snsguy's Wonderful World Of HT next gen.......

snsguy

Ninja with a Hook
Premium Supporter
Mar 22, 2011
1,304
Hendersonville, TN
I've been talking about and posted a few pics since we've bought our new home and I've been working on our dedicated HT. It's been going on for over 2 months now. It's getting there but there are a few things that still need to be done. I decided to create a separate thread of my next gen. HT so there is no confusion and you guys can see more of what's happening. Excuse some of the photos because some were taken with a cell phone and I can't keep my hands still. So here....we..... go..

This is what the room originally looked like when we first bought the house.

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It's really hard to tell from the pictures but the room is 15x15 with a cubby whole area that is 3x3 and angles to be about 5 feet tall. That is where the components are being held and a bench area that is another 3x3 area that goes all the way to the ceiling which is where the window is. It's an angled wall to ceiling room which makes it a bit difficult to work with but I'm making it work.

Construction of the room:

My kid brother, not really but I call him that, helping me out painting the room.

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I removed the closet doors to place my Besta's in to hold my memorabilia in which you will see later on.

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We ended up using a very dark rich purple, which I call the Joker purple and a medium to dark grey that has a tint of blue in it and maybe even a green. I was not at all expecting to pick a purple but the more and more I thought about it that's the color I wanted it to be.

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Putting the Besta's together and fitting them into the closets.

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As you can see it has progressed a lot. I painted the molding around the window and the seat area the same purple as the wall. I then covered the window with a black out curtain by stapling just around the edge of the molding holding it snug all the way around the parimeter. Then I took a piece of insulation panel that somehow made over here from our old apartment, lucky me :scat:, which I then covered in another black out curtain then placed it over the window which slid partially into the window. Doing that has made the room pitch black and has helped deaden the higher frequencies so it's not heard outside. Which means I can play it a lot louder. :LOL: It's also great that our neighbors homes are next but one is somewhat further up towards the road and the other down. So far no complaints and when I tested it all that was heard was a slight rumble. Once I was at the end of the drive barely anything was heard! :scat:

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Only some things are where they will be permanently at right now. I have a lot lying around and out of the way until everything major is where it will remain and then I finish up the decorating. The front sound stage has a whole lot more room to breathe compared to the old apartment. Since I moved all the components to the cubby it looks much cleaner. I used an IR receiver to control all the components by aiming my remote just as before. I got rid of the spine on the tv stand and installed the tv's original stand so I can have it closer to the wall. The spine hindered that with the angled wall.

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These chairs are freakin' comfortable! They are very big recliner rockers. :scat: Did you see what I did there. :D We have a Lazboy recliner couch, that we had at the apartment which resides in our living room right now, and the three of them together is a couple feet longer and about 3 to 4 ft. wider. I am still working with some ambient lighting for the posters. I can't install ceiling lights because of how the ceiling is and what's above a ceiling. Unless you a 4 year old or a tiny midget you can't get over the ceiling. So I'm trying some stuff that still looks cool and is out of site. The granny blanket isn't staying. :hilarious:

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As you can see yet again it's very hard to take pictures in the room. I wish I could take larger photos but it is what it is. I still have a lot of stuff to do on this side of the room. There was no way to run cable through walls or through the ceiling so I was forced to hide it with raceway. I hated having to do it but I think with some paint it won't be so noticable. I think that the steelbook towers are probably going to stay where they are but you never no. You can finally see the cubby area that I've been talking about in the far right. They have very thick and durable wire shelves in there now which I'll keep for now, but eventually I want to do something else. I will be covering up a lot of that area also. I'm still trying some ideas with that to. If you look at the ceiling where the angled part of the wall meets it you can see that I put up some molding. That entire area where it meets was waving all over the place and not straight at all. I put the molding up so it covered that up and made it straight. It helps finish off the room nicely as well I think. :D

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Our New Home Theater Room: :oohyeah::LOL::oohyeah:

The hallway entrance hasn't been completed yet. We still need to paint it, light fixture replaced with a newer one and I'll be changing things around a bit with posters, pictures, wall hangings ect.

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Our Components

The Marantz SR5003 in all it's glory. It's a totally different world when you finally hear clear HD audio.

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Oppo BDP-83 Blu-pray player. It's a thing of beauty. We never knew how good our Pioneer Kuro could look until we got this thing. It replace our Panasonic BDP-55 which eventually stopped reading most our blu-ray's after a year and a half. We had problems with the machine a couple of months after we got it. Sent it in for repairs and exactly a year later started doing the same thing. Sent it in to square Trade got a refund for it and bought the Oppo 83. It's really fast and easy to use. With our Pioneer Kuro, it makes one beautiful picture.

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X-BOX 360 S. This machine is much cooler then the last version of the XBOX 360. Mine finally died for the second time after getting the dreaded "rings of death". :angry: I'm interested in the new one coming out but not in a hurry to jump in on it.

