color me jealous.

Cool stuff! I actually built my surround system based on advice that I got on ARFCOM.


The room is 14' wide X 20' long and has 12' cathedral ceilings that taper down to 8'.







The Monitor is a 50" Hitachi SBX rear projector. Its an awsome set, one of the best made at the time. (5 years ago) I bought it after a "good" night at the casino.



The surround system is an Onkyo TX-SR601 (100 watts X 6), Infinity Primus speakers and an Infinity BU-2 powered sub (12" w/150 watts)





I get a very respectable sound sound from the room and system, I am happy.

I also must mention that my wife HATES "big giant speakers" and surround sound. This was a nice low profile system that makes her happy....that makes me happy too!

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: why did you put the center channel speaker under the  stage?? . the way you mounted it, all the voice  from center chammel would be at your feet sub are the only speakers should be mounted under stage. you don;t actually hear subs It was pretty much just a compromise.  With the size of the screen my only options were: - Put it below the screen (and come up with a way to hide it) - Put it above the screen (same issue) - Put it behind the screen (and try to find a screen that wouldn't jack with the sound, and make a box big enough for the speaker without messing with the acoustics) Now I will admit that I'm no real audiophile (working on jets long enough will do that to anyone), but I haven't noticed any issues with the setup.  The first two rows aren't too much higher than the speaker, and the back row is mostly for making out. what kind of ceiling do you have, can you recess the speaker into it?? i know it is a pain in the ass  but it will sound 10 x's better higher up

I always assumed the best way to solve that problem would be to put a center channel speaker at the top of the screen AND one at the bottom. The mono sum of the two speakers would come from the center of the picture.

Quoted: Aerial view, I have a transitional house where half of the second floor is wide open, so I have very high ceilings.  Note the speakers in the wall, those are for the front surround sound.  The standing audio speakers are used only for stereo, mostly CDS and powered by a separate amp.  I had the stereo equipment before I got into home theater tacoma4x4.no-ip.com/AR15s/HomeTheater1.jpg The rear surround sound speakers, built in the wall, they're up high but the tweeters are aimable and adjusted downward tacoma4x4.no-ip.com/AR15s/HomeTheater2.jpg The powered sub, I use it to store newspapers until recycling day tacoma4x4.no-ip.com/AR15s/HomeTheater3.jpg Viewing angle.  Stuff on left component stand is my 2 channel stereo stuff which powers the floor standing speakers.  Stuff on the right is all for surround sound, nothing fancy, a cable box, a DVD player, a VHS player, and an A/V receiver. TV's a 57" Sony tacoma4x4.no-ip.com/AR15s/HomeTheater4.jpg

Very nice. I've heard some of those wall mount speakers and they sound pretty damn good. The Polks were really nice sounding.

Quoted:

Copied into this original topic, just because it should be.






How I watch movies...

This isn't a photoshop job.  It's an actual pic of the theater in use.  I just hit the pause button
and made a suitably long exposure.



Here's a shot of the equipment rack.  Except for the amps and PJ,  this is all the electronics.






The projector,  the mighty Electrohome Marquee 9500LC,  with a set of brand new CRTs
just installed in it.   Picture to die for, and the envy of ALL digital projector owners!

At top is a Marquee switcher.  

Behind the top door is my main DVD player, a Pioneer DV-525 (it's an older model but very reliable, has great sound, and does a fine job and I'm satisfied with it for now) and my
Scientific Atlanta HD cable box.

Next down is a Pioneer Elite C90 Reference Control Amplifier (preamp), vintage 1987.
As my system is stereo ONLY, not surround sound,  this unit isn't likely to leave my rack
for a long time to come.  It's transparent, very flexible (ten inputs) and EXTREMELY quiet.

Next down,  a Pioneer Elite DVL-90 DVD/LD player.  First generation, but the Elite quality
is there and it's as good a DVD player as the 525 is.   I have a considerable LD collection
that I dig into on occasion.

The second door down hides a Carver Sonic Holography Processor (outboard standalone unit, quite rare) which I use for the sub bass processing feature.   And the Sonic Holography
feature does come in handy for some movies.  It's a pretty decent surround sound surrogate, sometimes.

Also in that case is my second LD player, a Pioneer CLD-503.   It hasn't been run in a while.

Next unit down is a Faroudja RGB-YUV and YUV-RGB transcoder.  Rarely used, but occasionally it does earn its keep.

Next down is my Faroudja DVP-2200 scaler.  Outputs 800x600,  but I'm looking into the
option of getting it upgraded to a DVP-3000.  I understand that the difference is software,
and Faroudja might do the job for a "reasonable" price.

