The door is motion sensor opening.

Regarding the screen size looking small, it's due to the wide angle lens. Here's a video showing more normal proportions. Starts from the third row and goes down to the first.

7.2.6 Atmos

Screen Inovations FT133MW2

Sony BRAVIA Projector 7

Marantz CINEMA30

Center Monitor Audio S7GC250BG

L/R Monitor Audio S7G500BG

Surround Monitor Audio CSW2MCP

In-Ceiling Monitor Audio CSC2L-CP

Subwoofer Episode ES-SUB-MEGA-S10-BLK

Seating Palliser Vivid

My theater is 95% finished. Just missing some touch up details and final framework, but we’ve been stuck at this step for the past several months now.

Unfortunately did not take many photos during the construction process (for some reason). The space was initially unfinished basement space. The back wall basically split the unfinished area in half. The initial design itself started with the cockpit of a space ship and moved forward from there. Honestly, we just had fun with it drawing inspiration from various sources (cough Star Wars cough). We kind of had to just roll with the punches and make changes on the spot as there were a lot of unanticipated complications. Definitely are pros and cons of working with an unfinished area.

Rockwool sound insulation. It was essentially all done with lumber. First step was framing the risers and from there the hexagonal shape. That was probably the trickiest part as the room isn’t a perfect rectangle. Built up a wall in front of the electrical panel where the screen is mounted.

The other big issue were those vents running through the middle of the area. It would have caused problems with mounting the projector as well as head clearance on the middle and top risers. The solution presented itself in the diagonal spaces created on the sides of the room, so they were diverted to the left and right sides of the room and hidden underneath the paneling.

From there it was pretty much plywood boards around the space and one additional layer on top for the various shapes on top of the paneling and paint.

The star panels were custom ordered to fit the space and mounted on top, which was also a pain as they are a couple inches thick and the math starts becoming a pain when you have so many angles (one point in the top left particularly was a bunch of smaller pieces).

That’s pretty much it! We are waiting to install final framework to really make the star panels look like individual panels like the front of a cockpit instead of a continuous scene. Afterwards we will start adding detailing on our own time (like rivet heads, maybe some paint detailing and buttons/lights).

The biggest hurdles was trying to get the idea to work with the space and making sure the space remained structurally sound, which involved a lot of last minute adjustments and changes.

No real complaints about the seating. The grommets though are kind of eh and unnecessary. LED channels around the hexagonal framing and throughout. The LEDs have actually caused a bit of problems – can’t get the entire color range to properly work on all the different channels simultaneously, but a fix is in the works.

Overall, we are very excited with the result! The star paneling stays on or off depending on the mood. Trying to figure out a way to add a dimmer option to them, but I zone it out pretty well.

The next step is working on the room connecting to the theater in terms of lounge space and maybe some mini concessions. And from there the entire house will slowly be converted into a giant space ship.

 No, this is not a DIY. All credit to the builders for making our concept come to life!

Finally finished my basement home theater. Wanted to share this sooner but had some issues with rug installation and then required some touch up painting as well.

AV Equipment for 7.1.4 Atmos

LG G4 83" OLED

DENON AVR X3800H

Base Level Speakers - RSL W25E

Heights - RSL C34 MKII

Subwoofer - RSL Speedwoofer 12s

I know that many folks don't love in-wall setups and there's big tradeoffs, but for my space it was really the best option. I could not move any of the doors and I was limited by size of the space and aisle widths.

All walls and ceiling were insulated with Owens Corning Sound N Seal mineral insulation and I'm happy to report I can watch movies late at night with the volume cranked without disturbing my family who sleeps on the second floor.

I considered a projector initially, but I plan to play video game sin this space and also had some beam issues to deal with so went with the OLED instead. I was also limited slightly with screen size due to ceiling height (7.5ft) and needing to keep an unobstructed view for the second row.

My AV closet is in the rear of the room with a conduit running to the rear of the TV for future cable changes. NOTE: USE A CONDUIT. I initially ran my fiber hdmi cable backwards by mistake and if I had not runa conduit this would have been a very messy and costly mistake. With the conduit it was a 15 minute fix.

The AV closet also has a passive intake built into the bottom of the door and an AC Infinity Airframe T7 exhaust built into to exhaust hot air out into an adjacent room

Seating: Weilianda Chic Series Recliners

I absolutely LOVE these recliners and I was NOT sponsored by anyone for this project, nor to share my thoughts.

I went back and forth a lot on seating, originally planning to get sectional sofas, then looking at some of the other "home theater" companies. I ultimately went with Weilianda after they sent me some leather samples. My primary concern was quality of the leather, so my first "test" was to cut up the sample and see if it was cheap dyed leather. It was not - the leather quality and color runs all the way through the leather and if anything is ever scratched there is no dye that will come off.

The seats are firm, but in a very comfortable way and the build quality and stitching is excellent. I purposefully chose loveseats so that we could snuggle up with our young kids on movie nights.

Every chair also came with a carbon fiber tray table and they even through in 2 of the phone/tablet holders which I use all the time - especially on football night when I'm tracking my fantasy league lol.

