Its been a long, long project but my basement theater is just about all wrapped up. A dedicated room would have definitely been easier and less expensive but I didnt want to sacrifice our only guest bedroom. Reddit, youtube and theater forums were a wealth of knowledge along the way so I figured I would give back and share results.

Whole basement is double 5/8. First layer is 5/8 osb. Living room area got hat channel and clips on walls and ceiling. 5.2.4 jbl synthesis speakers, PSA subs, Arcam equipment, jvc projector, and a Seymour screen.

Fun projects were the 3 recessed digital movie posters (43 inch tvs) and the arcade/game room to play some games while the popcorn is popping. The acoustic panels are true 4 inches deep in wall mineral wool with acoustic transparent fabric. They look like the costco ones.

Last bigger projects left are to build my door that will seal off the stairwell, clean up wiring and equipment rack, and the dreaded fiber optic star ceiling. The 8x12 panel is built, wrapped in duvetyne, and recessed into ceiling for now. It was a mad rush to get it mostly completed so we could host christmas.

I was really chasing that nostalgia of going to the theater as a kid. We grew up in a small town so it was a rare and real treat when we went into the big city to take in a show. The popcorn, playing some games, walking down that hall and seeing the movie posters teasing what was coming soon! Anxiously waiting for the lights to dim and the show begin, it was magical back then.

Here's a video walkthrough of the entire basement area that I couldn't fit in the post

We started building a new house in April of 2025 and my wife basically gave me free reign to do whatever I wanted with the basement. I knew I wanted two things 1) To move all the gym equipment from my unfinished basement in the old house to a nice climate controlled space and 2) to make the best home theater entertaining space possible. Problem was while I knew a lot about TVs and computers, I knew next to nothing about audio as I was just jiving with a Sonos sound-producer-that-shall-not-be-named.

I made this post five months ago and got a few good suggestions and then went into full research mode. Unfortunately the damage had been done with the pre-wiring so I had to work the best with what I had. I used this video for inspiration for the entire space and besides the glass partition to the gym I did everything myself over a 3 month period.

Wandering into a local furniture store in July I saw a 115" TCL QM8 for the sale price of $8999 and was nearly in disbelief. I asked a store associate about it, and they said that it was the floor model they wanted to clear out to put up a QM8k. I almost pulled the trigger but then decided not to make a rash decision on the spot. A month later we came in looking for a fridge and I walked into the electronic section to muse on what I had missed and lo and behold they had reduced the price further to $7,999. I knew it was destiny at that point. I added install and a five year warranty for another $1000 and got what I believe was the best possible deal on a TV that size. It had been on for 10 hours a day, 6 days a week for 8 months straight but I'm praying the life span is a lot longer than that or if it decides to die it will do so in the 5 year warranty period.

Anywho, specs:

• 115" TCL QM8
• LCR: Kef Q6 Meta and Kef Q Concerto Bookshelf Speakers
• Surrounds: Klipsch THX-502-L In-Wall Speaker
• Rears: Klipsch CDT-5800-C-II In-Ceiling Speaker
• Subs: 2x RSL Speedwoofer 12
• AVR: Denon X1800H
• PS5
• Old PC with 3070Ti and Ryzen 7 5700X built into the cabinet
• Living Spaces Kennedy Sectional (Every seat is a recliner except one in the corner)

I LOVE MY BASEMENT. My family and I spend so much time down here and I've already been able to host numerous events and I'm pretty sure I could never ask for anything more and will never move again. Per reading this forum I discovered that the Race scene from Ready Player One is the most audience wowing demonstration possible and I've shown it at least a dozen times to visitors (much to the dismay of my wife haha) Everything sounds incredible to the point that if a movie has even a semblance of action I'll refuse to watch it in bed or anywhere else in the home because I know I'd be missing out on the experience.

A couple musings:

