It's curtains for you.

cruiser

Just some thoughts on room sound quality.

I have been asking lots of questions and getting lots of great answers on this forum, but lets not forget how important the room is.

I am a custom home builder and had to do alot of research on how to build an HT room, so here is what I've discovered.

I added full length curtains with valances and 6 poster boxes on both side walls. All I can say is wow, I could not believe the difference in sound. It was night and day, even with the r30's in front. I had read on one of the audio forums that Movie Theaters use them to absorb sound, hence, all the tall curtains in your local theater.

I also insulated the walls and ceiling with r13 fiberglass. It seems to keep sound deflection to a minimum and keeps the sound from traveling into unwanted areas of the house, such as "Gram's bedroom".

The poster boxes look great and can be built for low dollars (some 1x2 oak, 1x4 pine and plexi glass), allposters.com has great deals on movie posters. ($20. each)

I built in some ceiling spots to accent the posters but one can buy plug in fixtures at Home Depot or Lowes for cheap $$. Looks great and the sound seems to blend in with the break in the wall surface. I was told not to put curtains on all of the walls or it would impact the sound, not sure why, but sure it works.

Home Depot 12g speaker wire is great and is the same as any you can buy on the net. Just make sure that the wire has legible markings so you can trace the positive and negitive wires to the correct terminals.

I am still a big believer in rear dlp tv over front projection. I just have not seen a front projection that has impressed me for the same dollars.

My HT is in the back of the basement so there are no windows. Glass will deflect sound and can cause some sound problems without proper window coverings.

Upgrades are great but your HT room needs to be up to the task.

markmarc

Cruiser:
Some very sound advice for those who are lucky enough to have an HT room. I'm with you in favoring rear projection/plasma over front projection, i prefer sharpness over size.

cruiser

For those who do not have a dedicated HT room, (I am old enough to been around the block a few times so I can squeez it out for the HT...) they can use creative interior decorating to help the room untill you get old enough to swing the whole HT thing.

Windows: use cellular shades on the windows with pull curtains over the top, or use the "room darkining" shades. This will insulate the room from the weather and light and create a sound barrier against the glass. Note: Elvis Presley velvet wall pictures may help the sound quality but may not help your position in life, so I'd stay away from them.
Walls: try some soft artwork or padded walls, you can go to a local material/hobbies store to get ideas. Anything that will absorb sound. Even the furniture should be soft. Leather will tend to deflect so try a soft couch, etc.

If the room is open to another, try to design some bifold doors or cafe doors in the opening. Put some padding on the HT room side. You might try installing pull drapes over the room openings. Thus, you can pull em open when the tv is off, perhaps out of site behind a secondary wall, and pull em closed to view a movie.

A thick carpet is best but any carpet is better than, say, oak or tile floors.

Do not use glass top furniture, etc.

Be creative. Any room can be a great HT room with the right materials.

michael_w

Cool post... I'm kind of curious how my room sits on this scale. It's so packed full of stuff that I don't know if it is creating havoc or doing me good by absorbing sound.

cruiser

I'm not trying to throw you into a panic, so try the following sites, I learned a great deal about HT from these folks.

www.jaytorborg.com/home_theater_design.htm
www.quietsolution.com/home_theaters.html?Overture
www.bradfordwells.com
www.hometheaterforum.com

As a builder, I always look at what the rich and famous are doing and try to scale it down a bit. The Bradfordwells.com site is excellent for that reason. Yes, the HT's in their site are a bit on the high side, but you can downsize and look for less expensive materials for your own place. Bradford is very talented in this area or they wouldn't be installing such magnificent systems for the rich and famous. If I had the dollars, I'd hire them to do my own HT room.

TrappedUnder Ice

I think when it comes to the Front projection for HT's most folks just dont do it right. They dont have light control, they dont have the right screen and sometimes the cheapest projector.
While I live my 65" sony RPtv...and my Toshiba 46" DLP.... I'm putting a FP in my HT. Why....cause its a HT room. ASk anyone. What makes the movie experience the most.... visual and sound. Yes. Crispness and clarity have thier points...but too actually have a good screen/FP setup makes the movie! - IMO. One real bonus on the FP also....is it takes up no room. And when it cost quite a few dollars to build/remodel for a room... this can add up. Instead of loosing 2-3 ft of space in the HT room for video...I lose "0" feet. Something else to think about

Too each thier own....

cruiser

True. Most of the high dollar HT rooms I found on line do have front projection screens, even in the smaller rooms. When money is no option, most opt for the front projection units.

It is difficult to judge any tv/ht system unless it is set up specifically for your own home. Most stores are not designed for serious viewing of systems. I am finding that just the smallest of tweaks can make a big difference.

Perhaps I should do some more soul searching.

Ps: you might take a look at www.cinemaquestinc.com They sell a special type of lighting (about 50.00) that is used behind or on the sides for backlighting. Enhances the picture big time and is much easier on the eyes. They have an excellent site with pics, etc.