The Wychwood project

[John Simpson]

With the arrival of two out of four Soundsplinter 18" drivers, I thought it was time to start the project thread. The IB baffles will be first construction task, while we wait on Council approval to begin building the new house.



Here's a snap of one of the new drivers, alongside one of the six surround speakers (it will be a 9.4 setup). Nothing can prepare you for the size of the drivers... I'd had some 15" venom drivers previously and I thought they were big. These simply dwarf them. I can't imagine what four will sound like...

Incidentally, the surround speakers are Whatmough Opus FX, an Australian-made brand. These will match my Whatmough front speakers (202i Leadline Series -- yes, they're lined with lead!) and should sound quite nice.



Here are the final room dimensions, as incorporated into the final plans. The ceiling height at the highest point is 2800mm, giving the room the ideal sonic measurements. The front cabinet is for the infinite baffle sub manifolds.



This is a revision to a previous rendering I posted. The room's now a bit bigger, and the sub-drivers are in manifolds rather than in-line (I was a little worried about wall movement with the four drivers pointing the same way). All electronic equipment is in an external cupboard, to avoid noise issues (such as the Behringer 2500 amp).



Rendering facing the rear of the room, with speaker placements and projector bulkhead visible. Finding the right projector is going to be tough, considering I'd like constant height without an anamorphic lens. I'm hoping someone releases a native 2.35:1 projector before the house is completed next year. The bulkhead position will have to remain fluid until I can determine the correct throw ratio.

More as it comes...

[bpape]

Looks like it will be a sweet setup.

On the down side, I wouldn't hold my breath for a native 2.35 any time soon.

Bryan

[Sonnie]

This is going to be gorgelicious...

[ACGREEN]

What software did you use to design and draw your theater. That is a sweet layout with great visualization.

[John Simpson]

The software used was Autodesk 3DS Max 9 (it's a A$7000 program, so not really for the beginner). The same program was used to create the new Shack logo.

I have heard others mention programs that are a lot cheaper, and probably a bit simpler to use.

[Prof.]

This is going to be an awesome theatre John....I hope you've got strong solid walls!!...
You've got to go anamorphic with a setup like that...There are some very happy people using CIH with an anamorphic lens...myself included...and if you wait for a native 2.35 projector, you won't be watching movies for sometime..

[John Simpson]

I got some interesting advice from the distributor of ScreenResearch projector screens today, on how best to modify the room to perform to THX specifications:

• Increase the screen size from 103" diagonal to 150" (I'm going to have to check that, particularly as he says the sweet spot viewing distance will then be 3520mm from the screen )
• Lower the screen by 200-300mm (it's currently 1000mm above the floor)
• Put all front speakers behind the screen, and closer together

The last point really complicates things, as the cabinet baffle for the IB would need to be reduced in size. I'm not sure with the displacement of the Soundsplinters that I can do that...

Oh, and he also said I should put in a second door in the entryway to make the room a perfect rectangle. Interesting...

(His advice was very much appreciated, even if it sounds as if I'm a little skeptical!)

[John Simpson]

Well, I just modified the front-view rendering to follow the adviser's instructions: the screen is now 150" diagonal, and is 800mm off the floor (see first post).

Does this seem exceedingly large to anyone else? Has anyone any experience with a screen that big? (Never thought I'd hear myself saying that!)

Edit: I had a bit of eureka moment following an email from my THX-mate, and realised there's no need for me to keep the main speakers on their stands. Instead, here's a view without the screen in place:



I'm not sure why this hadn't occurred to me before... I got so sidetracked with how to incorporate the speakers on their stands I lost track of the simplest solution.

[John Simpson]

The two remaining Soundsplinter drivers turned up in the post today -- they'd been held up in Customs and I had to supply an official invoice to prove they came to less than A$1000.

So even if the box says a certain price, Customs in Australia may still hold up a package if they're curious.

Heh, maybe I would've done a similar thing, considering how big they are...

[Mongrel714]

John, your renderings look beautiful, and the website for Wychwood is amazing, you will have an unbelievable home, good luck with the construction!

[John Simpson]

As an update, building approval has been stalled by the local Council, as they require a comprehensive bushfire strategy. Not a big thing, and good for us to consider before building. Nevertheless...

The plans for the lounge have been somewhat revised to, to reduce the massive span of the timber trusses. The new renderings are on the website -- just click on the floorplan links for the lounge and dining rooms.

[John Simpson]

Latest update: it's begun!

The excavator has been hard at work and we now have a considerable hole in our once pristine property. We were out there today marking out the rooms on the dirt, and all I was really interested in was the size of the cinema room. Is that shallow of me?

Foundations and slab will be next -- have you guys heard of this idea where they put insulating foam under the slab? Sounds bit hokey to me, but might be worth a bit of research...

[Sprtex]

ditto on the website - very nice!

I think keeping up with the size of the rooms, theater room especially, is just proper planning. The layout is amazing; I'm excited for you. Good luck with the build.

[bpape]

Looks great John.

Congrats on things finally getting started.

Bryan

[Sonnie]

Glad to know you are finally getting it all going... I know you guys are excited.

That foam under the slab sounds interesting. I would think the temp below the slab is cooler since it gets no exposure to sun, but I don't understand how any cooling or heating could escape via the slab.