 Designing first home theatre, a few quesitons.
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Joined: Jul 2007
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First let me say this forum has been a great resource so far, lots of great people here. Here's my specific layout: http://aycu07.webshots.com/image/20206/2004145481071216670_rs.jpgThe red boxes are speakers, the screen will be along the wall with the four red boxes (fronts, center, sub). I'm doing a projector and probably 92" screen, and you can see the seating area is going to be about 12-13' from the screen, though I could probably go closer. For the front speakers I like the Architectural series of speakers. For those a few questions: is it ok to place the fronts below the screen along with the centre? I have a small corner fireplace on one end of that wall and will have to have some furniture on the other end to hold the components and balance the wall a bit, and with a 92" screen that doesn't leave much room for the speakers (the wife doesn't like floor standing speakers). For the surrounds, I'm not sure exactly where to place them. It's going to be just a 5.1 system. From the picture, if I put them on the available walls (Position 1), they'll end up a bit forward of the seating area.. Is this a huge issue? Can I mitigate that by using the QS8's? If I go ceiling mounted I can go with position 2 or position 3.. there's a dropped bulkhead all around the ceiling and I'm concerned that if I use position 2 the speakers will hang low enough to look stupid. If I go with position 3, would the QS8's still be advisable or would a directional speaker be better? Also, I'm not sure what sub would be appropriate. Thanks in advance.
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Re: Designing first home theatre, a few quesitons.
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Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 8,488
axiomite
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axiomite
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 8,488 |
Wow, nice floorplan! Nice Room! Welcome. Quote:
is it ok to place the fronts below the screen along with the centre?
Probably not advisable. You're going to want to get the tweeters of the mains up around ear height if at all possible. Likewise, you may want a bit more separation than you'd get if they were under the screen.
Regarding the center channel: don't dismiss the idea of mounting the speaker ABOVE the screen.
Especially if you're only doing 5.1, I would very strongly encourage you to use the QS8's as surrounds. They are really great speakers. I wouldn't consider anything else, regardless of your placement options.
I think that any of the surround positions would work fine. A bit behind the seating position is probably better than in front, but it might be great either way. They don't need much space down from the ceiling (3-4" is probably plenty) so if you do ceiling-mount them, it'll be fine. Sirquack has some good pictures of his ceiling mounts. He'll be along shortly 
That's really a pretty big room. I think you'd be well advised to go for the EP500. Also, don't get TOO committed to a particular location for the sub; you'll want to be able to get it installed and experiment with positioning. It can make a world of difference.
It's always a good idea to call Axiom and talk with somebody about your specific installation.
bibere usque ad hilaritatem
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Re: Designing first home theatre, a few quesitons.
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Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 6,331
axiomite
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axiomite
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 6,331 |
Hi Photon, and welcome.
My personal preference is for the surrounds to be slightly behind the listening area so I feel position #2 is the ideal. However, Axiom says "surround speakers should be either wall-mounted or stand-mounted to either side of the couch or primary listening area, from one to six feet higher than seated listeners' ears, and slightly forward or rearwards of the listening area." So, position #1, with the speakers being a bit forward of the seating area, would not be a huge issue and would serve you very well should you decide that location works best in your room.
I recommend going with the QS surrounds regardless of where you end up placing them. I feel they are the best surrounds I've ever heard.
Jack
"People generally quarrel because they cannot argue." - G. K. Chesterton
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Re: Designing first home theatre, a few quesitons.
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Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 38
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OP
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Quote:
Wow, nice floorplan! Nice Room!
Thanks! We'll have a bar area in the other area. I'll post pictures when we're done for sure.
The floorplan was pretty much dictated by the posts and stuff though, I was hoping for a more ideal theater room but what can you do.
Quote:
Probably not advisable. You're going to want to get the tweeters of the mains up around ear height if at all possible. Likewise, you may want a bit more separation than you'd get if they were under the screen.
Regarding the center channel: don't dismiss the idea of mounting the speaker ABOVE the screen.
