New Dedicated Cinema Room advice please

[sk3lph]

I'm looking to have a large extension built onto the house which will be a cinema room in the fullness of time. I'm saving hard for this and I reckon I'll have the funds for it around this time next year. It is however fun to think about the kit I'll be getting for it and where it's going to go even though the time this will be a reality is a long way off.

So the drawing shows the size of room I'll have when it's done, which is a pretty decent size. I currently have an HD projector in the lounge which will be moving into this new room and I'm thinking this will project onto a fixed screen on the left wall shown on the diagram rather than the bottom wall that the furniture is pointing at.

So some questions -

• Would a 5.1 system be suffice or would a 7.1 system be a better proposition?
  
• What height should the surround speakers be at? (looking to wall mount them and hide the cables) I'm thinking about shoulder height?
  
• Considering the position of the door, where would be the best location be for the rear surround speakers?
  
• Currently my starting point for equipment auditoning will be the Yamaha A3030 amp with B&W CM9 Theatre which will obviously be expanded upon if I go for a 7.1 system - any other recommendations for kit I should be looking at at this kind of price level?
  
• Any top tips on how I should hide all the cables - something like a skirting trunking type arrangement?

Pretty excited about the prospect of this even considering the current timescales and I'll put some pictures on here once the build is underway. Until then feel free to post any questions or advice on here to give me some food for thought.

 

[sk3lph]

If your having it built specifically then get some conduits put into the wall, etc. for the likely cabling.

No harm going for a 7.1 setup imo, positioning will depend if you want to work to dolby or THX, etc. specs for surround.

EDIT: Also ambient light (dealing with reflected/scattered light and that kind of stuff as well) and so on is worth getting your head around early on IMO if your going to do it proper it can make quite a difference to the end experience.

Other stuff that may need consideration sound proofing/damping (EDIT2: Just noticed the sound proofing on the image) and ventilation.

Thanks for the reply.

Will defo be looking at conduits in the wall for the surround speakers hence my question about the surround speaker mounting heights. I'm wondering if there is a good solution that gives good access around the skirting board for all the cables that'll be snaking around.

7.1 is the current favourite - thinking the side speakers will go between the windows for side right and same position opposite for side left. Rear left will go to the left of the door and rear right the same distance out form the corner.

The room will be painted a very dark matt colour and I'll get proper black out blinds for the windows. The walls will be sound proofed to minimise sound transfer to the rest of the house and outside.

What ventilation considerations do I need to make?

 

[sk3lph]

Crikey - I read the replies a few days ago and there is a ton of info there thats taken a bit of time to digest.

To comment on the points made.

@Richeh

The seating shown in the diagram is not representative at all of what I'll ultimately be getting. I'm thinking of two rows of three seats with a raised platform for the three seats behind so there is no obstruction to the view for the people behind. The middle front seat will be the optimum seating location in the middle of the room, so about 2.5m away from the screen. I will be using it as a music room as well as a cinema so my preference is some good floor standing speakers for the front left and right channels. Screen size will be as big as possible depending on the ceiling height. For the av equipment racks - I'm thinking of the BLOK SUPER-STAX but two wide instead of three and there will be two in total, one either side of the stand mounted centre speaker.

@lucid

Wow, I'm getting the distinct impression your business is professionally installing Home Cinema, thanks for the big reply.

Screen ratio is something I have given some thought to and will be exploring that once I have a better idea what size of wall I have to play with - having some way to electronically adjust the width of the screen would be a cool feature if I went for the wider screen.

Window position is something I hadn't thought would get in the way of the rear surround speakers as I was thinking they'd be going on the back wall so I'll need to know exactly where the speakers will be going before the build starts. A single window in the middle is now looking like an option but presumably this is where the left surround (for 7.1) will go.

The panelled wall covering the windows is something I hadn't thought of and will be exploring this as an option.

Sound proofing is already in the budget for the build and I'll have two fire doors between this room and the rest of the house, so I've got that covered.

Accoustic treatment, another aspect I'd not thought of - has anyone on here tried it? Presumably I'll need to get a speciallist in to do an assessment.

HVAC - another thing that hadn't occured, but I suspect I won't need it as I'll have a max of 6 people in rarely - most of the time it'll be me and my wife.

Lighting - yes I'll be looking into having remote controlled lighting and some good mood lighting - anyone recommend some good kit?

I've a reasonable idea where the AV equipment will go as outlined above - need to suss exactly the best location for all the surround speakers though.

Love the idea of the bass shakers and will be looking into that.

Decor the walls and ceiling will be painted in a dark near black colour, the floor will be a very dark, probably near enough black carpet.

Accoustic transparent panels will be investigated further too.

Equipment choices, yes your suggestions for speaker types are under consideration.

Thanks for all the other advice in your message - I need to have a think about where the speakers will go and presumably my suggestion for the speaker height was about right.

 

[sk3lph]

You will need it, my room is similar size to yours with all the equipment in the room. With only two people it can easily hit the high 20s in the summer, with 8 in for a movie night it was low 30s and basically unbearable without opening the window and the door which then allows light in.

I am in the process of getting a AC system fitted, probably going to go for a Dalkin system just waiting for some quotes to come in.

Thanks for that - I think I'll suss it out after the room is finished, the new room will have a pitched roof, so it should be easy enough to fit some HVAC if it's required.

 

[sk3lph]

Bad choice.

Hmm, ok the ceiling is going to have a hatch into the roof space above which should give easy access - is this a bad choice because the HVAC system is going to be bulky and won't be easy to install once the ceiling is in place?

 

[sk3lph]

OK, I'm sold on the HVAC idea and I'll be looking to incorporate it into this build. I will be moving the computer room next door, so it'd make sense to include some ducting for that too.

@Richeh - you're right, I titled the thread to inform that this isn't a lounge but a room that will be used for watching films in surround sound on a big fixed screen using a projector - it just so happens that I'll also use it for music and playing the odd game - so media room will probably be more accurate.

I used the phrase in the fullness of time as I need to save for another year to have sufficient funds for the house extension that's needed to give me the space that I need for this. I'll probably be another year before I've got all the kit and furniture that will be going into this - it's going to be very expensive.

@lucid - free advice indeed, but I've already learnt a lot from you guys and I really appreciate it (hopefully other readers will get some pointers from this thread too) - presumably Preston is too far away from you to get more directly involved in this - loved the pics you posted - what system do you have at home?

@Warbie - like the fabric panels idea - I'm thinking fabric panels and with perhaps a sliding wooden panel on runners to cover the window when required.

@Rroff - as mentioned above HVAC is looking like a goer.

What are peoples experiences with accoustic treament of their rooms?

 

[sk3lph]

@lucid

If you are interested in taking my project on then we can discuss this directly.

As I mentioned, construction for the new extension will start about 1 year from now, but with your consulation I'll give the builder the details on the best condition to have the room in to facilitate the installation of the infrastructure that'll be needed. This will be be a blank slate so we can discuss your ideas, recommendations and involvement on how we can do this.

Send me a trust message and we can take it from there.