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APC H15 Power conditioner. Made a huge difference with the picture on our tv. I know that sounds crazy but even my wife noticed the difference. This has kept our equipment safe.

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I hope you enjoyed it! Keep checking back for changes and updates! :D

If you want to see my all my memorabilia up close you can see it here
 

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Well the middle one is mine. I'm even thinking of getting one of those red ropes with two metal poles, one at either end so no one even tries to sit in it. :hilarious: Nicky usually sits to the left of me, that leaves you with the one that closest to the cabinets. It's all yours bud. You just need to get here to claim it. :D
 
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Thanks for the update! Looks like it is coming along nicely. I have the same issue as you as far as lighting goes which is why I went with the option I did. Nice work on getting the cabinets in the closet area. Looks awesome! Love the TDK cubby too.
 
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Thanks STARKILLER! It's coming to end hopefully soon. Who knows though the way things seem to keep stalling the project.

Got my replacement fan for the first one that was damaged. I've been working on the second one and it's not working right. :angry:

Been on the phone with the place we bought it from which has been great about it. They've been on the phone with the company that makes the fan trying to relay to us the info in trying to resolve the issue. Nothings worked. The fan had major manufactuer issues but part of it could be our homes fault. I do know for a fact though after talking to an electrician that the problems that were occurring have partly to do with our ceiling but also the fan itself. So that one went back today. The owners think the may have a way to help us out.

We need a shorter fan because the ceiling is low. So we bought a hugger fan. When I started to first work on the room I noticed that the angled part of the wall, where it meets the ceiling, is wavy and was extremely difficult to paint. So my remedy was putting some molding along the line so that it would then cover it up and look perfectly straight. A hugger fan has to be perfectly flush against the ceiling. Are ceiling won't allow that completely. For what reason I do not know. So one of the owners of the store worked with us today to find another fan that can be turned into a hugger by using a hugger kit. We're not positive the fan can do that but the owner said that she was pretty sure it could be. It's a much smaller connection which means less ceiling for the top part of the fan to touch. We should know on Tuesday. If this works it's a big step towards finishing.
 
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New place is looking great buddy :thumbs: Almost there by the looks of it. I really need a IR receiver? like you... I have a media rack setup now and its just unnatural to have to point towards it instead of just forward like usual.
 
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Thanks Jason! Ya the IR receiver is really nice to have. A lot easier then trying to point it at everything. I'm using a Harmony remote and would have to point it in three different directions to keep up with it. :hilarious:

Did some more today. Major accomplishment, more wire management. Here are some before and after photos. I ended up using two racetracks that are meant to be used for wires to be hidden running vertically to a television. It will be painted the same color as the wall so not to be noticed. It's a lot neater.

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^^^ Looks good. Its amazing how much time just managing wires can take up if you time it with a full setup like this. Literally hours can pass by. There is nothing more I hate then sloppy wires in sight everywhere... it drives me nuts! So I always end up spending a sh*t ton of time on wiring for any new setup/changes.
 
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I know what you mean. I just got some more tucked away and covered some of the blue cables coming from the center wrapped in electrical tape. You only see a little bit of it now instead of seeing bright blue even the room is darker. I still need to cover the left and right speakers and would like to get them out of sight but I'm not sure if that is going to happen. I'll figure something out though. So I'm close to painted over the raceway now so they'll blend into the wall.

I changed out all the outlets in the room to new black ones to blend into the room rather then stick out like a sore thumb. I used screwless covers as well. Out of 6 I think 2 were not bad to change out. All the rest had I don't know how many wires connected to them and should have been changed out with new ones long ago. One was even rusted! EEK! It took me about 3 1/2 hours to get them all done but the end result is outlets that aren't loose, brand new and really sleek looking. Originally I thought 6 outlets in the room was overkill but now I'm glad there are with everything I have to plug in. Only 2 outlets aren't in use and are available to use for phone charges, laptops or such.

Another step closer to the end. One step at a time. It's the small stuff that takes up the most time.
 
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Worked on a couple of things. I haven't been feeling well so It's been going slowly. 1st I got the right side management completely done. Thanks to Wreck and one other, who I forgot so please forgive me, mentioned the plastic wrap and some zip ties. I really didn't want to go that route but found it best to on the right side. Racetrack was just not gonna work. Came out way better then I originally thought. It's not very noticeable. Eventually something will go in front of it but it will be well organized. I also worked on some bias lighting. I can use any color I want. It worked out well. I noticed I'm going to have to fix some paint on the base board. Oh well.

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fan for the room

This is the fan we decided to go with for the room. We actually had another one and I installed it the first time and it had motor issues. They sent a second one and it had motor issues as well. It was a hugger fan which is what we need because the ceiling isnt enormously tall. Since we had so many problems with a real hugger fan the woman at the store suggested we do a hugger modification on a standard fan we like. So this is what we are getting. I think it will go nicely with the more classy theme we are going for. Not sure when It's coming in yet though. I hope it works. :ohno:

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^^^ Cool. Its nice to have a ceiling fan in tighter quarters (especially low ceiling area's) to move the air around in the room.

