Help Please!

[Gautam13]

Hey , this is the first time I`m building a Home Theater room of any kind. The room im using is 10x36. The seating will be somewhere around the 20ft mark , and I`m looking at a 7.1 system with 2 front , 2 surround next to the seating and 2 rear right at the back. I would really appreciate advice with my basic layout.

Also , my budget is around 2lakhs and for my reciever I`m currently considering the Onkyo 705 for 46k.

My use of the system will be evenly spread out between Gaming , movies and music. I listen to alot of Classic Rock and alternative.

I`m more or less fixed on the Onkyo 705 as my reciever although any better options at that price range would be greatly appreciated.

What i really need is suggestions for speakers and a sub. Also, a dealer told me that in a narrow space like mine, floor standing speakers are not reccomended. Could some expert please clarify whether thats true.

 

[Gautam13]

Correction, just picked up the Onkyo TX-SR875 for 52k from Singapore hyeah:. Now I need to pick up speakers+sub for 1.5-1.75 from India.

 

[psychotropic]

you could consider getting the entire lot from the Monitor Audio Silver range Silver RS - Products | Monitor Audio , i am not very sure of the prices but I think the RS6 pair of floorstanders is about 50k, which should make a 5.1/7.1 setup feasible in 1.5 - 1.75 lakhs , they have a couple of 5.1 combos as well.

Correction, just picked up the Onkyo TX-SR875 for 52k from Singapore hyeah:. Now I need to pick up speakers+sub for 1.5-1.75 from India.

 

[anm]

welcome to the forum!

that's a pretty big room! What kind of display are you looking at when you are seated at 20ft? I have a 8x4 projector screen and I sit at 10-12 feet (my sofa keeps getting displaced). I am not sure if it will be good if I sit at 20 ft. Also if I spread my projector image too thin, I think there will be an issue with brightness.

 

[anm]

congrats! it is a great receiver as far as I have heard from others.

Correction, just picked up the Onkyo TX-SR875 for 52k from Singapore hyeah:. Now I need to pick up speakers+sub for 1.5-1.75 from India.

 

[Gautam13]

welcome to the forum!

that's a pretty big room! What kind of display are you looking at when you are seated at 20ft? I have a 8x4 projector screen and I sit at 10-12 feet (my sofa keeps getting displaced). I am not sure if it will be good if I sit at 20 ft. Also if I spread my projector image too thin, I think there will be an issue with brightness.

Thanks ! I was considering the inFOCUS X10 projector. Havent done too much research into projectors. Will I need a higher range projector.

And thanks for the Monitor Audio recommendation, reviews seem to suggest they are excellent speakers and they might just make it into my budget. However, I`m having trouble locating a dealer for Monitor Audio in Kolkata. Anyone here know of any such dealer ?? And if not kolkata, is it feasible to ship the speakers from some other city ??

 

[Asit]

However, I`m having trouble locating a dealer for Monitor Audio in Kolkata. Anyone here know of any such dealer ??

I think SKS Traders, on Landsdowne Rd (modern name: Sarat Bose Rd) opposite padmapukur are dealers of Monitor Audio.

 

[Gautam13]

I think SKS Traders, on Landsdowne Rd (modern name: Sarat Bose Rd) opposite padmapukur are dealers of Monitor Audio.

Spoke to them today, they dont deal in Modern Audio

 

[Gautam13]

That room is the biggest problem you have, so we'll focus on that.

In a very general sense, you will have a problem with the length of the room, so it is advised to create partitions that will cut the acoustic space down or you'll have severe problems with standing waves and tincan resonance.

My room in Mumbai was similar - it was about 10 x 22 and it was reflective and we had problems with almost all speakers at anything above nearfield distances. Once I moved my audio setup to my proper room in Cal (it's about 18x22, and almost perfect acoustically) the difference is simply stunning. It's actually like the speakers disappeared.

So what I would advise is to set up the system so that the soundfield is located in the first half of the room. Ideally set it up against the long wall, and a partition can cordon off a separate seating area. The other idea is to st it up against the short wall, and build a small two- or three-step viewing gallery (like an auditorium) for a larger audience. The first will favour the couple or the solitary listener, the second will help you entertain.
If the long, narrow space is used in totality you will face issues with resonances, exactly like me. I was still spared because it was stereo, I didn't have a subwoofer and I have simple two-way speakers that don't need a mile to integrate.

For you I would recommend simpler speakers, small sats of very high quality, and a single very large sub, the largest you can afford. This is critical. Room modes will make your life very unpleasant, so the best thing to avoid them is to not create them at all (which means no bass) or pressurise the room to the max so that they get no chance to occur. I am at a loss to recommend specifics though, but yes, your dealer had a point about regular floorstanders not working out well for you.

The only recommendation I can make is the PSB Image series, the B25 + B15 with the matching center and sub. This will be a very good combo for music and movies, though I don't know how they will mate with that receiver. The speakers will have to be shipped in and yes, it is usually not a problem. My Ushers (Tiny- and Mini-dancers) were shipped from Bangalore to Mumbai. WB has an archaic Form 50 regulation that needs workarounds to get stuff in, so your seller has to comply with the requirements, whatever they may be.