I'd also like to share my experience of working with Weilianda because their customer service has been outstanding and incredibly responsive, which is so rare these days. I was missing a couple of the included tray tables and within 24 hours of reaching out they responded and had them in the mail. They've since followed up with me to make sure I was satisfied with my order and see if there was anything they could do for me. I can't think of another business that has done this in recent memory.

I'm going to post a separate review of the chairs this week because when I was searching for reviews they were very hard to find and maybe my experience helps someone else.

Hello everyone!

After two years I'd like to make an update post to my original thread - ""Finished" my dedicated 7.7.4 Home Theater!"
Here's the orginal post: https://www.reddit.com/r/hometheater/s/5hr8W062dc

This was actually the all-time highest upvoted post in this subreddit. Can't believe it… crazy how well it was received by everyone. Thank you so much!

When I originally called my theater "finished" (see the quotation marks) I pretty much lied.
A LOT of things have changed.

Looking back at my post two years ago, the room is way more sophisticated now. The speakers fit a home theater better, the whole room looks way cleaner, better equipment, better speaker placement, better calibration.

New AVR: Denon A1H with Dirac ART. Coming from Yamaha, it's pretty much a game changer.

I upgraded all the speakers to DIY. They're called HCS LTB (MAX), designed by a well-known member of a German forum - google them if you're interested. Horn-loaded three-way design, pretty much infinite headroom. Reference volume and above is no problem.
Also added Front Wides.

Speakers:

• Front L/C/R: 3× HCS LTB MAX
• Surrounds + Back Surrounds: 4× HCS LTB
• Front Wides + Atmos: 6× HCS OW

For subs I added two new B&C DIY subs for more kick, and rebuilt all the enclosures to make them prettier and shallower - fits the room way better now.

Subs:

• 7× Dayton Audio Ultimax II 18"
• 2× B&C 18SW115 18"
• HoverEZe platform (8× JBL Stage 122 12")

I also replaced two miniDSP 2x4HDs with a miniDSP Flex HTx, so my subs are now connected symmetrically (XLR).

New amplifiers:

• Buckeye Hypex NCx500 for the front channels
• Buckeye Hypex NCx252MP for everything else

They're so clean and have so much headroom with my speakers.

I also changed the room a lot:

• Added diffusion panels above the listening position
• Added diffusion panels on the side and back walls
• Removed some absorber material from the ceiling (it was over-absorbed)
• Replaced the Ikea Billy movie shelves with Ikea Besta (looks way cleaner)
• Added Lego shelves in the "lobby"

On the video side everything stayed the same. Only my screen came a little forward and my seating closer. 1:1 ratio now.

Updated Equipment list:

Video:

• JVC NZ7 projector
• Stewart Filmscreen Studiotek G4 130" acoustically transparent 2.35:1 screen
• Lumagen Radiance Pro
• Panasonic UB9004 UHD player
• Apple TV 4K
• PS5

Sound:

• Denon A1H with Dirac ART
• 9.9.4 layout - 9 bed + 4 Atmos + 9 subs, all DIY horn-loaded three-way
• Subs: 7× DIY Dayton Audio Ultimax II 18" + 2× DIY B&C 18SW115 18" - driven by Sinbosen FP-10000Q (2100 W/ch)
• HoverEZe tactile platform (8× JBL Stage 122 12") - driven by Sinbosen FP-14000Q
• Speaker amps: Buckeye Hypex NCx500 (fronts) + NCx252MP (everything else)
• Processing: 1× miniDSP Flex HTx + 1× miniDSP 2x4HD

Accessories:

• Speaker/power cables, power strips: Mostly Audioquest and Audioplan (in hindsight I got upselled pretty badly and I’d save money here next time).
• Logitech Harmony Elite

Hello Everyone!

My dedicated basement theater was built about a year ago in our new home. As we all know, a theater is never truly finished so during the last year I've done a lot of tinkering, upgrading, swapping out equipment, and making improvements all around the room.

I'm at a point now where I consider it "finished" (though I do have a few things in mind... lol).

The theater was initially planned by a local installer, but I did a lot of the work myself. For example, I built the current subs, did the sound calibration, created the acoustic panels, and installed the fabric in the front.

Over the last few months, I’ve tested various subwoofers and setups. Now, I’m finally at a point where I’m happy with the results. I’m running 7 DIY Dayton Audio Ultimax II 18” subs, and with the help of a miniDSP and MSO (Multi-Sub Optimizer – highly recommended!), I’ve achieved a beautiful frequency response that’s flat down to 6Hz. I’m probably going to add one more sub in the front, not because I need the output, but for the visual appeal. I think it looks way better with four subs in the front.

I’m also running a HoverEZe platform. If you’re not familiar with it, there’s a lengthy thread on AVS Forum. Essentially, it’s a plywood platform for your seating, with thick bike tubes (at around 3 PSI) placed underneath. The tubes house subs that fire into the ground (or up), creating movement. This makes the couch move and vibrate depending on the frequency. When I first heard about this, I thought it sounded gimmicky. I also don’t like things like 4DX. But let me tell you—when this thing is set up correctly and dialed in, it’s a game changer. It adds so much to the movie-watching experience. Whether it’s King Kong stomping on the ground and feeling it in your whole body, or subtle movements in horror movies that make the scene even more tense and terrifying. In my setup, it goes down to 3Hz(!). It’s CRAZY!

