With the rain yesterday and the 100mph winds today I couldn't get much done on the PJ so I decided to start on my HT setup. HT Audio components were purchased specifically for use with the projector.

The 'theater' room will contain the projector, 2x PCs (one HTPC/Gaming PC, one server), 19" TV for watching while on the PC and playing games when I don't feel like using the PJ (hey its not that small when you're sitting right next to it ), 5.1 Audio setup, couple console game systems, a lazy boy & various other chairs, pinball machine, driving simulator (when I build it), and last but not least, a dresser for some spare clothing which the PJ will sit on top of .. so not exactly a theater room. more like an entertainment room.

First off: DIY speaker stands similar to those build by samuraijack http://www.lumenlab.com/forums/index.php?s...=speaker+stands but honestly $22.50 USD was a little much, so I was shooting for $15

I likes the desing, but threaded rods are actually pretty expensive. Comparable size to what he used were $12 at home depot (I used them in my PJ) so I modified the design.



constructed from 3", 1/4" thick PVC made in the USA! There will be nothing running down the center of the stands. The yellow looking blocks on top and bottom are pieces of 2"x4" cut in a circle and jammed in the pipe. I then drilled and drove a 3/8" carriage bolt, shown in dark gray, through the pipe and wood to secure it. The top and bottom of the stands, shown in black, are built from 3/4" oak ply and will be screwed to the circular wood mounts with 2.5" wood screws, shown in pink. I'm assuming this will be strong enough to support the speakers.

10' of PVC (smallest they had!) $12, silver paint $3, carriage bolts, nuts & washers free, black paint free, 2x4 free, screws free. not bad for $14.. $1 under budget

wood for the bases and top.

bases are 14" x 14", tops are 10.5" x 7.5"



PVC pipes cut and wood mount stuck in the top



one of the tops trimmed and resting on the pipe. The trim is not only decorative, but the lip will help stop the speaker from tipping over. the tops are about 1/4" bigger total than the speakers that will be placed on them



more below

one of the bases painted semi-gloss to match the enclosure for the speakers, which I will post pics of below.



The pipes painted in silver (looks gray in pics) to match the face of the speakers



both tops build with corners filled in with spackle compound and marked for drilling



more below

closer up of the top.. little out of focus

whats left: need to screw on the bases and fill the pipes with sand (the wood circle mounts were siliconed in to create a seal).. paint and attach the tops and I'm done.



more below

onkyo 504 7.1 receiver.. silver to match face of speakers

BIC Acoustech H-100 12" powered woofer. 150w rms, 500w peak.



face off

Advent Heritage speakers all around. actually rebadged something or others from germany unlike most advents whos quality has suffered in recent years. These are discontinued and were a hot item since they sound awesome for the size/price. I got them for well over 50% off what they retailed for a year ago. now basically impossible to find except on ebay and stragglers here and there.





bi-ampable

so you can see how big they are. bookshelves are 12"x >10" x >7".. sub about 17" high



large dual center.. and my feet!

Looking good, Tame!

how much was the woofer and receiver?

The woofer was $200 on ebay. I forget the company that sells them, but they are an authorized BIC dealer and they accept offers on the sub which is listed for $250. I believe it retails for ~$250 around the web. Based on everyone I've spoken to, its the best sub $300 sub. Of course, I make a blind purchase and didn't listen to it prior, but it was a great deal so I don't really care

The receiver was $199 from accessories4less.com. This is the same price as a Refurbished version direct from onkyo, and probably $50-100 less than retail.

can't wait to see more:D

haven't gotten much done

yesterday I sprayed 3 more coats of silver on the pvc since it covered poorly. Tonight I noticed silver would come off on my fingers when I rubbed them so I sprayed 3 coats of clear enamel. I also sanded the whole PJ enclosure so I can prep and paint (at least the inside) tomorrow

Looking like a nice and cost effective setup. Wish I could hear it!

Speaker stands completed: they look awesome, but much better in person due to my lack of photo skill

One word...



SCHWEET!!!

They are filled a little more than 1/2 way up with sand. Its difficult to tell in the picture but the silver on the stand matches the speakers almost exactly. Also the black & the wood grain matches that on the speakers almost exactly as planned The only thing I regret is not lining up the carriage bolts on the left hand stand.. I didn't think to do it until drilling the 2nd PVC so it was either have the bolt sideways on the bottom or top (which you can see while sitting down).. I flipped a coin. I was thinking about painting the screw heads black but since you will never see them I said who cares. I still plan to put some sort of rubber b/w speakers and stand to cut down on any vibration.

For a great low cost rubber insulator try a "no slip" mat for kids. They are about 3/8" thick and they are designed to keep a plate from sliding. They work bloody fantastic for acoustic insulators.

