I never think of anything simple to do. Always seen to pick projects that turn out to be a PITA.. Why can't I be content watching grass grow or paint dry? Noooo.. I have to do stuff that at times pisses me off so much I want to burn the house down..
My latest project is no exception.. it has been the most difficult and challenging thing I've ever done.. I must have read at least 100,000 pages of information over the past few years preparing for this. It is something that I have wanted to do for nearly 20 years and finally reached a point in life to where I could make it happen.
So I bought a house over a year ago. It is actually my grandmother's house and has been virtually untouched in terms of updating, etc since it was built in 1946. I have many memories of being in this house as a kid and there is even part of the driveway that is dated 1974 with the grandkids names written into the once wet concrete along with an impression of my foot from when I was a baby.
So.. you have a couple of rooms in the basement that need some serious updating. My grandfather was a cheap bastard and wouldn't spend a dime on anything. Some of the jerry-rigged crap I've run into shows this mentality.. A $2 part to fix a broken drain was too much.. so he used a piece of radiator hose, some clamps and a ton of silicone to fix it... only one small example of what I've run into..
Let's start with this room... No idea how many games of pool I played on that table.. That's 99% of my grandmothers stuff in there..
(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-7dmr5SanShU/UWRv34YFHwI/AAAAAAAAEd8/BeAvFuW_Go4/s800/pre1.jpg)
(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-dO_xVM-mnwo/UWRv5Okg-TI/AAAAAAAAEc8/9nu9l5kAuZk/s800/pre2.jpg)
Clear it out and get rid of the paneling..
(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-flxVyg98ck8/UWRv5NCwY3I/AAAAAAAAEeA/t_7vtz_j2WY/s800/pre3.jpg)
(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-F_Ld-fLTlxo/UWRv5ShZukI/AAAAAAAAEeE/l5Mio4u8SDo/s800/pre4.jpg)
Replace paneling with sheetrock.. and redo the texture.. plus fix the missing plaster from under the windows from leaks..
(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-x2RHwFL__Lo/UWRv6Y5RZlI/AAAAAAAAEdY/4Gwr0OHvXDo/s800/rock1.jpg)
(https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-nJjwKSef5qY/UWRv6k6NPiI/AAAAAAAAEdQ/QBW0L4OKW9U/s800/rock2.jpg)
Next you build a screen wall, cover front wall with acoustical insulation, prime, paint, install lighting, install base, equipment shelving unit, build your riser, start installing carpet, etc, etc, etc, etc....
(https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-VF_c4iNB-MU/UWRv150UeJI/AAAAAAAAEcA/hK09lEO6yI8/s800/carpet1.jpg)
(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-3p34L-iD3mM/UWRv2XCFIeI/AAAAAAAAEcU/Wp1vcFMQRDo/s800/carpet2.jpg)
(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-DdCMa3EaspY/UWRv18cFM_I/AAAAAAAAEdo/nDOvtWTgoZQ/s800/asile.jpg)
(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-aUMXbLohmXI/UWRv6AVszdI/AAAAAAAAEdc/bMMzmkHInsw/s800/rack.jpg)
After nearly 10 months of work, with the last 4 months of that working every day after work until 11pm and every weekend you wind up with your very own dedicated home theater. I did as much of this on my own and built it completely out of a picture I had in my head. I only scribbled a few drawings down for my wood working guy to custom build the equipment and media shelving, cap for rope lights on the base and a few other things.
(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-GOBr7AGcL60/UWRv6jtk-bI/AAAAAAAAEdU/PqZ02HDrH68/s800/seating.jpg)
(https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-jO9FfDls11Y/UWRv2rX3xUI/AAAAAAAAEds/f728_aSUpZk/s800/front.jpg)
(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-OUTnWEGX2fs/UWRv23S7mBI/AAAAAAAAEdw/bH2dGQOY2gM/s800/left.jpg)
(https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-2lRo166Eu5g/UWRv6yHYGiI/AAAAAAAAEdM/l-MQl0b5Zj0/s800/speaker.jpg)
But wait.. you need a lobby with a popcorn machine, candy, movie posters and such..