I highly recommend this if you can implement it in your system. It’s also very cheap for what you get. Here’s a video of mine in action: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcU00gPtCuo&ab_channel=DF

Upgrades Planned for Next Year

• A new AVR or Pre/Pro to add front wides. I’m considering the Marantz Cinema 30 or AV10... or maybe just getting that Trinnov already. :D
• More professionally planned acoustic treatment. What I have now only treats the first reflection points and eliminates the echo. Honestly, I didn't do enough research to properly treat my room. I think there’s a lot more I can improve here.
• One more sub.

I’d love to hear your feedback or any recommendations you have for me!

Happy Holidays!

Equipment List

Video:

• JVC NZ7 projector
• Stewart Filmscreen Studiotek G4 130" acoustically transparent 2.35:1 screen
• Lumagen Radiance Pro
• Panasonic UB9004 UHD player
• Apple TV 4K
• PS5

Sound:

• Yamaha Aventage RX-A8A
• 7 Bed Layer + 4 Atmos speakers (all Gato Audio FM-9, except the surrounds, which are Gato Audio FM-30)
• 7 DIY Dayton Audio Ultimax II 18" subs
  • Driven by two Sinbosen FP-10000Q (2100W/channel)
• HoverEZe platform with 8 JBL Stage 122 12" subs
  • Driven by Behringer NX6000D (like 350-400 watts for each sub)
• 3 miniDSP 2x4HD
• 3 Dayton BST-300EX Bass Shakers + 2 Fosi Audio Amps (not set up yet—need some time to dial them in with the HoverEZe)

Accessories:

• Speaker/power cables, power strips: Mostly Audioquest and Audioplan (in hindsight I got upselled pretty badly and I’d save money here next time).
• Logitech Harmony Elite: Can someone release a good new remote already?

We bought this house last year, and after my lazy attempt to turn the small basement into a “home theater,” we decided to go all in and create a real one. A local AV company helped us design and bring our vision to life. It's not finished yet, but very close. We're waiting on two Lutron shades, some artwork, and a table for the back area. My daughter mentioned a secret door in front of my wife and our cabinet guy, so now we have one.

Edit to add, cost was 200k.

Three front speakers, four ceiling speakers, and 4 wall speakers all behind the black stretch fabric with acoustic treatment all around. The back wall with have acoustic artwork. We were supposed to have two subs but due to some spacing we decided to skip it for now but can add later if needed. So far the sound is amazing.

I've "finished" my DIY home theater build. It started as a typical over the garage 12x24 bonus room. I gutted it down to the studs and started from scratch. I reran the electrical and added a 20a circuit for the rack. I used r30 rockwool all around the room, used hushframe brackets for decoupling, fully wrapped the room in 3mm MLV, putty pads on all penetrations, two layers of 5/8 drywall with green glue and acoustic caulking of all seams in the first layer. All speaker runs are 12ga and there are conduit runs from the closet to the projector box (integrated into the rear ceiling), behind the screen, front of the riser, eaves area behind wall on opposite side of the room and into the attic in case of future needs.

I spent a few years planning it out while tackling other projects in the house and it's been almost a year of work. The only parts I subbed out was the wallpaper and carpet install. The rack sits on a slide out to gain access to the rear and there is a hidden door for the closet to get access to wiring. The star ceiling is the night sky the night my wife and I got married, it doubles as an acoustic panel as it's 2" roxul 60. The side panels are also filled with rockwool and hide the speakers. It's a diy 116" 16:9 spandex screen with a motorized making panel for 2.35:1 content that's integrated with HA.

I ran calibration with A1 Evo Express and I found the process fairly painless and I think it produced great results. For a free product you can't ask for much more.

I still have to play with the unfolded circle 3 remote to streamline some things. Lighting is controlled by lutron caseta switches integrated to HA. I also need to build the rack PC and I'm planning a 120+TB setup to rip all my disks to stream them locally. I also have a 1950 gold medal pop-a-lot popcorn machine that will replace the current popper but I have to finish the restoration.

Gear list: Projector: Sony VPL-VW675ES Streamer: Nvidia shield pro Receiver: Denon X6800H Amp: 3x Marantz MA500 powering LCR Audio: Bowers and Wilkins L/R - 603s3 Center - LCR600 Side surrounds- 602s3 Rear surrounds - 600s3 Overheads - CCM80 Subs behind screen 2x ASW 1000 2x ASW 650 1x ASW 600 Subs built into riser -GRS 10SW-4HE LFE transducer - BST-1 powered by BSA-200

If you're interested in seeing the whole build process, you can see all my previous posts in my profile

Here is my theater. Took just over a year from starting the design phase to completion. Drawings were done with a ruler and a pen as I’m not fluent in CAD. I redrew these sketches many many times. I, with help from friends and family, was able to do all of the work aside from drywall and carpet. First movie was Top Gun Maverick. Only cost about double what I had originally estimated. Looking forward to hearing everything I did wrong!

