Numerous questions for Home Theater build (1 Viewer)

Looking for a bit of help in building and setting up my media room. I've been lurking for a bit now, but finally decided I'd post my situation. I'd appreciate any time and thought all of you might have to answer some lingering questions and problems I have.



I am now finally about to move my audio/video equipment out of the living room into a dedicated media room I am currently building in my basement. Below is a room layout dimension wise. At this point, no sheetrock is up, just roughed in by 2X4's on the concrete floor.




Below are some of my more 'pressing' questions as of now.

One of the most immediate problems ATM for me is the media cabinet.

I am looking for suggestions where to find one. The caveat is that I'd like one where I can build it into the wall so once completed I can put a framed movie poster in the front of it on some sort of hinge (think hidden wall safe) so when it isn't in use, I can have the picture closed so no one would even know it's there. I'm trying to find one that won't be crazy expensive that I can get preassembled or I one I assemble (doesn't need wheels or a front 'door'), but basically a frame tall enough to house 4-5 components with space for possibly one or two more and still support the weight of the equipment located there (I plan on roughing in a correctly sized hole so I can attach the side rails to the wall studs for strength). Since the space behind the cabinet is unfinished and totally open, there will be no additional need for cooling. I did do some more research and did find this (pic below). I really don't want an opening door (unless I can mount it directly to the picture frame somehow), but in my mind this is extremely close to what I'm thinking I want. Any suggestions or obvious problems I'm missing or haven't considered??





I haven't purchased my new receiver (planning on the Anthem MRX 510), but here is the current equipment set up (7.1):

Yamaha A730 Receiver
Definitive Technologies BP7001SC Towers
Definitive Technologies CLR2002 Center channel
Definitive Technologies Powerfield 10" Sub
Paradigm AMS-100R (middle and rears/ceiling mounted)
All speakers connections will be ran with 14-2 oxygen free copper wire (monoprice)


Hooking this up and running it all is pretty straightforward. The Yamaha has two outputs for the subs, so I run one output directly to the powerfield sub and the second output I run a wire and split it to go to each of the BP7001SC's.

So another question is about the subwoofer:

When I look at the back of the Anthem 510 there is only ONE sub output (the 710 has the same rear setup so the answer isn't upgrading to it instead). How do I run this so my sub has a connection as well as the BP7001's (each have built in subs)? Is splitting the signal out of the one output THREE times going to reduce or hurt the sound quality? My initial receiver was a Marantz SR7000, and since it only had one sub output, I just didn't use my dedicated sub and ran the line split to the BP7001's. It was in my living room, so it was actually nice to eliminate the additional equipment due to space purposes. But since I am now currently roughing in a dedicated media room, I'd like to be able to use the entire set up. Is there any sort of type of sub wiring that is 'suggested' too? Here are pics of the connections for the receiver, sub, and the 7001's.










Next....HDMI cable question.

I am not sure of the exact length of the needed run from the receiver to the TV. I will likely run a rope or string the distance to get as close to an approximation for the needed cable length. I was likely going to order it via monoprice soon, but there are more than a few choices so I'm looking for suggestions as to which cord I should be running. I haven't mentioned the TV I'll be using because tbo, I haven't decided yet. I do know it'll likely be a HD/3D tv 65"+ or larger one (possibly a 4K if the prices drop enough when I go to purchase). Can someone suggest to me a cable that is not going to degrade the signal and keep me running as high a resolution as the equipment allows over what is likely a 35 foot or so run (I'm also more than a little worried about what to do if the HDMI cable goes bad once the sheetrock is up and installed, as I've read more than a few reviews talking about that exact problem)?

For now, these are some of my most pending questions. If anyone has the time to make suggestions, I would appreciate it. I haven't scheduled sheetrock to be installed yet, but I'd like to have the room ready for it by the end of the month at the latest.

Thanks for reading. If there is some information I neglected to mention, please feel free to ask.

Thank you

Andretti

On phone, so short answers(pictures can only blow up "so big" )Why not build your own cabinet, exactly like you want?You are buying CL2 wiring? (14/2 doesn't mean you are)Yes you can split a single sub output to three. All your Yamaha did was do it once already.However, like has been said numerous times, there is no point hooking up the sub input on those Def Tech. I would run a cat5/6 extension to where your TV will be. Much more reliable.

Thanks for the reply.

As far as building a cabinet...well, I figured a wood one would help hold the heat too much, and tbo...I have no woodworking skills (as well as no tools) really what-so-ever as far as 'finishing something to look good' goes. In case someone saw the picture open, I'd prefer it to be something good verses an obvious unfinished 'shelf'. I just assumed a metal one would be the better route, as I'd just need to paint any 2X4's that the brackets would attach to that might show up and volia, finished and looks nice. Maybe I can contact a finish carpenter and see how cheaply they could make me something....

I've never heard nor read that hooking up the subs in the 7001's isn't worth it before. That being said, if I don't run line to them for a sub connection, it most definitely makes things easier. I'd be the first to admit I've really never noticed if there was much of a difference if they were connected or not. Thanks for the clairification on splitting the lines too.

I've never realized that I could run cat5/6 as a HDMI connection. I'd have to agree...the likelyhood of it going bad is pretty slim, and even if it did, I could easily wire two or three runs of it to the tv as a 'just in case' measure if one did die. Is there any type of plug or way to convert it back to HDMI that is suggested as better than most and reliable? I'll start researching this right now, but if you or another expert wants to chime in with a suggestion, I'd be very appreciative.


