Need Help Building My First Home Theatre Setup (₹1.5L–2L Budget, 12 sqm Room, Want Atmos)

[CannedShroud]

Hey everyone,

I’m planning to build my first proper home theatre setup and could really use your guidance.
Here are the key details:

Room size: around 12 square meters
Seating distance: 7 feet from the screen
Back wall clearance: about 2 feet
Primary use: Games, Music and 4K blu ray movies
Preferred setup: 5.1.2 (would love to include Atmos)
Budget: around ₹1.5 lakh, can stretch up to ₹2 lakh if it’s genuinely worth it


I’m mainly looking for advice on:

What speaker packages (or separates) make sense in this price range

Whether to prioritize better speakers or a better AVR for future expansion

Placement tips for Atmos speakers given my 7ft seating and limited rear space

Any brands or models that punch above their price in the current market

Would love to hear your recommendations and setup ideas from folks who’ve done something similar in small rooms.

Thanks in advance!

 

[hifimaddy]

this thread created recently you can read it because you are asking almost the same question
https://www.hifivision.com/threads/...-7-1-2-atmos-with-the-budget-of-2lakh.100698/

 

[CannedShroud]

this thread created recently you can read it because you are asking almost the same question
https://www.hifivision.com/threads/...-7-1-2-atmos-with-the-budget-of-2lakh.100698/

Thanks for your response.. I went through that and other threads as well.

I believe I could do slightly better with the speakers because I'm going for basically 7 channels rather than 9 in a 12 sqft room.

Polk XT setup sounds good but maybe I can stretch and do better?

 

[hifimaddy]

I believe I could do slightly better with the speakers because I'm going for basically 7 channels rather than 9 in a 12 sqft room.

Yes, you are going for 7 channels, but more or less it's the same. You have mentioned better speakers or a better AVR for future-proofing. I would say speakers in the Polk XT series are okay, but if you can choose the E series, it's better. But if you choose the XT series, then also choose the E series subwoofer. (If you can stretch your budget, then check other brands like Q Acoustics and Dali.) Other expenses include things like a media player, cables, a speaker stand (if you choose bookshelf speakers), other fittings, etc


This could be a better layout or vice versa, in my opinion, if it's a dedicated room

 

[CannedShroud]

Yes, you are going for 7 channels, but more or less it's the same. You have mentioned better speakers or a better AVR for future-proofing. I would say speakers in the Polk XT series are okay, but if you can choose the E series, it's better. But if you choose the XT series, then also choose the E series subwoofer. (If you can stretch your budget, then check other brands like Q Acoustics and Dali.) Other expenses include things like a media player, cables, a speaker stand (if you choose bookshelf speakers), other fittings, etc

View attachment 93291
This could be a better layout or vice versa, in my opinion, if it's a dedicated room

Thanks for speaker recommendations. That room placement would be absolutely ideal - only issue is that opening on the right wall is the balcony.. and this is a office + entertainment kind of setup..

Thanks again for the speaker recommendations. Although i was thinking of trying to squeeze in an Elac debut 3.0 DB5.3 setup.

So 45k for receiver
40+40 for 2 pairs of speakers
35 for matching Elac Center
20 for Elac ceiling units

And what about the sub? The space is tiny and it's a apartment so I won't be really pumping much SPL.. So I'm thinking something 8 or 10 inch?

 

[hifimaddy]

In the room layout you showed in the first one, the sofa is close to the rear wall, and the rear speakers are close to your ears. At least a 1-foot gap is ideal for a surround experience (minimum 2 or 3 feet). That's why I opted for the horizontal layout maybe you can place your screen near to the door and in the balcony side, place a one-seater sofa with a passage on the center to access to your balcony That's another option; you can use an acoustic curtain on the balcony door if it is a total glass door.

for the speaker elac is a good speaker but the speaker impedance is 6 ohm and the sensitivity is 86 or 87 It's very hard to drive speakers if you have a medium-range receiver. They need a lot of power to perform. I don't know which receiver you choose; for the price 45k, I don't think that receiver has a pre-out function for an amplifier, so it's better choose other speakers

For the sub, even if you don't want to play loud in a small room, don't choose 8 inch; it's very underpowered for a home theatre. Go for 10 inch or 12 inch minimum. If you don't want to spend a lot on a subwoofer, then go for the Polk HTS12; it's a decent sub.

 

[CannedShroud]

Thanks for your insights on the room layout. What if I could bring the Sofa in a bit further from the wall? And get acoustic curtains like you said. The problem with the screen on the wall near the door is that the cupboard mentioned is grouted into the room, and it would be a lot of effort to get that out.


