Home Theater Build - THT & SLA

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caleb105
Posts: 27
Joined: Thu Apr 13, 2017 9:57 am
Location: Oshkosh, WI

Home Theater Build - THT & SLA

#1 Post by caleb105 »

Our family recently moved, and I’m using the fresh start as an opportunity to upgrade our home theater. The 1080p projector got upgraded to a 65” 4k TV with HDR, the 15 yr old Kenwood receiver got upgraded to a Marantz SR6011 with 11.2 channel processing, and I’m starting the process of upgrading the audio section.

My current speaker setup is Polk Audio circa 2008. The mains are Polk RTi8 floorstanding speakers, the center is a Polk CSi5, and the two surrounds are Polk fxi3’s.

My current woofer is definitely the weakest part of the existing system. It’s a KLH “Bassbite V” 10 inch 40 watt self-powered woofer that originally sold for $49.99
Attachments
THT 0 - KLH Bassbite V 10in 40watt.jpg
"There's nothing wrong with plate amps, and nothing right with mounting them on the sub" - Bill Fitzmaurice

caleb105
Posts: 27
Joined: Thu Apr 13, 2017 9:57 am
Location: Oshkosh, WI

Re: Home Theater Build - THT & SLA

#2 Post by caleb105 »

Given the intended Home Theater setting, and a fairly accepting wife, I’m opting for the Tuba HT. I’m starting out building a single THT, but might very well build a 2nd one, or a THT-LP in the future. My room is approximately 15’ x 15’ with 3 concrete walls, a concrete floor, and 1” thick plaster ceiling. I’m therefore concerned about room response, and a 2nd sub should help even things out.

I live in Wisconsin. We have a regional store called Menards (similar to Home Depot or Lowes) that carries 4x8 sheets of Baltic Birch (item #125-3101) as a special order item. Current price is $57.99 a sheet. Compared to what some of you are paying, this is a bit steep, but compared to what the local lumber yards were charging in my area it’s a decent price. I also liked that I could get a full 4x8 sheet in case I wanted to build a THT-LP with 72” long panels.

I happened to notice that my local Menards had a single sheet in stock. Turned out someone special ordered it, then never picked it up, or returned it. They actually had it in their “Discount” section for $44 so I grabbed that, and special ordered another 2 sheets. Plywood total = $167.98 (w/ tax)

This is real 9 ply Baltic Birch plywood… different from the ACX plywood that Menards also offers.
Attachments
THT 1 - 9 layers.jpg
THT 2 - Plywood Sale.jpg
Last edited by caleb105 on Mon May 15, 2017 11:50 am, edited 1 time in total.
"There's nothing wrong with plate amps, and nothing right with mounting them on the sub" - Bill Fitzmaurice

caleb105
Posts: 27
Joined: Thu Apr 13, 2017 9:57 am
Location: Oshkosh, WI

Re: Home Theater Build - THT & SLA

#3 Post by caleb105 »

I’m going with a 24.5” wide THT. I considered going larger, but this is an efficient use of the plywood and will give me more options on where to place it. This requires ~2.5 sheets of plywood. Since I would have extra plywood, and since I plan on updating the rest of the system as well, I figured I might as well go ahead & cut out the panels for a 9 driver curved SLA center while I was at it. :D

I used a cutlist program to layout each of the panels before cutting (http://www.delphiforfun.org/programs/cutlist.htm). The panels circled in yellow are for the SLA center, and the rest are for the THT.
Attachments
THT 3 - Cut Sheet.jpg
"There's nothing wrong with plate amps, and nothing right with mounting them on the sub" - Bill Fitzmaurice

caleb105
Posts: 27
Joined: Thu Apr 13, 2017 9:57 am
Location: Oshkosh, WI

Re: Home Theater Build - THT & SLA

#4 Post by caleb105 »

Since we just moved a couple weeks ago, and my garage/shop is in total disarray, I took advantage of the beautiful weather and worked outside on a couple sawhorses. I built a sled for my circular saw, and used that to rip the sheets down into panels that were ~1/4” larger than intended.
Attachments
THT 4 - Skil Sled.jpg
"There's nothing wrong with plate amps, and nothing right with mounting them on the sub" - Bill Fitzmaurice

caleb105
Posts: 27
Joined: Thu Apr 13, 2017 9:57 am
Location: Oshkosh, WI

Re: Home Theater Build - THT & SLA

#5 Post by caleb105 »

I’m fortunate enough to have a table saw, which I then used to rip the panels to their final sizes. I was able to run multiple panels thru the table saw with the fence set at the 23.5” panel width to try to keep everything consistent.
Attachments
THT 5 - Table Saw Rip.jpg
"There's nothing wrong with plate amps, and nothing right with mounting them on the sub" - Bill Fitzmaurice

caleb105
Posts: 27
Joined: Thu Apr 13, 2017 9:57 am
Location: Oshkosh, WI

Re: Home Theater Build - THT & SLA

#6 Post by caleb105 »