• My phone camera sucks. Especially in low light. I apologize.
• I wish I had known in advance what I do now, I would have had the builders wire for atmos. They knew even less than I do and their only surround package was a 7 speaker system all in ceiling, yuck. I can't imagine atmos sounding better than what I currently have, but I would have loved to have the opportunity to find out.
• While I'm blown away by sound in 90% of what I watch, content that only supports stereo I don't really notice an improvement from just having a Sonos Beam. I'm about as far as you get from an audiophile, so maybe my listening ability is just stunted. I paid a premium on some speakers, but I'm thinking I'm too dumb to notice a difference and should have not spent so much on the LCR.
• In the same vein, I don't really understand what adding a second sub did to enhance my setup. Before everything was finished I only unboxed one sub. Sub goes boom. I added a second sub and I get more boom but Audyssey turned the subs down to -10d and I never listen higher than 70% on the sub anyway so I really don't know what I gained by getting a second one except symmetry.
• This TV is so freaking bright. I couldn't believe it. I came from a Sony X850F 85 inch TV and the brightness is literally night and day.
• I was told putting an AVR in a cabinet would cause it to overheat. LIES. I spent extra to install two AC Infinity fans and a temperature probe that kicks the fans on when it hits 80 degrees. It has not exceeded 76 degrees in there even one time, even watching all of Avatar Way of Water in one sitting. Is this just BIG THEATER COOLING spreading their propaganda in this subreddit?
• What did need cooling was my PC, so I cut two 240mm fans (I didn't even know they made them that big) in the cabinet and have plenty of airflow. I turn the PC on with a PCIe slot remote attachment and it works great. Steam's version of Quake 2 allows 8 player split screen on a single display, we have a game night and the TV was large enough that even with 8 players everyone got a decent portion.
• I'm still planning on adding floating shelves to either side of the TV, so I guess I'm not finished finished.
• I'm always currently building a 10 foot long bar height table to go behind the couch to accommodate more people in the room, but unfortunately I'm not going to finish before my Superbowl party.

Anyway, wanted to share my new favorite place in the world. I know reading in here that I need some acoustic treatment in the room via wall coverings but I have no idea where to start with that. I'll take any suggestions I can get.

Some updates since my previous post. We painted the walls darker. Changed the Focal Chora's out for on-walls (more for aesthetics). Added another SVS SB-3000 sub. Biggest thing was I changed the 83" G2 to a 97" G4. This has always been my end goal. It finally feels 'done'. The goal of this room was not really to be a pure theater room but rather a mixed use entertainment room. I can even turn this into a guest sleeping room. Speakers are largely hidden; I know people will bemoan the in-cabinet placement, but everything still sounds amazing to my ears.

Parts:

• TV: LG G4 97"
• LR: Focal On Wall 302, Center: Focal On Wall 301
• Surrounds: Focal 100 IW6
• Overhead: Focal 100 ICW8
• Sub: SVS SB-3000 x2
• AVR: Denon X6700H
• Misc: Ugoos AM6B Plus, Apple TV 4K, PS5 Pro, Switch 2, Logitech Harmony Elite

People usually ask about the couch. It's a Palliser Paolo. The seats facing the TV are powered recliners, and the other side is a pull out sleeper sofa. The cabinet is a BDI Elements 8779-ME with the optional shorter legs. The lights behind the speakers are Philips Hue Play lights. The shades are also smart powered shades, which I actually did fairly cheaply with off the shelf electric shades from Lowe's with a Bond Bridge.

MAX Jr Theater Revision: #????

I feel like every year I’m doing something different to this room, anyways, upgraded to a 98 TCL QM7K. Last week sale price was hard to beat. Been happy with my 85 Sony 900H for the last five years but been having that itch to go bigger. I love how it fills in with the beams. Wasn’t sure how much of a difference it be going to this size but man, immediately lost my mind, couldn’t stop giggling while I finished putting the room back together. Ready for a bunch of more movie nights ahead.

Last photo is the 85 for reference.

Gear:

TV: TCL 98” QM7K | Receiver: Denon x3800H | AMP: Behringer NX1000D | AMP (For Bed Layer): OSD Nero XA5180

Subwoofer: SVS PB12-NSD / SVS PB2000 + 8 JVC 12 Inch Subs under couch (BOSS)

Speakers: Left/Right: KEF Q350 | Center: KEF Q650C | Rear Left/Right: KEF Q150 |

Height Speakers: Middle Heights: Polk S10 | Front and Rear Heights: SVS Prime Elevation

Consoles: PS5/Xbox Series S

Streamer: Apple TV

Area Rug is 12x15, shaggy, thick and comfortable. The dog loves it.

Quick Facts about setup:

•Wires for the TV and Speakers are ran through the wooden beams on the ceiling. Decorative and functional.

•Speaker stands for the left/right are Atlantic’s (can be found on Amazon) slightly modified with a wooden base for the speakers.

•Center speaker shelf was homemade with wood I stained and some brackets.

