Home Theater Geeks 502: Duck & Cover

Summary

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Home Theater Geeks 502: Duck & Cover

Podcast: All TWiT.tv Shows (Audio)
Host: Scott Wilkinson
Guest (profiled): Terence Huntington
Date: October 2, 2025

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Overview

In this episode of Home Theater Geeks, Scott Wilkinson profiles the uniquely clever and compact home theater build of Terence Huntington—the composer behind the show’s theme music. The episode centers on how Terence converted a tiny, challenging basement space in Grass Valley, California, into an impressive home theater. Scott walks listeners through the technical and creative decisions that made this "duck and cover" home theater not only possible, but remarkably successful, providing inspiration for anyone facing similar space or budget limitations.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Background: Building in a Small, Challenging Space

[01:56 - 06:30]

• Terence wanted a home theater but only had a small basement to work with.
• The initial space was cramped, with support posts and exposure to dirt from the foundation.
• "You might think that [the support posts] are structural, but amazingly they’re not." (Scott Wilkinson, 02:57)
• To make room, Terence removed non-structural support posts and reinforced beams with "wafers."
• Cinder blocks were installed "to keep dirt from intruding into the home theater."

2. Addressing Technical Hurdles

HVAC Noise & Space Constraints

[03:30 - 04:40]

• The water heater and HVAC system were loud and took up space.
• Terence enclosed these in "a closet with heavy insulation," dramatically reducing noise to "basically sounds like a projector." (Scott Wilkinson, 04:10)

Screen & Projector Challenges

[04:50 - 06:00]

• Main challenge: Ensuring his JVC projector with a Panamorph anamorphic lens would fit the 115-inch, 2.4:1 Carada Precision screen.
• "He carefully measured and calculated the throw distance... and he found that it would work—just barely." (Scott Wilkinson, 05:35)
• The ceiling was so low that "he just barely clears the ceiling there... which is why he called it duck and cover." (Scott Wilkinson, 05:55)

Design Solutions for Aesthetics & Performance

• Terence chose red carpet and off-white walls—"not what I would normally recommend for a home theater"—but counteracted issues with a black shadow box around the screen, increasing image contrast.

Acoustic Success

[06:30 - 08:00]

• Despite low expectations, the installation of carpet and seating resulted in sound quality that "totally exceeded his expectations," leading Terence to disable the Audyssey room correction in his Integra preamp.
• "I didn't have high hopes for good sound... but the sound totally exceeded his expectations." (Scott Wilkinson, relaying Terence, 07:44)
• "That was great. A happy coincidence. A happy happenstance, as they say." (Scott Wilkinson, 08:00)

3. Equipment, Layout, and Surprises

[09:23 - 13:20]

• Seating: 3 Salamander Designs Mateo recliners (front row), 2 traditional theater chairs (on 8-inch riser, back row).
• Bass Tactile Feedback: One ButtKicker LFE transducer per row, not per seat.
  • "Personally, I like that because I don't like the intense shaking of the seats... having one in the whole row... would be less intense." (Scott Wilkinson, 09:47)
• Cabinetry: Equipment rack with a 4-inch cable gap for accessibility—"really important... some people don't think about this until it's too late." (Scott Wilkinson, 10:08)
• Electronics: Integra DHC 40.1 pre/pro, NAD amps, Apple TV, game consoles.
• Speakers: Paradigm Studio 60s (FL/C/R) and Studio 20s (surround), "an excellent choice."
• Bass: Epic Tower 15" sub, and a Rythmik MBM-12 mid-bass module paired with the center speaker.
  • "The center channel is extremely important... So he used this [MBM-12]." (Scott Wilkinson, 11:30)
• Budget & Process: Build completed in about 1.5 months, for roughly $20,000.
• Personal Touch: Terence’s highlight was laying the carpet and working with his father—"That is some of my happiest family memories." (Scott Wilkinson, 12:40)
• Result: Tight squeeze getting in ("duck and cover"), but "once you're seated, that thing is going to be pretty darn nice." (Scott Wilkinson, 13:00)

4. Inspiration & Takeaways for Home Theater Geeks

[13:15 - 13:45]

• This build is a model for overcoming space and budget issues without compromising performance.
• "Several people have told me that they face the challenge of a small room... Well, Terence Huntington dealt with it beautifully and not that expensive." (Scott Wilkinson, 13:18)
• "I applaud him for what he did with such a small space and what great performance I'm sure he got out of it. This is a perfect example of how that can be done." (Scott Wilkinson, 13:45)
• Shout-out to Terence for the theme music and his ingenuity.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "Amazingly they're not [structural], he was able to remove them and reinforce the existing beams with what are called wafers."
  — Scott Wilkinson, 02:57

