The Two Jims Theatre

**filecat13** · **07-19-09, 04:19 AM**

Actually it's The Two Jims II, since it's the successor to my original Two Jims Theatre.

The name comes from my deep regard for James B. Lansing and for Jim Fosgate.

The original Two Jims was really just a typical HT in the living room while we rented a condo for seven years (and saved up for a down payment on our house). So there were windows, room openings, light colored walls, hard surfaces, and typical house noise to deal with. At the same time, there was a real 110" diagonal Da-Lite screen, a big Seleco SVD500 CRT projector, a full JBL 7.1 Performance Series speaker complement, and Fosgate Audionics FAP T1 pre/pro and FAA 1000.5 amplifier (x2) electronics.

It sounded really good in a very bad room, where movie watching was pretty tough in the daytime.

**filecat13** · **07-19-09, 04:26 AM**

When we finally had our 20% down payment saved and the added advantage of falling prices, we found a nearly perfect house, totally and tastefully remodeled, with two bonus rooms on the bottom floor. One was destined to become our fitness and music room, and the other would become The Two Jims II.

There are no windows, and it is partially below ground.

At first, I merely bought a new Mitsubishi 1080p projector and some Poang chairs from Ikea, then set up all the old equipment: JBL Performance Series, Fosgate Audionics electronics, and the old sources. I put in a couple of rugs and added bass traps and called it good. (I was lazy, okay?)

**filecat13** · **07-19-09, 04:37 AM**

In January 2009, I had what I consider the opportunity of a lifetime. I could get a complete JBL Synthesis® Array One THX Ultra2 system from an authorized dealer. It had been used as the demo system at CEDIA and would come with full warranty and service.

Once I acquired it, then I had one of those "What have I gotten myself into?" moments, since I knew this would require real effort and probably a lot more money to get the room right for a system of this magnitude. Acoustical panels, sound diffusers, dedicated 20A circuits, in-wall cabling, new construction for an equipment closet, 19" racks, real carpeting, a high end screen, room darkening paint and wall coverings, changes in the lighting, oh boy!

I got some bids, the cheapest of which was $32k just for the construction, and I thought maybe I'd just sell all the JBL gear and forget about it.

**filecat13** · **07-19-09, 04:57 AM**

Once I recovered from the overwhelming sense of being in over my head and short on $$, I determined to do everything myself. Now DIY can't provide the required JBL DACS calibration, so I had to pony up the money for that, and I paid for some consultant advice on what to do. (And I'm very glad I did! What an amazing result!) Otherwise, I bought, installed, and/or built everything.

The total cost, including all materials, acoustical panels, diffusers, Stewart Screenwall (perfed), racks, and a Furman 20A conditioner was about $10k, not including of course the cost of the Synthesis® system or the value of my time, estimated at 400 hours so far.

This process began in early February 2009, and finished in mid June. By finished, I mean 98% finished. There are a few odds and ends to finish up. Four months is a long time to work on a project, but since I'd waited 50+ years to get to this point, what's a few months?

I really wanted to do it as well as I could, so there'd be no second-guessing later on why I didn't do something or why I took a shortcut just to get it done faster.

The philosophy was simple: Do whatever was needed to made the room the best it could be, then if possible make it somewhat attractive.

**filecat13** · **07-19-09, 05:28 AM**

When calibration day finally arrived, it was an exciting time. The system was already set up and tested for operability, and it sounded amazing to me. Maybe I didn't need to spend the $$ on calibration?

Wrong!

When it was over three hours later, I had gone from amazed to stunned. Stunned as in "What just happened? I need a moment to absorb this transformation." My buddy who came over to help and take some pictures (we schlepped cables, set up mics, carried heavy cases, plugged in connectors, you know real technical stuff) was pretty impressed, too: "My pants legs were fluttering..."

I've posted some Web pages that include the construction, installation, and calibration of the system. Apparently my site and IE 8 don't like each other, so if you're on Windows, try Firefox or another browser. If you're on a Mac or Linux, no worries.

http://web.me.com/dougsemark/JBL_Syn...a/Welcome.html

**Bruce Fisher** · **07-20-09, 10:27 AM**

nice pictures - looks great

**Anthony** · **07-21-09, 08:28 AM**

Yeah, that looks great! Good work.

**tjambro** · **07-21-09, 11:54 PM**

Wow...that's a lot of speakers! I bet you are enjoying your room!

**filecat13** · **07-24-09, 02:27 PM**

I am enjoying the room, thanks, and so is everyone who gets a chance to see and hear it. I hope it encourages others to believe that similar projects are possible for them.

Oftentimes we see projects that are stupendous (and expensive) in nature, and we believe anything of that caliber is out of our reach, so we settle back for upgrading a component or getting new drapes and feel we've moved upscale. Or we believe our rooms are too small or not constructed as we'd like and because we can't do a "big" job that it's not worth the effort.

It is worth the effort. I realized that before I ever fired up the new speakers. The change in the room was palpable, audible, and visual. The addition of the proscenium and screenwall made a big improvement. The live end/dead end environment created by the absorbers and diffusers was transformational. The isolation of the equipment into a dedicated closet outside the room perimeter made an amazing difference. Even the painting of the front of the room, the hanging of drapes, and installation of carpet transformed an empty, hard, echoing room into an intimate cinema space.

Would I like bigger? Yep. Would I like fancier? Um, maybe, maybe not. Cuz what I really have is an amazing room with an astounding sound system that fit my budget, my house, and my talent. It's easy to be very, very happy with it.

**Bruce Fisher** · **07-24-09, 04:15 PM**

well said

**tjambro** · **07-24-09, 05:38 PM**

Quote:

Bruce Fisher wrote:

well said

+1

**filecat13** · **07-27-09, 11:03 PM**

You know the Stephen Stills song, Love the One you're With. That's how I had to moderate my HT aspirations as far as the room was concerned. Originally I had thought I could remove a wall and have a nice 4,500 cu. ft., three level space.

Then as the contractor explored the process, we discovered that the wall in question was both load bearing and an earthquake shear wall. Hooray, California!

So then it was a matter of which room or neither room. Instead of a 30x14'6"x10'9" room (with 8'8" at the very back), now it was a choice of 14.5x14.5x10.67 or 16.5x15.5x8.67. Quick math showed 2,090 cu. ft. vs. 2,220 cu. ft., and the 2,220 cu. ft. room had the advantage of no outside entry and no stairs intruding on its space. Plus, 14.5x14.5 is a killer with room modes.

Could I really put such a big system in such a modest space? Even if I could, should I?

Thankfully, the folks at JBL Synthesis® were very helpful in bringing me back to earth. The system is designed for rooms from 1,500 cu. ft. to 16,000 cu. ft. "That's quite a range," I remarked.

"If you do the right things to the room, it'll be fine. In fact, better than fine. You will never run out of headroom, and the room will sound much bigger than it is."

You know, they were right.

As I get the chance, I'll share some of the design and build challenges and how they were met, even with my limited budget and DIY necessity.

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