Greetings from Iowa

RyanDSM

Member
Thread Starter
Joined
Aug 14, 2020
Messages
8
More  
Preamp, Processor or Receiver
Marantz AV7702MKii
Main Amp
Emotiva XPR-5
Additional Amp
Sanway FP14000 clone
Other Amp
Behringer iNuke NU4-6000 x 3
Universal / Blu-ray / CD Player
Panasonic DP-UB420
Front Speakers
JTR Triple 8
Center Channel Speaker
JTR Triple 8
Surround Speakers
DIYSG Volt 8LX
Surround Back Speakers
DIYSG Volt 8LX
Front Height Speakers
DIYSG Volt 6LX
Rear Height Speakers
DIYSG Volt 6LX
Subwoofers
6 x Stereo Integrity HT18D2 v1
Video Display Device
JVC DLA-RS520
Screen
11' Wide SeymourAV Center Stage XD 2.40:1
Remote Control
Roomie Remote
On the advice of my buddy, Travis, I have joined up here.

My name is Ryan and I am a senior infrastructure systems engineer working for the federal medical world.
My wife and I live in central Iowa (Life long Iowan here, wife is a captive of the state, originally from West Virginia).

We bought our current house in the fall of 2015 and within the first week, I had the first wall up in the unfinished basement so that we could get the electricians in the second week to install the box and 100a drop to the basement.

The plan was to make the basement our own by adding an office (both my wife and I work from home 99% of the time), bathroom, bar/den and a dedicated home theater.

I knocked out the office and storage areas fairly quickly and then things went a bit stagnant for a while.
We didn't want to incur any additional debt by getting loan(s) to do the work to the basement so we did everything in phases as we could pay cash for it.
*Almost* everything was done DIY as I was in construction for years before I got into IT so I had the background skills and tools needed to do most things myself or with some help from friends.

The drywall taping/mudding/texture was hired out to a friend of a friend and the carpet was installed by professionals. But all of the rest has been a labor of love with mostly myself and my wife with a couple of friends helping from time to time.
I have a build thread elsewhere but it is woefully out of date on progress.

Since June of this year, I have gotten more done in the previous 4.5 years combined but it wasn't because of anything good.
On the morning of June 12th, I headed down to my office like I do every morning to find that between Tropical Storm Cristobal passing through and then being followed up with a high strength low pressure system that had been held up over the Dakotas, we had enough rain to saturate the ground and overpower the sump pump. The pump was churning away but wasn't able to keep up with the sheer volume of water coming into the drainage field around the house.

What made things worse was that we had the carpet measurement scheduled that morning so they could get the carpet knocked out that week.
After the water damage folks came in and yanked out all of the damaged stuff and dried things up, we ended up with having to start from mostly bare walls again. Even my office flooring had gotten wet and needed to be replaced.

Over the next month or so, we made more progress than ever before and are now able to see the finish line.
I hung the projector in the theater last night and started on the screen wall.
The bar/den has been getting used for the last month and all I really need to finish in there is the bar top (live edge red-cedar planks, beer bottle caps and a whole bunch of epoxy), shelving for the bar and snack bar (again with the live edge cedar) and decorating the space.

My love for all things audio started off early in my life. My paternal grandfather was a master of DIY electronics and bush fixes. Some of my fondest memories are of being "forced" to watch the likes of Lawrence Welk, Glenn Miller and other musical variety shows on Saturday nights in my grandpa's basement den. He had a nice setup of Klipsch Cornwalls, Dynaco ST70 and an self designed/built pre-amp. Sources were various record players, 8-track players and the TV via a step down transformer from the internal speaker "amp" on the TV.

Over the years, I have owned gear from the mundane to the esoteric and everything in between.
But now, as a (semi) responsible adult, I have been able to curate a few really nice systems for different intended purposes.

First, my primary 2 channel system in my office...
Rotel RC-1570 Pre
VTL Compact 100 Monoblock tube amps
North Star Designs Incanto DAC/Headphone Amp
Kenwood KD-550 TT with ClearAudio Concept MM cartridge
Auralic Aries Mini streamer
Sony UDP-X800
Rosso Fiorentino Elba 2nd gen speakers
2 x SVS SB-12NSD
Nordost Heimdall SCs
Onix unbalanced ICs
Wireworld Equinox 8 Balanced ICs
Wireworld Starlight Digital Coax and USB

Living Room:
Sonos Connect
AMC CVT-2030 Hybrid tube amp
Wharfedale Denton 80th Anniversary speakers
SVS SB-12NSD
Onix unbalanced ICs
Wireworld Luna 6 SCs

Garage/Deck:
Integra 30.2 AVR
Samsung BDP
Sony 47" LCD TV
Amazon Echo Input
Polk Audio Monitor 5 Series II
2 x Dayton Audio RSS210HF-4 based folded horn subs
Behringer Eurpower EP900 amp for subs
Zone 2 of the AVR powers a pair of 6.5" Yamaha outdoor speakers on the deck

Bar:
4 cheap eBay in-ceiling speakers
Sonos Connect
Behringer iNuke NU1000

Master Bedroom:
Sonos Connect Amp
Vizio E series 55"
AppleTV HD
Speakers still TBD...sold the Usher V-601s that were there as they weren't "right" for us.