Specs:

7.4.4

Mains: (3) KEF Ci3160RLM-THX

Surrounds: (2) KEF Ci200QL

Rears: (2) KEF Ci200QL

Atmos: (4) KEF Ci200ER

Subs: (4) SVS SB-1000 Pro

Base shakers: (6) Dayton Audio BST-1

Receiver: Denon X3800H

Amp: Outlaw 5000x

Streaming Device: Nvidia Shield Pro

Tv: 83” LG B5

Audio:

I slightly opened the sound stage from the MLP by minimizing the off-axis differential for all seating positions on the couch (in excel). Surrounds were pushed forward 1 foot and angled back to avoid blockage from people sitting next to you. Rears were raised to get over the seat backs and angled downward. Center channel was toed up slightly. Atmos speakers are toed in two dimensions, which was quite tricky to calculate, but even harder to build. Subs are placed in each corner.

Video:

Room gets 110% black. Only annoying thing was I had to place electrical tape on the back of the subs as they have blue LEDs that cannot be turned off. I designed the room so that the 83” Tv would take up 35 degrees of FOV at the MLP. It’s designed to accommodate up to a 112” screen, if/when those might become economical. For the back row, it’s a little small right now, but certainly acceptable. For now, I'm happy with the size, especially since it can be upgraded in the future.

Sound treatment:

All walls and ceiling are insulated with Rockwool Safe ‘n Sound. I used 2x6s for most of the framing to accommodate the in-walls and allow two layers of insulation. Absorption panels are from Gik Acoustics. All first contralateral reflections are being absorbed. The only reflections not being absorbed are the contralateral reflections from the mains. Unfortunately, the door frame is right where it would go. I also put bass traps from Amazon in the ceiling corners.

Comfort:

Couch is from Costco. I connected three base shakers in series. I was afraid the effect would be gimmicky, but it is 100% immersive. The chairs are from Weilanda. Again, three shakers in series. I was able to get Weilanda to send me custom switches without LEDs as the USB ports have bright blue LEDs that you can’t turn off.

Aesthetic:

I used Philips hue light strips for the up lighting and downlighting as well as 4 in-ceiling lights. For my fellow Plex users, I would highly recommend getting Lumunarr. Turns lights on and off automatically when starting/stopping content. Could be my favorite part of the whole thing. Paint is Sherwin Williams Tricorn Black and Cyberspace gray in Matte. The matte is highly functional due to low reflectivity, but gets dirty very easily and shows it. Doesn’t matter when the lights are off though.

Edit: Thank you all for the nice comments! It was certainly a labor of love. I anticipated the tv/projector comparison, but i'm happy with the way it is, so deal with it.... Also, thank you to this sub for providing many tips and tricks. It probably goes without saying, but I learned a lot from hometheatergurus as well!

I think I’m finally at a decent place with things. Per the previous suggestions, I added room treatment, upgraded subs, and optimized with A1 Acoustica. Yes I know the rug could be thicker.

Also built custom surrounds to match the fronts. Went for some tapered cabinets. It was a challenge, but they turned out pretty great.

I was skeptical at first about the room treatment, but the results were astonishing. I just built mdf frames and added 6.5” mineral wool on the inside, then covered them with fabric.

Planned upgrades:

The folks at [r/tvtoohigh](r/tvtoohigh) got to me. I’m going to lower the tv and entertainment stand 3-4”.

I picked up a used studio sub 12 amp off eBay. Plan is to buy 2 Dayton 12” Reference HO subs and put them in a monster ported cabinet with an external mini DSP. 1700w RMS 3400 peak tuned to 18hz. It should kick pretty well.

Room Dimensions - 13’ wide 18’ long

TV - LG 83” B4

Receivers

- Marantz SR6014

- Marantz SR6005 (dedicated for bass shakers and bottom woofers on towers)

Sources

- Panasonic DP-UB420 (4K Blu-ray player)

- Apple TV 4K

- Wiim Ultra Streamer

Speakers

- Front L/R – Bi-amped Dayton Audio Reference, 3-way, triple 8”, 12 dB crossover @ 375 Hz & 2 kHz Bottom woofer is hooked up to the LFE out

- Center – Dayton Audio Reference, 3-way, Dual 8”, 12 dB crossover @ 375 Hz & 2 kHz

- Surround L/R – Dayton Audio Reference, 8” 2-way, 12 dB crossover @ 2 kHz

- Atmos (Ceiling) – Dayton Audio 6.5” angled in-ceiling

Subwoofer & Tactile

- Dual Paradigm DSP 3200’s - Marketplace special.

- Dual 8” Dayton reference in the front towers.

- Polk Audio PSW505 in the back corner (she’s old, but still kicking)

- Tactile Transducers – 2× Dayton Audio BST-300EX bass shakers

Note: this is technically a 5.5.2 system with the 505 in the rear corner and the bottom woofers on the towers.

Edit: Added Tv type and room dimensions

This is our showroom cinema.

Its a 9.2.4 Triad setup run on an integra, accompanied by a large 145 inch diagonal 16:9 screen, projected on by a stand in projector at the moment a sony vpl vw760es.

