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Looking to go to 7.1 from 5.1 will this work?
#397382 09/27/13 02:50 AM
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Building a new house soon. The den will serve as my theater room. I have always just had 5.1 but since I'll have about 5.5' behind the sofa I was thinking about trying to go to 7.1 (my denon can do that). The sides would be qs8 about 10' off the floor. The rears would be on wall m3, or should I go m2, to match qs8 woofer size, kinda centered on either side of a projector and 10' off the floor. The room is 20 wide x 20.5 deep with a 13x9 arch to the kitchen on the back and a 16x10 arch on one wall going to foyer dining rooms. 12' ceilings...couch about 16' back just in front of the side surrounds and 5.5 away from rears. M80 lr and a vp180 center. Sub for now a old school paradigm that will be dual svs ultras or something of the likes one day. The fronts will eventually be in cabinet 80s and 180.



Re: Looking to go to 7.1 from 5.1 will this work?
NOLAGT #397386 09/27/13 03:56 AM
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Mark, the space behind your listening position should be enough to make back surrounds worthwhile(note that a mode such as DPLIIx extracts useful back surround content from both 2-channel and 5-channel source material). If you go with 7.1, the side surrounds can best be placed directly to the side of the listening position, since a position slightly farther back isn't necessary to help add a "phantom" back effect, with actual back surrounds being there. The back surrounds should be separated about the same as your distance from them, say about 6'.

As to which speakers to use for back surrounds, since they'd still be relatively close to the listening position, it might be better to use wider dispersion QS8s(or even QS4s)rather than direct radiating speakers.


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Enjoy the music, not the equipment.


Re: Looking to go to 7.1 from 5.1 will this work?
NOLAGT #397392 09/27/13 12:09 PM
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The reason for the side surrounds being in there spot is because on one side by the back porch (opposite of the 16x10 arch) the windows will be fully encased in trim from the floor to the ceiling. So there is not a spot for a speaker. That little spot the speaker is drawn in is between the window and the door. The sofa may be back a little more depending what it looks like when all setup but it would at least be 16' back. I could hang them from the ceiling and have them in front the window casing but I don't want that look again. My current setup had them hanging from the ceiling.

So I could do qs8 on the back wall....I'll give that some thought too. I'll pull them a little closer...right now they are about 7' apart.

Thanks for the input! Anyone else have something to add?

Re: Looking to go to 7.1 from 5.1 will this work?
NOLAGT #397393 09/27/13 12:15 PM
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The sofa will be at least to the floor outlets. So the sides won't be too far on a angle.


Re: Looking to go to 7.1 from 5.1 will this work?
NOLAGT #397396 09/27/13 02:17 PM
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Phase 1. Surround Sound
Phase 2. Sync overhead fans with wind speed in movies.
Phase 3. Find an old BluRay of Twister & invite friends with big hair.


With great power comes Awesome irresponsibility.
Re: Looking to go to 7.1 from 5.1 will this work?
NOLAGT #397406 09/27/13 05:31 PM
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Ha that would be funny...would go well with the shakers I have attached to the sofa. Maybe I can have someone stand off to the side with a bucket of water to toss on someone.

Re: Looking to go to 7.1 from 5.1 will this work?
NOLAGT #397421 09/27/13 11:44 PM
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Not sure it matters given your room layout but I think the THX recommendation for 7.1 is actually to have the side speakers somewhat forward of the main listening position.

Re: Looking to go to 7.1 from 5.1 will this work?
NOLAGT #397432 09/28/13 02:14 AM
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Originally Posted By: NOLAGT
The sofa will be at least to the floor outlets. So the sides won't be too far on a angle.



Hi NOLAGT. I do this for a living. My $0.02:

1 Dedicated circuit to Sub locations. 20A best for future plans of ultras or similar ilk. (2 locations can share the circuit.)
1 Dedicated circuit to Projector Location. 15A will do.
1 Dedicated circuit for AVR. 15A will do.
1 Dedicated circuit for all other audio visual equipment. ie. TV, bluray player, PS3, turntable etc. 15A will do.
1 Dedicated circuit Bass Shakers. 15A/20A as per load requirement.

I assume your panel will be a typical 2 bus 120/240 single phase setup. It is best to put all of your AV equipment on the same bus. Doing this reduces possible voltage differentials between your equipment due to load fluctuations in your home or at the transformer. Different voltage to ground between AV equipment can introduce noise and unwanted interference. The inductive loads in your house ie. fans, compact flourescents, washing machine, treadmills, in wall vac system etc. should be located on the opposite bus if possible. These types of loads are "noisy" and can result in dirty sine wave behavior. If you use a power conditioner you can avoid this. However, laying out your panel in a HT friendly way will save you $ and headaches in the long run. Of course, a true 3 phase WYE configuration is the only way to truly achieve clean power on a per phase basis... but not in a residential situation.

These methods are used in brodcasting to ensure the cleanest possible power source and resulting transmission signals between equipment. Laying out your dedicated circuits like this seems like overkill perhaps. However, you will leave headroom for upgrades and avoid nuisance voltage sag or inrush tripping in the case of your AVR/Power AMP and future Subwoofers.

Good luck and have fun in your new space!! It looks like you will have a beautiful home. smile

Re: Looking to go to 7.1 from 5.1 will this work?
NOLAGT #397442 09/28/13 12:47 PM
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Ah wow I wasn't thinking that many dedicated circuits. I was just thinking that whole wall on one. Ill re visit it tho...why you think the projector needs its own 15amp?

Re: Looking to go to 7.1 from 5.1 will this work?
NOLAGT #397452 09/28/13 04:05 PM
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Ok, deep breath ace ventura style:

Projector lamps are fussy creatures.... Dedicated circuits minimize the chance of having a sudden volt bump or sag that is detrimental to bulb life. A dedicated circuit to the PJ also allows the future application of an APC backup in your electrical room to allow proper shutdown of you PJ in the case of a power outage.

I have done a couple of home theaters for others and a large live stage venue this way and there is zero issues with their installation. A good electrician will think about the loads on a circiut (especially if they are specific and dynamic) and go the safe route of dedicated breakers.

A little history.... my basement HT was pre wired by a previous owner on one circuit for the room. It includes 5 receptacles and 2 light locations- well within code. I left the AVR and subs on it along with the bluray player and PS3. The projector was later fished in as a dedicated circuit. However the dual SVS SB12-NSD subs sharing the circuit with everything else causes issues. The lights dim when they first power up (volt sag from inrush) and when listening to music they dim periodically. This means the same sag experienced by the lights is also affecting other loads on the circuit ie. avr and bluray player.

Heat is not the only enemy of electronics. Dirty power and volt sag/bumps will eventually take its toll on electronics. Theoretically, if heat was controlled and power was filtered properly, a well designed piece of gear would last literally forever. Properly loading circuits and eliminating noise will save you the "need" of a power conditioner. You will never complain of picture noise, subwoofer hum or other gremlins. Remember the same bus is a necessity.

If the PJ was subjected to this form of circuit I would be on at least my second if not third bulb at 1000hrs or so. That is why whenenver anyone complains in forums about bulb life or flickering light output I ignore them. They are wired wrong for the application. Hope this explanation helps!!! smile

BTW, I can't wait to move into my new house and build out the basement properly!! smile Everytime I see a great setup like NickBuol's or the installs I've done I'm green with envy. It's like by day I work on Ferarris but drive home in a pinto! LOL!

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