• "When the heater's on or even the AC, it basically sounds like a projector. You’d be hard pressed to hear any hum or rumble."
  — Scott Wilkinson, 04:10

• "He guessed a lot, too... and he found that it would work—just barely."
  — Scott Wilkinson, 05:35

• "He just barely clears the ceiling there. So it’s a pretty small space, which is why he called it duck and cover."
  — Scott Wilkinson, 05:55

• "With the carpet and the seating installed, the sound totally exceeded his expectations... so good he disabled the Odyssey room correction."
  — Scott Wilkinson, 07:44

• "Having one ButtKicker in the whole row... would be less intense. That would be fine with me."
  — Scott Wilkinson, 09:47

• "Some people don't think about [equipment access] until it's too late... Terrence thought of this and good for him."
  — Scott Wilkinson, 10:08

• "Working with my dad during the construction was a real joy."
  — Terence (via Scott Wilkinson), 12:40

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• 01:56 – Start: Introduction to Terence’s project & space limitations
• 02:57 – Removing basement support posts
• 04:10 – Solving HVAC noise with insulation
• 05:35 – Calculating projector throw and screen constraints
• 05:55 – The origin of "Duck & Cover"
• 07:44 – Audio quality surpasses expectations
• 09:23 – Detailed equipment and seating discussion
• 11:30 – Mid-bass module and the role of the center channel
• 12:40 – Personal reflection on working with family
• 13:18 – Key takeaways for small room builds
• 13:45 – Tribute to Terence’s success and music

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Conclusion

This episode is a must-listen for anyone intrigued by practical home theater innovation. Terence Huntington’s resourceful use of space, collaborative build process with his father, and careful technical planning offer real-world answers to frequent enthusiast dilemmas. Scott’s walkthrough is both technical and personal, making this a standout for both inspiration and actionable advice.

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For questions or feedback: Email Scott at [e-mail].
Watch TWiT shows ad-free by joining Club TWiT.

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Transcript

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[Scott Wilkinson]

In this episode of Home Theater Geeks, I profile the home theater of Terence Huntington, the composer of the Home Theater Geeks theme music. So stick around. Podcasts you love from people you trust.

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[Scott Wilkinson]

Hey there. Hey there. Scott Wilkinson here, the home Theater geek. In this episode, I'm going to profile a very special home theater. It was built around 11 years ago by Terence Huntington, who is the composer of the Home Theater Geeks theme music. So I'm really happy to show you what he did with his home theater. Now this was back in 2014. I profiled it on AVS forum and we'll put a link in the show notes. Some of the articles that are that old have lost their links to the graphics, so that's unfortunate. But we'll show you them right here. Now. At the time, Terence was living in Grass Valley, California. He has since moved, but I profiled this theater because I thought it was very interesting. He had very little, little space to work with. He wanted to build a home theater in his house, but the only space he could do it was in his basement, which was pretty small. And you can see in the first photo, the, the, the basement as it originally was. Difficult to see in context. No, but. No people there. But take my word for it, it's pretty small. He, the first step, he had to remove the support posts. You see the support posts there in the left half of this image. And you might think that they're structural, but amazingly they're not. He was able to remove them and reinforce the existing beams with what are called wafers. And then Terry and his father got to work with the help of some contractors to do the heavy lifting. As we can see in the next graphic, I think it's his father standing in the room without the beams and the, the. Well, yeah, the posts, the beams have been reinforced and the posts are gone. And now he has room for a home theater. Notice also the cinder blocks in the left half of the picture. Those were installed in order to keep dirt from intruding into the home theater. Now, you can see in this picture a little bit of the heater system. The next picture will show more of the H vac heating, ventilation and air conditioning. And the water heater, which he had to enclose here. You can see the framing for that because the heater gets pretty loud. And so, you know, he wanted it to be quiet in there, obviously, for, for the home theater. So he enclosed it in, in a closet with heavy insulation. And he says when the heater's on or even the ac, it basically sounds like a projector. You'd be hard pressed to hear any hum or rumble. So. So that was an important thing to do down there. But it also even decreased the space even more. Okay. Once we had the framing installed in the next picture, you can see there. Oh, look, it's starting to look almost like it could be a home theater. We've got the framing up, we've got the insulation. You can see that retaining wall there. So everything is looking like it could start to become a home theater. Now, one of the main challenges that Terence faced was making sure that his JVC projector with a panamorph anamorphic lens would fill the screen. It was 115 inch screen, 2.4 to 1, so it was very widescreen, meant to show movies. The screen was the Carada Precision fabric. And he said with no, no formal plans about it at all. He carefully measured and calculated the throw distance of the projector. And he said he guessed a lot too. And he found that it would work just barely. Now, to show you how small this, this space is, there's a pic. Here's a picture of Terry standing in the space. He's six feet tall and he just barely clears the ceiling there. So it's a pretty small space, which is why he called it duck and cover. Now he decided on red carpeting and doors with off white walls, which is not what I would normally recommend for a home theater. But he, what he did to counteract that was to put the screen in what's called a black shadow box. And here we can see the black shadow box where the screen is going to be on the far wall. That will definitely make a big, big difference in the perceived contrast in the image on that screen. So that was, that was a good idea. Reduces reflections from nearby walls and the ceiling. So I have a, I have a lot of respect for him for doing that. That was, that was a really good thing. Another problem he said he had was acoustics. I didn't have high hopes for good sound, he said, but with the carpet and the seating installed, the sound totally exceeded his expectations. I was surprised at that too. In fact, the sound was so good, he said that he disabled the Odyssey room correction. That was in his Integra DHC 40.1 preamp processor. Didn't even need to use room correction. That's pretty amazing. I didn't hear the room myself, but I certainly trust him on that. So that was great. A happy, A happy coincidence. A happy happenstance, as they say.