(https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-How3GDfzIu8/UWRv3XrcDTI/AAAAAAAAEd0/2clbtlDSQ9E/s800/lobby.jpg)
(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-k1mB0zijwoo/UWRv3n0qPcI/AAAAAAAAEd4/uvkO6ox5S8Q/s800/lobby2.jpg)
The screen is nearly 38 square feet of viewing area. This picture gives an idea of just how big it is. I’m 6 feet tall and the ceiling is only 7 feet high.
(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-EyFTtTB54rU/UWRv1xkPwdI/AAAAAAAAEdk/MSZmMWxQFcA/s800/avatar.jpg)
The family kept this quiet from my Grandmother the entire time.. The unveiling was last Saturday.. My folks, aunt & uncle and of course my grandmother came over for dinner and a movie. Grandma is use to watching movies on my TV and was a bit confused when I took her downstairs to watch a movie. She got to the bottom of the stairs and was shocked by the changes.. I let her take it in for a minute and then said she needed to go into the “Pool room”. I received a “what for?” look and she then walked over and opened the door.
She walked in and just stood there for a minute.. Not sure how to react… Finally she said “OH MY GOD!”..about 10 times.. Got her seated in the middle of the front row, everyone got their popcorn and beverages.. turn the lights down and start the show.. after the first trailer my father leaned over to his mother and said “Mom.. remember.. you are sitting in the “Pool Room”.. “.. “OH MY GOD..WOW”.. is about all she could say..
After the movie was over she was so stunned she couldn’t get out of her seat. I chatted with her for a few minutes and asked if she approved of the changes to her house.. She of course gave her overwhelming support and when asked what she wanted to watch next time “ANYTHING!” was her response.
For the other A/V enthusiasts, my equipment list:
JVC RS-40 Projector
110” Carada 1.78:1/16:9 Brilliant White Screen (1.4 gain in Criterion frame)
Oppo BDP-93 Blu-Ray player
Darbee “Darblet” video processor
Onkyo TX-NR1010 AVR
5ch Sony TA-N9000ES Amp (bridged 200x200 watts + 120w..running Left, Right, Center speakers)
Polk Audio RTi-A7 towers for Left & Right Upgraded crossovers with Clarity Caps and Mills Resistors
Polk Audio CSi-A6 Center Channel Speaker upgraded crossovers with Clarity Caps and Mills Resistors
Polk Audio FXi-A4 Di-Pole Surrounds
Polk Audio RTi-4 for back surrounds
Dual SVS PC-12NSD Subs each sitting on an Auralex SubDude
Logitech Harmony 1100 remote
Blue Jeans Cables and Ethereal HDMI cabling
3 channel Lutron Grafix Eye dimmer panel
7.2 channel surround sound system. Room is wired for 9.4 channel and butt kickers if I ever so desire.
Fully 3D capable theater, but not necessary since there is enough depth to the 2D image it feels like you could reach out and stick your hand into the picture. Plus it is a chunk of additional cash to buy the Ir emitter and 8 pairs of glasses.
So that's where I have been for a while..
Next project to tackle is finishing the re-do of the master bedroom so I can move out of the smaller bedroom and get it ready for my sister's visit this summer.
Hope you enjoyed taking a look at my other "hobby". :crazy:
Very nicely done! :good2:
Quote from: pdxfj on April 09, 2013, 03:32:47 PM
I never think of anything simple to do. Always seen to pick projects that turn out to be a PITA.. Why can't I be content watching grass grow or paint dry? Noooo.. I have to do stuff that at times pisses me off so much I want to burn the house down..
Excellent Work Mr Bean!
Perfectly thought through & executed.I'm thouroughly impressed :good:.The last home reno project I did (all by myself :dash2:) was the bathroom,changed layout & new spa bath,so I can completely relate to your opening statement!
Cheers :drinks:
Jeff P
Nice job! I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one who can't be content with what needs to be done and comes up with additional self inflicted torturous projects that will be well worth it when it gets done, but is a total time drain during the process.
'We' turned a basement area into a family room and exercise room two winters ago. What a pain in the ass. It's the most enjoyable room in the house now.
Enjoy!!
Amazing. Tell us about your Clarity/Mills crossover mod. How/where did you learn about that? What does it do?
Amazing. I have the Oppo BDP-95 and I love it. (I have no HDMI to my receiver, thus the 95 vs.93)
Amazing. Post WCR party at Garth's house....Klavdy will bring his porn BluRays.