Andretti

Having the person(company) doing the finish work, do the cabinet as well...would be the best route. Metal vs wood is a wash, as any cabinet needs to be vented anyway...which your carpenter is doing anyway. Tell him(them) What you want...and let them find one to integrate, or just build it.Using cat5/6 for HDMI is by using an "HDMI extender over cat".

Is there a particular 'HDMI extender over cat' I would be best served using (typically found to be most reliable) for runs between 25'-45'??

I've found numerous ones, but they do vary a great deal price wise and I'm wondering how much of that is due to quality among many other concerns.


Andretti

I recommend Vanco.

Thanks yet again for your suggestion. I'll do more research based on that brand.

Also...I put on the newest Hunger Games movie for my wife last night. I intentionally unhooked the sub line to the 7001's just to 'see' if I'd notice if there was any difference. And as I'm sure you already know....I didnt notice any difference. The subs still hit and acted as though they were attached. I guess I'd say the only thing it did was confuse me as to why there is that connection at all.

Thank you for your help.


Andretti

There is a press release(cedia related, I think) about the latest generation. I read the manual for them and even said(to the effect) "nice that DT still doesn't do anything with that connection" .It is plain as day in the manual that the connection does nothing(if you can through the babble).

I finally just bit the bullet and placed an order for an HDMI cable. I ended up going with the BJC Belden Series-1 Bonded-Pair HDMI Cable from Blue Jeans Cable. I got ahold of some twine and ran it like I would the HDMI and it looks like I at least need a 29' 6" cable, so I opted for the 35' one there figuring the extra line would be a guarentee I'd be good to go. I plan on running that and wiring two pairs of cat5e along with it as backups for if the cable becomes useless. I'm hopefull that wont be an issue anytime soon.

Thanks again for the suggestions. I am currently trying to track down a finish carpenter to see what I can find out about the cost of having a wood cabinet built verses the metal route. That came in for $560 approx with five shelves and 31.25 inches tall. I'd be shocked if I couldnt get a wood one built for much cheaper.

Andretti

Sheetrock went up yesterday, and mudding is being done as I type this.

I'm excited to have gotten this far and am grateful for the advice and all the posts here on the site.

I hold no illusions that once completed it will be much in comparison to all I've seen here, but for me and my family it'll be pretty awesome. If we ever move (my plans in 4-5 years) my wife will end up regretting it, as I'll have much bigger and better plans for that HT room. =]

Andretti

Glad to see your HT is coming along. Not sure if it's too late, but one suggestion i would have is to look into Sanus racks.

http://www.sanus.com/en_US/products/racks/

Numerous changes and updates at this point.

I ended up just building a media rack/cabinet. It isn't anything dramatic, but with some help from one of my neighbors, it will work and be fine. I still plan on hiding the entire thing behind a mounted and framed movie poster on some sort of piano hinge so that while not in use, it will not be seen.

The Yamaha A730 has been 'retired'. I picked up my new Anthem 710 a few days ago. All I can say is 'WOW'. Not cheap by any stretch of the imagination, but I'm really happy with it thus far (my room isn't done yet, so I set the 710 up in my living room). Probably the first receiver that can really run my Definitive Tech BP7001 SC's.

I did buy from monoprice a 35' HDMI cable. I tested it prior to running through all the joists as well as after....it seems to work great, so that concern is now gone, though I did run 2 separate cat5e pairs just in case the HDMI fails at some point in the future.

The tv is purchased, and the wall mount is already installed that will hold it.

Yesterday, I added my new breakers for the panel to run all the new electronic requirements for the room as well as connecting all the outlets and the lights.

Drywall is up, mudded and taped. Walls were finished being painted by me last night, and tomorrow I plan on first painting the ceiling, and then installing the ceiling speakers and the rest of the lighting.

After that, its time for painting/staining and installing the baseboard trim and the two doors. Carpet next week.

Andretti

On the rack, we use the Middle Atlantic BRK Series laminate rack. It's a 21U standard width media rack, I believe it's 20" wide and 39 or 40" tall. It works beautifully for mounting in the wall. And gives you the perfect space to attach what ever decorative trim you like and recesses the equipment just right for your poster to close. You will have to put a piano hinge to swing the poster. We use an 1/8" or 1/4" lattice trim to cover the Sheetrock rough edge. And that way the poster still closes, too. Perfect rack for your applicationThere's one down! Robert LewisAVX

Looks like I'm ready for the carpet today!! All the drywall is installed and painted, baseboard is in, doors installed and stained, media cabinet built, stained and installed as well. TV wall mount is also ready and as soon as carpet is installed I'll be putting it on the wall and moving all the electronics downstairs into the new cabinet.

Pics below












The side wall next to the media cabinet remains untouched. It is roughed in for a DVD cabinet, but since I didn't have the time to get it built, I decided to just leave the drywall intact until time allows me to build the new cabinet and put it in place. I will address this in the near future.

I still need to stain the wood around the basement window, and cut and install the trim that will go around that on the wall (first picture), but that's about all on the agenda for now. It'll get done, but in the meantime we can start using the room. I also need to put the phone jack on (first picture, the outlet that isn't covered).

My only question I'll have to answer for myself is if the remotes for all the electronics will work based on our seating location. If not, I'm going to have to figure something out, whether its setting up an I.R. booster or if I can run things with a Logitech Harmony or something else...I'll be finding out soon enough if it's going to be a problem or not.

Still, I'm pretty excited to be at this point.

Thanks for looking.

Andretti