Description


This current Media Room is the result of three previous media rooms, countless stereo systems, and quite a few years of continued planning, growth, and tweaking :-) I still have a way to go and have several upgrades/tweaks planned for the upcoming months. It is a labor of love, and many hours of listening and watching have been enjoyed here. My goal was for the media room would be a dual-purpose space for both listening to music and watching movies. For the most part, I feel I have succeeded. 

Goal two was to build a room that would both indulge my hobby while still providing an actual space to listen to music and watch whatever comfortably and enjoyably. 

Structure

We moved into our current house in 2009. The Media room was custom built over the oversized two-car garage and is 18.5' x 22.5' with 9.5' ceilings at the center. All four walls have about a thirty-degree tilted-in soffit area where the side and rear surrounds are mounted. The ATMOS speakers are ceiling mounted, and the front speakers are freestanding. The builder/contractor pulled the wiring for the surrounds, and it is 14 ga. I pulled the ATMOS wiring myself, adding it later (now, THAT was a lovely job!). The front speakers (LCR) are wired with my take on "audiophile" speaker wire.

Equipment/Hardware

Signal Processing and Amplification - Marantz AV7703 Pre/Processor - Parasound Halo A21 - 2 Channel Power Amp - Parasound Halo A52+ - 5 Channel Power Amp - Parasound ZoneMaster 450 (for the ATMOS) - 4 Channel Power Amp - Yung 300 subwoofer plate amplifiers (2) for the Tactile Transducers

Sources - OPPO UDP-203 - UHD 4K Universal Disk Player - AppleTV 4K - Yamaha CDC-755 - CD Changer - Pro-Ject Debut Carbon DC Turntable with Ortofon 2M RED Cartridge. See My Review! - Apple MacBook Pro (circa 2020) Mackie 12 Channel Mixer

Display - JVC DLA-RS600 Projector - Vutec Fixed BriteWhite 2.35:1 Screen 136" diagonal

Speakers - 2 GoldenEar Triton One.R Speakers - front left and right - 1 GoldenEar SuperCenter Reference speaker - 4 BG Radia SA320i in-wall Planar Ribbon/Hybrid Speakers for surround and rear speakers
4 Polk CS-6 In-Ceiling Speakers for the ATMOS (Middle and Rear ATMOS) 
2 Rythmik F18 - 18" sealed box powered subwoofers (900 watts RMS) - 2 Earthquake Sound Q-10B Tactile Transducers (AKA Buttkickers) One mounted on the rear row raised seating platform, and one mounted on the front row shaker platform.

Note: all in-wall and in-ceiling speakers have custom backing boxes lined with 1-inch multi-layer damping material (purchased from Parts Express).

Custom shaker platform built for front seating Tactile Transducer.

Power Conditioning/Protection - 2 Furman Elite 20A Power Conditioners - 3 Leviton 20 amp in-wall surge protectors at equipment racks - 4 Leviton 15 amp in-wall surge protectors at all subwoofer positions.

System Control URC MX5000 Remote Control - URC - MSC400 Master System Controller

Passive Acoustic Panels - 4 GIK 2'x4'x2" Diffuser/Absorber Panels - 4 GIK 1'x4'x4" Diffuser/Absorber/Bass Trap Panels

Equipment Rack
Middle Atlantic 19" double width rack
  • I've rack mounted all three Parasound amps and the Marantz Pre/Proc
  • Everything else is on a fixed shelf or, in the case of the mixer and the computer, on a sliding shelf.

Tweaks and Gimcracks
Isolation Platforms - I've created isolation platforms for the OPPO Blu-Ray player and the Pro-Ject Carbon DC Turntable. The iso-platforms are 18 "x18" concrete pavers sitting atop Penn Elcom rubber Isolation feet. In the case of the OPPO, it did nothing positive or harmful to the sound or picture. However, for the turntable, it did help the sound in the respect that the sound is more defined at higher volumes. In addition, there seems to be less smear, and the sound is more "focused," for the lack of a better word.

Isolation Platforms for LCR speakers and the Definitive Technology PF-15 Subs.
18 "x18" Concrete Pavers resting on Penn Elcom Rubber Isolation Feet.

Tactile Transducer Shaker Platform for the first row of seating is double ¾ Inch MDF Glued and Screwed together and resting on Penn Elcom Rubber Isolation Feet (18).

SVS SoundPath Subwoofer Isolation System on the Rhythmik F18's Subs

I added a turntable clamp/weight and replaced the felt mat with a new cork mat. Each of these tweaks improved (at least, I perceived an improvement) the sound I was getting from the turntable.