Hm yeah I was a bit afraid of that. If I go with the wall mounted speakers I'm a bit concerned about the vertical wall of the fireplace and pending cabinetry being too close to the speakers. Though we were also thinking of putting the wall mounted speakers inside a portion of the cabinets (built outwards so they aren't in a little hole) with the fabric stuff across it.
Above the screen might work, though I suspect we might end up having it a bit above eye level rather than a bit below. The projector I want does have the ability to shift optically though without keystoning so that helps that.
Quote:
That's really a pretty big room. I think you'd be well advised to go for the EP500. Also, don't get TOO committed to a particular location for the sub; you'll want to be able to get it installed and experiment with positioning. It can make a world of difference.
I was afraid of that, that's a bit more than I was hoping to spend. Even though I only need sound in that one side of the whole room, I still need to worry about filling the whole area I guess. And yeah I was expecting to place it pretty much anywhere, I've read that here before about subs.
Quote:
It's always a good idea to call Axiom and talk with somebody about your specific installation.
That's true, I wasn't sure how much they'd be able to help.
Thanks for the feedback, it's greatly appreciated!
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Re: Designing first home theatre, a few quesitons.
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Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 38
enthusiast
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OP
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Quote:
Hi Photon, and welcome.
My personal preference is for the surrounds to be slightly behind the listening area so I feel position #2 is the ideal. However, Axiom says "surround speakers should be either wall-mounted or stand-mounted to either side of the couch or primary listening area, from one to six feet higher than seated listeners' ears, and slightly forward or rearwards of the listening area." So, position #1, with the speakers being a bit forward of the seating area, would not be a huge issue and would serve you very well should you decide that location works best in your room.
I recommend going with the QS surrounds regardless of where you end up placing them. I feel they are the best surrounds I've ever heard.
Thanks for the post, I guess I'm sold on the QS surrounds 
Maybe what I'll do is run enough cable in the wall to put them at #2 if #1 doesn't work.
I'd love to be able to demo it before putting up the drywall so I can work out speaker placements first, but of course listening to it without the walls up would be pretty much useless..
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Re: Designing first home theatre, a few quesitons.
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Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 8,488
axiomite
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axiomite
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Hello, again... Quote:
we were also thinking of putting the wall mounted speakers inside a portion of the cabinets (built outwards so they aren't in a little hole) with the fabric stuff across it
So, not exactly in a cabinet, right? Rather, build the cabinetry so that the front of the cabinet becomes - in effect - the "wall" for the in-wall speaker? That could work! You just want to make sure there are no hard surfaces adjacent and perpendicular to the plane the speakers are mounted on. I wouldn't want - either aesthetically or performance-wise - to hide the speakers behind additional fabric if you could put them on the "front" of the cabinet. I'm thinking custom finish W22's
Quote:
Above the screen might work, though I suspect we might end up having it a bit above eye level rather than a bit below.
It's been a while since I seriously considered (but ultimately scrubbed) the idea of front projection, so I'm not the greatest source. However, don't you want to have the screen itself extend below eye level ideally? I seem to remember thinking 25-33% of the screen should be below eye level. Consequently, mounting the center channel UNDER the screen would make it nearly on the floor. I really think you're going to get better performance mounting it above the screen. In addition, unless your cabinetry extends above the screen also, you might even want to consider a VP150 and FMB combination to get the center channel out of the cabinet "hole" and closer to the same plane as the mains.
You can probably tell I'm intrigued by this kind of puzzle
Regarding the sub, I don't know where you're located, but that matters somewhat. Hsu and SVS subs are also highly regarded, and offer a few more options at price points between the EP350 and EP500. SVS is expensive in Canada, I believe. Many satisfied customers around here. The thing for you is that you'll either need a hella lotta technology (the DSP in the EP500) or a pretty darn big box in order to move enough air in that room. And yeah, even though you're only "listening to half the room" you still have to worry about the overall volume.
bibere usque ad hilaritatem
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Re: Designing first home theatre, a few quesitons.
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Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 10,490 Likes: 116
shareholder in the making
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shareholder in the making
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Quote:
...I guess I'm sold on the QS surrounds . Maybe what I'll do is run enough cable in the wall to put them at #2 if #1 doesn't work.
