Help with a Home Theater Setup

[chicklet]

Hello Guys!!

Need some help with planning a home theater setup. Been lurking around the forum for quite some time hoping to come up with a solution myself but the more I have read the more I find myself lost.

To give a gist of requirement and budget. The room proposed for the area is almost 14 x 21 (image is enclosed along with the post). Am hoping for a projector/screen and a good sound setup for the area which will be predominantly used for watching movies and some music listening. Hoping to setup a retractable screen which can be raised when entertaining guest when movie is not on the cards. The budget would be around 3-3.5 lakhs with Projector/Sound System/ Screen. Considering the size of the room I was thinking about a 7 speaker system but am open to suggestions. Would prefer to go for the system at one go instead of building it up over a period of time as I know myself and would never end up taking it forward. Most movies would be watched over streaming device like nvidia shield (not bought yet) and music would be streamed over an airport express (airplay).

Thanks in advance for the help..

 

[Prodigy]

Hey,

That is a good budget to start off but i would say go in stages to get the best setup possible. I see that you have planned on getting a Projector + Screen too.
According to me, I think out of the 3.5L budget you have allocated, if you further break it up its going to be:
1 to 1.2L for just A Good 4K Projector & Screen.
60 to 70K minimum for an AVR that can do a 7.1
Around 30K for NVIDIA SHIELD TV Pro 4K.

With all of the above you will be left with approximately +/- 1 / 1.5L for the speakers and out of which you may want to allocate 70% of it for the Front Stage (LCR) as those are the 3 speakers that will be doing 80% of the task when it comes to movies and 100% when it comes to Music and the remaining 30% for a Sub. If you can extend your budget for another 40K to it, may be you can get the Surrounds and Atmos as well.

Now you may want to decide whether you want to go with Floor Standers or Bookshelves. If you are choosing bookshelves then you can try and manage to get something really good within your specified budget but then there may be added costs like stands / mounts etc..

I would suggest go slow with your purchase. Start of as a 3.1 and slowly keep on adding the remaining speakers so that you will not be compromising on sound quality. Most common mistake we do is to try and get everything one shot and later within no time we start thinking of an upgrade. So think it over and put in your thoughts so that you can get more inputs from the FM's who have been through this journey.

Also to add, going by the Image you shared, it looks more like a dedicated space for me and if yes, you may want to look at spending some on room treatment. Because, its a big space you have there and that can bring in uninvited echo if its not going to be filled with lots of soft furniture or if you just plan to keep 2 or 3 recliners.

Let us know what you think and probably you can get more feedback from FM's out here.

Regards,
Som

 

[chicklet]

Hey,

That is a good budget to start off but i would say go in stages to get the best setup possible. I see that you have planned on getting a Projector + Screen too.
According to me, I think out of the 3.5L budget you have allocated, if you further break it up its going to be:
1 to 1.2L for just A Good 4K Projector & Screen.
60 to 70K minimum for an AVR that can do a 7.1
Around 30K for NVIDIA SHIELD TV Pro 4K.

With all of the above you will be left with approximately +/- 1 / 1.5L for the speakers and out of which you may want to allocate 70% of it for the Front Stage (LCR) as those are the 3 speakers that will be doing 80% of the task when it comes to movies and 100% when it comes to Music and the remaining 30% for a Sub. If you can extend your budget for another 40K to it, may be you can get the Surrounds and Atmos as well.

Now you may want to decide whether you want to go with Floor Standers or Bookshelves. If you are choosing bookshelves then you can try and manage to get something really good within your specified budget but then there may be added costs like stands / mounts etc..

I would suggest go slow with your purchase. Start of as a 3.1 and slowly keep on adding the remaining speakers so that you will not be compromising on sound quality. Most common mistake we do is to try and get everything one shot and later within no time we start thinking of an upgrade. So think it over and put in your thoughts so that you can get more inputs from the FM's who have been through this journey.

Also to add, going by the Image you shared, it looks more like a dedicated space for me and if yes, you may want to look at spending some on room treatment. Because, its a big space you have there and that can bring in uninvited echo if its not going to be filled with lots of soft furniture or if you just plan to keep 2 or 3 recliners.

Let us know what you think and probably you can get more feedback from FM's out here.

Regards,
Som

Hey Som! Thanks for the quick revert.. Am ok with increasing the budget by 40k or so if I can complete the surround/atmos set... I see the point in upgrading the speaker system over a period of time but I think it'll be years before I again get back to it...

With a little reading up on the recent posts, interesting sound system configuration was :-
Denon 2600h Receiver
Polk T series 5 speakers
Polk HTS 10 woofers
Polk rc60i pair atmos

Lots of names I come across the forums are Qacoustics and Taga... Dont know how they compare... Trying to line up an audition if I can find one here in Ahmedabad.

As for the projector - which projector would you suggest? Some friends had suggested to go for Benq tk800m.. the main window which would let lot of light in should be blocked by the screen itself. There are two other windows on its side but thankfully they would not reflect directly on the screen even if not closed with blackout curtains..