Den "HT" System (This is where the majority of our TV watching occurs):
Denon AVR-1500H
Polk Audio LSiC/LSi7/TL3 speakers
2 x Skar Audio EVL 18 subs in DIYSG 8cf dual opposed sealed enclosure
Behringer NU3000DSP for the subs
xBox One S
Apple TV 4K
Vizio P Series 4K P702ui-B3 (Older and without HDR but still a pretty nice set)


And that brings us to the "centerpiece" of the AV realm of this household, The Blank Slate Cinema.
It was named such as when I first saw the basement and that I could build the theater completely unencumbered by bulkheads, I exclaimed to my wife and our realtor, "This is great! I will have a completely blank slate to work with!"
The name stuck and I decided the color-scheme was going to be black and greys.

The specifics of the build will be detailed in my showcase post when I get around to it but I will share the equipment list here.

Marantz AV7702MKii
JVC DLA-RS520
Emotiva XPR-5 (LCR, Wides)
Sanway FP14000 (Lab Gruppen Clone powering the front subs)
Behringer NU4-6000 (1 for rear subs, 1 for side and rear surrounds, 1 for 4 Atmos over heads)
Panasonic DP-UB420
Amazon FireTV Stick 4K (Added because it was here and never opened...I don't think it will get much use, if any in the theater)
Front LCR: JTR Triple 8s (2010 model)
Front Wides, Side and Rear Surrounds: DIYSG Volt 8LX
Atmos: DIYSG Volt 6LX (The only real reasons I went with these are 1. I needed to allow for headroom in the second row, 2. I did not want to place in-ceiling speakers and compromise the soundproofing work we did. I would much prefer to have Volt 8LXs or even Volt 10LXs for Atmos)
Front Subs: 4 x Stereo Integrity HT18D2 (V1) in 4cf DIYSG Sealed enclosures
Rear Subs: 2 x Stereo Integrity HT18D2 (V1) in custom built 4cf sealed corner enclosure
Screen is originally a Silver Ticker 150" diagonal 16:9 frame that was cut down to a 2.40:1 ratio screen with SeymourAV Center Stage XD material

My primary source for movie viewing will ultimately be my "home" Plex server setup. I have 2 Dell servers (T630, R630) with 2 24 bay NetApp Disk Shelves with an assortment of GPUs ranging from a GT1030 in the R630 to 2 x GTX1060 6GBs and 1 x GTX1070Ti in the T630. The GTX1060s run my movie poster displays in the bar and in the hallway of the basement while my 1070 handles the Plex Media Player duties (Need to get some configuration done to run the Kodi DS player with MadVR and the Plex plugin to take advantage of HDR).
The GT1030 in the R630 is not for actual graphics use but to run Roon Core's OpenGL 3.0 requirements.
I use Roon to feed up audio to all of the "zones" in the house.

Most of the lighting automation is handled with Insteon switches and dimmers connected to an Insteon Hub and controlled primarily through voice via Amazon Echo devices.

The theater build is still in progress but I am reaching a point where the end is clearly in sight and it has kept me motivated to get this project wrapped up and start enjoying the darned thing!

Anyways, thank you for reading this far. I promise to get my build thread and AV showcase up to date as soon as possible.

Have a great day!
Ryan
 
Last edited:

Sonnie

Senior Admin
Staff member
Joined
Apr 2, 2017
Messages
5,055
Location
Alabama
More  
Preamp, Processor or Receiver
StormAudio ISP Elite 24 MK3 Processor
Main Amp
McIntosh MC1.25KW Monoblock Amps
Additional Amp
StormAudio PA 16 MK3
Computer Audio
Intel NUC w/ Roon ROCK
Universal / Blu-ray / CD Player
Panasonic UB9000 4K UHD Player (for media discs)
Front Speakers
RTJ 410
Center Channel Speaker
MartinLogan Focus C-18
Front Wide Speakers
JTR Neosis 110HT
Surround Speakers
JTR Neosis 210RT
Surround Back Speakers
JTR Neosis 210RT
Front Height Speakers
JTR Neosis 110HT-SL
Rear Height Speakers
JTR Neosis 110HT-SL
Subwoofers
JTR Captivator 2400 x6
Other Speakers or Equipment
VTI Amp Stands for the Monoblocks
Video Display Device
Sony 98X90L
Remote Control
Universal MX-890
Streaming Equipment
FireCube for movies and Lenova Carbon X1 for Roon
Streaming Subscriptions
Lifetime Roon Subscription
Tidal
qobuz
Netflix
Amazon Prime
Satellite System
Dish Joey 4K
Other Equipment
Zero Surge 8R15W-1 | Salamander Synergy Equipment Stand
Hello Ryan... and welcome to our world... :T

I'd say you have quite an impressive lineup of audio/video gear and some DIY in the mix.