After a couple hours of measuring & cutting, I had all the panels cut for both the THT and SLA center. I used painters tape to label each panel as I cut them, with their panel # and intended dimensions. That way I won’t grab a finished panel thinking that it’s scrap. The two rectangular panels on the left of the picture are the top/bottom for the SLA center. Bill sure likes to design large speakers doesn’t he? :lol:
Attachments
THT 6 - Ripped Panels.jpg
Last edited by caleb105 on Mon May 15, 2017 11:52 am, edited 1 time in total.
"There's nothing wrong with plate amps, and nothing right with mounting them on the sub" - Bill Fitzmaurice

caleb105
Posts: 27
Joined: Thu Apr 13, 2017 9:57 am
Location: Oshkosh, WI

Re: Home Theater Build - THT & SLA

#7 Post by caleb105 »

Continuing to work outside, I then carefully laid out all the lines on the side panel. I made sure to triple check everything, and then labeled each panel placement as recommended in the plans. I then used a 1/16” drill bit to transfer these measurements to the other panel.
Attachments
THT 7 - Drawn Lines.jpg
"There's nothing wrong with plate amps, and nothing right with mounting them on the sub" - Bill Fitzmaurice

caleb105
Posts: 27
Joined: Thu Apr 13, 2017 9:57 am
Location: Oshkosh, WI

Re: Home Theater Build - THT & SLA

#8 Post by caleb105 »

Next up was the plunge-cuts for the access panel. I once again used my sled. However, what I realized is that my circular saw does not plunge straight down… but moves to the side slightly as it plunges (circled in red below). Once it was plunged thru, I could make the remainder of the cut with the blade in a consistent location. Oh well… I’m probably just going to cover this whole thing with Duratex when I’m done anyway. Lol
Attachments
THT 8 - Plunge Cut.jpg
"There's nothing wrong with plate amps, and nothing right with mounting them on the sub" - Bill Fitzmaurice

caleb105
Posts: 27
Joined: Thu Apr 13, 2017 9:57 am
Location: Oshkosh, WI

Re: Home Theater Build - THT & SLA

#9 Post by caleb105 »

I used a jig saw to finish the cuts in the corner. It had a fine-tooth metal cutting blade installed in it, so I just used that.
Attachments
THT 9 - Jig Saw.jpg
"There's nothing wrong with plate amps, and nothing right with mounting them on the sub" - Bill Fitzmaurice

caleb105
Posts: 27
Joined: Thu Apr 13, 2017 9:57 am
Location: Oshkosh, WI

Re: Home Theater Build - THT & SLA

#10 Post by caleb105 »

I cut to the outside edge, leaving the extra material attached to the panel, then trimmed the tabs off the panel once it was removed.
Attachments
THT 9 - Access Panel Tabs.jpg
"There's nothing wrong with plate amps, and nothing right with mounting them on the sub" - Bill Fitzmaurice

caleb105
Posts: 27
Joined: Thu Apr 13, 2017 9:57 am
Location: Oshkosh, WI

Re: Home Theater Build - THT & SLA

#11 Post by caleb105 »

Overall I think it turned out pretty clean.
Attachments
THT 10 - Access Final.jpg
"There's nothing wrong with plate amps, and nothing right with mounting them on the sub" - Bill Fitzmaurice

caleb105
Posts: 27
Joined: Thu Apr 13, 2017 9:57 am
Location: Oshkosh, WI

Re: Home Theater Build - THT & SLA

#12 Post by caleb105 »

Another benefit of having a table saw is that I can easily dial in the angles for the panel edges.
Attachments
THT 12 - Table Saw Angle.jpg
THT 11 - Table Saw Angle.jpg
Last edited by caleb105 on Mon May 15, 2017 9:41 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"There's nothing wrong with plate amps, and nothing right with mounting them on the sub" - Bill Fitzmaurice

caleb105
Posts: 27
Joined: Thu Apr 13, 2017 9:57 am
Location: Oshkosh, WI

Re: Home Theater Build - THT & SLA

#13 Post by caleb105 »

When I had originally cut Panel #1 out of the full sheet of plywood, I cut it to the length listed in the plans cut list. I used the table saw to cut the angle on one end of it, then ran it back thru the table saw with the blade in the vertical position, to rip it to its final length. I was running out of time to work, but I did a quick test fit of Panel 1 just to see if everything was lining up.

With that, my weekend came to an end.
Attachments
THT 13 - Panel 1 Test Fit.jpg
Last edited by caleb105 on Mon May 15, 2017 9:39 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"There's nothing wrong with plate amps, and nothing right with mounting them on the sub" - Bill Fitzmaurice

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DJPhatman
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Re: Home Theater Build - THT & SLA

#14 Post by DJPhatman »

Caleb105, while we all love a good build thread, you need to edit out all measurements, angles, etc., from your posts. Posting any measurements from Bill's plans is a copyright infringement, and is illegal! Plus, you kind of screw Bill out of his royalties for his Intellectual Property.
I know money often seals the deal, but seriously, quality is an investment, not an expense... Grant Bunter
Accept the fact that airtight and well-braced are more important than pretty on the inside. Bill Fitzmaurice

caleb105
Posts: 27
Joined: Thu Apr 13, 2017 9:57 am
Location: Oshkosh, WI

Re: Home Theater Build - THT & SLA

#15 Post by caleb105 »

Will do! Definitely not trying to take anything away from Bill!
"There's nothing wrong with plate amps, and nothing right with mounting them on the sub" - Bill Fitzmaurice

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