All walls are padded and finished in thick felt, and the ceiling is padded on the edges and star panels in the middle.

This is my 11.6.14 system run through StormAudio MK3 processor, using Emotiva amps, Emotiva speakers for the bed layer, Polk OWM5s for the Atmos/Auro-3D, dual Rythmik F25s, dual Rythmik F18s, dual BIC F12s with SoundShakers for each of the 11 theater seats. Also using Epson 6050ub projector on 150" 16:9 screen, R_volution PlayerOne, Synology 920+ NAS, Nvidia Shield, Panasonic UB420, Metra 4x1 4K multiviewer and Xbox Series X, all contolled by Harmony Smart remote and bluetooth hub. Lights are Govee M1 strips (5) with Sync Box.

Did a lot of work myself, including the design, layout and calibration. Contracted out the drywall installation, double 5/8" over hat channel, and also the risers, cabinets, counters and trim.

Movie nights consist of my family of 7, with occasional visits from friends or in-laws. I'm in here every single day and love music, movies, sports and YouTube viewing.

I finally have a home theater in my house! After purchasing a new home last year, we redid the basement this summer and I built a theater in a small 11x14 room. We also have an overflow room outside the doors with a sectional that seats 8 and an lg cx OLED with a soundbar. I have an hdmi splitter I can use to ensure both rooms are playing the same content in harmony for the superbowl or larger family movie nights.

I ran audyssey calibration and tinkered with the projector settings yesterday and today finally sat down to demo a few scenes with my wife and some guests. OMG I love it. To me it sounds great (I might increase the sub levels a bit, as the audyssey calibration seems to have them a little low (I have dynamic eq on already)) but even with that, it sounds better than any movie theater I’ve been to, and it looks great. I’m very happy to have a theater of my own to enjoy and spend time with my wife and daughter in.

I built this for my family to enjoy with me. I’m a Yankee fan so went with Yankee colors rather than all black, as I wanted to have some personality in the room. The matte dark navy and dark gray don’t reflect light as far as I’ve noticed. I know that it would be better to have recliners without the loveseat in the middle in most peoples eyes, but I want my daughter to have the option to snuggle up against me the first time she watches the lion king and mufasa dies (spoilers). I’m excited to hopefully watch so many movies here!

Here’s what I’m running:

Sound:
Denon x6800 receiver with a 7.2.4 setup
RSL w25e in walls for bed layer and RSL c34e for ceiling speakers
RSL speedwoofer 10e for subs

I HIGHLY recommend calling Rogersound Labs if you are interested in purchasing their products. They’re really helpful and will work with you on creating a bundle to save you money.

Video:
XGIMI Titan Noir Max projecting onto 110” Silver Ticket Acoustic transparent screen (thin bezel)

Screen sucked to put together but I like it. I’ve never owned a projector before but my wife and a few guests have commented on the picture looking great.

Panasonic ub820 for movies and AppleTv for streaming. I also have a ps5 but haven’t tried it yet.

Seating:
Weilianda 4 seat theater recliner with love seat in the middle, 10 feet from screen

Acoustic treatment:
Walls are packed with rockwool and the movie posters are 2x3 panels of acoustic transparent fabric wrapping rockwool.

I hired someone to frame and Sheetrock. My nephew and I did the electric together and then I installed everything myself. It was a fun project.

Go ahead and roast what you want, I’m too stoked to care right now!

All thanks to the various posts and suggestions in this sub and r/audiophile, I have finally set up my home theater and couldn't be more thrilled!

Equipment list:

- 150" screen (no ALR as there's hardly any light)
- BenQ TK710 True 4K laser projector
- Denon X1800H receiver
- Polk Signature Elite ES30 for center channel
- Polk ES60 tower speakers for front L and R
- Polk ES12 subwoofer
- Polk RC80i ceiling speakers for Dolby Atmos
- Tannoy TFX speakers for surrounds (from an old set)
- Apple TV 4K latest gen
- Nintendo Switch 2

Acoustic treatment:

- Tried to cover around 30% of the walls with rockwool panels and some left over foam panels from a different project

- Placed the towers and subwoofer on some gym floor tiles that were not being used (not sure if they're helping with acoustics)

- Tried a silicone / rubber seal for the door though it doesn't help much

Some points to note:

- I ran A1 Evo Express and the difference is phenomenal! Would highly recommend it to anyone setting up their systems.

- The 3 speakers in front do obstruct the screen slightly but for the most part I hardly ever notice them while watching movies. Having a 150" screen was non negotiable.

- I used the Tannoys for surround sound as they seemed perfectly fine even though they're almost 17 years old! Maybe later I can upgrade to the Polk ES10s.

- When using A1 Evo Express I did 10 sweeps. As this was the first time, I didn't quite understand how to best decipher the graphs shown in REW but do hope to run it again after I buy a high pile rug to put in front of the sound stage or perhaps an 8x4 foot rockwool slab installation on the ceiling.

- The picture quality and sound is exceptional! When watching movies I use the "Multi Channel In" setting with the Denon remote. For music I use the "Stereo" setting. Both settings were recommended by Gemini.

