Austin DIY HT Projects (2 Viewers)

[Scott Oliver]

Yeah, I am trying to trouble-shoot on the cheap before sending off a heavy ass preamp to have it checked out.

 

[Mark Hayenga]

I can come over too, I'll bring my DMM to help figure it out.

 

[Hank Frankenberg]

Tubes, remember when I solved your mysterious boutique power cord (miswired) problem? If you're again lucky, this may be a simple fix. With two DMMs at work, this town ain't big enough for a loose connection to hide in.

Mark: I sent you a note re listening to the dipoles this Saturday at realistic volume levels - Jason has moved into a house. Give me a call.

 

[Mark Hayenga]

Hank,

Yep, I'm just about to reply to it. I was about to tear down my machine last night and right before I powered down the email came in. I had the machine torn apart last night for maintainence (I've now installed 2GB dual channel ram, DVD-RW drive, 3 Zalman case fans, Zalman 700 series GPU cooler, Zalman 7000 series CPU cooler, and Seasonic 330w power supply). The only thing I'm not quite happy with is the Zalman case fans, everything else is fantastic - silent as promised. I was perfectly happy with the case fans until I replaced the GPU HSF / CPU HSF / PSU and then it became obvious that the main source of noise now is the case fans (not that they're loud at all, they're very quiet, it's just that they're the weakest link). I might try some Nexus 80mm case fans, they're 2.5x the cost but are supposed to be the best. If anyone wants some Zalman 80mm silent case fans, gimme a holler, I have 4 (3 in use currently).

Oh, and that Zalman CPU cooler is keeping things cooler than the stock HSF despite the fact that it's set at the slowest/quietest mode.

 

[Scott Oliver]

Hmm, you guys want to come over with your meters, at some point this weekend then? I am open both Saturday and Sunday. We can do some listening in addition to the problem solving. The hum isn't horrible on my system, in fact I can only barely hear it, expecially at the listening position. But I took the preamp over to another guy's system with Klipschhorns and it was way too much noise. So I am jsut wanting to fix this problem, especially since no one else who has owned this brand has reported noise problems and the former distributor who I bought it from felt it was one of the quietest tube preamps he had ever heard and had no hum issues with his system prior to shipping it to me.

 

[Scott Oliver]

doh thought I had lst the last post

 

[Hank Frankenberg]

Have meter, will travel.
Wire Frankenberg, Austin

Okay, who can guess the entertainment allusion?

 

[Mark Hayenga]

Anytime Saturday is fine for me, though I am probably leaving town after the dipole trip. Is this mostly 60Hz hum or are there other noise issues due to a bad ground?

 

[pmeyer]

This thread seems to have faded in the last 6 months... Bad timing for me: I'm starting my DIY home theater in Bee Cave. I figure I'll post my plans and see if anybody else is out there.

I move to Austin in June '05 into a house with a 21x16 ft sound isolated media room: double walls, double floor, etc. Unfortunately, they divided the space in two, inserting a weird little room and making the home theater space 12x16. Also, the fancy cabinetry is set up for a 55" TV in the corner of the room. Nothing bigger will really work. I had to destroy part of the back of the cabinets to get my Pioneer Elite 610HD (56") rptv in there.

Well, all that is about to change.

I am ripping out the wall between the rooms to expand to the full 16x21. All the cabinets are going. I plan on improving the sound isolation and going to a fixed screen/projector setup. Stage, seats, etc are in the plan, but nothing firm there yet.

I can't post a link yet (have to have 10 posts first), so you'll have to cut/paste this in to see my room:
meyerzone.net/meyerht/

What I could use help with:
1) Help with acoustic wall treatment, speaker/sub placement, bass traps, etc. Are there any good consultants in the Austin area that will come out, measure, tune, calibrate, etc. I'll do the work myself, I just need analysis/planning.
2) Local sources for home theater seats. I want to try before I buy.
3) Somebody to come out and calibrate my projector (once I get it) and my current rptv (pioneer elite 610hd).
4) Local source for linacoustic type sound absorbing material.
5) Pointers to all the things I should be asking about but don't know about!

Anybody else out there in the Austin area working on a home theater?

Paul Meyer

 

[pmeyer]

Just checking, are folks still out there? Or has everybody in Austin finished their home theater (or gone to a different forum). If the latter, I would love a pointer...

I'm looking for local Austin resources. I'm ripping apart an existing home theater put in by the previous owner, expanding it to 16x21, sound isolating better, and adding screen/projector/seating.

