 |
Concealed Home Theater |
|
|
|
Concealed Home Theater |
|
(Click any photo for a close-up view)
(Click any photo for a close-up view)
The goal when starting this home theater installation was to make the presence of the speaker system as transparent as possible, while still achieving full-range sonic performance. Most satellite/subwoofer speaker packages which attempt to minimize visibility also create significant compromise in sound quality. To avoid this problem, it was decided to install an in-wall speaker system to complement the large plasma screen monitor.
The in-wall speakers, to perform at maximum capability, must be fully and solidly enclosed within the wall cavity. To accomplish this goal, additional studs are installed at appropriate locations inside the wall to obtain a specified spatial volume. After routing all wiring inside the wall cavity, each speaker enclosure is then acoustically sealed with expanding foam to make it airtight and stuffed with batting to tighten the speaker driver response (see bottom row of photos above). The left and right front speakers, along with the center channel, are installed in specified proximity to the plasma screen and the rear surround speakers are placed relative to the listening position (see middle row of photos). Once the speaker grills are carefully painted to match the wall color, they effectively blend into the room surroundings (see top row of photos).
After installation of the speaker package and plasma screen, I tuned the performance of the complete theater package to properly balance and equalize the sound levels from all speakers. This task is performed by adjusting the A/V receiver, which is located in an adjacent closet along with source components such as DVD player and digital cable TV. The final theater system not only looks visually pleasing, but sounds excellent as well.
For other home theater and entertainment center installations, please visit the Home Theater page.
The pricing for this project involved installation and system tuning labor only - no cabinetry work was required at all. However, as with cabinet projects, installation of concealed home theater systems such as this one are difficult to estimate since it's tough to know what's inside the client's walls until the work begins. This project cost approximately $1,950, including materials and labor, but not including prices for home theater components such as plasma screen, receiver, and speakers.