The most expensive component: The best HOME for home theater - DVDfile.com forum for DVD, Blu-Ray, and HD-DVD

Colin Dunn · 08-28-1999, 07:06 PM

We haven't had a lot of discussion here yet about the most expensive component in any home theater -- the home!!!

On the HTF, there was once a thread in which real HT enthusiasts revealed their annual income. For most, those incomes were in the $40K-$100K range. At current interest rates, people with such incomes can afford around $85,000-$275,000 for housing. That's WAY short of the $500K and up that it costs to get a high-end custom home with a dedicated 'theater room.'

What it all means is that most of us reading this board are faced with the challenge of doing home theater in less-than-perfect surroundings. That means apartments, condominiums, or tract homes, probably ranging in size from 900 to 2,800 sq. ft.

When you're looking at places to live, what criteria do you use to decide if your new digs will accommodate your HT addiction?

To get the ball rolling, here are mine...

- A rectangular room with windows on the long walls, and at least one solid, unterrupted short wall. Fireplaces shouldn't take up space along the only short, windowless wall in the room. This allows putting the screen and speakers along the short wall, taking advantage of the length of the room to get enough seating distance. It's tough to do HT in rooms where windows are on the short walls, because there's no place to put an RPTV or front-projection system.
- Fewer, bigger rooms. Homes that are chopped up into lots of little rooms don't work well for HT because there is no room big enough to accommodate a fully-tricked-out HT setup (5.1 sound, RPTV or FPTV, and equipment rack). A 1,800 sq. ft. house with 2 bedrooms would likely work better than a 2,400 sq. ft. house with 5 bedrooms for this very reason ... which of the two is more likely to have that 15x21 family room?
- Space, space, space! I'd prefer a large, bare-bones home over a smaller, nicely finished/decorated home. Putting the money into the space guarantees that you have room for a kick-@$$ setup. And as money permits later, you can always upgrade carpets, replace vinyl with wood or tile, put paneling on blank walls, etc.
- Avoid the temptation to get built-in cabinetry or fireplace/TV nooks. In all the tract homes I've seen, this limits you to a 32" direct view or smaller - and only the 4:3 models will fit. With the future being 16:9 HDTV, your home shouldn't prevent you from upgrading.
- Stay away from floor plans with lots of 45-degree angles. These types of plans often look striking when you tour show homes, but it's a bear to cram a home theater into a room with odd angles, cut-off corners.
- Make sure hallways, corners, and doorways are wide enough to bring an RPTV in from outside.
- Light control. With appropriate window coverings, can you make your HT room dark enough to feel like you're in a movie theater? Tract-housing developers really like to push those "bright, airy, open" floor plans ... but those very virtues can ruin many a home theater dream.

What are your thoughts about other things that make a home good for home theater???

------------------
Colin Dunn
DDS-006

08-28-1999, 11:29 PM

Here's a few:

Concrete slab for sub-flooring. As Colin already said, it can be carpeted or tiled later but I've found that this gives me the best chance of accurate bass reproduction if my HT is on the bottom floor which is made of concrete.

Another plus is if the walls are papered and the wallpaper used is textured. This helps to diffuse the sound a bit, rather then act as a reflective surface, which can make an unnatural ehco effect. The color of the walls should be of a shade that isn't distracting- a dark tan or light brown works best, IMO. I'm sure other colors would work as well or better, but I'd stay away from anything bright.

No dimensions (H,W,L) of the room should be equal or multiples of each other. When they are, problems usually arise when trying to "tune" a sub into the room. My room is
7 X 15 X 23, so there are some trade-offs in flat bass reproduction (in fact my next upgrade will be a dedicated HT Equalizer to try and smooth things out), even though none of the dimensions are exact multiples.

Avoid built-in cabinetry or shelves that may rattle during high levels of low frequencies. This can be remedied with sound-proofing treatments like sorbothane, but is still best avoided if possible.

A desirable feature for a room might be some kind of ceiling that has beams or other decorations that act in a manner similar to what I mentioned with textured wallpaper. This will help diffuse sound that hits the ceiling.

Make sure electrical wiring and breakerboxes will handle the extra load amps, subs and projection TVs can present. Most modern homes' wiring is adequate, but some benefit can be had from specialized wiring. Older homes should be looked at by a professional electrician who has been consulted with as to what overall power draw will be occurring in the room.

There, that's a few things to add to the list.

James M.

------------------
HT equipment: Pioneer Elite Pro-100 RPTV (ISF calibrated)
Lexicon DC-1 pre/pro, Sunfire Cinema Grand amp, Adcom GFA-555II amp, Legacy Victoria L/R speakers, Legacy CinemaII center channel speaker, M&K SS150THX side surround speakers paired with Atlantic Tech. 162PBM subs(2), Def. Tech BPX rear surround speakers, Velodyne F1800II sub., Sony HiFi VCR, Denon DCD-1500 CD player and DVD-3000 DVD player, NAD 1600 pre/tuner (used for powering up the system and radio reception only), Power Pack V line conditioner/enhancer, Adcom Ace 515 line conditioner/enhancer, LAT and Monster speaker cables, assortment of AudioQuest, Monster and XLO interconnects, various forms of component vibration isolation and room treatment

[This message has been edited by James M (edited 08-28-1999).]

