Plan to build a dedicated Hometheater.


Hi all, I'm planning to buy a house sometime in the near future. With the hometheater in my mind, I plan to have a dedicated hometheater built. Here are a few questions: 1. What is an ideal size for a hometheater? 2. How much does it usually cost to build one that size? 3. What is your advise on this subject? built material, room acoustic treatment, separate circuit breaker(15A, 20A?), bluh bluh bluh, etc ... Please advise. Thanks PS: some link to it would be helpful. Thanks again.
toan
Toan, There are a couple places you can start. Pick up the books "The Master Handbook of Acoustics" and "Sound Studio Construction on a Budget" both by F. Alton Everest. While they don't directly address home theater they do address the issues in any listening room and the construction of said room. From there you can dig into places like ASC and RPG for an idea of the type of room treatments are available, etc. This is just a start. But in general you want to have lots power available at the right places from dedicated lines and breakers. Lighting on a separate circuit, etc. If possible have the equipment on a separate ground from the rest of the house. If you are running monoblock amps then each amp with opposite legs of the 220 coming into the house to further cancel noise, etc. I am sure you get a lot advice from people here. You might want to also look through the archives at Stereophile. I there are a lot of room and power tweaks listed. Cheers and have fun – Dan.
A very good general source of information is Robert Harley Book Complete Guide to High End Audio (which I got) or get the book specific "Home theater for everyone..." Also Check Stereophile Guide to Home Theater page Good Luck
I'm putting my 5 channel amp in the ceiling below the room to minimize cable runs to the speakers. Use 3/4" steel pipe to thread the interconnects thru the floor. The 3/4" pipe has a fitting that you can attach to the underside of the floor. Any plumbing supply store has the pipe. Less equipment in the room, easier on the wifes eyes.