Home Theater n00b - Speaker placement, wires, FS or BS?

[nSinghal]

Hey everyone. I just got my first PJ (tw8100 with 133" screen) last week and now its time to complete the HT experience with a 5.1 system. Total noob here. No idea what's good and worth the money and what's not. Probably wont even realize the diff between two speakers unless I heard them side by side

Now before I decide which speaker, avr and amp (do I even need one?) I should go for, first thing first. FS or BS, speaker placement acc to my room and listening position and which wires for underground cabling (btw for a general idea my budget for the audio gear is appx 1 lac). Need placement issues figured out ASAP so I can add underground wiring before the room is finished.

Here's my current (intended) room setup...

For general bed viewing/listening..

For movies/blu ray viewings...
I intend to pull the recliners in front of the bed for such occasions..

Pics of the room in its current condition...





The room is L shaped and dimensions excluding the L part are 24'8" x 16'5" and 8'6" high. So that'd make it appx 400 sq feet room.

Now which speakers would best suit my room? My intended use is music 30%, HD movies 40%, regular TV shows (both HD and SD) 30%. Clear vocals in movies is most important to me.

Now, Floor standing or book shelves? If I go with FS, I'll have to place them in front of the both doors (see the small cream colored rectangular boxes in the first image) as the 133" screen won't leave any room for speaker placement on the TV wall. I'd like to keep them as close to their respective walls as putting them in the middle of the room will be disastrous (I have a 7 year old and his cousin of same age).

If I go with bookshelves then I can place them below the screen. But won't that be too low when I'm watching the movies from the recliner? Or listening to music while standing up? Center speaker I have no choice but to put it below the screen only (have about 19" left below the 133" motorised screen).

Also, where should I place the rear speakers? On the side tables of the bed? Or place them a bit higher?

Another thing I need immediate help with is the underground wiring. Right now the electrician has put some cheap local cables there and I'd like to know if the wires will make much of a difference on a 1 lac budget audio system?

 

[Thtpro]

If your screen has acoustic fabric--
then you have an option of going with bookshelf speakers -- which can be placed on the counter -- beside the TV
otherwise-- I would suggest tower speakers-- which will be placed on the floor on either side off the screen

 

[soamz]

Can you tell me your budget for the AVR and speakers ?

 

[nSinghal]

If your screen has acoustic fabric--
then you have an option of going with bookshelf speakers -- which can be placed on the counter -- beside the TV
otherwise-- I would suggest tower speakers-- which will be placed on the floor on either side off the screen

Didnt like the acoustic screens so went with a simple matte white only.

Placing towers on either side of the screens is not possible as there's the dressing room door on the left. 133"screen won't leave any space there. I'll have to place them close to the two doors on left and right wall (see the small white boxes in first pic)

Can you tell me your budget for the AVR and speakers ?

Appx 100k (give or take).

 

[soamz]

I see, you have a pretty big room . So, a strong AVR is needed.

What I can suggest is going for Denon 2113 and 2 FS , and 2 surrounds and 1 sub.

You can go demo Polk and Sonodyne.

 

[nSinghal]

I see, you have a pretty big room . So, a strong AVR is needed.

What I can suggest is going for Denon 2113 and 2 FS , and 2 surrounds and 1 sub.

You can go demo Polk and Sonodyne.

45k+ for just the avr? Is it advisable to splurge almost 50% of the budget on the avr only?.

 

[soamz]

AVR is the main item. You need a strong AVR for that big room.

Even 2113 is small , but since I use it, Im sure, it would be able to hold it quite good.

The thumb rule is, getting a good AVR and then slowly invest on speakers, as budget permits.
You cant get everything in one shot, if you are in a budget .

 

[prosenjit]

go step by step.
as avr cant be added...it has to be strong enough...
speakers can be added kater.
hear
denon-all use/onkyo-movie/yamaha-music/maratnz

speakers
polk/wharfadel/sonodyne/paradigm/kef/klipsch...there are so many.
audition as many as possible...take your pick.

range-what soamz bhai suggested...denon 2113...and its equivalents from yamaha/onkyo/marantz........

 

[nSinghal]

My budget limitations are mostly self imposed. Spending more money on sound 6-12 months down the line or spending it all today only won't affect me much financially. I try to figure out my own budget based on how much something is worth to me. Coming from a 54" 4:3 TV viewed at 17', the 55" TVs seemed too small for my new room which is 24' long. Those were available for 1.5L. Next option was 65" TV for about 2.3L. Not a huge diff but still better than 55" TVs. Almost made up my mind for those but then somehow stumbled upon the land of PJs. Realised they were a lot cheaper and a lot better than I could have ever imagined (thought PJs will provide barely watchable dim images). Increasing my budget by another 20% gave me a slightly smaller (51") TV and a much much bigger (133") projection screen combo.

So long story short, the budget of 100k I mentioned simply means sound is worth that much to me unless the difference in quality for a slightly higher budget gear is huge.

So buying it later won't change much for me. I'd rather increase my budget today only (assuming its supposed to be worth the extra moolah). How much, in your opinion, should I increase my budget to get "good enough" sound in my room?

 

[soamz]

My room is around 12 x 20 .

You can check my signature items .
I paid around 1.6 lacs for this and its breaking my room walls already.

So, my setup can easily go in a 20 x 20 also.

 

[prosenjit]

use crwon audio calculator and audition to understand how much actual power you really need.
also read safe decibel limit for home theter.to avoid any hearing problem...
less power is very bad for speakers as well for amp.
same way overkill is also bad if cannot use it and paid for it.

imho fine and clear sound is better than more powerful ones..so you can go for better bs and add a sub for bass...

 

[nSinghal]

use crwon audio calculator and audition to understand how much actual power you really need.
also read safe decibel limit for home theter.to avoid any hearing problem...
less power is very bad for speakers as well for amp.
same way overkill is also bad if cannot use it and paid for it.

imho fine and clear sound is better than more powerful ones..so you can go for better bs and add a sub for bass...

My problem with bookshelves is that I'll need to place them below the screen. Almost on the floor level. Which is why I wanted to know if placing them so low will affect the sound quality when listening to them seated on the recliners

 

[prosenjit]

yes..it will affect sound if the speakers are not at ear level...
so a cheapo wooden table or costly stand is a must for bs models
audition very imp to understand what you are actually liking bs or fs........