SJ

I hooked up all the speakers tonight to test everything out. The room is currently a total mess so it was just temporary. Took me a few min to set up the receiver, then a few more to get sound coming from the computer. Eventually I got some music playing.. then I popped in a DVD on the PC and it sounded great.. until I noticed that dialogue was extremely quiet comparatively.. the center speaker was outputting sound just fine, but the dialogue was so quiet I couldn't hear it from more than 6 inches away. Made sure the audio track was in 5.1, then started to fiddle with the settings on my B-enspirer.. stuck it in Dolby Digital something or other (DTS?) instead of Pro Logic 2 and the dialogue came to life. This automatically switched the setting on the reciver and locked out all other surround modes..

Anyway, I watched a few minutes of King Kong and Kingdom of Heaven just to test it out. For simply plugging and playing with speakers out of position I'm pretty happy with the results, and of course, after tweaking it should sound amazing.

A couple things I noticed.. the surround speakers will need to be turned up a bit. Background noise was difficult to hear unless it was a loud effect like a big dinosaur Also in kingdom of heaven some of the dialogue was echoey.. I don't know if this intended since they were talking in a stone castle, but it was a little annoying regardless.

bought supplies for my screen last night. 3 yards 72" wide black felt for screen border and retractable black bars on top (and sides.. more on that below). Wood & hardware from home depot. Frame is made from 4x1 stock (.75x3.5" in actuallity.. still maybe a lil overkill ). I am using LL blackout cloth.

The screen will be 90"x72" for a ~115" diagonal w/ aspect ratio 5:4. I have designed a method for manually retractable black felt to cover the top and bottom of the screen for 16:9 WS content such as DVDs. My projection will only be about 90" 5:4 though due to throw limitations so I will also be covering the sides with felt too.

I wanted to make the screen ~130" diag 5:4 but then I realized I made a boo boo and only ordered 80" of the 110" wide blackout cloth :angry:

I cut all the wood last night and should finish construction tonight if I can get the wrinkles out of the BO cloth PJ will be done in the next few days too.

frame will look like so

screen screwed together.. I cannot recommend using these hole plates as they are not too strong. I used exactly 100 screws but the plates themselves are not thick enough and like to flex. The diagonal cross pieces definitely helped strengthen it though, and it should be more than strong enough while just hanging on the wall.. only moves a little while handling. If I can get the wrinkles out of my BOC, I can finish tomorrow.

you mentioned getting the wrinkles out of your BOC... this will occur naturally when you stretch it onto your frame... maybe you already knew that, but thought i'd mention it. Anyway it's best to start from the center and work out towards the edges to remove wrinkles, alternating from side to side, so all corners finish at about the same time.

Looks good, but your pic in your previous post (post #20) isn't showing up... i'm interested to see what you have in store for the moveable matte area...

cheers,
gs

I stretched the BOC out a little and saw that the wrinkles were removed pretty well.. but there are a few creases that I was worried about. I'll have to experiment. Thanks for the advice though, I was not planning to do it that way

pic in post 20 is worthless.. its just an MS paint sketch of the frame pictured above. the moveable matte setup isn't shown.

After a few days the creases will be gone.

Well I stretched the BOC over the frame tonight.. It doesn't take a few days for the creases to be gone.. they were gone immediately I had someone help me and we stretched it pretty tightly.. hopefully not too tightly, if thats possible . I used 1/4" staples around the entire frame with 3/8"-1/2" gap between them. It looks beautiful.. not a crease in sight.

here it is propped up in my living room. The arrows point to two of the more visible paranormal orbs.. is my house haunted??

the image has been brightened and contrast increased slightly because it came out very dark

dude it looks like you live in the 1800's (minus the lamp)

Looks good though!

If your going to do a black border around your screen I recommend Black Fideleo Velvet. I have some and it is like a black hole for light. Cant wait to use it (screen not built yet).

to remove spectors from your house: take one piece of lens tissue and wipe in a circular motion on your camera lens a few times ... ghosts should leave you alone for a while... repeat as necessary... .... either that or your having a SamJack UFO moment !

nice job on the screen !

gs

Capitol work, old chap. So, did you have to use the rudimentary tools of the 1750's, or do you have some way of transporting our advanced technology back to your era?

haha. My house was designed after an English manor and build in 1929. The original owner fell in love with a specific manor in England and tried to reproduce here it in the States. The wood paneling in that room is from the early 1800s and taken from a home in England. The ceiling is molded plaster and quite a sight in its entirety. The formal living room is definitely the most elegant in the home and doesn't get used much.. its just one of the largest open spaces. Maybe I'll post up a little photo journal of it sometime to prove it actually has modern amenities such as electricity. I mean, the lamp could be powered by kerosene right? but if you look in the upper right hand corner of the pic, you can see a motion sensor for the alarm

Thanks for the suggestion about the velvet. If it was you that made a post about it before, I kept it in mind when I was looking for fabric, but JoAnne didn't have anything suitable in stock so I resorted to standard black felt.