Things I could use help with:
1) pointers to local sources for seats and acoustic wall treatment supplies (linacoustic or equivalent)
2) Finding a good consultant to come out and help analyze my acoustics and come up with a plan for speaker placement, acoustic treatment, bass traps, etc.
3) high quality video calibration services (front projector when I get one, my pioneer elite 610hd now).

Any help? Check out meyerzone.net/meyerht/ for pictures.

Thanks,

Paul Meyer

 

[Leroy R]

I don't have the answers to your questions, but I'm sure some of the other guys can answer your questions. Here is a link to another one of the Austin threads. http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htf/...68#post3065268
There is also an Austin Home Theater Forum Poker thread, if you play poker.

 

[pmeyer]

Thanks, Leroy. I'll head on over... I'm subscribed here as well, however. I'm hoping we can pick this thread up again, maybe with a new batch of Austin Home Theater DIYers...

Paul

 

[Jonathan DA]

Hey Paul,
I can help you out with acoustics measurements. I'll email you details and pricing.
Acoustical treatments are a little hard to come by in Austin for some odd reason. I usually buy from Specialty Products Inc. (SPI). They carry the full line of Owens Corning products. If you want linacoustic you'll probably have to have it shipped. I'm sure OC makes something similar though.
Just about all the major furniture stores in town will order theater seating for you. I don't have any first hand experience with any (my seats came out of an old auditorium) but I hear Star Furniture carries a reasonably priced line.
For video calibration, I would visit http://www.imagingscience.com/isf-trained.cfm and search for a calibrator in the metro area. Hank had his display calibrated by someone out of Dallas I believe. An alternative would be to purchase a pre-calibrated display like the new 1080p Epson LCD projector. I use an InFocus IN76, which came pre-calibrated to an accurate gray scale at 6500k. All I had to do was adjust the brightness and contrast.

 

[pmeyer]

Thanks for the info. I don't see ISF calibrators closer then Dallas/Houston. When I get a projector, I may not need it, but my CRT RPTV could use some help. I'm planning on opening the front today and clean the optics.

On the acoustics I've got CARA on it's way and I'm considering ETF. While I'm building the room I'll enter it in CARA and try different configurations. We'll see how it goes...

Paul

 

[pmeyer]

Anybody know of a local source of bonded acoustic cotton (BAC) or other non-fiberglass based acoustic wall panels?

I'll likely go with owens corning 703 from SPI for my wall treatments and bass traps if I can't find an alternative, but I'd be willing to pay a bit more to get a non-fiberglass material. Less risk for kids/dogs.

Paul

 

[Chad Anson]

Hi Paul,
I can't find my old list of sources for when I built my theater. I do recall that there weren't very many places in town that would carry what you're looking for. It didn't take me long to call around to find the Linacoustic RC that I went with.

 

[Chad Anson]

Re: ISF, I hired someone from out of town several years back when I had a RPTV. There weren't a lot of local options then. Not sure if anything has changed.

 

[pmeyer]

Thanks, Chad. As the RPTV is shifting (eventually) into the family room, I'll probably focus my video calibration on the projector (once I pick one). I'll go CIY (calibrate it yourself) on the 610.

I'm leaning the same way on the acoustics side right now as well. Picked up CARA and I'm going to start modeling my room. I've got my trusty Radio Shack analog meter wired in with ETF for measurements. We'll see how that goes...

Paul

 

[Chad Anson]

I did a search on the Johns-manville website (jm.com) to see if I recognized the place where I purchased my linacoustic. I'm not positive, but give these guys a call... they sound vaguely familiar.
BMC West
3400 Steck Avenue,
Austin, TX, 78757
Phone: (512) 465-4218

Paul, where in Bee Caves do you live? I live just a few miles away in Lakeway.

 

[pmeyer]

Thanks for the pointer on the linacoustic. It also looks like SPI (Specialty Products and Insulation) carries the Owens Corning line. I may use some of that for some bass traps. I haven't checked prices yet. They are at 207-C E. St. Elmo, South of Ben White near Congress (in case somebody else comes along looking for the same info).

I'm in the Uplands, just south-east of the HEB at Bee Caves Rd. and 71. Come by sometime and see my soon to be ripped up home theater. My kids go to school in Lakeway (off of Debba drive).

I just got CARA tonight. Looks like entering the room will be a breeze (measuring the complex ceiling and sloped wall portions will be the most work). Interpreting the graphs may be another thing, but my Master Handbook of Acoustics should be here next week.

I can just sense any pro's out there who happen to read this rolling their eyes... a $100 software package and a textbook and he thinks he's an expert. I don't fool myself that it will be perfect, but I'm having a blast.

Paul