That's AWESOME!!!!!!!! Well done, definitely worth it. Great job. Thanks for posting.
Kurt
Quote from: Pat Conlon on April 09, 2013, 04:51:15 PM
Amazing. Tell us about your Clarity/Mills crossover mod. How/where did you learn about that? What does it do?
Amazing. I have the Oppo BDP-95 and I love it. (I have no HDMI to my receiver, thus the 95 vs.93)
Amazing. Post WCR party at Garth's house....Klavdy will bring his porn BluRays.
Uuuuuuuuh Pat....... drop the pipe and pull your pants back up............what happens at the ralley's...should stay at the ralley's.........otherwise the newbies might start asking what WCR stands for.... :mocking:
It was a ton of work and turned out better than I had ever expected. There are still a few nagging items to deal with, but none of it is a show stopper. There was one mistake I made that required ripping apart a wall I had just finished and was ready to paint. Even though I measured numerous times before buttoning it up it was still messed up. For the life of me I can't figure out were the F I went wrong...
Pat: I started with the Oppo 83 and it is a fine player but the Mediatek chip-set is a bit outdated and it wouldn't play some BD's so I snagged the 93. I considered the 103 but the Cinavia copy protection turned me off. I am thinking of sending my 83 to Oppo for the SE upgrade. New power supply, DAC board and analog output stages. Make it into a higher end 2ch player.
As far as the XO upgrades, I came across the idea on the Polk message boards. The practice involves removing the stock crossovers, and swapping out the cheap and crappy electrolytic caps and sand cast resistors for much higher quality film caps and wire wound resistors. The RTi-A series of speakers are a bit bright to begin with since they are designed for Home Theater. My Sony amp is a little on the bright side as well, so the combination of those were not working in my favor. While the speakers sounded "good" with HT, I hated their sound with 2ch music.
The cost to do the front three speakers averaged out to a little over $100 each for parts. Mind you the new film caps are massive compared to the electrolytic ones they replaced. In the center channel speaker there is an 82uf cap and the film replacement is half the size of a beer can. The transformation of the speakers sound was immediately noticed. The highs were tamed and smoothed out. Mids were much more room penetrating and vocals were much clearer along with the bass tightening up. As the caps and resistors broke in, things just sounded better and better. While I was in there I also replaced all the internal wiring with a high strand count, braided, pure copper 16awg speaker cable. In addition to applying a damping material to the speaker baskets to eliminate "ringing" and re-enforcing all the internal bracing and corners with more glue to stiffen things up and reduce cabinet flexing.
Here is a picture of the stock center channel speaker crossover
(https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-wP94ZkJu-TE/UWShsESjNWI/AAAAAAAAEeY/xHDQ6EJi9Og/s800/xo1.jpg)
So you've got your three electrolytic caps, two resistors (white rectangles at bottom) and one tiny film cap (dead center) that acts as the bypass cap. I could have replaced the inductors as well, but the replacements were insanely huge.
In this picture you see the replacement caps, next to the ones they replaced. All values are the same. For the giant 82uf cap I had to attach it to the XO with a length of speaker cable and then glue it inside the speaker once I installed the XO.
(https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-hV3OvMjUqeY/UWShsI3JjEI/AAAAAAAAEec/Z4S-C5h-rnk/s800/xo2.jpg)
The XO's for the towers were much more complex and were a bit more of a challenge to arrange everything. I have also done the same upgrades to another pair older Polk speakers I have and along with new tweeters they sound excellent being powered by a Parasound amp. These became my living room speakers after I moved the sound system to the theater.
:good: What a seriously good thing. What a great story. Awesome. :good2:
Nice work!
Sometimes mistakes HAVE to happen but when it's all said and done knowing you did the work makes the journey (and learned experience) priceless. :good2:
KOokaloo!
Frank
Outstanding transformation!
Very impressive!
Quote from: pdxfj on April 09, 2013, 03:33:57 PM
7.2 channel surround sound system. Room is wired for 9.4 channel and butt kickers if I ever so desire.
Sorry guys, but I've got to call this room for next year's Renegade Rally! :greeting: :drinks: :dance: :music:
Frank
SWEET, Very nice work. Bet it's better in real life and the pics don't do it justice. :good2:
Very nice! I enjoy all the Arts and Craft / Bungalows in PDX. Lots of real nice homes there to restore. Only if I had the time and money......
