CurtPalme.com Home Theater Forum

[grogthegreat]

Register to remove this ad. It's free!

Well the first CRT projector and the first dedicated home theater I've seen both were at the eastcoast blendzilla meet in 07. I had been doing online research about CRT projectors. I also happened to be driving by from Daytona to MA on my way home from college. Needless to say, I was completely blown away and instantly addicted.
Well I got a rental house with some roommates I claimed 1/2 the garage as my domain and started building. My goal was to get the best video and audio quality possible while on a part-time-job-while-in-college budget.

I present to you my first attempt at a dedicated home theater!

This what I started with:



My first step was building some walls. I only had 1/2 the garage to work with and the other 1/2 was going to be used as a garage. I decided on 2" thick insulation foam. It is easy to work with, cheap, and didn't do any damage or permanent changes to the rental house. I could also build flaps that would hinge down whenever the garage door opened.
After day 1:


The next step was carpet. Black carpet was a neccessary. It took a bit of searching to find it really cheap at a local home depot.
Here is it almost done. This was my first time installing carpet and I didn't have the money to put down a foamy layer under it.


After that, I tied and failed at doing a vertical mount setup. It worked but sent the image part way onto the ceiling and I had no way to lower the image. I also found out that my deflection board had failed but replacing some caps solved the problem. I'll post pics of the mount if requested.
I ended up hanging the screen from the ceiling and putting the NEC 9PG+ on a table. There wasn't enough room for my pair of Magnepan MGIII speakers to go next to the screen so they went partway behind it. What looks like a center a channel at first glance are two 12" subs powered by a car amp which inturn is running off of the 12volt rail on a computer power supply.


Here is the projector, audio rack, and one of my Magnepan MGIIs speakers that I'm using for my rear channels. The Realistic receiver on the top is powering the rear channels and acts as a phono preamp for my record player (not shown). The ethernet switch puts the xbox360 and a custom built and painted HTPC on the LAN. My Magnepan MGIII speakers are powered by a beautiful Luxman 5M21 power amp. I had to get clever with the HTPC in order to get the surround sound working properly without a receiver which is next on the purchase list.


The room was way too bright so I bought some $2 a yard black fabric and covered most of the walls and part of the ceiling leaving me with a theater that I could call my own:

[Zebu Fellenz]

Nice,

I'll have to look for some cheap black fabric for my room, looks like it makes a world of difference.

[grogthegreat]

It made a very drastic difference.
Another benefit that I didn't think about was in terms of sound. Since you can no longer see the speakers your mind now is forced to use your ears to find out where the sound is coming from. With a proper speaker setup this is huge.

It also makes the screen and room seem bigger. I don't know why but all my friends and myself have noticed it.

-Grog

[Mr. Green]

Nice! I plan on putting my 9PG+ in the garage also as my get away device. The Marquee will be the family projector in the house.

I like having 2 projectors.

[greg_mitch]

Looks nice...be cautious with a room full of fabric that isn't fire retardant. That stuff will go up like a dry christmas tree!

[garyfritz]

Nice!! Kudos on probably the best-result-for-almost-no-money I think I've seen. Other than the projector, and the audio gear which I'm guessing you already had, any idea what your total cost was? Did the 100" Draper cost more than the rest of the HT??

[grogthegreat]

Don't worry: The foam claimed that it is fire retardant!

Total cost wasn't that bad. The screen was actually free! It came with a sony 1252 that I quickly sold for the same price but without the screen. The walls and carpet came to under $300. The black fabric was about $30. $50 for both subs with the box. $25 audio rack. Most of the audio gear I already had picked up. $75 for the rear speakers (that was a steal). The front speakers were $300 for the pair and the projector was also $300. The core2duo HTPC was pieced together for under $200. The only thing that I really spent a lot of money on was the Luxman 5M21 power amp at $440.

To answer your question; not including the projector or audio gear the total cost was about $330!
Total cost of everything including the expensive amp, HTPC, movie posters, etc: $1750

If I didn't buy that amp or the higher end Magnepans than that number would right about a grand. The only thing that I'm missing is a decent receiver. I'd also love a 9" CRT but I haven't come across one yet that falls into my I'm-stealing-it-from-you price range....

-Grog

[Nashou66]

Super cool!!! I wish I got into CRT at your age... Although back then they were over 10k so......


Nice job!!!!!

Athanasios

[wkosmann]

Dear Grog;

Fabulous job on your "On A College Budget" Home Theater. It will be interesting to see your future "Now I Have A Job" version 2.0!!

I am so pleased at having played a part in fueling your original addiction at the first East Coast Blendzilla Meet (in 2007). That was my first Meet, so we had a lot in common.

This October (the 17th to be exact) is the 2009 East Coast Blendzilla Meet (Part Trois). Lots of upgrades to the current version (about 4.3 or so) of the HT to further feed your addiction. Some of them are right up your alley, i.e., didn't cost much, and made an unbelievable difference. For example, the Flockstar black material I tacked up on the front walls and ceiling, out to about 70" from the screen. The image looks like it is suspended in air!! Another example is the pair of free Great Lakes equipment racks I use for my audio and video equipment. (The company that bought them new paid almost $2000 for each rack.)

Stop by if you can free up the time.

William

[grogthegreat]

Thanks for the congrats!

My next theater will hopefully be a combination of "Now I Have a Job" with "Now I Have My Own House"! I am really limited by what 'construction' I can do in a rental....

I had a blast at the first East Coast Blendzilla Meet. I never imagined that it was possible to get an incredible image quality on such a large screen. At the time the only thing that I had to compare your theater to was a friend's $150 SD LCD projector being displayed on an off-white dorm room wall.... The difference was completely stunning.

I'll love to get myself over for the 2009 East Coast Blendzilla Meet (Part Trois) but I'm not sure if my back can survive the motorcycle ride there and back in one day from Daytona Beach. I don't own a car as the motorcycle saves me lots gas and insurance which is important on $7.25/hr part time. Especially when I also need to buy theater stuff, food, college books, and more theater stuff!
If I think my back can make it and it doesn't look like any thunderstorms are in the area than I'd be thrilled to head over.

-Grog

[wkosmann]

Dear Grog;

At least check out the 2009 East Coast Blendzilla Meet thread in the CRT forum. I just posted a long dissertation on what I have been doing to improve my HT since the last Meet (the second Blendzilla Meet). The thread will give you an idea of what you'll be missing if you don't show.

William

[grogthegreat]

Already read it. It must look glorious. I saw a huge improvement when I put up the black fabric but using stuff designed for the inside of a telescope must be as good as you can get.

-Grog

[perisoft]

[RobertMfromLI]

Nice! Need a roommate?!?!?! (j/k)