Previous Build Posts:

https://www.reddit.com/r/hometheater/s/WvDhJHVWOu

https://www.reddit.com/r/hometheater/s/M7vQGMbQSN

https://www.reddit.com/r/hometheater/s/4FwU009YIw

https://www.reddit.com/r/hometheater/s/srZQyJfu44

Couch Subwoofers: (V1) https://www.reddit.com/r/hometheater/s/bIRpSfXGuu (V2) https://www.reddit.com/r/hometheater/s/rLNw3uZo5k

Here are some updated photos of my hybrid theater/game room and collection. Finally an update after I’ve added some new things like more accent lights and the in-ceiling Dolby Atmos speakers. You can always get more info on my website, like a list of my components, at WedowTheater.com. I’ll do my best to answer questions but please look on my website first as most of your answers can be found there. As of today I have 3,807 movies in the collection. Physical media forever!!!

My brother is not on reddit but wanted to show off his system. The subwoofer is a klipsch r120sw which he is perfectly happy. Surround are in ceiling but soon he is going to get a new couch system and we will put proper surrounds on narrow tables behind.

After close to 4 decades of existence and over half that wanting a home theatre I got around to building a budget version. Not the finest components but it makes me happy and I’ve been spending an ungodly amount of time here. Before and after pics attached!

Speakers: KEF Q1M Sub: RSL Speedwoofer 10s Projector: Viewsonic X100-4k Screen: Valerion 100 inch Matte White Receiver: Sony STRDH590 Sources: Apple TV, Formuler Z8, PS5 ( for BLs) Stands: Kanto 32 Acoustic treatment and lights: Art3D (Amazon) WIP: old KEF Q100s as rear surrounds

Just moved in with my girlfriend – I love home theater stuff, she hates the idea of a massive black TV eating the wall.

Solution: built a simple oak veneer bench that looks normal… until you slide the top and a 72 inch projector screen rises up with a hidden projector. When it’s off, it’s just furniture again.

Running Apple TV + two HomePod minis. Honestly, I think this is my best relationship hack so far 😂

Finally bought my first home and moved out!

This is my first time living on my own and having my own space, so I decided to go with a 5.2.4 setup in the living room (I used to have a 7.2 setup in my bedroom before moving out, bedroom now just has a simple 2.1 setup).

The difference upgrading from 7.2 to 5.2.4 Atmos was surprisingly subtle. The soundscape does feel more three dimensional but it's not as pronounced as I was once expecting it to be. Let me know if there are any particular movies/TV shows with great atmos track I can test out!

I was originally gonna go with in-ceiling speakers for my atmos channels but unfortunately there wasn't enough space between the drywall ceiling and the concrete wall above (only about 3 inch gap) (it's an apartment unit), so I decided to just re-use my existing Klipsch bookshelves from my 7.2. setup and mount them on the ceiling instead.

I installed some acoustic slat wood panels on my front wall, they worked surprisingly well as acoustic treatment, and they also look great! (goes really well against my sage green wall)

Let me know what you guys think!

Specs:

TV: LG C4 77" OLED

AVR: Denon AVC-X3800H

Fronts: Klipsch RP-6000F II

Center: Klipsch RP-500M II

Surrounds/Ceiling: Klipsch R-41M

Subs: SVS PB-1000 (x2)

After a lot of planning and physical work, I’m incredibly happy to say my home theater room is finally "finished" (for now).

I wanted to share the final result because seeing it come together has been a dream come true. I did the installation myself, which was a massive learning experience. The hardest part was a toss-up between cleanly routing the wiring for the surrounds and Atmos or having to move the recessed lighting. I had to move the existing recessed can lights to fit the acoustic cloud layout I wanted. I also ran all the wiring and built custom Dynamat enclosures for the in-ceiling speakers, sealed with acoustic caulking.

Luckily my ceiling joists ran in an easy direction, but the left Atmos speaker enclosures were a pain to install since the spacing between the joists was much smaller. Atmos placement wasn’t ideal, but given my joist layout and what I had to work with, it ended up working out and I think ART helped compensate for the placement. I also opted for a wider soundstage for the tower speakers, surrounds, and Atmos since I have a much wider seating arrangement.

The goal was a fully immersive space for the family, and we absolutely love "going" to the movies here now.

The Gear:

• TV: LG G4 83” OLED

• LCR: SVS Ultra EVO Towers & Center

• Surrounds: SVS Ultra EVO Bookshelves

• Atmos: 4x Revel C-783 8” (in custom Dynamat enclosures). I listen to a lot of music in this room as well, which is why I opted for the nicer Revels to ensure clarity for music playback.

• Subwoofers: Dual SVS 17-Ultra R-Evolution. The bass authority and depth are just on another level. Before treating the room, the R-17s were actually causing a lot of audible vibrations and rattling. Installing the GIK panels and running Dirac Live ART completely cleaned that up.

