7.1.2 Setup for L-Shaped Living Room

[whencut86]

Hi Folks,
Just came across this forum and registered here. I am in a bit of a quandary with my home theatre setup. I am using a Sony HT S500RF and want to move to a 7.1.2 based setup. I have an L-shaped living room with TV at one end and Sofa, Arm Chairs and Recliners at other end (Pic attached for reference with measurements). I have a wall adjacent to main door for 2 feet and then an open arch into the dining space. From the Dining space the entry to kitchen is open and a small passageway to two bedrooms. From the hall I have a door to one more bedroom as well. My worry is because of this open space, will there be too much of a sound distortion when watching movies or can this be corrected with moving furniture and correct speaker placements. I am open to any suggestions. Also, will see if a thick curtain covering the arch in the living room can mitigate the sound leakage in anyway or also will explore foldable double glazed doors on the arch side later.

I have shortlisted the below options for the 7.1.2 setup. Please let me know your thoughts or if it is overkill or if I need to modify any of these

Option 1:
AVR - Denon X4800H or Marantz Cinema 50
Floor Standing - Dali Oberon 9 or Oberon 7 Tower Speakers
Centre Channel - Dali Oberon Grand Vokal
Sub Woofer - SVS PB1000 or Elac Varro PS350 (Leaning towards the SVS since music would be better and movies would still be good)
Center/Mid Surround Speakers - Dali Oberon On Wall or Oberon 1
Rear Surround Speakers - Dali Oberon 3 or Oberon 1
Ceiling mounted - Dali Alteco C1

Option 2:
AVR - Denon X4800H or Marantz Cinema 50
Floor Standing - Jamo Concert C97 Mk II Tower Speakers
Centre Channel - Jamo C9 CEN Mk II
Sub Woofer - SVS PB1000 or Elac Varro PS350 (Leaning towards the SVS since music would be better and movies would still be good)
Center/Mid Surround Speakers - Jamo C9 SUR Mk II
Rear Surround Speakers - Jamo C93 Mk II or C91 Mk II Bookshelf Speakers
Ceiling mounted - Jamo I/O 6

Will this setup be effective in my living room space or would it be overkill.

I have listened to both these but I could sample only C97 II in the Jamo series and the rest are not on display. For Jamo series, dealers have only last pieces/units of these in stock and I am not sure if I would end up getting a display unit or a proper sealed brand new one. From the Dali series, I could sample the Oberon 7 and the soundstage and music was simply brilliant. Sampled Ilayaraja, Rock, Classical Rock, Country Folk, ARR, Carnatic and Instrumental. The clarity and soundstage in movies was also superb. I am leaning towards the Dali Oberon series and found the Dali Oberon to be better than Jamo Concert 9 series but things could differ based on the room setup and I am confused. Any pointers here would help.

I have to add the PVC Conduit Ducting pipe above the tiles skirting part around the length and breadth of the hall so that just bare minimum wires are visible. I don't mind this but any suggestions to go wireless are also welcome if it can match the same level of quality this setup can offer. Among Wireless, the best options from my research are the below:
Sony Bravia Theatre Bar 9 with SWS5 woofer and SRS5 rear speakers
Sony Bravia Quad setup with SWS5
Samsung Q990F which is the newer model over Q990D
Sonos Arc Ultra Sound Bar, Sub 4 woofer, Era 300 for rear, Era 100, One SL for surround and if required add another woofer later.
Of these Samsung Q990F is the best value for money at less than 90K, Sony setup would be 1.9L and Sonos setup would fall between 3.5L-4L depending on the configuration I would opt for.
My only worry is that, for the size of my living room with all the open spaces, would a Wireless based Atmos setup among the above choices work out for my needs.

Please help me out with this.