Below that is an IEV Turboscan 1500 line doubler.  It's used for when I connect up the
occasional video game (PlayStation, Dreamcast) to the system,  but hasn't been used in a while.   I don't game much these days.

Two graphic EQs, note the curves.  These do the signal processing for the subwoofer system.   They're chained, one after the other.  This gives a LOT of isolation for the sub.

Empty rack space for cooling the sub amp.

Peavey CS-800 for the subwoofer.  My newest addition, just got it last week.  What it can do
for the subwoofer is just incredible.  There's about 1600 clean watts there, for a dual driver
sub that's probably going to toast if it gets more than 1000 watts for a few seconds.  

It drives the sub to INSANE levels.  I fear that it can be bad for the framing in the house.


This system is one that has been constantly growing and changing for ten years now.  As of now,
only the speakers, amps, the preamp, and the LD/DVD combo player have been with me for more
than three years...and they've been with me for seven or more.


The projector I use is an Electrohome (now Video Display Corporation) Marquee 9500LC,  a CRT
based projector which uses 9" liquid coupled CRTs.    This model is the base model for several of
the finest customized home theater projectors that have ever been made, including but not limited
to the Vidikron Vision One,  Reference Imaging 9,  and projectors marketed by Madrigal Imaging,
TAW (Theater Automation WOW), and others.

It will be years yet before any digital projector is the equal of a stock Marquee 9500LC.

This model of projector is still in full production and is sold almost exclusively into the military
and commercial simulation markets as of now.    The advantages of CRT projection which make
it the technology of choice in this market are its full compatibility with night vision equipment
(as only a CRT projector can deliver true blacks), and the lack of an intrinsic pixel structure.

The full retail price of the Marquee 9500LC is abou $45,000,  but they're much cheaper on
the used/surplus market.  

Mine was built up from a late model 8000 chassis.  I retubed it and upgraded from 8" air coupled
tubes to 9" liquid coupled tubes.    I have less than 1000 dollars invested in this machine in total,
and the three CRTS are all brand new and will last for well over 10,000 hours of operation.  As I
run this projector only for about five hours a week,   the tubes should still be good for the next forty
years or so.  

CJ

That looks like a really fun basement/home theater.  Nice and playful.   The previous owner had some
great ideas, and you've followed them nicely.


The difference between high end digital projectors and high end CRT projectors:

3 year service life of digitals.   They're obsolete by then.
Greater than 10 or 20 year service life of CRTs.   And then they just need to be refurbished and
thrown back into service.    And there's always a way to get the newest signal format into a CRT
projector.  Always.  

I have a definite preference for the mighty CRT.


CJ

Yeah, you're right.   I did exaggerate.

Digital projectors (except for the high end 3 chip DLP models) are obsolete in only about TWO years,
reasonably speaking, not three.

Look at how often new models replace old ones.  

I own two commercial 3 chip DLP units.  They're for rentals in situations where someone wants
a big and bright picture.   Fortunately,  I have long throw lenses for them as they make almost as
much noise as a vacuum cleaner,  so I can set them up a long way away and deliver the big bright
picture the customers want.

They're not obsolete for that application.    But the digitals sold into the home theater market
are appliances with a short realistic service life.    They tend to run their optical core very hot
and the heat caused degradation of color filter elements,  heat-induced drifting of the cemented
optical core elements and attending misalignments,  the bulbs are stupidly expensive, rarely
last as long as they're supposed to, and generally,  I'm just not a fan of those little wonders of
newer but not better technology.

None of my CRT projectors has ever failed in service.   One of my two DLP projectors blew up its
lamp power supply after less than 10 hours of operation.   And the lamps are 1500 bucks each
in that wattage rating!  (1500 watts)

CJ

No, I'm not exaggerating at all...but I don't have much hands on experience with the very newest models of digital projectors that are likely to be bought for a home theater.     My experience is with
a number of models that are now several years old and getting rather dated.

I've seen every problem I've mentioned.  Blue filters with the blue burned away, or crisped.   Cemented
optical cores that had drifted way out of alignment.   Optical engines COATED with dust and grime
that made all pictures look like they were taken during a mud storm.   Fast failing bulbs that cost
way too much money.   And that dreaded, horrible, unwatchable (by me) screen door effect that has
plagued every LCD projector I've yet seen, but which isn't quite so bad on DLP units and is even
less of a problem on LCOS units.

Digital isn't ready to overtake top flight CRT projectors yet.  

CJ