I work with what I have

[Harro]

Long story short is I work and live at the same place. It is a small office and living area, so I am limited to the area that had been built. With this said, I have been faithfully working at getting a decent media area for myself. I started on this back in 2016 after moving in. The first thing I did was to take measurements of my room and laid everything out is sketchup. This is what it looks like.

I work with what I have

This was my plan for my room so I could get and actual feel on dimensions and look. Speakers I had figured were to be DIY 1099's and two  DIY 18's to be figured for space.
This is a partial pic of what I started with.

I work with what I have

This is a metal building with spray foam insulation on the inside of the exterior walls. When standing in the room it felt and sounded as you were talking in a tin can. This was my first problem I tackled. Sound absorption panels that I made. Deadened the room to a whisper quite with no more echo's.

I work with what I have

Now watching TV through the TV speakers was really bad. So speakers were my next item. But needed a equipment stand for avr, amps, media streamer and cable box. Here is what I built.

I work with what I have

Now I can build speakers and subs. After playing around in sketch up and figuring the dimensions, it felt like I could fit the DIY 1299's into my space. But started the subs first.

I work with what I have

Now onto the 1299's.

I work with what I have

 I like them and they sound great.
 Made some speaker grills and done.

I work with what I have

While this was ok for watching TV it still needed improving. I then expanded from a 3.2 to a 5.2 surround with building some DIY Volt 6's. This is what I came up with for placement.

I work with what I have

I work with what I have

I work with what I have

Now I have a nice 5.2 setup and my thought started to go into the video portion of my build. As my previous pictures show I intend a 110" 16/9 electric screen. Found a dalite that was reasonable.

I work with what I have

Finally after two years I purchase an Epson 4050 pro from Craig and put some serious hours on it. Over 3200 hours and finally changed bulbs.  Picture was ok but this projector was not what I really wanted but want I could afford at the time. So in the mean time I bought four more DIY Volt 6's and installed for ATMOS.

I work with what I have

I work with what I have

This had improved my sound greatly. But with only 2 recliners I couldn't very well share my enjoyment with others. I bought another recliner and started to consider and bar/counter area behind these three recliners.

I work with what I have

I finally finished this counter/bar out in Dec. 2019.

I work with what I have

After having this room about done the last piece was to contact Craig again. I ordered a RS540 from him. I would have liked the 2000 but cost wise I am happy with the 540. I have contacted Chad for a calibration but still something missing. Room was to light yet. I ordered 30 yards of triple black velvet and blacked out about 4 feet in the front wall and ceiling. This is my end results.

I work with what I have

I work with what I have

Final Picture at 8:30 in the morning.

I work with what I have

My last thing now is to run calibration of everything. I am happy with everything so far.

Thanks for looking through my journey.
Curt

[tripplej]

Very nice setup and good use of the small room. Congrats. You will get lots of enjoyment and I am sure with those subs, the place will be rocking!

[TRainH2O]

I love a good DIY home theater. Looks like you have a great space now so congrats.

Where did you find the triple black velvet? I found a source at one time, but they are no longer carrying it. Did you have it made into drapes and mount them to the wall or did you simply staple it directly on the wall?

[Harro]

I love a good DIY home theater. Looks like you have a great space now so congrats.

Where did you find the triple black velvet? I found a source at one time, but they are no longer carrying it. Did you have it made into drapes and mount them to the wall or did you simply staple it directly on the wall?

30 Yards of Black Triple Velvet
 
For the ceiling I bought a 1 inch wide by 1/4 inch thick by 16 foot long lattice strip. Cut to length and the folded over the edge of the velvet and stapled to back of wood. Then with another person, we put on ceiling and used 1.5 inch brad nails through wood into ceiling. This created a fairly straight line. From there I used black push pins to hold it up. This fabric is really light weight and the push pins have no problem holding it. If you do try this a word of warning is to have a good light on the fabric. It is so black, that when trying to see wrinkles, your eyes freak out and can't see them all. I used a portable shop light, and that really helped.

Thanks guys!! It really has been fun building this out but at the same time frustrating with the constraints.
Everyone that has a dedicated room, I am VERY, VERY envious.

[TRainH2O]

Thanks for the mounting tips and for the source for the velvet. I would have never thought to check Amazon.

[TRainH2O]

I was just reading the questions and comments about that fabric. One person asked if it was truly black or more grey. The best one so far. 

None more black. The blackest black. I bought for my home theater to draw the light from the room, and souls from the unsuspecting who dare to look too deep without proper regard. It's closer to a void than a color. I highly recommend it.

By Charles M Gudermuth on January 11, 2019

[Harro]

I was just reading the questions and comments about that fabric. One person asked if it was truly black or more grey. The best one so far.

I thought I would post a pic of how well it does absorb the reflections. This photo is with the velvet covering my sub.
The other pic, I took the velvet off. You can plainly see how much reflection is coming off the sub. The subs are painted with Duratex black and look very black.

I work with what I have

I work with what I have

[AVSCraig]

Nice job on the theater.