08-28-1999, 07:06 PM	#1 (permalink)
Colin Dunn Actor Join Date: Jun 2000 Location: Austin, TX	The most expensive component: The best HOME for home theater We haven't had a lot of discussion here yet about the most expensive component in any home theater -- the home!!! On the HTF, there was once a thread in which real HT enthusiasts revealed their annual income. For most, those incomes were in the $40K-$100K range. At current interest rates, people with such incomes can afford around $85,000-$275,000 for housing. That's WAY short of the $500K and up that it costs to get a high-end custom home with a dedicated 'theater room.' What it all means is that most of us reading this board are faced with the challenge of doing home theater in less-than-perfect surroundings. That means apartments, condominiums, or tract homes, probably ranging in size from 900 to 2,800 sq. ft. When you're looking at places to live, what criteria do you use to decide if your new digs will accommodate your HT addiction? To get the ball rolling, here are mine... - A rectangular room with windows on the long walls, and at least one solid, unterrupted short wall. Fireplaces shouldn't take up space along the only short, windowless wall in the room. This allows putting the screen and speakers along the short wall, taking advantage of the length of the room to get enough seating distance. It's tough to do HT in rooms where windows are on the short walls, because there's no place to put an RPTV or front-projection system. - Fewer, bigger rooms. Homes that are chopped up into lots of little rooms don't work well for HT because there is no room big enough to accommodate a fully-tricked-out HT setup (5.1 sound, RPTV or FPTV, and equipment rack). A 1,800 sq. ft. house with 2 bedrooms would likely work better than a 2,400 sq. ft. house with 5 bedrooms for this very reason ... which of the two is more likely to have that 15x21 family room? - Space, space, space! I'd prefer a large, bare-bones home over a smaller, nicely finished/decorated home. Putting the money into the space guarantees that you have room for a kick-@$$ setup. And as money permits later, you can always upgrade carpets, replace vinyl with wood or tile, put paneling on blank walls, etc. - Avoid the temptation to get built-in cabinetry or fireplace/TV nooks. In all the tract homes I've seen, this limits you to a 32" direct view or smaller - and only the 4:3 models will fit. With the future being 16:9 HDTV, your home shouldn't prevent you from upgrading. - Stay away from floor plans with lots of 45-degree angles. These types of plans often look striking when you tour show homes, but it's a bear to cram a home theater into a room with odd angles, cut-off corners. - Make sure hallways, corners, and doorways are wide enough to bring an RPTV in from outside. - Light control. With appropriate window coverings, can you make your HT room dark enough to feel like you're in a movie theater? Tract-housing developers really like to push those "bright, airy, open" floor plans ... but those very virtues can ruin many a home theater dream. What are your thoughts about other things that make a home good for home theater??? ------------------ Colin Dunn DDS-006

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08-28-1999, 11:29 PM	#2 (permalink)
James M	Here's a few: Concrete slab for sub-flooring. As Colin already said, it can be carpeted or tiled later but I've found that this gives me the best chance of accurate bass reproduction if my HT is on the bottom floor which is made of concrete. Another plus is if the walls are papered and the wallpaper used is textured. This helps to diffuse the sound a bit, rather then act as a reflective surface, which can make an unnatural ehco effect. The color of the walls should be of a shade that isn't distracting- a dark tan or light brown works best, IMO. I'm sure other colors would work as well or better, but I'd stay away from anything bright. No dimensions (H,W,L) of the room should be equal or multiples of each other. When they are, problems usually arise when trying to "tune" a sub into the room. My room is 7 X 15 X 23, so there are some trade-offs in flat bass reproduction (in fact my next upgrade will be a dedicated HT Equalizer to try and smooth things out), even though none of the dimensions are exact multiples. Avoid built-in cabinetry or shelves that may rattle during high levels of low frequencies. This can be remedied with sound-proofing treatments like sorbothane, but is still best avoided if possible. A desirable feature for a room might be some kind of ceiling that has beams or other decorations that act in a manner similar to what I mentioned with textured wallpaper. This will help diffuse sound that hits the ceiling. Make sure electrical wiring and breakerboxes will handle the extra load amps, subs and projection TVs can present. Most modern homes' wiring is adequate, but some benefit can be had from specialized wiring. Older homes should be looked at by a professional electrician who has been consulted with as to what overall power draw will be occurring in the room. There, that's a few things to add to the list. James M. ------------------ HT equipment: Pioneer Elite Pro-100 RPTV (ISF calibrated) Lexicon DC-1 pre/pro, Sunfire Cinema Grand amp, Adcom GFA-555II amp, Legacy Victoria L/R speakers, Legacy CinemaII center channel speaker, M&K SS150THX side surround speakers paired with Atlantic Tech. 162PBM subs(2), Def. Tech BPX rear surround speakers, Velodyne F1800II sub., Sony HiFi VCR, Denon DCD-1500 CD player and DVD-3000 DVD player, NAD 1600 pre/tuner (used for powering up the system and radio reception only), Power Pack V line conditioner/enhancer, Adcom Ace 515 line conditioner/enhancer, LAT and Monster speaker cables, assortment of AudioQuest, Monster and XLO interconnects, various forms of component vibration isolation and room treatment [This message has been edited by James M (edited 08-28-1999).]