George
I am in AWE!
Meticulous design, with flawless execution................
The only thing I can say is WOW!
I am so jealous...............
We got to have a Northwest rally, centered around your house of course :good2:
Top DIY skills Garth. You've taken that room about as far as it could go.
With your electronic trickery I'm expecting all your Fj gauges to sweep smoothly across their dials giving hair splitting accuracy.
I don't advise watching naughty films in such a facility - you'll have your eye out.
Andy
Mr Bean an absolute gem :biggrin:
Quote from: Flynt on April 09, 2013, 08:47:42 PM
Sorry guys, but I've got to call this room for next year's Renegade Rally! :greeting: :drinks: :dance: :music:
Confused... :hi:
thought this was at Andy's place. Oh well, I'd still like to stay there sometime or at least see this awesome room.
Frank
Thanks for the kind words everyone. I debated on posting this as I didn't want to look like a show off.
The mistake I mentioned was when I cut the hole in the back wall for the projector. I measured numerous times to ensure the hole was the right size. Made sure to account for sheet rock and such. I completely finished it and was ready to paint but something just didn't feel right. My wood working guy stopped by to get some measurements and drawings and said the hole didn't look right either. I took the projector out of the box and held it up. Crap! It doesn't fit.. WTF?? Somehow the hole was 2-1/2 inches too narrow.
Anyone else run into this type of wall construction before?
(https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-avVNakbrYJE/UWRv3i13UXI/AAAAAAAAEck/LbF-hyz39qQ/s800/plaster.jpg)
What you're looking at is how all the walls and ceilings are finished in my house. Since it was built in 1946, the wood necessary for lath and plaster was a war commodity. So they came up with an early version of sheet rock. It's actually Plaster Board that is 2 feet wide by 6 feet long. Since they didn't have tape and mud like today they did a 1/2"-3/4" thick "skim" coat of plaster over the plaster board. Needless to say it makes working on things a bit more interesting...
You gents are not the first to mention viewing a porn movie. Given the size and clarity of the picture it just doesn't seem like a good idea.. tooooo much detail... :wacko2:
Yea, that was called "button board" (if that is what you have) It's a gypsum board with holes (buttons) so the wet plaster can mushroom through forming a mechanical attachment (when dry) to the board.
Does that sound like what you have? Be careful with that dry plaster dust, there's a high probability that it's full of asbestos.
I wonder if the Claritycap mod will help me with my Paradigm Reference Studio 10's, a small 2 way bookshelf speaker.
Looks good Garth, but...! Where's the Kegerator at? :unknown:
Quote from: pdxfj on April 09, 2013, 06:35:02 PM
Pat: I started with the Oppo 83 and it is a fine player but the Mediatek chip-set is a bit outdated and it wouldn't play some BD's so I snagged the 93. I considered the 103 but the Cinavia copy protection turned me off. I am thinking of sending my 83 to Oppo for the SE upgrade. New power supply, DAC board and analog output stages. Make it into a higher end 2ch player.
As far as the XO upgrades, I came across the idea on the Polk message boards. The practice involves removing the stock crossovers, and swapping out the cheap and crappy electrolytic caps and sand cast resistors for much higher quality film caps and wire wound resistors. The RTi-A series of speakers are a bit bright to begin with since they are designed for Home Theater. My Sony amp is a little on the bright side as well, so the combination of those were not working in my favor. While the speakers sounded "good" with HT, I hated their sound with 2ch music.
The cost to do the front three speakers averaged out to a little over $100 each for parts. Mind you the new film caps are massive compared to the electrolytic ones they replaced. In the center channel speaker there is an 82uf cap and the film replacement is half the size of a beer can. The transformation of the speakers sound was immediately noticed. The highs were tamed and smoothed out. Mids were much more room penetrating and vocals were much clearer along with the bass tightening up. As the caps and resistors broke in, things just sounded better and better. While I was in there I also replaced all the internal wiring with a high strand count, braided, pure copper 16awg speaker cable. In addition to applying a damping material to the speaker baskets to eliminate "ringing" and re-enforcing all the internal bracing and corners with more glue to stiffen things up and reduce cabinet flexing.