 

[arunkvivek]

My suggestions:
A. Move the TV and fronts into U shaped space and move out Sofa and arm chairs near the main door. Reasons:
1. it is difficult to get the same volume levels from front channels if one of them has no wall nearby. It would be better to have symmetric reflections for the front channels.
2. all conduits will be invisible as seats would cover the viewing angles.
3. In case you want to do projectors instead of TV, 11 feet wide wall would allow you to mount a screen on the top and a projector above the recliners (don't blame me if you are tempted by this suggestion).
4. Open space behind seating arrangement would allow you to go for open baffle subwoofers which are great VFM if you can DIY (I use H framed open baffle subwoofers and they are as good as any ported subwoofers I have auditioned). You can check my blog for pics as I too have an L shaped hall.
5. If you decide to go for soundbar based systems, this positioning will serve you better in terms of acoustics.
6. Smaller space would allow you move to smaller systems which are cheaper

B. You can rejig to 5.2.2 as rear surrounds are just too far away from seating position. The open space dictate that you for bigger SW which can build enough pressure

C. Wired speakers over wireless/soundbars is better VFM for sound over aesthetics

 

[Phani24]

Hi Folks,
Just came across this forum and registered here. I am in a bit of a quandary with my home theatre setup. I am using a Sony HT S500RF and want to move to a 7.1.2 based setup. I have an L-shaped living room with TV at one end and Sofa, Arm Chairs and Recliners at other end (Pic attached for reference with measurements). I have a wall adjacent to main door for 2 feet and then an open arch into the dining space. From the Dining space the entry to kitchen is open and a small passageway to two bedrooms. From the hall I have a door to one more bedroom as well. My worry is because of this open space, will there be too much of a sound distortion when watching movies or can this be corrected with moving furniture and correct speaker placements. I am open to any suggestions. Also, will see if a thick curtain covering the arch in the living room can mitigate the sound leakage in anyway or also will explore foldable double glazed doors on the arch side later.

I have shortlisted the below options for the 7.1.2 setup. Please let me know your thoughts or if it is overkill or if I need to modify any of these

Option 1:
AVR - Denon X4800H or Marantz Cinema 50
Floor Standing - Dali Oberon 9 or Oberon 7 Tower Speakers
Centre Channel - Dali Oberon Grand Vokal
Sub Woofer - SVS PB1000 or Elac Varro PS350 (Leaning towards the SVS since music would be better and movies would still be good)
Center/Mid Surround Speakers - Dali Oberon On Wall or Oberon 1
Rear Surround Speakers - Dali Oberon 3 or Oberon 1
Ceiling mounted - Dali Alteco C1

Option 2:
AVR - Denon X4800H or Marantz Cinema 50
Floor Standing - Jamo Concert C97 Mk II Tower Speakers
Centre Channel - Jamo C9 CEN Mk II
Sub Woofer - SVS PB1000 or Elac Varro PS350 (Leaning towards the SVS since music would be better and movies would still be good)
Center/Mid Surround Speakers - Jamo C9 SUR Mk II
Rear Surround Speakers - Jamo C93 Mk II or C91 Mk II Bookshelf Speakers
Ceiling mounted - Jamo I/O 6

Will this setup be effective in my living room space or would it be overkill.

I have listened to both these but I could sample only C97 II in the Jamo series and the rest are not on display. For Jamo series, dealers have only last pieces/units of these in stock and I am not sure if I would end up getting a display unit or a proper sealed brand new one. From the Dali series, I could sample the Oberon 7 and the soundstage and music was simply brilliant. Sampled Ilayaraja, Rock, Classical Rock, Country Folk, ARR, Carnatic and Instrumental. The clarity and soundstage in movies was also superb. I am leaning towards the Dali Oberon series and found the Dali Oberon to be better than Jamo Concert 9 series but things could differ based on the room setup and I am confused. Any pointers here would help.