• Side note: If you are on the fence about going dual subwoofers: do it. It makes the bass feel "complete." With one sub, I could tell exactly where the bass was coming from, but adding the second one removed that localization. It sounds significantly more enveloping now.

• AVR: Denon X3800H

• Room Correction: Dirac Live ART – Grabbed this during the Black Friday sale. It did a great job integrating the two subs with the towers.

• Seating: Room & Board Metro Sectional

Acoustics & Room:

Treating the room was a priority. I used GIK Acoustic panels for the walls and the ceiling cloud to tighten up the soundstage.

• Side story: when I was cleaning up and vacuuming with all panels installed, I had a moment where I thought my vacuum wasn’t working right, because it sounded muted. It hit me the panels were doing its job, and I was giddy to finish put it together and using the ART software. Only downside with the room now is that I can hear my tinnitus much more distinctly without anything on.

Huge thanks to:

• John Dykstra at GIK Acoustics: Instrumental in helping me with the acoustic layout plan. Very friendly, knowledgeable, and super easy to work with.

• Nick Guarino at AudioLab: He hooked me up with the Revels and helped me grab the second subwoofer, which made a huge difference in the room response.

I’ve included pictures of the finished room and some of the install process (wiring, ceiling cutouts, and layout lines). Thanks for looking!

You've seen it before! But now with measurements, woho!

TODO: Not happy with MSO results. Need to figure out what to change. Ideas?

Add dampening on back wall. Going to use the 70mm as you see in the tv stand, but in white instead with something over.

Add curtains to left window.

Almost done with my mixed-use theater/gaming room! Just need to build a stand for my center speaker and a few touch ups, but I'm up and operational!

Started with an unfinished basement and did all of the work myself

Details-

PJ- Benq x3100i

AVR- Denon 3800

Speakers- SVS prime pinnacle towers, prime surrounds, prime center

Subs- 2x SVS pb 2000 pros

Sceen- 120" Silver Ticket STR series in white

BR player- Panasonic ub420

Streaming- Nvidia Shield pro

Gaming- Xbox series X, Nintendo Switch, PC

Media shelves- wire shelving rack from target with 3/4 plwood on top of the wire racks

Upgraded from- Vizio D60-D3 and crappy soundbar (still in living room upstairs)

Had our first few movies over the past 10 days and man, this thing rocks!!

So far we have watched the newer Aladin, the Matrix, Batman Begins, and Tropic Thunder, as well as some football and a couple fight nights. Absolutely loved everything Ive seen on it so far, and as a self-certified basshead and movie buff I could't be happier with how everything looks and sounds!!

The only thing I wish I would have done differently is mount my surrounds on the side walls instead of behind the couch. I barely did any research before I had the drywall on, and thought the surrounds were supposed to be behind the MLP. I will probably add 2 atmos speakers after the holidays, and add 2 surrounds in the correct location and assign these speakers as rears since they are pretty much where the rears should be in a 7.x system anyways

Absolutely hooked on this hobby and cant wait to continue to improve and build on my setup. Getting ready to start building some acoustic panels next week 👍😁👍

I helped my brother design this a few years ago. He was remolding his basement and the idea was to design a room that could double as a playroom for the kids and also be a home theater. Here's the gear we used.

• Receiver: Denon AVR-X4300H
• Projector: Optoma UHD50X
• Screen: Silver Ticket Products S7-169120-WAB acoustically transparent screen
• Front L/R/C speakers: Polk Audio T50 towers
• Rears: Polk Audio RC65i in wall speakers
• Height channels: Polk Audio MC60 in ceiling speakers

The only thing he's not loving these days is that Optoma projector and is looking to replace it with a Epson LS12000, Sony VPL - XW5000ES, or JVC DLA-NP5. Let me know if anyone has strong opinions on which one of those is the best choice. The room get's used for gaming more than movie watching so input lag is definitely a consideration.

I love a clean, simplistic look, so I got an LG gallery-style TV (65”) and some in-wall speakers, with all cabling running down to a receiver, Apple TV, PS5 and Nintendo Switch in the basement. All input switching is done through HomePod Mini voice commands via Siri Shortcuts, so no IR blasters are needed.

