HT in wall or boxes

isaeagle4031

I'm starting my dedicated HT in the basement. Since I have a complete blank slate to work with, I can go about any direction. As of now, I have a temp 2x4 insulated wall with curtains over it for diffraction control. Could go deeper, drywall and make inwall boxes. Probably going with a projector and screen. This would make for a cleaner looking setup while still maintaining the 2ch setup with various builds. Drivers are readily on hand either way. Power supplied by a Pioneer 5.1 receiver.

Thoughts?

ugly_woofer

I went in wall for my theater setup, and IB subs in the attic with the projector mounted up to the ceiling on the back wall. I actually hung pictures in front of the front left and right speaker and just take them down for movies.

Kornbread

I like my IB setup. Whatever you decide, room deadening (?) helps a ton especially since you have free reign over the room's design.

But yeah, I would never do inwalls because I would be constantly swapping other builds into the room.

If you want, they have special wall paint that mimics a screen.

joeybutts

So much you can do….. just depends on how far you wanna go. My first concern would be what the noise floor is in the space. Then a lot of sound control(absorption/diffraction) assuming walls are block/concrete. Not a huge fan of in walls but the expensive ones are supposedly the meow and on board dsp helps a lot.

isaeagle4031

IB subs are unfortunately, not an option. The space will have sound deadening, eventually. Noise floor actually isn't bad. I've tested multiple speakers in the space. I will be walling in the furnace and water heater as well.

I'm not worried about changing the inwalls. They will probably be set and forget, but will be designed to be removable as needed. Basically, boxes built into the walls.

6thplanet

Definitely check code if your walling in utilities.

isaeagle4031

@6thplanet said:
Definitely check code if your walling in utilities.

No utilities to worry about in the basement. I will be covering up a small window, but not a concern there. Later I will be adding a set of cellar bulkhead doors and an egress window. Access to the basement for building materials sucks!

6thplanet

@isaeagle4031 said:

@6thplanet said:
Definitely check code if your walling in utilities.

No utilities to worry about in the basement. I will be covering up a small window, but not a concern there. Later I will be adding a set of cellar bulkhead doors and an egress window. Access to the basement for building materials sucks!

You mentioned walling in furnace and water heater.

jhollander

Code says you need X amount of square feet for a gas fired furnace and water heater if they use indoor air as combustion air. If not enough square feet you need to add transfer grills.

I like the sound adsorption behind the listening area. You can get a dead room/ unnatural sound if you kill the early reflections from the front wall.

I used surface mount in my old HT now I like to use my latest builds as mains and surrounds.

isaeagle4031

Fortunately neither appliance uses indoor air for combustion. They are completely open in the basement now. Putting the walls up, I will still have easy access to them.