Need Help with designing a new home theatre!

[Tau]

Dear,

I am re-doing my house interiors and am planning to have a home Theatre (my first one ). I am based at Mumbai.

I am dedicating a room for this purpose and the room size is 15ft x 11ft, with a floor to fales ceiling height of 8.5ft. This room connects to the living room (size 22ft x 11 ft) forming a T. I propose to have the screen placed in from of the window. Thus, a small group can watch sitting within this room (window to beam 15ft), and a larger gathering by spreading out to the living area (window to sofa 28ft).

I would like the set-up to be good for both music and movies, the projector to be full HD and the source blue ray. This being my first experience, I would be limiting my budget to about 4 lacs, all inclusive.

Would appreciate valuable suggestions from the Gurus here.

With warm regards,

Tau

 

[mnhegde]

Welcome to the Forum, Tau .

 

[jeevabobby26]

Hi tau,

Just make a base plan diagram of the rooms you have mentioned in your post. So, that it will be easier to suggest things.

cheers

 

[Tau]

Thanks Mr. Hegde!

Dear Bobby,

As suggested by you, I am attaching a plan of the rooms herewith. Trust this will be of help.

Waiting for your comments.

Warm regards,

Tau

 

[mandeep]

Dear,

I am re-doing my house interiors and am planning to have a home Theatre

I am dedicating a room for this purpose and the room size is 15ft x 11ft, with a floor to fales ceiling height of 8.5ft.

I would be limiting my budget to about 4 lacs, all inclusive.


Tau

hello dear

Just want to add and put attention to the acoustic treatment aspect which we mostly neglect.(which i think is as important as purchasing the best AV electronic equipment)

If you are redoing the interiors then do it acoustically i.e properly treating a room is probably the most cost effective way to improve the performance of your HT system. If done properly it can be along the same order of magnitude improvement as better speakers/AMP etc.

There are 2-3 basic things to do:

- Broadband bass control in the corners of the room

- Reduce wall/ceiling reflections or reduce Reverberation time

- isolating HT environment from outside interference

(REVERBERATION TIME:- In an enclosed environment sound can continue to reflect for a period of time after a source has stopped emitting sound. This prolongation of sound is called reverberation)

For a start i want you to follow the links below:-

RealTraps - Acoustics Articles

Acoustics Forum • View topic - Types of Treatment

Reverberation Time - Acoustics.com

Bass Traps - Not Just for Fisherman! — Reviews and News from Audioholics

regards

 

[Tau]

Just a gentle nudge, reminding the experts!!

Thanks in advance for your precious time.

Warm regrads,

Tau

 

[venkatcr]

Tau:

I did look at the design you enclosed. I am little curious as to why you have planned for a screen on one wall and an LCD on another. When you set up a HT, the speaker placement in terms of 5.1 / 7.1 will depend upon the screen/TV placement.

I will also like you to decide upon the equipment in terms of Blu-Ray player, AVR, and speakers. What you need to do is the following:

1. Budget for room acoustics
2. Budget for electronics
3. Budget for cables and interconnects
4. Budget for screen, projector and TV.

Usually cables and interconnects are about 10% of the total budget for electronics including projector. Since you are looking at FullHD you will need long HDMI cables to connect to the projector.

Your room is about 165 square feet. An AVR that delivers some 100-150 watts per channel will be sufficient.

We can finalise exact equipment as we discuss more.

Cheers

 

[Tau]

Dear Venkat,

At last, Atlas shrugged

Your curiosity is well placed. The lay-out of my house made me do this planning.
Most part of time, the house will have my family of 4 (us and our 2 kids). So we decided to keep the LCD on the bigger wall and sacrifice having the HT set-up for the LCD. We will prefer having the HT for the projector screen, which comes along the window on the shorter wall side. So whenever we turn the projector on, we move our sitting 90. There will be a deviding partition, which when shut separates this 165sft area from rest of the living room. In this state, 5.1 set up should be on.
Whenever we will have a family gathering, we will keep the partition open, so that the family fills out right upto the end of the living room. In this state, 7.1 set up should be on.
As I did not wish to let my renovation work hamper, I have had Percon OFC cables put in place, as also required HDMI and communication cables already are in place.

As I am just starting out with my odyssey in the realms of Audio/Video, I plan limiting my initial invetment to about 2.75lacs all included (aspire having a good AVR, Projector, Speakers and Blue-ray with media server).

What would you suggest?

Look forward to your guidance.

Thanks!

Tau

 

[prince083]

Hi Everyone,

I have a similar situation. I would really appreciate your help with my HT set up.
I have been doing all the reading i can do, but i still cant figure out where to start.Im not an audiophile .. but i do enjoy my music Kurt Cobain To Enya. I am primarily interested in movies and HD content.

My Set up follows:
a. Sony BX400 full hd 1080p
b. Sony PS3
c. Tata sky HD STB

STB and PS3 connected via hdmi to tv so both the hdmi ports are in use now.

Currently Im getting all my audio from the TV speakers :sad: even my music.
My source will be the PS3 and the HD stb

My room is 12ftx15ft

I would really like to set up a HT that would primarily help me get the most out of the HD movies/games, but also on when i listen to Kurt Cobain make me feel yellow.

The objectives thus stated, we come to the approach i should take to go about setting this up. With all these recent acquisitions im pretty broke right now, yet i do want to start building the ht ... the sound is just not matching the picture.