I have to add the PVC Conduit Ducting pipe above the tiles skirting part around the length and breadth of the hall so that just bare minimum wires are visible. I don't mind this but any suggestions to go wireless are also welcome if it can match the same level of quality this setup can offer. Among Wireless, the best options from my research are the below:
Sony Bravia Theatre Bar 9 with SWS5 woofer and SRS5 rear speakers
Sony Bravia Quad setup with SWS5
Samsung Q990F which is the newer model over Q990D
Sonos Arc Ultra Sound Bar, Sub 4 woofer, Era 300 for rear, Era 100, One SL for surround and if required add another woofer later.
Of these Samsung Q990F is the best value for money at less than 90K, Sony setup would be 1.9L and Sonos setup would fall between 3.5L-4L depending on the configuration I would opt for.
My only worry is that, for the size of my living room with all the open spaces, would a Wireless based Atmos setup among the above choices work out for my needs.

Please help me out with this.
View attachment 91793

Mine is also kn living room. 7.1.2 Maranz 50 with klipsch

 

[whencut86]

A. Move the TV and fronts into U shaped space and move out Sofa and arm chairs near the main door. Reasons:
1. it is difficult to get the same volume levels from front channels if one of them has no wall nearby. It would be better to have symmetric reflections for the front channels.
2. all conduits will be invisible as seats would cover the viewing angles.
3. In case you want to do projectors instead of TV, 11 feet wide wall would allow you to mount a screen on the top and a projector above the recliners (don't blame me if you are tempted by this suggestion).

B. You can rejig to 5.2.2 as rear surrounds are just too far away from seating position. The open space dictate that you for bigger SW which can build enough pressure

Thanks for the pointers. Will try moving the seating to the other end of the living room and the TV with the upcoming speakers setup to the U shaped part.
Projector and a motorized screen is in the plan but cannot do it now due to budget constraints and Home Minister approval.

An update from my side, I got a 40% discount on Dali speakers due to change of dealership for South. I went ahead with a Dali Opticon 6 Mk2, Opticon Vokal for center, Oberon 3 for Rear Surrounds, Oberon On Wall for Center Surrounds and Dali Alteco C1 for Ceiling mounted Atmos speakers. Was interested in the Oberon 7 or Oberon 9 initially but the last piece of Oberon 9 at 40% discount got sold and Opticon series for rear were also not available so opted the Opticon Series for Floor standing and center speakers and Oberon series for Surrounds. I believe this is a fair mix and a little stretch on the budget part but I get the entry level performance tier floor standing speaker with center. I get one of the best music experience with Opticon series as well.

Planning to go for the SVS SB 1000 Pro sub-woofer since it will have a tighter bass for the music part and feel it would still serve my needs for movies as well. I am 40+ and my days of booming bass are over though I do still occasionally enjoy bursts of it but also for an apartment living room I think SVS SB 1000 Pro would fit right in. Any reference points of Elac Varro PS 350 versus SVS SB 1000 Pro? I will get one sub for now and if required will add another sub later.

Will mostly get the Denon X4800H to power this 7.1.2 setup. But the Opticon series being 4 Ohms, I have a doubt if the X4800H should be sufficient to power this or if I may need to get a Power Amplifier later to power this for music alone. I don't have the budget for a power amp now though.

 

[arunkvivek]

Thanks for the pointers. Will try moving the seating to the other end of the living room and the TV with the upcoming speakers setup to the U shaped part.
Projector and a motorized screen is in the plan but cannot do it now due to budget constraints and Home Minister approval.

An update from my side, I got a 40% discount on Dali speakers due to change of dealership for South. I went ahead with a Dali Opticon 6 Mk2, Opticon Vokal for center, Oberon 3 for Rear Surrounds, Oberon On Wall for Center Surrounds and Dali Alteco C1 for Ceiling mounted Atmos speakers. Was interested in the Oberon 7 or Oberon 9 initially but the last piece of Oberon 9 at 40% discount got sold and Opticon series for rear were also not available so opted the Opticon Series for Floor standing and center speakers and Oberon series for Surrounds. I believe this is a fair mix and a little stretch on the budget part but I get the entry level performance tier floor standing speaker with center. I get one of the best music experience with Opticon series as well.

