[Vince in TX]

Wow, I can't believe it has been so long since I last posted.  The entire project has been on hold since we finished insulation, sheetrock and climate control.   I ended up emptying my storage unit into the room last August, and it has been sitting ever since.   But Wednesday it's all getting cleared out, and I've already ordered the projector (Sony VPL-VW715ES), so I'm committed.

I still have my XLS-Encores sitting in their shipping boxes.   I have everything needed to assemble them, but I just got done reading another thread with someone planning something similar, and now I'm worried about the side speakers aiming directly at the listening position.   I was tempted to adapt them to in-wall, but now I plan to use them for the rear surrounds.   The ports in the back may not be ideal, however, since one of them is on an angled wall, so they may end up being sealed.

I just found and purchased a used AV123 X-Static + X-Voce set, so now I need to focus on the surrounds, subs, and ceiling.   The other thing concerning me is the distance the open baffles need to be from the front wall.  I was hoping to keep that space between the front wall and the seating position open so I could use it for room-scale VR, so the open-baffle subs might be out of the question.   I'm looking at sealed units now.

Danny, do you know when you will have the M-130 woofers back in stock?   Will the upward firing of the A/V-1RS cause issues with the Atmos ceiling speakers given the shape of the walls?

Recap, here's the room layout:



All this stuff is leaving the house on Wednesday:



Thanks!

--Vince

[Vince in TX]

Lots of progress over the last couple of weeks.   Painting is done as are the custom cabinets in the hallway leading to the room.   And now the fun stuff begins!   Servo Sub Kit 4s are coming together now.   

[mlundy57]

 

[AlexH]

 

[Hobbsmeerkat]

Looking great so far! 

[Vince in TX]

Took a break from building subs today and completed the bulk of constructing the riser platform.   I'm going to drill some 2" holes in the front of this and fill it with rockwool after I get done wiring the electrical for the safety lighting and seats.    I'm still debating whether or not to add a second layer of plywood.   That's over $450 worth of lumber.   

It will be a floating platform on top of the carpet and will get covered with the same carpet material.

[ctviggen]

Lumber has gone up dramatically since the pandemic began.  Saw a post on AVS forum of a (massive) riser where it cost over $1,000 just for the lumber.  It may have even been several thousand. Yikes!

I've been insulating the concrete walls of my basement with Dow Thermax rigid foam insulation (does not have to be covered, as it's fire rated), but was thinking of adding some walls now in the basement.  The insulating project is almost done, and I would like to make a "utility" room, to try to reduce the sound.  We have a projector and screen in the unfinished basement, and it would be nice to block the furnace and other sounds from the pseudo-"home theater". 

I'm afraid to see what the cost will be. 

[Vince in TX]

Lumber has gone up dramatically since the pandemic began.

...

I'm afraid to see what the cost will be.

I am sooo grateful that I got the bulk of this construction done before the lumber prices went through the roof.   What you saw at the beginning of this thread cost only $50K, or about $106 per sq. ft. and that included a dedicated secondary HVAC system for upstairs.   I don't even want to think about what that would have cost me with today's prices.   I just got done with paint and custom cabinets / built-ins, which came in at just under $14K.   Flooring (carpet and vinyl) will be around $4K.   Countertop for the butler's pantry should be less than $1K.   So, turnkey, I'm into it for about $69K or $146 per sq. ft.   Most custom work these days could run close to $200 per sq. ft. or more depending on what part of the country you're in.

Good luck with your project.   If you can hold off until the long-haul truckers come back to work (if they ever do), it might save you a few pennies.

[Vince in TX]

Picture is up!   Now it's back to "Fun with Speakers".   

[cjsailer]

What speaker design are you going to use for your floor level surrounds?

[Vince in TX]

What speaker design are you going to use for your floor level surrounds?

Quad A/V-1RS speakers.   I believe they have already been shipped, although I am on the list for the no-res that is supposed to drop tomorrow.

[Vince in TX]

Hey, Danny, I would much rather have the A/V-1RS speakers for the initial bring-up and sound check, but I understand you're swamped.   My old Klipsch speakers just don't do well in here at all.   

Side note, any thoughts on the placement?

[Norman Tracy]

That room. Those GR speakers. That projector + screen. 

So fine, so very very fine.

[hawkeyejw]

The room looks great! When you’re able to get those AV1/RS it will be like going through a whole new upgrade process. 

[Vince in TX]

The room looks great! When you’re able to get those AV1/RS it will be like going through a whole new upgrade process. 

That's my hope.   I see the invoice from GR just hit my inbox, so it's happening!   

Now if I can just get this summer heat to calm down a bit.   I tried a second primer coat on the Servo Sub cabinets today, and the air was so hot that the paint dried before it hit the wood, making black dust.   That was interesting.

[hawkeyejw]

That's my hope.   I see the invoice from GR just hit my inbox, so it's happening!   

Now if I can just get this summer heat to calm down a bit.   I tried a second primer coat on the Servo Sub cabinets today, and the air was so hot that the paint dried before it hit the wood, making black dust.   That was interesting.

Nice. Sort of like up north during the frigid winter when you can throw a cup of hot coffee out the window and it's frozen before it hits the ground.

[Vince in TX]

You know, I’ve spent close to a year reading about GR Research speakers - reviews, impressions, commentary.   But today I heard them for the very first time, and my room is far from finished (amp is still pending, cabling is sub-optimal, no acoustic treatments yet).   Have you ever had such a strong emotional response to something that it literally moved you to tears?

I finally worked through some cabling issues with the RG6 to RCA I’m using for LFE and got the SVS PB-2000s connected.   My GR Research Servo Subs 4s are still under construction, so these will suffice meantime for movies until the Odyssey amp shows up.   I ran the basic Audyssey calibration on my shiny new Marantz SR8015 and popped Tron: Legacy into the Blu-ray player.  I love the soundtrack in this movie.

And.....  oh....    my.....   God!!!

The sonic clarity coming out of these X-Static and X-Voce speakers is unlike anything I have experienced outside a professional auditorium.   I was literally moved to tears as I watched the movie, realizing that the 20-30 year goal of building a home theater that could match or rival some of my favorite movie theaters over the years was finally within reach.   I can’t wait for the A/V-1RS speakers to arrive.    Acoustic treatments are next.   Wow!!    I’m excited.   

[Tyson]

Hell yeah, that's what I'm talking about man!  Makes it ALL worth it doesn't it? 

[Vince in TX]

Hell yeah, that's what I'm talking about man!  Makes it ALL worth it doesn't it?

Yes!   And I really needed that.   Yesterday was not a good day because painting (or lack thereof) in 100 degree heat was making me mad, crappy RCA connectors wouldn’t make good connection (Amazon came to the rescue this afternoon), and heat delirium had me to the point where I was questioning the whole project.  I was tired, frustrated, irritated, and just done.   Now, it feels like a tremendous weight was lifted off my shoulders.   Totally worth it.   

[Tyson]

I too am a HT and movie lover.  I have the Super 7's downstairs and a JVC NX7 and I tell you what, sometimes I'm watching a 4k remaster of an older movie and the sound quality and picture quality are so amazing that I realize "wait, this look better and sounds better than it did during this movie's first run in the theaters".  And then you realize that you're experiencing it at a higher quality than anyone else in history has.  And that is freaking magical.