Slate is one of my favorite colors for some reason... I always think of the Space Gray BMW that I had many years ago.

Looking forward to having you around.
 

mechman

Senior Admin
Staff member
Joined
Apr 4, 2017
Messages
2,047
Location
Empire, MN
More  
Preamp, Processor or Receiver
Pioneer VSX-832
Front Speakers
Definitive Technology Studio Monitor 55s
Center Channel Speaker
Definitive Technology CS8040
Surround Back Speakers
Definitive Technology DI6.5R
Other Speakers or Equipment
Apple TV 4K
Video Display Device
LG OLED65C7P
Remote Control
Logitech Harmony 650
Streaming Subscriptions
HBO Max, YouTubeTV, Hulu, Netflix, Disney+
Welcome Ryan! Forced to watch the Lawrence Welk show?!?! Now that's child abuse! At least you got to see the bubble maching on a weekly basis! "And a one and a two and a..."
 

Travis Ballstadt

Administrator
Staff member
Joined
Jul 26, 2017
Messages
1,080
Location
Seattle, WA
More  
Preamp, Processor or Receiver
Anthem AVM60
Main Amp
Emotiva BasX 5
Additional Amp
Emotiva UPA-500
Universal / Blu-ray / CD Player
Sony UBP-X800
Front Speakers
NextLevel Acoustics Reference Cinema
Center Channel Speaker
NextLevel Acoustics Reference Cinema
Surround Speakers
NextLevel Acoustics Reference Cinema
Front Height Speakers
NextLevel Acoustics Angled Satellite
Rear Height Speakers
NextLevel Acoustics Angled Satellite
Subwoofers
SVS PB2000
Video Display Device
JVC DLA X790R, Lumagen Radiance Pro 4240
Screen
SeymourAV Proscenium 124” diagonal 2.40:1
Remote Control
Harmony Elite - Moving to Unfolded Circle Remote 2
Streaming Equipment
Kaleidescape Strato C/Terra 48TB/Compact Terra 6TB, PLEX Server, AppleTV4K, Bluesound Node2i
Streaming Subscriptions
AppleTV+, Amazon Prime, HBO Max
Satellite System
They still have those?
Other Equipment
Rega Planar 6, Rega Exact2 cart, Rega Aria Mk3 Phono Stage, Jolida JD202BRC, Rega RS-5 Speakers (2-channel system)
@RyanDSM is also my PLEX/Server guru. His room was still pre-water damage drywall last time I was there, but I'm anxious to see his progress in person, rather than just on Instagram.

Something something projector throw distance. :p

This one will be an AV Showcase for the ages.
 

Grayson Dere

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Dec 19, 2018
Messages
616
Location
Bay Area, CA
More  
Preamp, Processor or Receiver
Integra DTR 7.8
Main Amp
Class D Audio: SDS-470CS
Additional Amp
Shellbrook Audio Hybrid Head headphone amp
Universal / Blu-ray / CD Player
Sony UBP-X700
Front Speakers
Vandersteen Model 2
Subwoofers
SVS PB-2000
Other Speakers or Equipment
Grado SR 325is headphones
Video Display Device
JVC DLA-X75
Screen
Elite Screen 120"
Streaming Subscriptions
Origin Live Aurora MKIII turntable
Welcome to AV NIRVANA, Ryan! Your whole house is ready for great sound no matter where you are. Fantastic!! : D
 

RyanDSM

Member
Thread Starter
Joined
Aug 14, 2020
Messages
8
More  
Preamp, Processor or Receiver
Marantz AV7702MKii
Main Amp
Emotiva XPR-5
Additional Amp
Sanway FP14000 clone
Other Amp
Behringer iNuke NU4-6000 x 3
Universal / Blu-ray / CD Player
Panasonic DP-UB420
Front Speakers
JTR Triple 8
Center Channel Speaker
JTR Triple 8
Surround Speakers
DIYSG Volt 8LX
Surround Back Speakers
DIYSG Volt 8LX
Front Height Speakers
DIYSG Volt 6LX
Rear Height Speakers
DIYSG Volt 6LX
Subwoofers
6 x Stereo Integrity HT18D2 v1
Video Display Device
JVC DLA-RS520
Screen
11' Wide SeymourAV Center Stage XD 2.40:1
Remote Control
Roomie Remote
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