Record Pro Vinyl Cleaning System - An inexpensive ($65) but effective record cleaning system.

The Leviton remote control lighting for the main recessed lights, Media Shelf lights, and the rear row riser lights is controlled by the URC MX-9000/MSC-400 remote control system.

ART Ground Loop Breaker device used on the unbalanced inputs of the Parasound ZoneMaster 450 and the Yung plate amps.

Cables and Wiring

Balanced cables between Pre/Pro and Amps - Mogami 3080 cable and Amphenol XLR's built by "World's Best Cable."

HDMI by Blue Jeans Cable
 35' BJC Series One - Projector
 6' BJC Series One - OPPO UDP-203
 all other HDMI are 3' or 6' BJC Tartan 24 Series cables


I BUILT all of the RCA-type interconnects (well, most of them anyway) using Belden 1694A cable and solder-type REAN RCA connectors.

Speaker Cables

LCR - Belden 5T00UP 10 Gauge x 2 bi-wire/bi-amp with locking banana plug connectors and spade connectors at each pair on both ends. I built an "Audiophile" speaker cable that can be seen in the room pics.

They do look VERY nice and "audiophile-ly"! As good as they look, it made zero difference in the sound over the simply separate 10 ga wire pairs. 

I also DIY'ed Cable elevators. Not for any expected improvement in the sound, but to display my speaker cables :-)

Speakers in-walls and in-ceiling use Belden 14 Gauge contractor-grade speaker cable

"Audiophile" Power cables;
DIY 12 gauge Belden 83803 used on main power amps
DIY 14 gauge Belden 19634 used on pre/pro, ATMOS power amp, Yung Power amps,  F18 
subs, Triton One. R's and the JVC DLA-RS600U Projector

DIY "Audiophile" power cord using DH Labs Encore - 14ga 3-conductor – shielded - Audiophile Power Cable DHLABS-75520 Hi-Fi King and Red Copper AC Plugs and IEC Connectors and dressed up with Tech-Flex were used on Apple TV and JVC Projector

WAudio 10 gauge Audiophile cable used on OPPO Blu-Ray player


As I said, this room has afforded us much entertainment and enjoyment :-). Of course, I'll be forever tweaking and experimenting, but that is just because that adds to the fun for me!

Happy Listening!!


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Room Details

Dimensions: 23’ × 19’  Large
Ceiling: 10’


Components Toggle details

    • Marantz AV7703
    Pre/Processor
    • Parasound Halo A-21
    Stereo Amplifier
    • Parasound A-52+
    5 channel Amplifier
    • Parasound ZoneMaster 450
    4 Channel Amplifier (for ATMOS)
    • Furman PF-20 Elite Power Conditioner (2)
    • Yung S-300 Sub-Woofer Plate Amplifiers (2)
    Used for the Q-10B Tactile Transducers
    • Oppo UDP- 203
    Universal Disk Player
    • Apple Apple TV 4K
    Audio and Video Streamer
    • Apple MACBook PRO Laptop
    Media Server
    • Yamaha CDC-735
    CD Changer
    • Pro-Ject Debut Carbon DC Turntable
    With Ortofon RED 2M Cartridge
    • Mackie 1202
    Mixer
    • GoldenEar Triton One.R
    Right and Left Speakers
    • GoldenEar SuperCenter Reference
    Reference Center Channel Speaker - HVFR Reference Tweeter, 4 - 5.25" Bass/Midrange Reference Drivers (2 with Multi-Vane Phase Plugs) and Three Passive Planar Radiators
    • BG Radia SA-320i
    Side and rear surrounds (4) - 1- 3” Planar RibbonTweeter, 2 - 5” PR Mid-Range, 2 - 5.25” Kevlar Woofers - In-Wall Speakers
    • Polk CS-6 Speaker
    Four In-Ceiling 6” Coaxial speakers for the ATMOS
    • Rythmik F-18 Subwoofers (2)
    Sealed Box 18” Subs - 900 watt Class D Hypex Amplifier
    • Earthquake Sound Q-10B Tactile Transducers
    AKA - Buttkickers
    • URC MX5000 Remote Controller
    • URC MSC-400
    Master System Controller
    • JVC DLA-R600 Projector
    • Vutec 2:35 Cinema White 136” Diagonal Screen
    • Middle Atlantic 19” pro racks (2)
    Tandem 19” racks 84” tall

Comments 8

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Dayum this looks like entering another world.

zufan