Regarding the speakers and receiver. The exact set of speakers I had in mind were:

Fronts, Surrounds - Elac Debut 3.0 DB5.3 6ohm 86.5dB
Center - Elac Debut 3.0 DC5.3 6ohm 87.5 dB
Ceilings - Elac Ic 1005 6 ohm 87.5 dB

AVR - Denon AVR-X1800H

• Power Output (6 ohm, 1 kHz, 0.7% 2ch drive) 120 watts per channel
• Power Output (6 ohm, 1 kHz, 10%->1% 1ch drive) 145 watts per channel

I believe the Elacs have a recommended amp power of 20-120W with a peak of 120W

Thanks for the sub recommendation as well. That polk sub looks beautiful and is definitely shortlisted. I am getting a deal on the ELAC SUB1010 120 Watt 10" subwoofer for 25k. Which seems like a steal...

What do you think?
Maybe like you said I would need a better receiver to have some additional headroom? I can be very wrong and might have made some elementary mistakes.

Thanks again for your thoughts and inputs

 

[ItsBabu]

Pr

Thanks for your insights on the room layout. What if I could bring the Sofa in a bit further from the wall? And get acoustic curtains like you said. The problem with the screen on the wall near the door is that the cupboard mentioned is grouted into the room, and it would be a lot of effort to get that out.


Regarding the speakers and receiver. The exact set of speakers I had in mind were:

Fronts, Surrounds - Elac Debut 3.0 DB5.3 6ohm 86.5dB
Center - Elac Debut 3.0 DC5.3 6ohm 87.5 dB
Ceilings - Elac Ic 1005 6 ohm 87.5 dB

AVR - Denon AVR-X1800H

• Power Output (6 ohm, 1 kHz, 0.7% 2ch drive) 120 watts per channel
• Power Output (6 ohm, 1 kHz, 10%->1% 1ch drive) 145 watts per channel

I believe the Elacs have a recommended amp power of 20-120W with a peak of 120W

Thanks for the sub recommendation as well. That polk sub looks beautiful and is definitely shortlisted. I am getting a deal on the ELAC SUB1010 120 Watt 10" subwoofer for 25k. Which seems like a steal...

What do you think?
Maybe like you said I would need a better receiver to have some additional headroom? I can be very wrong and might have made some elementary mistakes.

Thanks again for your thoughts and inputs

Previous version of ELAC Debut series speakers are front ported. I think it will help you saving space as you do not have to worry about having them close to the wall.

You can also consider Wharfedale 12.1 in your budget.

 

[CannedShroud]

Pr

Previous version of ELAC Debut series speakers are front ported. I think it will help you saving space as you do not have to worry about having them close to the wall.

You can also consider Wharfedale 12.1 in your budget.

Thanks a lot for your suggestion, will definitely look into the 12.1. regarding the debut 2.0, a lot of reviews seem to say that they were a miss as compared to what the 3.0 offers now.

Regarding the port - I might be wrong, but I was thinking about getting a basic cabinet that will reside under the table with the centers and AVR.. That would allow me to keep the speakers about 30-40cms from the wall i believe, is this enough?

 

[hifimaddy]

• Power Output (6 ohm, 1 kHz, 10%->1% 1ch drive) 145 watts per channel

I believe the Elacs have a recommended amp power of 20-120W with a peak of 120W

AV receiver brands always trick with the watts they provide: 1800h 145w per channel if a 6-ohm load is connected. Then if you connect 7 channels, I don't know how much each channel gets; the manufacturer never provided that information. If someone has tested it personally, maybe they can comment on it. In terms of sensitivity, ELAC has 86.5 dB; they need 120 W or even more watts to perform. you can use ELAC; they will work fine but for better details and resolutions, they need more watts

ELAC SUB1010 120 Watt is very underpowered; if you use 2 of them, it's fine.

ding the port - I might be wrong, but I was thinking about getting a basic cabinet that will reside under the table with the centers and AVR.. That would allow me to keep the speakers about 30-40cms from the wall i believe, is this enough?

You should also consider the rear speakers; from your layout, you need to place your sofa very close to the screen to accommodate the rear speakers and the minimum clearance. i could suggest you get a bipolar speaker for your rear than a bookshelf

 

[CannedShroud]

AV receiver brands always trick with the watts they provide: 1800h 145w per channel if a 6-ohm load is connected. Then if you connect 7 channels, I don't know how much each channel gets; the manufacturer never provided that information. If someone has tested it personally, maybe they can comment on it. In terms of sensitivity, ELAC has 86.5 dB; they need 120 W or even more watts to perform. you can use ELAC; they will work fine but for better details and resolutions, they need more watts

ELAC SUB1010 120 Watt is very underpowered; if you use 2 of them, it's fine.