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[Scott Wilkinson]

The seating includes three Salamander designs, Mateo recliners and two traditional movie theater chairs on an 8 inch riser as the second row. Now interestingly, each row has a butt kicker LFE low frequency effects transducer which kicks in with the subwoofer on low frequency stuff. And it's very interesting that Terence used one butt kicker for each row instead of one in each seat, which is what is normally done, but in this case he just put one in each row. Personally, I like that because I don't like the intense shaking of the seats during loud low frequency stuff. So having one in the whole row for all three seats or two seats in the back would be less intense. That would be fine with me. Not necessarily for some bass heads out there, but I thought it was great. The next picture we have is a the custom equipment cabinet in the left wall, which includes shelves that leave a 4 inch gap behind them for easy cable accessibility. And this is really important. Some people don't think about this until it's too late. What if you need to replace a component or you want to upgrade a component to a new one? You have to be able to reach the cables in the back. Terrence thought of this and good for him. The equipment includes an Integra DHC 40.1, as I mentioned before, a surround processor nad power amps, an Apple TV streamer, and several game consoles. The speakers were Paradigm Studio 60s for the front, left, center and right, and Studio 20s for the surround. Paradigm is a great speaker manufacturer and so that was an excellent choice there. The subs included an Epic Tower 15 inch sub and a shoe MBM12 mid bass module. That's what the MBM stands for, which is paired with the center speaker. So Terence realized that the center channel is extremely important. Carries most of the dialogue certainly, and a lot of the rest of the soundtrack as well. So he wanted to beef up the bass performance of that center channel speaker. And so he used this shoe mbm12. So but about a month and a half later, not really very long, and about $20,000 in budget, the theater was complete. Terence remembers the best moment was when the carpet was finally installed. And working with my dad during the construction was a real joy. I know that feeling very well. I didn't work with my dad on construction, but we did play a lot of music together and that is some of my happiest family memories. Absolutely. And here you can see this theater which you kind of have to duck to get into to walk into, but once you're seated, that thing is going to be pretty darn nice. I think it. It just looks beautiful. And I congratulate Terence on, on that theater. Now he has since moved to a different location and I hope to catch up with him and find out what he's been doing home theater wise lately. But I wanted to show you this one because several people have told me that they face a challenge of a small room. And how do you deal with it? Well, Terence Huntington dealt with it beautifully and not that expensive. He did a lot of the work himself. He says his budget was about $20,000, which certainly ain't chump change, but it's a lot less than than people spend on their home theaters often. So I, I applaud him for what he did with such a small space and what great performance I'm sure he got out of it. This is a perfect example of how that can be done. So congratulations to Terence and thank you again for the theme music to Home Theater Geeks. Now, if you have a question for me, you can send it right along to htgwit TV and I'll answer as many as I can right here on the show. And as you know, Twit now shows all of its programs on YouTube for free but with ads. If you want to go ad free, join the club. Go to Twit tv Club Twit and join today. Until next time, geek out.

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