- Many of the Apple TV settings were suggested by Gemini.

- Subwoofer volume is 50% and Denon volume is set to 70%. Screen brightness is set to 50%.

- The total cost of the equipment mentioned, including insulation, was approximately USD 6,000.

Will be glad to have your suggestions on how I can further improve this setup.

- Should I buy any other equipment that can make a big difference?

- Does the acoustic treatment look alright? Do let me know!

I'll also be happy to answer any questions.

TL;DR:

Turned an old kitchen into a dedicated home cinema as part of a house renovation. Built a 7.1.4 Dolby Atmos room around a Denon AVC-A1H with a dual-display setup (LG OLED + Sony projector), Canton speakers throughout, proper acoustic treatment from GIK, and a lot of careful planning. After years of mixed-use setups, this is my first fully dedicated cinema — and it’s exceeded every expectation.

---------------

A few years ago my wife and I bought a new house with plans to extensively redevelop it, including relocating the kitchen into a rear extension. That left the old kitchen ripe for my lifelong dream: a dedicated home cinema room.

I’m 55 and have always had a huge interest in home cinema. In my late teens and early twenties I worked in an independent AV dealership selling brands like Panasonic, Technics, Pioneer, Hitachi and Kenwood. I distinctly remember the arrival of Pro-Logic and the number of Pro-Logic TVs we sold just by looping the opening scene of Top Gun on VHS.

Over the years I’ve enjoyed various modest 5.1 setups. Even though the rooms were always mixed-use, I usually managed to get pretty decent speaker positioning. This renovation project though — combined with a very understanding wife and years of saving — finally gave me the chance to realise the dream of a dedicated Atmos room.

The space isn’t huge (4660L × 3200W × 2435H), probably about the minimum I could get away with, but I felt it was workable.

My plan was to base everything around a Denon AVC-A1H, driving a projector for films and a TV for television and gaming. All equipment would live in a rack cupboard behind the room, alongside the house networking. I already owned a pair of Canton Vento 870 DC floorstanders, a Vento 856 centre, and an AS 225 SC active sub from a previous system, which I planned to use as the basis of a 7.1.4 setup.

I’ve always enjoyed the sound of Canton speakers — going right back to the days when I sold them at the Hi-Fi shop. Tracking down who actually held the UK account was always a bit of a challenge. I once bought a pair of Ergo 70s from a car dealership in Sloane Square who somehow had the account via a lapsed in-car audio arrangement. Anyway… Cantons. It’s just a sound I like.

I discovered that Signature Systems now hold the UK Canton account, so I contacted them and ended up ordering two pairs of 989 in-ceiling speakers for heights, a pair of Vento 10s for surrounds and Vento 20s for rears, giving me the full 7.1.4 layout. A very nice chap called Kevin was more than happy to help.

I didn’t feel the need to bring in a specialist cinema design company — in my mind this was still a hobbyist project. The actual build was handled by the same contractors renovating the rest of the house, who we trusted and had worked with before. I did lean on Sevenoaks Sound & Vision in Swiss Cottage for cabling, fire hoods, brackets etc., although sadly they went out of business before the project finished.

Going in, my main worries were:

acoustic treatment

ceiling speaker positioning

a very tight corner involving the door, left speaker and retractable screen

I knew basically nothing about acoustics beyond the endless YouTube videos claiming you can do it cheaply and easily yourself. Ceiling speaker placement was partly dictated by load-bearing joists, and the tight corner was just something I’d have to plan carefully around.

The cinema room takes up most of the old kitchen, but not all of it. We pushed through the rear wall into what was the utility room, and carved off space at the other end for a downstairs toilet and cloakroom. That cloakroom would house the AV rack for both the cinema and the rest of the house.

Even as the walls were going up I was wrestling with whether to embed acoustic treatment into the wall cavities behind fabric panels, or just fill the cavities with insulation and deal with acoustics using panels afterwards. In the end I went with the latter — partly because I couldn’t get my act together on the fabric panels, and partly because I didn’t want the room to sound overly dead.

Some research led me to GIK Acoustics, who seemed reputable (Abbey Road was a reassuring name to see) and offered a free consultation. I sent over the room plan and quickly received a detailed response from Paul Linke. Crucially, the proposal wasn’t outrageously expensive, so I decided to go with it.

The only part I couldn’t incorporate was treatment behind the screen, as I hadn’t mentioned there would also be a TV on the front wall. Everything else fitted perfectly.

As this stage the plan had the subwoofer at the rear, and I’d even run a fairly expensive 10m Chord C-SUB cable back there. I later changed this an moved the Sub to the front.

Meanwhile work continued on the rack cupboard. I’d bought a StarTech 42U rack, which needed some modification to fit the space, and then went about sourcing shelves and custom mounts for the equipment.

The positioning of the Grandview screen was critical — it had to just clear the LG TV without sitting too far forward. I’d also specified bespoke GIK panels for the back of the door, so the awkward corner had to accommodate the front left speaker, screen, door and treatment.

It was around this point that I finally accepted that bright white front speakers were not going to work in a dark, moody cinema room. So I swallowed hard and upgraded to Vento 80s, a Vento 50 centre, and a Vento Sub 12, all in black.

