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Recommendations for a new Basement home theater.

Hello All,

Creating an open floor plan basement theater, about 1200 square ft.
Basement is all foundation wall currently

Can I have an opinion on the below for a novice.

What cables to use and would all the gear listed below, run thru an A/V receiver,
and is an additional amp be necessary?

What would the connections and your opinions be on the below, do i go with ethernet as well as i believe the majority of the gear is hooked up with HDMI.

All electronic gear will be housed in a ventilated closet utility audio room with a dedicated circuit breaker 20 amps
.
Using roxul for installation as well as foam insulation boards in between studs with 5/8 thick sheet rock.

All will be hard wired to a network. Can anyone tell me about wiring?

Router is on the second floor, do i need a separate router,, not sure how they create a home network for the
basement.

The incoming fios signal and hub box is located inside the garage, do they grab the line from there
to bring the signal in the basement. Want to make sure im getting the best connection out there.


TV - Sony 85 inch x900h on wall
Speakers- Kplish reference premium atmos speakers either 5.1 or 7.2.
marantz a/v
Turntable
Cd player
vcr dual deck - go video
nvidia shield pro
media streamer/ripper
cable box verizon fios
dvd player
cassette deck.
speaker wire 14/4 gauge CL 2
cable connection HDMI, Ethernet, svideo cable
universal remote or control 4

128x128slipkids
10 responses Add your response
slipkids's avatar
slipkids OP
13 posts
 
what gauge speaker wire do you guys recommend for Focal 926 "s.
LCR with in ceiling surrounds?   All hdmi/cat6/Rg6/speaker cables terminate in a media closet. Brand/type any one?
slipkids's avatar
slipkids OP
13 posts
 
okay will check it out.  thanks
wspohn's avatar
wspohn
603 posts
 
I'd go looking for a projection set up if you can afford it. That TV is decent, but a bit small for the theatre experience. I use a 110" screen which seems about right.

I like (and use) a Marantz AV preamp in my theatre. I'd go for a separate power amp, and the choice of surround speakers is important, plus whether or not you want to add some deep bass capability.  Happy building!
maxwave's avatar
maxwave
978 posts
 
@dweller

´´ … I’d go wireless for surrounds and rear speakers. ´´
I may complicate the room correction process. As these wireless speakers delay will be greater than wired speakers.
An audio technician ( or a HT processor with delay settings )
will be required.
The farther the wireless back speakers ,  greater  the delay.
auxinput
2,920 posts
 
If starting from scratch, doing standard drywall is fine.  Make sure you have carpet floor (no concrete!!!).  And drywall ceiling is recommended (once again, no concrete!!)

Second, make sure you have your electrician run one or more DEDICATED 20A circuits to the basement using 10awg ROMEX where your equipment is located.  Two or three 20A circuits is fine, but if you only have one that's a minimum.

Third, your main router does not have to be in the basement, but make sure you run dedicated hard-wire ethernet cable to the location where your nvidia shield / streamers are located.  Ethernet cable is always superior to wireless WI-FI.

Erik has excellent suggestions with acoustic treatment as well.  Make sure the room is NOT square.  Rectangle rooms are best with the front speakers on a short wall.

Fourth, running speaker wire 14/4 gauge CL 2  in wall is really not the optimum solution.  14/4 wire is basically junk anyways and you'll end up wanted to replace it because it will become a limiting factor.  In the end, it's up to you, but I never recommend limiting yourself to a type of wire.
dweller's avatar
dweller
3,781 posts
 
If starting from scratch, i.e. construction in your future, I'd go wireless for surrounds and rear speakers. This means running electrical outlets where speakers will be for a tidy look. Also, as home theater chairs are usually electric, put some outlets where they will be so you're not tripping over cords in the dark.
Look up thread " Building a house" from last February. Lots of info...
noromance's avatar
noromance
9,769 posts
 
I stream 4k movies on Wi-Fi to a 64" TV from a router 2 floors up with no issues. However, if I was doing what you are doing, I’d use a separate CAT-8 feed to a separate router in the basement.
erik_squires
16,056 posts
 
Save all the money you were going to spend on expensive cables and use it for room acoustic panels.  Talk to GIK Acousutics or ATS Acoustics. Make sure to ask them about delivery times before you commit.   I like GIK, but they are a little more expensive than ATS and right now they are about 3 months delivery.

For networking you really only need Cat 5 or Cat 6.  Having 1 GigE switches and routers is a great idea.  Consider putting your network devices in the HT on their own surge protector.  If you are running a long distance, shielded Ethernet is a good idea, but make sure your switches support it.

Yes, get whole house surge protection, but they also recommend (with good reason) surge protection at the devices. I have both, and I've just lost a laptop I forgot was charging without a local surge protector.

Best,

Erik
soix
9,456 posts
 
Just run an Ethernet cable from the router to the basement, no other amps necessary.  I’d recommend reading Earl Geddes “Premium Home Theater” (available online only) before doing any construction.  For power conditioner I recommend something with power regulation (like APC) as it’ll help protect those mass market power supplies from harmful voltage fluctuations.  Best of luck. 
maxwave's avatar
maxwave
978 posts
 
Don’t forget surge protection.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Siemens-FirstSurge-Power-60kA-Whole-House-Surge-Protection-Device-FS060/206512344


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