:LG QNED80 75", Onkyo RZ50 Emotiva XPA3 GEN3 Oppo BDP-93,Sony UBP-X800BM. Main: Polk LsiM 705Center: Polk LSiM 704CFront High/Rear High In-Ceiling Polk 80F/X RT Surrounds: Polk S15 Sub: HSU VTF3-MK5
    Bed Room; Marantz SR5010, BDP-S270Main: Polk Signature S20Center: Polk Signature S35Rear: Polk R15 Sub: SVS SB2000
    Working Warehouse; Yamaha A-S301, Sony DVP-NS3100ES for disc Plok TSX550T SVS PB2000 Mini tower PC with 400GB of music