Excellent idea. Also, I very much recommend that you add wiring for 7.1 and 2 additional front speakers to meet possible emerging standards for front top speakers (I don't know the technical name). And you should add centre wiring for above and below.
Also, given the size of your room, I recommend an EP600.
I am not sure if this will be used primarily for movies or music. If music, the wall-mounts will not image as well as floor-standers. You may want to consider this. This was a very difficult decision for me and my wife that instantly became easier when we listened to recessed fronts. Then she said M80s all the way. God bless her .
Best of luck on your project and we look forward to pictures and reviews.
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Re: Designing first home theatre, a few quesitons.
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Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 38
enthusiast
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OP
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Quote:
So, not exactly in a cabinet, right? Rather, build the cabinetry so that the front of the cabinet becomes - in effect - the "wall" for the in-wall speaker? That could work! You just want to make sure there are no hard surfaces adjacent and perpendicular to the plane the speakers are mounted on. I wouldn't want - either aesthetically or performance-wise - to hide the speakers behind additional fabric if you could put them on the "front" of the cabinet. I'm thinking custom finish W22's
Yeah exactly, putting the speakers inside a cabinet would likely be very bad for the sound.
Quote:
It's been a while since I seriously considered (but ultimately scrubbed) the idea of front projection, so I'm not the greatest source. However, don't you want to have the screen itself extend below eye level ideally? I seem to remember thinking 25-33% of the screen should be below eye level. Consequently, mounting the center channel UNDER the screen would make it nearly on the floor. I really think you're going to get better performance mounting it above the screen. In addition, unless your cabinetry extends above the screen also, you might even want to consider a VP150 and FMB combination to get the center channel out of the cabinet "hole" and closer to the same plane as the mains.
You can probably tell I'm intrigued by this kind of puzzle
Sorry, I should have said having the centre of the screen slightly above eye level, so yeah we're basically talking the same thing. There isn't cabinet above the screen, but there is a bulkhead around the top of the ceiling that comes down around a foot (9' ceilings though).
I like the idea of the VPS150, that does make it a bit more cost effective as well. We haven't designed the cabinets yet so I'm trying to work out the speakers first and then design the cabinets around it all.
Mind you if I'm doing that, could I also get away with using M22's as fronts in a properly built cabinet rather than the Architectural series?
Quote:
Regarding the sub, I don't know where you're located, but that matters somewhat. Hsu and SVS subs are also highly regarded, and offer a few more options at price points between the EP350 and EP500. SVS is expensive in Canada, I believe. Many satisfied customers around here. The thing for you is that you'll either need a hella lotta technology (the DSP in the EP500) or a pretty darn big box in order to move enough air in that room. And yeah, even though you're only "listening to half the room" you still have to worry about the overall volume.
Located in Calgary, Alberta Canada. If I go with the M22 and VP150 then I'd probably feel more comfortable with going with the 500. I'll check out the HSU and SVS as well. Thanks again for all the input!
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Re: Designing first home theatre, a few quesitons.
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Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 38
enthusiast
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OP
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Quote:
Excellent idea. Also, I very much recommend that you add wiring for 7.1 and 2 additional front speakers to meet possible emerging standards for front top speakers (I don't know the technical name). And you should add centre wiring for above and below.
Lol, I might have to get more wire, I think I only got 100'!
Quote:
Also, given the size of your room, I recommend an EP600.
I am not sure if this will be used primarily for movies or music. If music, the wall-mounts will not image as well as floor-standers. You may want to consider this. This was a very difficult decision for me and my wife that instantly became easier when we listened to recessed fronts. Then she said M80s all the way. God bless her .
Best of luck on your project and we look forward to pictures and reviews.
Primary use will be movies for this room for sure. While I enjoy music I find I spend most of my listening time with headphones (either from a player or on my computer).
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Re: Designing first home theatre, a few quesitons.
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Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 10,490 Likes: 116
shareholder in the making
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shareholder in the making
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 10,490 Likes: 116 |
I actually wasn't joking about all the wiring. You'll sleep a lot better at night.
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