You should also consider the rear speakers; from your layout, you need to place your sofa very close to the screen to accommodate the rear speakers and the minimum clearance. i could suggest you get a bipolar speaker for your rear than a bookshelf

Oh man.. thanks for catching that - believe did some digging and then apparently it becomes merely 80w per channel. I'm not sure what would be the right move here, get a better receiver or settle for worse speakers.

On the note of rear speakers - what would you recommend in my budget? Maybe I could use debut 2.0 for rears.

Another option would be a fully Polk signature ES15 or ES20 setup. But then I would still have the port next to the wall problem.

Regarding bipole speakers, this is to do with how far away the surrounds are kept from each other right?

 

[hifimaddy]

get a better receiver or settle for worse speakers.

better receiver, then you have to spend more. All models which support 7 channels do not come with a pre-out. From the model 3800h, they included a pre-out, so in your budget, go with 1800h or even 2800h. Instead of Elac, go for Polk or Q Acoustics, but all the speakers I mentioned and the Elac have back ports. Or, as you said, use the rear speaker Elac 2.0.

Regarding bipole speakers, this is to do with how far away the surrounds are kept from each other right?

A bi-polar is a better option to use in a tight space than a bookshelf. There are only a few brands that have a bipolar under the 50-60 range: Wharfedale, Sonodyne, and Taga Harmony. Others are very expensive.

 

[ItsBabu]

better receiver, then you have to spend more. All models which support 7 channels do not come with a pre-out. From the model 3800h, they included a pre-out, so in your budget, go with 1800h or even 2800h. Instead of Elac, go for Polk or Q Acoustics, but all the speakers I mentioned and the Elac have back ports. Or, as you said, use the rear speaker Elac 2.0.

A bi-polar is a better option to use in a tight space than a bookshelf. There are only a few brands that have a bipolar under the 50-60 range: Wharfedale, Sonodyne, and Taga Harmony. Others are very expensive.

and there are on wall speakers from Elac also that you can use for surrounds.

Below video from techodad will give some idea about 1800/2800 and their differences.

 

[CannedShroud]

So i did a bit of digging to check whether the x1800h is underpowered for my setup (elac debut 3.0 db53 fronts, matching center, c1000 heights, sub doing bass below 80Hz). my room is ~12 sqmt and seat is ~7 ft (2.13 m) from the fronts.

here’s the math and my thinking:


db53: 6 ohms, 86.5 dB sensitivity @ 1 W / 1 m, recommended amp 20-120 W, peak 120 W
dc53 center: 6 ohms, 87.5 dB sensitivity @ 1 W / 1 m, recommended amp 30-20 W, peak 100 W

speaker sensitivity: db53 ≈ 86.5 dB @ 1 W / 1 m. that means at 1 watt and 1 meter you get 86.5 dB SPL.
and with SPL@1m being 86.5 + 10 * log10(P), considering the audience is about 7 foot or 2.1 meters away....

distance loss = 20 * log10(2.1) = around 6.58 dB

I could not find exact numbers for the Denon X1800H for a per channel rating but... Assuming its 45w (which i feel is reasonable looking at other tested receivers in the range and the fact that the power supply for the receiver seems to be for about 430W?

SPL@1m ≈ 103.03 dB
SPL@seat ≈ 103.03 - 6.58 = 96.45 dB

The SPL at my seat is about 96.5 dB. that is already very loud in a small 12 sqm room - louder than comfortable for long listening.
Now.. I don't now well this math scales when it comes to dynamics and clarity

To hit a THX reference peak of 105 dB at the seat i’d need ~322 W per channel - that’s huge and overkill for my room.
And going from 45W to 8 W is only about +2.5 dB.

Better yet to stay on the safer side, I could set the speaker type setting to “small” and crossing at ~80 Hz, so the sub handles the heavy bass work. I believe this should imporove both improves perceived dynamics and reducesthe stress on the AVR’s internal amps, so the AVR’s available power is used where it matters..

The x1800h in NA has front pre-outs i can later run a stereo power amp into them and switch the AVR’s internal front amps off. that’s an easy upgrade path if i want a bit more clean headroom. but based on the math, that seems to be a nice-to-have rather than an actual necessity?


am i wrong here? I am trying to wrap my head around this