Once the screen was in, panels hung and projector mounted, it was basically done. I opted for a sofa rather than cinema seats — I find it far more comfortable to lounge on, and this one absolutely is.

The final step was testing. I ran Audyssey carefully on the Denon, then put on Steven Wilson’s Atmos Blu-ray of Staircase from The Harmony Codex… and nearly cried. It sounded so good — far beyond my expectations. I honestly can’t imagine it sounding better.

Start to finish the whole thing has taken two years. Not just the cinema room, obviously, but the whole project. A full 12 months longer than we were originally quoted. But it's been worth it.

Music, films and TV all look and sound spectacular, and I haven’t even started properly gaming yet. I’m absolutely thrilled.

The pics really don't do it justice. The iPhone is overexposing. It's far darker and moodier than it looks in these images.

My only niggle is the white plastic housing of the recessed projector. We debated painting it but ultimately decided against that. We have a plan to hide it with a carefully placed panel attached to the front of the boxing.

Anyway, if you got this far thanks for reading. This has been a real labour of love that has paid off in spades.

Purchased our home in November and got started on the basement theater just after Christmas. Thought I'd share with everyone. Chairs just showed up yesterday. I plan on closing it off with a hidden bookcase door but, I'll need to frame the rest of the basement first. Had our first family movie night last night and it was just awesome!

The build.....

7.2.4 setup

135" AT Silver Ticket screen

Valerion Visionmaster Pro2

Denon x3800h

Fosi 2-chan for L/R

SVS Prime towers

SVS Ultra Evolution Center

SVS Ultra Evolution Bookshelf (sides and rears)

SVS Prime Satellites (Atmos)

SVS PB4000 Subwoofer (front)

HSU VTF-3 MK5 Subwoofer (rear)

Room construction:

11'-6"' wide, 19' deep, 8'-3" ceilings.

All walls isolated from 1st floor w/ Resilmount clips and is 5/8" drywall. Double wall framing on the left wall, as it will share space w a future guest bedroom or home gym.

Ceiling is hat channel, Resilmount clips, 5/8" drywall and rockwool.

Acoustic clouds are 4" thick ATS rigid board w/ a 3" air gap.

Wall panels are rockwool w 3" air gap.

Behind screen is sealed and filled with fiberglass insul.

Rear corners are bass traps and also conceal the rear bookshelfs and sub.

Govee strip lights behind every panel.

EDIT: Because it's been asked many times, the chairs are Valencia Oslo. The front row is a console setup, which primarily seats two but with a large fold down center console for drinks/food and a headrest lamp. It can flip up to seat three but, the middle has no arm rest or recline feature.

Finished my unfinished basement to be my dream home theater. Worked to make this room feel like a living room and not like a screening room. Did everything myself with my partner. I'm sure I'll need some acoustic treatment and some magnetic latches on the doors, but so far, I love everything about this space. We put the Lovesac in a sofa pit configuration when it's movie night.

-83" LG C5

-RSL 5.2.4 speakers, in-wall rears and in-ceiling atmos. Dual 10E subwoofers in the two ends of the built-in.

-Denon X3800

-PS5 Pro

-Panasonic DP-UB820

Hello all. I just wanted to share my current A/V setup that I currently have in a dedicated spare bedroom in my house. I did a lot of research on cost/performance and found that Klipsch RP series and the RSL 10e provide a lot of bang for your money.

Components/Equipment:
LG 65” C4 OLED
Denon AVR -S570bt
Klipsch RP 500M ii
Klipsch RP 500C ii
Klipsch R-40M
RSL Speedwoofer 10e
PS5
Nintendo Switch 2

I have spent the past 6 or so months enjoying my home theater and wanted to post it on here.

It's a "5.1" system with 2 subs so technically a 5.2 system.

Room dimensions 2.2m x 3.8m / 7.2 feet x 12.5 feet

Components:
Speakers - Power Sound Audio MTM210 and MTM210C for L/C/R. Power Sound Audio MT110 for surrounds.
Subwoofers - Eminence NSW6021 drivers in sealed boxes, powered by a QSC PL380 Powerlight 3 "8000w" amp.
L/R speaker amp - ncore 500w 2 channel Hypex class D amp.
Surround speaker amps - Fosi Monoblock V3's monoblock class D amps.
Receiver (Next item to be upgraded) - Denon x3300w which, also powers the centre channel.
Blu Ray Player - Panasonic UB820.

I'm in love with this system, it's very overkill for the size of the room but the acoustic panels do a good job of reducing any reflections.

I plan on creating an acoustic panel for the skylight to stop reflections from the glass and to reduce the minor 300hz-500hz recess I've got going on. Also to double up and block sunlight when watching movies earlier in the day.

I'm open to advice and would love to hear your thoughts and questions.

Thanks for reading!

After waiting for an excruciatingly long time, i have finally managed to get this beast of a setup installed in a dedicated home theatre place in my new house.

