I decided it would be fun to post some pictures of my theater on this site, and more important, share my experiences with this fascinating hobby!
This is the entrance to the theater. The door appears to be wood but it is actually steel, for better sound-proofing. Doors and windows are very important because they are a major source of audio leakage, both outwards and inwards.
At the base of the door, I attached one of these "rubber skirts" that provides a further seal between the room and the outside. Malaki ang tulong nya for both sound-proofing and keeping the cool air in. Along the door jamb, I also attached strips of rubber in order to provide a tighter fit, also for purposes of sound-proofing.
You enter through a kind of ante-room. At the right side, you can see the back of the equipment rack. You will note that may takip ang likod ng rack kasi otherwise, ang dami wires at pangit. But naglagay ako ng dami butas sa likod ng rack for ventilation purposes. You will also notice that there is a small space sa likod ng rack so that madali mag-access sa cables. Naglalagay ako usually ng bangko doon pag may aayusin ako. Ang laking bagay ito! Hirap kapag wala ka easy access sa likod ng rack.
On the left, you can see a DVD shelf, cabinets for manuals, tools, etc., the AVR and line conditioner, etc.
For acoustic purposes, the walls of the ante-room are lined with a dark brown corkboard.
Here's a closer look at the AVR and the Furman line conditioner.
Here's a shot of the seating area. You can note that these aren't normal theater seats. It's designed to have get-togethers with friends. Ummm .. inuman actually. May bar nga sa likod. This is a big theater. Ceiling at the rear is 15 feet high. Sa harap is about 10 feet.
The walls and ceiling are actually covered with a 4" layer of fiberglass. Sometimes, workers need to go up sa kisame to work on wiring or the projector support, etc. Kailangan pasuotin mo sila ng long-sleeves at surgical mask kasi ang fiberglass is so fine na pumapasok ang fibers sa pores mo. Kati.
The front part of the theater also has RPG-style diffusers. At the top of the rear portion, may plywood with a matrix of holes, supposedly designed to be a bass trap. All of this acoustic treatment is hidden underneath the fabric.
The flooring is actually granite, with some large area carpets. This is supposed to be a no-no for acoustic treatment because the hard flooring causes unwanted reflections with the ceiling. However, this doesn't seem to be a big problem in my theater, probably because (1) ang dami ring furniture which absorb sound and (2) the ceiling of the front part of the theater is sloping upwards and (3) the ceiling is made of wooden planks with grooves in-between planks.
At the right rear of the theater, you can see the heavy drapes covering a small window. About half a block away from the house is the LRT and without a good window, maririnig talaga ang ugong niya. In order to solve this problem, I had to install a double window, as in one window tapos air gap tapos another window. Now, you can hardly hear the LRT.
Underneath the drapes and also sa tabi ng wall sa right side are 2 aircon units. Usually isa lang ginagamit ko. Kailangan paandarin ang 2 only if there are a lot of people. My problem with the aircons is that kapag may quiet scene sa movie, nadidinig talaga ang fan ng aircon. The best solution is really to have a separate room for the air handling unit and then duct the cool air into the room. In the meantime, naghahanap ako ng mas tahimik na aircon pero wala talaga ako makita.
There is a coffee table and 2 side tables. These are actually designed so that wherever you sit, you have a table close by where you can put your drinks, pulutan ... It's not perfect but it works quite well. When I was building the theater, an architect friend of mine told me that I should have installed a "dumb waiter." Yung maliit na elevator para sa pagkain, kasi ang theater ay nasa 3rd floor. Tumawa ako noon pero ngayon, nakikita ko na tama sya. Hirap mag-akyat ng food sa 3rd floor.
At the top, you can see the Sony VPL-VW100 projector.
Here's a close-up of the sofa and the coffee table. The sofa looks good and is very comfortable ... but it's actually not appropriate. Mataas kasi ang back kaya natatakpan ang ears mo. Dapat medyo low back so that litaw ang ears mo.
Very useful talaga ang table para sa mga remote, pagkain, alak ...
Sa ilalim ng table, you can see a portion of my collection of home theater magazines - Home Theater, AV Interiors, Stereophile Guide to Home Theater, etc. I used to buy a lot of these. Nowadays, I never buy a brand-new copy. Palagi yung luma kasi sobra mahal ang bago and you can get a lot more updated information on the web, anyhow.
Closer shot of the La-Z-boy type seats sa harap. Ang sarap talaga matulog dito!
You can also see the baseboard, which is corrugated. The idea was that corrugation helps to diffuse the sound.
In this photo, you can see the pipes which support the projector. They are anchored sa trusses. The ceiling is 15 feet high at this point.
You can also see that the ceiling is made of wooden planks. "Kalantas," which is a soft wood but has grains similar to narra. Looks expensive but it's not. No need for hardwood sa ceiling. I thought that this type of ceiling would enhance the "traditional" look of the theater.
This is actually the entrance to the theater. You can see the front of the equipment rack and some DVD's.
Here's the other shelves for DVD's and CD's. It's actually better na medyo kalat at magulo ang mga DVD at CD cuz that contributes to sound diffusion.
You can also see the side speakers. These are a combination of JBL XPL-160 and JBL XPL-90. Mga vintage speakers pero magaling! Wired sila as dipole. I used to have only the JBL XPL-160 speakers sa side. Akala ko malakas na sya kasi rating nya mga 160 watts. Also, usually mahina naman ang tunog na lumalabas sa side at rear ... until I played Chapter 15 of "Air Force One," when the US fighter jet positions itself at rear of Air Force One and then fires a missile. When the fighter jet moves to the rear, there is a huge roar of its engines coming out of the side speakers ... doon bumigay ang JBL XPL-160, so I decided to add the JBL XPL-90, in parrallel. After that, okay na.
And do you see that round golden thing at the bottom left side? Basurahan yan! Anong akala mo?
At eto yung isa ko pang collection. Actually, d naman ito collection kasi nauubos!
The wine rack sa left is off-the-shelf while the bar on the right is custom-made. Ginamit ko Romblon marble kasi d sya masyado namamantsa. Tapos may CR sa left side with personal ref (para sa beer!) and sink for cleaning glasses. Kaya parang "wet bar" siya. My prized and unique bottle is a Calvados (apple brandy) which is more than 100 years old. Bigay ng friend ko from the French embassy. Meron din akong Chateau Yquem na 1975 - this is a very special dessert wine.
You can also see the big JBL XPL-200 that I use as a rear speaker. Kaparis ng center speaker. Actually, this rear speaker doesn't need to be so big kasi the Denon AVR treats it like a "small" speaker and kaunti lang ang lumalabas sa kanya. However, ano naman gagawin ko sa speaker na ito? Kaya ginawa ko na lang rear sya. Yung nasa ibabaw nya ay maliit na JBL, my previous rear speaker. Iniwan ko na lang kasi kung tanggalin ko, magkakaroon ng butas.
Okay talaga itong vintage na frame. Mura ng coke dati! Did you know that during WWII, Coca-Cola vowed to supply all American GI's with Coke at 5 cents wherever they were? That's why Coke set up around 40 bottling plants around the world during the war, and that's how Coke became international and the most recognized brand name.