Here is a picture of the stock center channel speaker crossover
(https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-wP94ZkJu-TE/UWShsESjNWI/AAAAAAAAEeY/xHDQ6EJi9Og/s800/xo1.jpg)
So you've got your three electrolytic caps, two resistors (white rectangles at bottom) and one tiny film cap (dead center) that acts as the bypass cap. I could have replaced the inductors as well, but the replacements were insanely huge.
In this picture you see the replacement caps, next to the ones they replaced. All values are the same. For the giant 82uf cap I had to attach it to the XO with a length of speaker cable and then glue it inside the speaker once I installed the XO.
(https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-hV3OvMjUqeY/UWShsI3JjEI/AAAAAAAAEec/Z4S-C5h-rnk/s800/xo2.jpg)
I have also done the same upgrades to another pair older Polk speakers...
I`m really jealous. I sold my foosball setup today for $50. http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-foosball/k0 (http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-foosball/k0)
I know I`ll regret it just like when I sold my pin ball machine. (I had doubled the voltage on the rubber boppers....and I was King!)
Yeah tha Chernobyl copy protection turned me off too!...and and and I woulda taken tha 103 over a 93 anyday! ...but in Australia we use tha 104!
We don`t need a SE upgrade - we already there! Ditch tha DAC Board...we`ve been inta tri fins for years now. Some of us are into crossover stockings but never seen any of ya fancy electro knee cap types ..nor crutches for that matter!
pfft..you reckon that mediate chip set is outdated...So is ya 82uf Cap!... Mate we got`m so small over here, my audio engineer lady put one in me ear!...but it didn`t eliminate the ringing with me either...So wifey reckons I should double up...you know ..one of those high end 2 ch thingy`s you`re talking about...but mate they cost more than a $100 down here let me tell ya!... let`s see how it goes with your set up. I wouldn`t mind upgrading my pair of older folk speakers too.
Garth, I see you went with the PX line of caps...any reason you did not choose the MR line?
So many questions.....
Quote from: Pat Conlon on April 10, 2013, 04:01:01 PM
Garth, I see you went with the PX line of caps...any reason you did not choose the MR line?
So many questions.....
It came down to cost. I needed 22 caps and 10 resistors to upgrade everything. The MR line would have broken the bank. I used the 630v ESA line for the bypass caps in the high end of the crossover. They are usually very small values. Say 0.33uf, 0.47, etc. A .47 ESA is $8.65 where the MR is $38+.
SoniCaps are another option if you can get the right values. They are an excellent sounding cap. The larger values I needed are not available in SoniCaps, so on the advice of a fellow member on the Polk group who has upgraded hundreds of XO's for people I went with the PX and ESA caps.
Sonicraft: http://www.soniccraft.com/index.htm (http://www.soniccraft.com/index.htm) for SoniCaps and Mills resistors. If you choose Mills, only get the MRA-12's.
Madisound for Clarity Caps: http://www.madisoundspeakerstore.com/crossovers-and-parts/ (http://www.madisoundspeakerstore.com/crossovers-and-parts/) they carry Mundorf resistors which are very good as well, but finding the right values can be tricky. You sometimes have to stack several resistors to get the right values, which I didn't want to do.
Given stock components are usually around a 10% tolerance range, you can fudge numbers a little each way and likely be alright.
Heed this warning Pat.. You're sticking your toe into an endless rabbit hole.. Once you step in, there's no going back.. :biggrin: Your speakers would likely benefit from new caps and resistors. Remember they usually use the cheapest parts to keep costs down and caps do dry out over time. You should pull one of your XO's and figure out what you need.
Quote from: pdxfj on April 10, 2013, 04:53:41 PM
Heed this warning Pat.. You're sticking your toe into an endless rabbit hole.. Once you step in, there's no going back.. :biggrin:
Gosh, that sounds awfully familiar .......where have I heard that warning before...?
Thanks Garth, you are a man of many talents.... Kudos!
"Moditis" knows no bounds!
(popcorn)
Quote from: Steve_in_Florida on April 10, 2013, 06:20:54 PM
"Moditis" knows no bounds!
I know.........It's got hold of my Jeep too.......
J ust
E mpty
E very
P ocket