There are a lot of other candidates, but in a general sense I find that HT duty is much less demanding and/or critical than music (at least personally). Mordaunt-Short has a few offerings, as do Usher and Dynaudio (yes, the Audience line should squeeze into your budget fine).

But you need to audition these for sure. Don't buy unheard, not at any budget.

Hey thanks for the really informative reply. The problem with this room is I intend it to be more than a personal Home theater room. I want to use the room to entertain when a football/cricket match is on, or just when friends come over normally. Thats why I need the big room. Partitioning will create some logistics problems. What maybe is possible, is inserting a transparent glass partition, but I dont know what the acoustical consequences of that will be.

Speaking of glass, one side of the entire room is a window. Is that an acoustical issue ??

 

[spirovious]

Hey thanks for the really informative reply. The problem with this room is I intend it to be more than a personal Home theater room. I want to use the room to entertain when a football/cricket match is on, or just when friends come over normally. Thats why I need the big room. Partitioning will create some logistics problems. What maybe is possible, is inserting a transparent glass partition, but I dont know what the acoustical consequences of that will be.

Speaking of glass, one side of the entire room is a window. Is that an acoustical issue ??

You can try adding thick curtains in the hall sothat whenever you want to enjoy HT you can arrange the room size as you wish.So bigger room may not be issue.

 

[cmsajith]

Can you put some rough drawing about the room plan (entry / exit doors, windows if any, etc..). I think you can make a small hanging kind of partition from the ceiling with wood or ply (like a concrete beam at about 3/4th length of the room in widthwise at a height of 7ft from the floor). The bottom portion can be partitioned using collapsible or folding (wooden / ply) doors (2 set : 1 set openable to the left and another set openable to the right from the centre). The doors should be opening through some guiding channels at the top and bottom so that it wont lag. In normal viewing, you can use one portion to be opened for entry and exit. This will give you a good closed room for HT viewing. In case of a crowd, open both the portions so that the entire room can be used. Also you can do the acoustics inside these doors. This can be done in normal living room - dining room kind of setup. If you are having back surrounds, you can mount it to the ceiling (or on the upper partition, for this, the partition should be made more rigid so that it wont resonate) or hang it from the ceiling using some custom mount similar to projector mount or place it on the floor using stands. Since you have got a large room, there are lot of options for a beautiful dedicated HT room with separate hidden equipment / PC closet, mood lighting, pop-corn dispenser etc. So don't waste that room.

 

[Gautam13]

Okay, firstly this the most helpful forum I have ever come across. Thanks for the suggestions really. I`m putting up the pictures now.
Okay, couple of questions about setting up along the long wall. Firstly, Will the partition be required if i do that ? I like sajiths idea lots, but i would still prefer a partitionless room.
Also , how will the placement of the 4 surrounds work in case of such short distance ( 10 feet ).

 

[cmsajith]

i can see 3 doors for the room. Is it a dedicated room or a living room kind of setup? To which rooms those doors lead? Which is the main entry? Also please mention the width of the door, left side pillar distance (36ft breakup). Since the doors are coming at the diagonal corners, lot of space will be wasted for pathway. If possible, which among them can be closed or relocated (particularly the 2 doors at the same wall, north and east wall). Also mention the size of the screen you are looking for. I think, if the doors are present, the max size could be 6' (north side door width 3') and if the 2nd door (east side) is opening to innerside you wont be able to mount the screen to the north wall without a partition (false wall), assuming the south side door is the entrance.

 

[cmsajith]

Okay, firstly this the most helpful forum I have ever come across. Thanks for the suggestions really. I`m putting up the pictures now.
Okay, couple of questions about setting up along the long wall. Firstly, Will the partition be required if i do that ? I like sajiths idea lots, but i would still prefer a partitionless room.
Also , how will the placement of the 4 surrounds work in case of such short distance ( 10 feet ).

I feel 10ft will be very less. In effect you will get only around 8'6" viewing distance (couch back 1ft + screen back 6"). Viewing a big screen at that distance will be very difficult. Also when there is a crowd, it will be very difficult to watch.

 

[Gautam13]

i can see 3 doors for the room. Is it a dedicated room or a living room kind of setup? To which rooms those doors lead? Which is the main entry? Also please mention the width of the door, left side pillar distance (36ft breakup). Since the doors are coming at the diagonal corners, lot of space will be wasted for pathway. If possible, which among them can be closed or relocated (particularly the 2 doors at the same wall, north and east wall). Also mention the size of the screen you are looking for. I think, if the doors are present, the max size could be 6' (north side door width 3') and if the 2nd door (east side) is opening to innerside you wont be able to mount the screen to the north wall without a partition (false wall), assuming the south side door is the entrance.

It is a dedicated entertainment room of sorts. Main entry is on south wall. I`m looking a 8x6 screen. The east wall door opens up on the outside so thats not a problem. The east door leads to small adjoinin room. The north wall door leads to a bathroom. The South wall leads outside. It just struck me that I cant place the screen on the north wall or the south wall , so I`m in a fix here now. :sad:

 

[Gautam13]

And also , how are Polk Audio Speakers ?