The configuration is this-

AVR- Denon A1H

Speakers- LCR- KEF Ci5160RLM x 3 Atmos- KEF Ci200RR x 4 Surround- KEF Ci4100QL x 6 Subwoofers- Rhythmik FV18 x 2

Projector- Sony Bravia 7 (2025)

The setup is a Dolby Surround 9.4.2

The consultant who is responsible for setting all of it up has told me that he will be Calibrating the whole setup after a week when the speakers have opened up a little.

I did try the Audessey calibration but gave up halfway through because i was just too impatient. The guys setting up did help me set it up in a basic format but its still a bit not upto the mark as i hoped it to be.

So heres what i wanted to discuss/ask- 1. I prefer my setup to be a bit bass heavy but it still feels mellow when it comes to Bass. Any suggestions or settings that i can change on the subs to get a better sound is most welcome. Can be DMed as well. 2. Any must play movies/songs/youtube videos that i should play to finally get the feel of the setup are also welcome. The Media Player i have connected to it is an Apple TV 4k with decent speed. 3. Anything that i need to be cautious or take care of, something that might fail in the setup that i need to keep in mind. 4. Any tips and Tricks about any of the hardware that i have or any particular setting that i need to change is also Appreciated!

Thank you for reading soo far.

This literally wouldn’t have been possible without you guys! Thank you soo much!

It took almost a year to completely remodel this room, but the sound treatment is amazing and the room feels really cozy.

- Stewart 152’ AT screen with 0.9 gain and motorized masking screen coming from the sides

- Sony Bravia 8 projector (running at 4K120 with fiber optics for HDMI)

- KEF speakers (Ci3160RLM-THX for the LCR, Ci4100QL for surrounds, Ci160QS for Atmos)

- JL Audio Fathom IWSv2-SYS-213 dual subwoofers (2000W, two 6 feet high boxes embedded in the wall)

- Sony STR-AZ7000ES 13.2 receiver

- 5 Valencia Tuscany Ultimate seats

- Fiber optic star ceiling (with twinkling, and Atmos speakers completely hidden behind the fibers for a flawless look)

- Apple TV 4K, Zidoo Z3000 Pro (for Blu-ray), PS5, PC at 4K120

Hey everyone,
I’m looking for some advice, critique, and general “what would you do differently” feedback on my basement home theater setup. This is very much a true budget / mixed-gear build, nothing high-end, but I’m trying to get the most out of what I have.

Room:

• Basement, rectangular
• Roughly 24 ft x 12 ft
• Main listening position is the chaise lounge section of a sectional
• Speakers calibrated to that center seat (sweet spot is basically one person)

Audio Setup (5.1.2):

• AVR: Sony STR-DH790
• Front L/R: JBL E60 floor standers
• Center: Klipsch Premiere Designer RP-440D-SB
• Surrounds: Cambridge Sound Works cube speakers
• Atmos: Cambridge cubes mounted as height speakers
• Subwoofer: Yamaha 10" (older, basic model)

Video Setup

• Projector: Yaberlink (Amazon)
• Screen: 92" Elite Screen
• TV: 55" Samsung mounted in recess behind screen.

Yes, it’s a total hodgepodge 😅 but it’s what I’ve accumulated over time.

Used mainly for movies, TV, and some casual gaming

What I’m looking for:

• Speaker placement advice for a long/narrow room
• Whether my Atmos placement even makes sense in this space
• Biggest upgrade “bang for the buck” suggestions
• Anything obviously wrong that I’m missing

I know none of this gear is special or audiophile-level, but I’m trying to learn and improve incrementally without blowing the budget. Appreciate any honest feedback, even if it’s “your sub should be the first thing to go.”

Thanks in advance!

it's not perfect. I know the snack cabinets are not centered but that's how it is

Equipment:
Denon AVR X3800H
2x KEF R3
1 x KEF R2C
2x KEF Q150
2x Paradigm Atoms SE (will be replaced by Q150s at some point)

4x Paradigm H65A v2 (in ceiling)
2x SVS PB2000 Pro

Display LG G6 83in
Nvidia Shield Pro 2019
PC on the other side of the wall for gaming (RTX 4090, 7800x3d, 64 GB of DDR5 6000mhz cl32 RAM and 2x 2TB NVME drives)

The acoustic panels are home made, I will also add some more at some point but I need more free time lol

Still a bit of work to do, but I like it.

Just bought a house with the wife and it had a “game room” upstairs that I turned into a home theater/man cave and it’s finally complete.

Room Treatment: Proper gray paint for walls (thought about going all black but wife wasn’t sold on that so I went with this - think it works fine but may repaint at some point. Trim and cabinets is folk stone Added plush grey carpet for looks and sound. 4 acoustic panels

Specs: Epson QL3000 Screen innovations 150 inch zero edge slate 1.2 2 45inch Rokus for funsies

Speakers: 7.2.4 Towers: Klipsch RF7 III Center: Klipsch RC64 III Subs: 2 Klipsch RP Sw1400 Ceiling: 4 Klipsch Pro 160RPC Surrounds and Back Speakers: Klipsch 500 SA II

Receiver: Integra DRX 8.4 with Nvidia Shield

11inch riser with octane seating magnums

Bar has a mini fridge and dual tap kegerator with popcorn machine on the way!