Planning to go for the SVS SB 1000 Pro sub-woofer since it will have a tighter bass for the music part and feel it would still serve my needs for movies as well. I am 40+ and my days of booming bass are over though I do still occasionally enjoy bursts of it but also for an apartment living room I think SVS SB 1000 Pro would fit right in. Any reference points of Elac Varro PS 350 versus SVS SB 1000 Pro? I will get one sub for now and if required will add another sub later.

Will mostly get the Denon X4800H to power this 7.1.2 setup. But the Opticon series being 4 Ohms, I have a doubt if the X4800H should be sufficient to power this or if I may need to get a Power Amplifier later to power this for music alone. I don't have the budget for a power amp now though.

Opticons are great choice for LCR. I still think 5.1.2 is more than sufficient. If I were you, I would probably get on-wall for surrounds and skip Oberon 3 for rear surrounds. There are 2 issues-
1.given that you are going for passive route, you would have to run cables across the walls; this might look shabby.

2. Since your total room and width is 9 feet, rear surrounds would not add great value. They would be set apart just 7 feet and too far away from your seating position.

Pls consider good cables for LCR.

 

[whencut86]

Opticons are great choice for LCR. I still think 5.1.2 is more than sufficient. If I were you, I would probably get on-wall for surrounds and skip Oberon 3 for rear surrounds. There are 2 issues-
1.given that you are going for passive route, you would have to run cables across the walls; this might look shabby.

2. Since your total room and width is 9 feet, rear surrounds would not add great value. They would be set apart just 7 feet and too far away from your seating position.

Pls consider good cables for LCR.

Since I have 3 rows of seating, opting for a surround at the center as well since width will be 11 feet this way. Want to make it 7.2.4 and use it from get go. Rear Speakers will be on stands and can be moved forward or backward as required based on whether sitting position is couch or recliners. Can adjust and move the two Recliners to the Center of that space and in recline position during movie watching and use the arm chairs as well as third row if required. I understand that it is not a perfect HT room but I have to adjust and set it up based on my space.

My main idea is to catch a quick movie alone on Saturday mornings when Wife and kids are away. So I can move the rear surrounds close to Recliners with some wiring leeway and have a near perfect surround experience with rear and side surrounds. On other days when watching with family, I will move to the couch at the rear to let the rest enjoy the surround sound experience.

I have crown moulding on the ceiling corners and I can do the PVC Panel at the top along the crown moulding so that it will not look odd. Also the PVC panel at the bottom will run above the tile skirting and along the door arch of the room door and so that would also not be visible. Near the TV wall side, I would take the PVC Panel along the vertical corners of the room so that will also not be visible.

I have purchased the below so far:
1. Dali Opticon 6 Mk2 for Front Left and Right
2. Dali Opticon Vokal Mk2 for Center Channel
3. Rythmik FVX15 subwoofer
4. Denon X4800H AVR
5. Dali Oberon On-Wall for Surrounds
6. Dali Oberon 3 for Rear Speakers
7. Dali Alteco C1 for Front Heights
8. AudioQuest cable for LCR channel
9. Bandridge 2.5mm cable for the rest of the speakers
10. AudioQuest cable for subwoofer

I got a 40% discount on the Dali series but had to contend with mix match of colors. The Towers and Rear Speakers are in Black Ash, the Center Channel is in Tobacco Oak, the On-Wall ones are in Light Oak with White grill, the front heights are in white. Planning to get Dali Fazon Sat for Rear Heights instead of Alteco C1 to see if I can mount this from ceiling instead of rear wall since there is a beam in the rear wall and can mount the alteco 2 feet below the ceiling only due to this beam. Dali Fazon Sat comes with wall mounts and this speaker can turn 360 as per specs.

Now, my search is for a 2 channel power amp for the rear atmos and was wondering which is the best and cost effective one without cutting down on performance. I am yet to get delivery of the subwoofer and Center channel. PVC Paneling will be done next week and will finish the setup by next weekend mostly.