Norwegian Bjorn Erik Forberg built an amazing home theater with his own two hands, including the speakers and acoustic treatments.Many AVS members find great pleasure in designing and building their own hometheaters, while others delight in building their own speakers. But Bjorn Erik Forberg (BEF-NO) went a step or two farther in the basement of his home just outside Oslo, Norway, not only building the theater and all the speakers himself, but also the acoustic diffusers As a THX Level 2-certified installer, Bjorn Erik had a clear idea of what he wanted in a home theater. "It had to be a room that measured at least 6 x 3.5 meters [roughly 20 x 11.5 feet] with space for six people. Also, it had to be sonically isolated from the rest of the house. Sonic isolation was especially important because I am very fond of loudspeaker systems that produce lots of energy."When Bjorn Erik and his wife were looking for a house, a good home-theater space was a must. The house they selected had a long, narrow basement, which he divided into two rooms—one would be the theater, and the other would be a workshop for all the building he was about to do.It took Bjorn Erik about six months to develop the plan for the room and about nine months to finalize the speaker design. It took another six months to actually build the room in his spare time—which is quite limited because of his day job as a project manager for Stanley Security.Using a program called AcousticCalculator, Bjorn Erik determined that the most problematic frequencies in terms of reflection from the ceiling extended from about 750 to 3500 Hz, and the areas that would create the most problems were down the middle and near the walls. Using 2x2" lumber cut to different lengths, he built three long diffuser panels for the ceiling.The main speakers are based on a design by Stig Erik Tangen, which Bjorn Erik modified. "The LCRs include three Beyma 15" woofers to reproduce the range of 25-200 Hz, a TAD 12" midrange to cover 175-2000 Hz, and a Beyma horn tweeter that goes from 2200 to 21,000 Hz. All the surround channels are based on the same principle, with a Beyma 15" woofer covering 25-900 Hz and a Beyma horn tweeter from 900 to 21,000 Hz; they have the same sonic signature as the front speakers. I use an active crossover and DSP in a stack of Crown I-Tech amplifiers to power the entire system, which gives the room a very uniform sound with a lot of dynamics and power in every channel."The subwoofers were designed to blend well with the main speakers, with Beyma 18" drivers that extend from 13 to 120 Hz. "When I was testing the system, they were only level adjustment that was needed. You cannot hear the sound cross between the mains and subs. Also, the subs are used only for the LFE; all the main channels are set for large speakers, which play from 28 to 20,000 Hz."The sensitivity of the speakers is remarkable—103 dB/W/m for the front LCR, 101 dB for the surrounds, and 100 dB for the subs. "I've measured the main speakers at 134 dB SPL!"On the back wall, he wanted to extend the frequency of diffusion down to 200 Hz, so he modified his diffuser design and covered the back wall with panels. After all the treatments were installed on the ceiling and back wall, Bjorn Erik says the sound is very natural and open. The frequency response of the room is flat from 13 to 21,000 Hz, but he adjusted it to add a bit more weight in the LFE "for a greater effect on movies."Bjorn Erik says his biggest challenge was finding a good acoustically transparent projection screen . "I have tried about 10 different screens, and I finally found one that does not destroy the sound and gives a good picture at the same time." He built the frame with a hinge at the top so it can be lifted out of the way to access the speakers behind it.Bjorn Erik says his greatest moment was when he first played music in the room—Hitman by David Foster. He also played recordings from young Filipina singer Charice, which "got tears rolling down my cheeks." Of course, movies are also amazing in this stunning room.By building everything himself, the total cost for the room was no more than $8000, but the gear was another story—Bjorn Erik estimates the total equipment cost was around $140,000. "The VAT [value-added tax] is 25% in Norway, so everything costs more here." But I have no doubt that it is worth every krone Oppo BDP-95 Blu-ray playerOppo BDP-103 Blu-ray PlayerSherbourn PT-7030 preamp/processorCrown I-Tech 4000 (9)Crown I-Tech 8000 (2)Darbee DarbletSony VPL-VW55ESDreamScreen ultraHD Acoustic V5 (2.35:1, 138", 1.0 gain, acoustically transparent woven)Front LCR: DIY (based on Tangen AV Design inConcert Miles with 3 Beyma 15P80Nd 15" woofers, TAD midrange, Beyma TPL150H horn-loaded ribbon tweeter)Side and rear surrounds: DIY (Beyma 15P80Nd 15" woofer, TPL150H ribbon tweeter; 2 side, 2 rear) Subwoofers : DIY (Beyma 18W1600Nd 18" woofers; 6 in front, 2 in rear)Monster throughoutIR-Link to equipment rack outside the roomMonster HTS5100DreamScreen Cineseat Promotor (3 front row)DreamScreen Cineseat Theatre (5 second row)