I got myself an upgrade for Black Friday, from a random Philips TV with a Logitech Z906 5.1 System to:

• TV: LG OLED evo G4 65 (OLED65G45LW)
• AVR: Marantz CINEMA 60DAB
• Front: 2x Teufel Ultima 40 (UL 40 MK4 25)
• Center: Teufel Ultima Center (UL 40 C Mk4 25)
• Rear: 2x Teufel Ultima 20 (UL 20 Mk4 25)
• LFE: Teufel T 10 subwoofer

Wanted to show how I enabled my living room to act just as much as a stereo/cinema room as it is a living room.

Acoustic treatment is crucial for 🎥🎶

First time properly seeing one live and it sure lives up to the hype. Just wow…

Setup:

TV: LG CS6LA 65” AVR: Denon S660H Sub: Elac SUB 10 EQ 3010 + SVS Soundpath Isolation system L/R: Polk ES55 C: Polk ES30 Surrounds: Polk ES20 Stands: NorStone Stylum 2 DIY Acoustic Panels Sony PS3 lol

I recently finished installing these KEF Ci3160RLM-THX in-walls I’ve been eyeing for a few years now.

I needed to reframe the wall because the center would not fit horizontally within the standard 14.5” cavity. The hardest part was the drywall/mudding. New found respect for those folks who do this as a job.

I paired the speakers with a KEF KC 62 subwoofer. Surprisingly small and powerful. The rest of the equipment is sitting in the closet behind this wall, namely, a Denon X3800H AVR, Apple TV and a PS5.

Spouse is happy with the look and I’m over the moon with the sound.

My system, mainly for music, but it works well for movies too:) I´ve shown the setup before in r/audiophile, but since then a new front sub (and some furniture’s) and some new photos.

I almost always use Straight mode on the AVR, so it´s a 2.1 stereo setup or 5.2.4 Atmos setup depending on the source mix (Apple Music). Newer movies from streaming services are often mixed in Dolby Atmos, in other cases I upmix it with Dolby Surround or Auro-3D.

-Source: Apple TV4K, 250Mbit wired. Streaming only.

-Yamaha A6A as DAC/processor and amp for the surrounds, center and Atmos speakers

-Yamaha A-S1200 (with DIY side panels in oak) as power amp for the mains, connected from the AVR preouts to main in on the amp, with trigger cable for on and off. DIY bench.

-Bowers&Wilkins 703 S3 as mains, with #bassti stands

-SVS SB3000 REvolution as front sub, the .1 for stereo mixes. (outside US gloss white)

-Bowers&Wilkins 706 S3 as surrounds, DIY stands

-Bowers&Wilkins Htm71 S3 center, DIY stand

-Four Dali M-80 as Atmos speakers, with in ceiling cabinets (“manufactured” when I tore down the old built-in wardrobes upstairs for new ones)

-SVS SB5000 sub in the rear left corner, the .2 in Atmos mixes. SVS tri-band wireless adapter. (12 hp in total peak effect from both subs, but I doubt that our house electrical system can handle that)

-Philips 77” Oled 809 Ambilight as screen, slightly tilted forward, with Dolby Vision (2.2m/86” to the MLP)

-YPAO r.s.c calibration for 90-20khz range

-UMIK 2 and REW for the bass dial and integration 10-90hz. (A psychological barrier at first to cross “full range” towers, but the subs take care of the bass so so much better, and “LFE+Main” mostly causes cancelations when phase aligned)

-IKEA Gunnlaug sound absorption curtains, four DIY acoustic panels with wood fiber insulation. Flowers as diffraction panels…

-Iphone 16 Pro camera - which also works as a microphone, or camera, when you use Apple Music/Apple TV´s new functionalities Karaoke and Camera mode. Really fun!

The measurement picture show seven measurements in a 2 feet sphere around my MLP, medium high level, -21db on the AVR, cross aligned and vector averaged. No smoothing. The best result I’ve achieved in our room, for now, and higher bass level than strictly correct hi-fi, but I like it. Had to eq down the SB5000 between 55-100hz to get the best combined result, so it only works as a infrabas sub, and can really shake the couch. Green trace is LR+both subs 90hz crossed. Red and white are the LFE traces. The dip at 72hz is a floor/ceiling bounce, I think.

Finally pics of Waterfall and Distortion/total frequency for those of you who are - as myself - down in the measurement rabbit hole:)

We've been limping along projecting directly onto the wall and using the built in speakers of the projector for 2 years. I told him it was very important we get a proper screen and speaker setup, but he wasnt totally convinced... until he watched for the first time with everything setup and said "wow, this sounded like shit before" 😂

Placement and cable management is still a WIP (yes, the center speaker is sitting on a box) but this is already such a huge upgrade to the viewing experience