Question Will this space be ok for a home cinema?

AVLeon

Established Member
Joined
Feb 16, 2004
Messages
101
Reaction score
9
Points
84
Location
Midlands
Morning

I am currently building an extension to the side of my house and one room is meant to be a garage but due to the slope its going to be a pain building the drive up ... so ... home cinema comes to mind! :) and then build a detached garage later in the front garden.

The thing is its 5.9 x 2.9 meters, there is a step down into it so will have fairly high ceilings probably 2.8 meters. I am only at the stage of foundations/slab done at the moment.

I wondered about having the screen at one end to get the full length of the room but this would limit the width of seating or what about having the screen on the long wall so you only sit 2.9m away from it? I could then have a large 4 seater or something and have more room to move around the room, this way it could be used as a dual purpose room maybe a desk under the window, add a huge 7 foot fish tank etc :).

any suggestions / ideas to suitability, as you can see this is a turning point in the build!

(floor already insulated to room specs as always had the plan in the future of turning this into a room)
 

Attachments

  • IMG_0278.JPG
    IMG_0278.JPG
    2.6 MB · Views: 141
  • IMG_0277.JPG
    IMG_0277.JPG
    1.4 MB · Views: 131
I think it should be fine.

My room is only 2.75m wide with a 104"wide wall to wall screen and two rows of seats (room is all black velvet so the screen just floats in space when you're watching a movie). I used genuine commercial cinema seats to have a front row of three, and a second row of two on a riser behind. This allows a reasonable aisle space either side.
 
im prob going to loose a bit by the time its plaster boarded so may well be about 2.75 finished size like yours, if i wanted to sound proof it then it would make the room even narrower, i would only need to sound proof external walls i suppose as im not bothered about the sound entering the house, the whole room will be surrounded by double skin insulated walls anyway.

It feels better to have the screen on the 2.9m wall but it means cinema style seats not a sofa arrangement, so you wouldn't recommend having the screen on the 5.9m wall, to close? unless i just had a 65" TV instead but i always wanted a projector!
 
It will work both ways, but you have to consider the screen size and seating distance relationship - I like to sit a little closer than most so my eyes are around 90" (2.28m) from the screen. You could also go for a 2.40 screen - a good rule of thumb for most people is to sit as far back as the screen is wide, and then scope looks wider and more immersive then the smaller formats (4:3, 2.2:1, 1.85:1 etc).

It's not always a good idea to have the seats at the back wall, as that limits speaker placement for both 7.1 and Atmos, and it's usually recommended to have speakers at least 4ft away from ears, so that may limit options if you have the screen on the 2.75m wall.

My house is detached with cavity walls, and I didn't bother to soundproof either for the same reasons.
 
Its about 300mm so yes i had also thought of that but it is making a dedicated room then, il have to decide if thats the route id like to go down
 
With regards to speakers I would like to go for an Atmos setup and as I have Kef I would get some in ceiling speakers from them, something like the KEF Ci160R? (x4). I also have a Kef 3005 Egg system sitting in my cupboard so my thoughts were to use those for the rears along with the IQ5/IQ6C for the fronts and the PSW2500 Sub. (The IQ1's can then go to the TV in the lounge for fronts with the remainder of the 3005 setup)

Do you think that would work? I dont have the budget for all new speakers with everything else going on! I will get another AMP something like a a second hand Aventage Yamaha im thinking.
 
I have Atmos 7.2.4 in my narrow room so you easily apply that to yours too, though it may be more difficult if you have the screen on the long wall with the seats at the back wall. My set up was extremely budget restricted but I'm happy with the results. I picked up a used Denon 7200WA and used a spare stereo amp I had to power the final pair of speakers, but a Marantz 7010 or 7011 will do a very similar if not identical job.
 
I have Atmos 7.2.4 in my narrow room so you easily apply that to yours too, though it may be more difficult if you have the screen on the long wall with the seats at the back wall. My set up was extremely budget restricted but I'm happy with the results. I picked up a used Denon 7200WA and used a spare stereo amp I had to power the final pair of speakers, but a Marantz 7010 or 7011 will do a very similar if not identical job.
Where is your mlp Gary?
 
2 x screen heights back.
Ah, I think you said 2.28m earlier, which adds up. Is that in the centre of the room or within the front half? Reason for asking is my room is 5.2m x 2.5m with two rows of seats, and the mlp will be about the middle (nearer 3m from the front wall), and I'm being told (by members and REW room sim) that will be in a null so bass will be poor.
 
It's in the front half - 104" wide 16:9 screen masked down to 2.37:1 at 44" high (though it is adjustable), with the front row at around 2x SH (2nd row around 2.9 x SH at about 128"). It's primarily a CIH system with an anamorphic lens though initially I was zooming - I remove the lens and the screen masking for IMAX aspect changing movies.

My second row is on a riser that is about 30cm as well coincidentally.

I used REW to determine where the best place was to put the subs, so have one in the front wall, and one in a rear corner. Slightly better results could be had if I'd placed two in the ceiling rear corners but that wouldn't have been easy to implement and the difference didn't make it worth while. I've not done any measurements yet but will eventually. At the moment I'm just enjoying watching movies and haven't really got back into tweaking mode.
 
Last edited:
Sounds like a lot of people have similar sized rooms, in an ideal world I would like it wider by a meter or so but looks like it can work. Il have to start a build thread when / if i do it :) I went to the cinema Tuesday and watched Blade Runner, sat in the new leather seats they have and I could easily fit 2 of those in a 2.9m wide room I decided.
 
I'd like it wider too, as that would allow me to fit deeper surround speakers - ideally I'd like coaxials with the same compression drivers as the LCR, but had to compromise (plus it gets all ears further away from the surround speakers).
 

The latest video from AVForums

Is 4K Blu-ray Worth It?
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Back
Top Bottom