Ya it is. It can get brutally hot in there with all the components going. It's also right above the garage. Eventually we are going to insalate the garage so that will help with keeping it cooler. Right now there is no fan in there so it can get pretty toasty. Got some painting done yesterday afternoon on the large racetrack I used to hide a lot of the wire on the left side of the tv. Worked out perfectly. You don't even see it anymore unless a light is shined right on it.

I'm thinking of trying to look for some kind of unit to hold the components in the cubby at a thrift store or something. That way I don't have to worry about try to cover all the cables back there. I can just neaten them up and get those ugly white wire racks they installed. I'm worried about how long they will last with the weight of the components as well. :ohno:

It's coming along though. The closer I get the happier I get. My wife likes that. :D I've been getting a bit grumpy about it. I really want it finished. I probably will still have to do some decorating and moving things around, but that's fun stuff. :D
 
Ya it is. It can get brutally hot in there with all the components going. It's also right above the garage. Eventually we are going to insalate the garage so that will help with keeping it cooler. Right now there is no fan in there so it can get pretty toasty. Got some painting done yesterday afternoon on the large racetrack I used to hide a lot of the wire on the left side of the tv. Worked out perfectly. You don't even see it anymore unless a light is shined right on it.

I'm thinking of trying to look for some kind of unit to hold the components in the cubby at a thrift store or something. That way I don't have to worry about try to cover all the cables back there. I can just neaten them up and get those ugly white wire racks they installed. I'm worried about how long they will last with the weight of the components as well. :ohno:

It's coming along though. The closer I get the happier I get. My wife likes that. :D I've been getting a bit grumpy about it. I really want it finished. I probably will still have to do some decorating and moving things around, but that's fun stuff. :D

Yeah, once its done it will be all better. I truly hate wires, but you already knew that :p Anything to cover wires up!

Insulating will help with the heat for sure. Car's let off an unbelievable amount of heat in garage's.
 
Yeah, once its done it will be all better. I truly hate wires, but you already knew that :p Anything to cover wires up!

Insulating will help with the heat for sure. Car's let off an unbelievable amount of heat in garage's.

:hilarious: Yes I do remember that.

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Looking good buddy.

Thanks bud!
 
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Ya it is. It can get brutally hot in there with all the components going. It's also right above the garage. Eventually we are going to insalate the garage so that will help with keeping it cooler. Right now there is no fan in there so it can get pretty toasty. Got some painting done yesterday afternoon on the large racetrack I used to hide a lot of the wire on the left side of the tv. Worked out perfectly. You don't even see it anymore unless a light is shined right on it.

I'm thinking of trying to look for some kind of unit to hold the components in the cubby at a thrift store or something. That way I don't have to worry about try to cover all the cables back there. I can just neaten them up and get those ugly white wire racks they installed. I'm worried about how long they will last with the weight of the components as well. :ohno:

It's coming along though. The closer I get the happier I get. My wife likes that. :D I've been getting a bit grumpy about it. I really want it finished. I probably will still have to do some decorating and moving things around, but that's fun stuff. :D

Well, you're off to a much better start than I was when I first got my new room. It took me over 2 years to finally do something. My advice is to not worry about moving things around and trying new things out. And, when things seem overwhelming, take a day or two off working on it. Anyway, I like the ceiling fan. Even with the AC on in my house, I wouldn't mind being able to put on one of those.
 
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Well, you're off to a much better start than I was when I first got my new room. It took me over 2 years to finally do something. My advice is to not worry about moving things around and trying new things out. And, when things seem overwhelming, take a day or two off working on it. Anyway, I like the ceiling fan. Even with the AC on in my house, I wouldn't mind being able to put on one of those.

Thanks bud. I get to much time not working on it. I'm sick a lot so when I'm not, I'm working on the room. Rick gets on me all the time about it. :hilarious: Really it's because I'm the type of person once I start something I have to finish as soon as I can. I'm really the one driving myself nuts. What I really need to do is take some time working on some other things instead of just working on the room which I've started to do. It's so hard for me to do though. :ohno: Having a fan, that works, will be great. Even running the other ones that were not working right made it so much cooler in there. I've added the 4th 6in. lighting on the back of the tv on the top and it's made the light longer which looks better. It's really hard to get it to look likes it's one continuous light though because of them not being connected.

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Here is the painted LCD/Plasma racetrack I used to hide a very thick HDMI cable, another thick subwoofer cable and 4 12 gauge speaker cables. EEK! Got them all to fit and it looks great. With the dimmed lighting in the room it doesn't even look like it's there. :LOL: Oops, gotta fix some paint.

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