Can you give me some leads on how to plan sound absorption/room treatment??

 

[Prodigy]

Hey Som! Thanks for the quick revert.. Am ok with increasing the budget by 40k or so if I can complete the surround/atmos set... I see the point in upgrading the speaker system over a period of time but I think it'll be years before I again get back to it...

With a little reading up on the recent posts, interesting sound system configuration was :-
Denon 2600h Receiver
Polk T series 5 speakers
Polk HTS 10 woofers
Polk rc60i pair atmos

Lots of names I come across the forums are Qacoustics and Taga... Dont know how they compare... Trying to line up an audition if I can find one here in Ahmedabad.

As for the projector - which projector would you suggest? Some friends had suggested to go for Benq tk800m.. the main window which would let lot of light in should be blocked by the screen itself. There are two other windows on its side but thankfully they would not reflect directly on the screen even if not closed with blackout curtains..

Can you give me some leads on how to plan sound absorption/room treatment??

Hi Chicklet,
I don’t have much idea on Projectors but I know you can get a good one under 90K.
AVR: Denon 2600/2700 is excellent to start off and is very well priced too. If you manage to get a good deal under 80K for Denon 3600 go for it coz, for that extra money that you pay over 2600 you get pre-outs to add a power amp in the future and also it comes with Audyssy XT32.
Speakers LCR: If you are looking for Floor Standers Go in for a good LCR. Do not compromise here at all. You may choose either XTZ Spirt 11, IndiqAudio Platinum Achal, QAcoustics Concept 40 or Paradigm Monitor 6000. All of these should cost you around 1/1.1L at the max.
Surrounds: Go 2 sets of with Polk OWM3 or OWM5 if you are choosing Denon 3600 and that should not cost you more than 14k a pair and for Atmos you can opt in for Polk RC60i and that’s another 14/15K max.
Subwoofer: See if you can get BIC PL200ii (This is very good for the price) and you can also look at the Slot Loaded Sub from IndiqAudio or Sunfire SDS12 or SVS SB2000. So these sub range between 45 to 70k so you may choose anything that fits in your budget and you cannot go wrong with this.
So, sum it up and see what suits your budget. With IndiqAudio you have an added advantages like custom finish to match your home interiors and 15days of trial period and to top it all their LCR Platinum Achal is excellent and stack way above its competitors when it comes to sound quality.

Regards,
Som.

 

[Prodigy]

You may also look at the following thread.

Moving on from Elac F5 and Yamaha R-N303

Dear FMs, Happy to be part of this esteemed forum which has become a one stop for all things Audio / Video. I am from Vijaywada, moved to Jaipur after marriage in Feb. Until Feb I was enjoying Elac F5 paired up with Yamaha R-N303 which I left with my elder brother in Vijayawada. My experience...

www.hifivision.com

 

[chicklet]

Hi Chicklet,
I don’t have much idea on Projectors but I know you can get a good one under 90K.
AVR: Denon 2600/2700 is excellent to start off and is very well priced too. If you manage to get a good deal under 80K for Denon 3600 go for it coz, for that extra money that you pay over 2600 you get pre-outs to add a power amp in the future and also it comes with Audyssy XT32.
Speakers LCR: If you are looking for Floor Standers Go in for a good LCR. Do not compromise here at all. You may choose either XTZ Spirt 11, IndiqAudio Platinum Achal, QAcoustics Concept 40 or Paradigm Monitor 6000. All of these should cost you around 1/1.1L at the max.
Surrounds: Go 2 sets of with Polk OWM3 or OWM5 if you are choosing Denon 3600 and that should not cost you more than 14k a pair and for Atmos you can opt in for Polk RC60i and that’s another 14/15K max.
Subwoofer: See if you can get BIC PL200ii (This is very good for the price) and you can also look at the Slot Loaded Sub from IndiqAudio or Sunfire SDS12 or SVS SB2000. So these sub range between 45 to 70k so you may choose anything that fits in your budget and you cannot go wrong with this.
So, sum it up and see what suits your budget. With IndiqAudio you have an added advantages like custom finish to match your home interiors and 15days of trial period and to top it all their LCR Platinum Achal is excellent and stack way above its competitors when it comes to sound quality.

Regards,
Som.

Wow!! You, my friend, are God send!!!

 

[buzzaro]

Hi, Chicklet

I'm also in Ahmedabad and currently trying to decide on a good AVR, LR speakers and a sub. Have you made any purchases yet? Any info sharing is appreciated.

 

[chicklet]

Hi, Chicklet

I'm also in Ahmedabad and currently trying to decide on a good AVR, LR speakers and a sub. Have you made any purchases yet? Any info sharing is appreciated.

Hey Buzzaro!! Sorry couldn't reply earlier... was out and about for the last couple of weeks...

Not made any purchases yet, the house is still in the initial construction stage. Just working on making a tentative list of components and more importantly the budget... Hopefully with travel slowly coming back to normal, will be able to audition few brands I have not heard before..