Bathroom HT (1 Viewer)

[Alan-C]

I am redoing our bathroom and going all out. I just put in a new hot tub and am contemplating some HT elements in the bathroom. My idea is putting some type of sound system around the hot tub and maybe a small plasma screen. Has anyone had any experience with bathrooms? ideas? Its going to be all tumbled marble so acoustics are probably going to be a big problem...

Thanks

 

[Adam Gregorich]

If price is no object then Jacuzzi has just what you are looking for. Since this is out of my price range I am putting a 23 inch LCD on the bathroom wall across from the tub, with a pair of stereo in ceiling speakers. I figured it wasn't worth it to try to do surround, esp. when you have people facing all directions in a hot tub.

 

[Nick P]

Adam - that Jacuzzi you linked to is awesome. I know what I'm getting as soon as I win the lottery!

 

[Alan-C]

Wow.. that is awesome... but a little out of my budget.. I like the ceiling speaker idea above. I might do a couple in the wall across the room too... Does anyone know of a receiver/cd player with waterproof controls or remote? Would steam bother regular speakers, or does someone make something for that type of environment?

 

[Mark McGill]

One neat idea I saw a while back was to mount the screen behind one way glass. Now for most people this won't work due to access etc, however if you can do it , I must say it looks great. Turn the tv off and you have a mirror. Turn it on and it appears through the mirror. The sound issue you could deal with anyway you see fit. Good luck.

 

[Jack Ferry]

Sorry - this isn't responsive to the thread - but I have to say that this topic reminds me of getting phone calls from my dad where I would suddenly hear a flush during a conversation.

 

[Adam Gregorich]

As long as the speakers are moisture resistant you should be fine. I would avoid any with paper cones. two or four speakers in the ceiling should do it for you. Another thing to consider is ventilation. Since you are greatly increasing the amount of moisture in the air (steam) you will probably need to increase the size of your exhaust fan. Panasonic makes some fairly quiet ones.

 

[Adam Gregorich]

Jack-
I work for a cellular company. I have several co-workers who don't think twice about continuing their call in the rest room. You don't even need to hear the flush...if you know they are at the office and the call gets echo-y you know where they are

 

[Zen Butler]

You had to know that jacuzzi would make a return appearance. Love it.

 

[KenA]

I'm not looking to put a theater in my bathroom, but I would like to put some in-ceiling speakers in there and connect them to my whole house audio. Any suggestions (links) for moisture resistant in-ceiling speakers?

 

[Adam Gregorich]

Just about every brand has some. Pick a brand you like and I bet they make them.

 

[Bill Catherall]

This is too funny. It's been a while since I've visited this section of the HTF, but since I'm now in the process of a complete bathroom overhaul including a "bathroom HT" I thought I'd take a peek in here...and look what I found.

My plans:

Jacuzzi tub (no not the one linked to above)
Ceiling speakers (just stereo sound, the bathroom acoustics aren't good enough for surround sound)
13" LCD TV mounted in the wall behind glass (similar to what Mark mentioned above, but I'm using regular glass instead of one-way glass)
Remote dimming lighting control, remote fan/vent control

I'd go with a bigger TV but I don't have that much room in my wall and my budget is running tighter than I anticipated. There's a closet behind the TV wall so I will have rear access to the TV. I'll be getting a DVD/HT unit and just not using the included speakers (maybe I'll sell them separate and get some of the cost back). I just want something that's slim, will play DVD/CD/MP3, and has the amp built-in. Just a single unit instead of multiple boxes in my cabinet...I need to conserve space. I'll also be feeding the TV with my satellite receiver from another room.

For a remote I looked into getting the waterproof Dolphin remote from Balboa Instruments, but it's over $200 and doesn't have the IR codes for my X10 lighting control system (it is programmable, but then I'd still have to buy another remote for X10 so I can program the Dolphin). I can just get the remote I want for $90 that has an RF control base for the other room to control my satellite receiver and the X10 codes. To waterproof the remote I'm just going to bag it in a zip lock bag.

Since the DVD player and IR X10 controller will be located in a closed cabinet across the room I'm still going to need an IR distribution system. So I'll be putting an IR repeater behind the glass with the TV.

I've already ordered most of the components. I've got the tub already installed and all of the power for the room wired up. I've got an ultra silent ventilation fan that runs at only 1 sone and provides enough ventilation for my room. Lighting and fan are installed. I'm waiting for my speakers and speaker wiring to arrive (which should be very soon) so I can install those. For the video signal I'm running some Canare multi-coax cable that has 5 coax cables in one bundle. I need to run audio-out from the TV to the DVD/HT unit and video (either composite or component, I'll be set for both) from DVD to TV. I can get both audio and video in that one bundle. I'll just terminate the ends myself using some handy dandy tools and Canare RCA connectors. (The tools were more expensive than the cable, but I'll be set for future custom cables.)

I found a pretty cheap pair of water resistant indoor/outdoor ceiling speakers. Only about $40/pair. I don't know how they sound yet though. I'll let you know once I hook them up. Since acoustics are going to be bad though, I don't imagine I need something that's audiophile quality.

I've been taking pictures as I go, but it's on film and I haven't got them developed. I'll post them after I finish the roll and develop it. (There's no money in the budget for a digital camera right now.)

 

[Bill Catherall]

My speakers arrived yesterday. I got the Dayton C-Series 6-1/2" ceiling speakers from Parts Express. I plugged them into my receiver just to make sure they're working before I go and install them. Since they haven't really been broken in yet it's still too early to judge their sound. Also, I'm sure they'll sound different once they're installed. I just had them sitting out in the open.

But I can comment on the build quality. They're sturdy speakers. They are exactly as they appear in the pictures on the Parts Express website. They come with a cut-out template for installation. Installation looks easy enough whether it's new construction or retrofit. You won't need rear access and they can be mounted directly to the sheet rock. Since my bathroom ceiling actually has two layers of sheetrock I was worried it would be too big for the clips but there seems to be plenty of room in the clips for two layers, so there won't be any trouble there.

The grills are steel and are painted white. I don't know how good the paint is though, and since these will be mounted right above my shower I plan on spraying the grills with some Rustollium paint just to make sure they don't rust on me. It may not be necessary since these are made for high moisture environments, but I don't want to take any chances and it's easier to do now than later.

They didn't sound too bad. They're two-way speakers but I don't think they have a built-in crossover. There are other Dayton speakers with the same design with a crossover, but they will cost a little more. I just wanted something really cheap that makes sound. If I later decide to upgrade it's an easy enough change to make since they'll fit the same mounting hole. Obviously their bass reproduction leaves a lot to be desired, but again, I can't really give a good review at this time.