Psychopasta's Build Thread (1 Viewer)

[Psychopasta]

Hi peeps,

Having asked lots of questions on here, I thought I would show you what I'm up to. I'm really up for any suggestions you have and any gotchas you think I'm going to fall into.

I'm starting from a good place, with a room like so:

The room was built in 2006, and has built-in speakers behind the 100" screen, and downward pointing rear speakers, all wired up to connect to an AV amplifier. However, I'm not going to use this stuff. It will stay in place but not be used.

Instead, I'm going for an all-Sonus system:

With an Arc as the center/left/right and Atmos height, a Sonos Sub as the, erm, sub, and two Sonos 1 SLs as rears. The projector is an LG AU810PB 4K UHD Smart Dual Laser CineBeam Projector, mounted to the existing ceiling mount. I'm going to lay new 48 GHz cables from the instrument rack to the projector, even though nothing uses that bandwidth yet.

 

[Psychopasta]

The main signal source will be an Apple TV, and I'll also use a Panasonic DP-UB820-K DVD and a computer or XBox. The signal chain looks like so:

I'm a bit OCD about wiring and cable management, as you can see. Everything is mounted on a scrap board I had with velcro to keep it all in place. The Apple TV feeds into a TESmart 4x1 HDMI Switch 4K HDMI Switcher Box which then feeds into an OREI eARC 4K 60Hz Audio Extractor Converter 18G HDMI 2.0 eARC Support which splits the signal to the projector and Sonos Arc. I'll add the DVD and computer once everything works.

The only bit I'm not sure about is the HDMI splitter. It doesn't explicitly call out Dolby Atmos support in the description, but it does call out everything else: DTS, Dolby TrueHD and so on. If it doesn't support Atmos I've blown $65, which is as nothing compared to the (over)spend on the system as a whole. Would like recommendations if this unit is not up to the task.

- Mark

 

[Psychopasta]

The first order of business is the room itself. I'm going to use ethernet rather than wireless for everything. We need to drop ethernet cables, and hide power and HDMI cables, then paint the room and ceiling, install new ceiling and wall lights (with Lutron Caseta control) before we get to the fun part of installing the goodies. I'll keep you posted.

- Mark

 

[DaveF]

Sounds like you’ve got a plan! Look forward to seeing the results!

 

[Sam Posten]

Cool stuff!

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

The main signal source will be an Apple TV, and I'll also use a Panasonic DP-UB820-K DVD and a computer or XBox. The signal chain looks like so:

I'm a bit OCD about wiring and cable management, as you can see. Everything is mounted on a scrap board I had with velcro to keep it all in place. The Apple TV feeds into a TESmart 4x1 HDMI Switch 4K HDMI Switcher Box which then feeds into an OREI eARC 4K 60Hz Audio Extractor Converter 18G HDMI 2.0 eARC Support which splits the signal to the projector and Sonos Arc. I'll add the DVD and computer once everything works.

The only bit I'm not sure about is the HDMI splitter. It doesn't explicitly call out Dolby Atmos support in the description, but it does call out everything else: DTS, Dolby TrueHD and so on. If it doesn't support Atmos I've blown $65, which is as nothing compared to the (over)spend on the system as a whole. Would like recommendations if this unit is not up to the task.

- Mark

IF you haven't already, you should probably doublecheck the 4K/60Hz/HDR support of that HDMI switcher (and maybe also w/ that audio extractor) despite its claims.

I tried a couple units of a Cable Matters model that didn't seem to pass muster for HDR10 support -- it seemed to cause banding in finely graded lighter areas like skies and off-white walls for unknown/unresolved reasons. I ended up just returning them and upgrading my prepro sooner rather than later...

_Man_

 

[Psychopasta]

Yep I will, but what is a prepro (pre-processor?) and what do you recommend?

 

[JWC1969]

Yep I will, but what is a prepro (pre-processor?) and what do you recommend?

You don't need to worry about the pre-pro mentioned in ManW's post. He's using separated to power passive speakers most likely. Sonos doesn't need nor can it support outside amplification. The amps are built into each product (they're active rather than passive). So you're all good in terms of amplification. As for the HDMI switcher I have no idea. Have fun. Should sound great!

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

Yes, prepro = preamp+processor.

As Jim just pointed out, that won't apply to you since you're using a Sonos solution (and most likely don't want to spend anywhere near that much to involve a prepro).

IF someday you decide the Sonos doesn't provide enough, then you might wanna go for an AV receiver (possibly w/ a supplemental amp) rather than prepro + all separate amps to drive (passive) speakers -- subwoofer should still be active (w/ its own built-in amp) though.

Anyway, my main point was to doublecheck that the HDMI switcher+audio extractor solution will work well/properly for you asap... since I've had poor experience w/ a Cable Matters model before -- it might be partly due to the fact it was a 4-to-2 matrix switcher, where it needs to do significant extra work (to yield 2 outs), not plain 4-to-1.

_Man_

 

[Psychopasta]

OK, so things haven't gone entirely to plan. Here we are as of the end of this weekend:

Holes cut in wood surround for HDMI, ethernet and power for the Arc and Sub. Power comes here:

and then down to the equipment. Here 'tis:

Getting the ethernet dropped for the rears was much harder than expected, and I nearly gave up and just used wireless for them. Nevertheless we persisted:

and so I now have my ethernet and power for the rears, and ethernet, power and HDMI for the projector.

In the process the old ceiling speakers and speakers behind the screen were removed as we needed access. Can't be arsed to put them back.

More soon!

- Mark

 

[Psychopasta]

OK, sealing up all the holes and patching:

That's it for today

 

[Psychopasta]

Painted behind the screen with a basic primer:

Not sure this was a good idea, as I'm concerned that light that gets through the screen onto the wall will reflect and show up as shadow. I guess we'll see.

Ceiling is now painted:

and a sneak peek at the wall color:

 

[Psychopasta]

Last update for a day or two. Walls now painted, and I like the color a lot:

We decided to paint behind where the screen will go:

I guess if we can see any backscatter it will be obviously rectangular shaped and will be easy to fix. The paint has a 'velvet' finish but too me the texture looks more like leather (which I like):

The color rendering in this image is kind of orangey, the deeper red of the other two photos is more realistic.

 

[Psychopasta]

Gah! Can't believe it...Covid stops play.

My youngest son has contracted Covid, and while I'm negative as is the rest of the fam, we're now locked down again. Bugger!

 

[Wardog555]

You don't want the screen to cover the wall as wide as possible?
Putting the speakers at the right places based off of angles from the MLP?

How did you choose sonos as this is the first time ever I seen someone use this for a dedicated home theater room.

Enjoy!

 

[Psychopasta]

Hey Wardog, you ask some good questions.

The only way I can go wider is to knock down the cabinets, and I don't really want to do that. It remains an option for the future, of course.

I use a Sonos Arc in the living room and am really pleased with the result. The sound is great, and I like how unobtrusive the system is. I didn't realize I was a trailblazer

 

[JohnRice]

Sonos is just quite a compromise for a dedicated room.

 

[Psychopasta]

Well I can always upgrade later if I find the sound bad. Full report once I get it all installed, which is now looking to be early September as I have missed my window (so to speak) due to my son's illness.

 

[JohnRice]

You can upgrade if the room is wired for it, but I’m guessing it won’t be.

 

[Wardog555]

You are aware you can put the screen In front of the cabinets right?

I'm pretty biased towards av receivers myself as they deliver the highest audio quality possible and fully deliver Dolby atmos without compromises.

Sure you got to run wires and it's a big black box but you got to live with those things if you going to be dedicated towards this hobby.