Really small room

[Etrigan]

Hello All

Later this year we will move into a new house and I'm planning a HT in the lounge. The lounge is square shaped, with concrete walls, tiled floor, and false ceiling. The measurements are roughly 10' by 10' by 10'. The room will have thick curtains with black out lining. A square!

I already have a BenQ projector, Marantz AVR + 5:1 speakers, and DVD. The projected screen size would be around 5'. However, the projection distance is likely to be just 9'.

Not an ideal place for HT, I know.

1. Is it worth setting up the projector given these dimensions?

2. Is there too much sound in such a small place?

3. Basically, is it worth doing?

The room just looks so small on paper I'm really not sure if the whole project is worth it.

Any replies most appreciated.

[bpape]

Welcome to the Shack.

While it's far from optimal, it's still better than sitting back watching a 27" with a pair of 1" speakers. Be realistic in terms of number of seats and expectations and it can still be an enjoyable place to be.

With proper treatment and proper seating and speaker placement, you'd be surprised what you can do.

Bryan

[MatrixDweller]

A 5' screen should be no problem for most projectors placed at 9'. 10' wide will fit a nice sized couch or a sectional across one of the walls.

My HT is about 10' wide, but 20ft long. My first seating position is at about 10ft and my projector is at 10ft. Imagining your room as the front half of mine and it's totally doable (See pic below). Surround speaker placement will be a little different and 10x10x10 is going to play havoc acoustically (a cube is the worst shape). You'll need to get some treatments up.

My screen is about 7' wide.

[salvasol]

First ... Welcome to the forum

Yuo can take a look at this thread ...http://www.hometheatershack.com/foru...e-theatre.html ... his room is 10 x 15 x 8

[Prof.]

Hi Russ and welcome..

Even though my room is 15' long, I've taken 2' out of that with the screenwall..
Admittedly your room will still be 3' shorter, but it is possible to have a single row theatre,..

I think your biggest problem will be getting the acoustics right in a room that's a cube..
The other thing is your going to be sitting right up against the back wall, which is not good for bass or surround sound..

With my anamorphic projection set up, I'm able to sit only 9'6" from an 8' wide screen, and if your budget would extend to this, I would highly recommend it as way of overcoming your short length room..but with a slightly narrower screen..so you can sit a bit closer..

[Etrigan]

Thank you everyone for the replies. The link was amazing and has certainly motivated me. I know the biggest hurdle is sound. Again I don't have much space to work within. The lounge is an open area adjacent to an open dining room. So that's one wall down. Front is a concrete wall, rear is window (planning to install thick curtains here), and remaining side is a door (again to be curtained).

I was thinking of installing sound-proofing (glass fibre in an enclosure) panels in the only two corners, from floor to ceiling. I hope the curtains will contribute too. Beyond that, there aren't many options. Are there?

I was also thinking of painting the ceiling a dark shade to absorb light.

My budget is limited as buying a house is turning out to be a bit more expensive than we planned!

Cheers

Russ

[bpape]

You really need to get the seating away from the wall. That's the cheapest (like free) huge improvement you can make to the sound. The bass will be MUCH better and the surround experience will be better too.

As for treatment, some broadband absorbers as you described above will work. Add in some absorbtion on the front wall and a couple 2" panels on each side wall and you're 90% there. You can DIY all of that pretty reasonably.

Bryan