There are 2 ways of going about this:
a. Get Immediately Compact DAV-TZ210 home theater system with an unforgettable performance with USB Record & Playback Function, BRAVIA Sync and HDMI output.

The DAV-TZ200 features S-Master Digital Amplifier, USB movie playback, BRAVIA Sync and HDMI output to upscale DVDs to 1080p resolution.

MRP Rs. 12,990 /-*

b. build it one step at a time over a period of time (max budget not to exceed 50k)

Ideally i would like all my hd inputs to go into a receiver, ps3, hd stb and sound goes to speakers, video out from receiver goes to tv. I have my DLNA server set up as well but that the ps3 hdmi out will take care of.

I would really appreciate your thoughts on this. As much asi like my movies and sports, i want to feel the same way November Rain made me feel back when i was at high school.
Is it possible at 12k? will be much nearer at 50 k?
Please help ... i gotta do something about the audio!!!!

Best,
Prince

 

[prince083]

The answer : Onkyo hts3300 with me next paychek!!! what do you guys think?

 

[venkatcr]

There will be a deviding partition, which when shut separates this 165sft area from rest of the living room. In this state, 5.1 set up should be on. Whenever we will have a family gathering, we will keep the partition open, so that the family fills out right upto the end of the living room. In this state, 7.1 set up should be on.

This is all right. But you must remember that the HT configuration, whether for the 5.1 or 7.1 will work ONLY for the screen. When you are watching the LCD you have to use the speakers of the TV.

As I am just starting out with my odyssey in the realms of Audio/Video, I plan limiting my initial invetment to about 2.75 lacs all included (aspire having a good AVR, Projector, Speakers and Blue-ray with media server). What would you suggest?

If you take the whole length upto the end of the living room, we are talking about some 30 feet by 11 feet. The total size of a 7.1 set up will thus be 330 square feet. If we assume a height of 10 feet, we are talking about 3300 cubic feet. Assuming an average of 85 dB SPL/W/m for speakers, we are talking about roughly 90 watts of power per channel as per THX standards.. Adding a margin for safety, you should be safe with an AVR that can generate between 100 to 120 watts per channel. Just make sure that the speakers specifications do not cross 100 watts with a sensitivity of not lower than 85dB. The higher the sensitivity, the easier the speakers are to drive.

We must also remember your listening levels. We are talking about a max of 85 dB at your sitting position. Remember, for every 3dB difference you have to double your power generation. So if you are tempted to increase the volume to 88dB, you would need a 200 watts per channel amplifier.

some of the recommendations I can provide are as follows:

1. AVR - Denon 2310, Onkyo 608 - roughly 60K
2. Speakers - 7.1 set from QA, Deftech, Martin Logan, Wharfedale etc - roughly 120K.
3. Projectors - From Panasonic or Optoma roughly 150K
4. Blu-Ray player - Sony (?) for 10K, Oppo for 30K.
5. Cables and interconnects - roughly 20 to 25K.

Cheers

 

[Tau]

Thanks Venkat.

Of the few auditions I have had, I was hooked to the following combo:

Denon AVR 2310 + Dali Ikon 5.1 (upgradable to 7.1) + Optoma HD 20 Projector.

You suggest I focus on this and proceed?

Tau

 

[venkatcr]

Good choice. The Dali's have a sensitivity of about 89-92dB and that will be good.

Cheers

 

[GeorgeO]

You can also consider the option of having a pull down screen when watching movies and keeping your LCD behind it.That way the need to switch positions doesnt arise, and you can also keep your speakers wired up for either pj or LCD. I think in the future when 5.1 and HD becomes more common you may want to use your HT speakers wired to both TV and pj.

In addition, do consider going for separates for AV-pre pro and multichannel amp, since it looks to me that your budget can accommodate it.

 

[Tau]

Thanks Venkat, for the affirmation.

Dear George,

Its a catch-22 situation for me. The width of the room is about 11ft, so I can not have the screen on the bigger wall. So, I must have it on the smaller side, which happens to be a window!

So the only workable option for me is to have the LCD on the bigger wall (which menas I can have the windows open, but can not use the AV set-up) and the screen (which is a pull down one) along the windows.

While the LCD/LED will indeed be HD, I will have to do with the built-in speakers for it. The AV setup goes for the movies @ screen and for music.

Can you please enlighten me more about the separates for AV-pre pro and multichannel amps?

Thanks!

 

[GeorgeO]

Tau

Here's a general explanation.

As opposed to an AV receiver you can have separates-exactly like having a preamp and a power amp for audio. Since I have preamps and power amps for audio, I know how perform but cost significantly more than integrateds-so this is definitely not for anyone who doesnt have deep pockets. As you know AVRs come at different price points, depending on power and features. Separates are significantly more expensive, but will offer better bang for the buck. An entry level pre pro can easily cost you twice that of an entry level AVR.

The single box solution is offered by most mfrs from a convenience perspective, exactly as integrated amps are offered for audio. I picked up a HT preamp processor in the US recently and will be building my own 5 channel power amp-this is to replace my older generation Onkyo AVR. The best way to get info on this is to start a new thread and knowledgeable people on this forum will chip in.

 

[GeorgeO]

The preamp will need to be connected to a 5 or 7 channel power amp which is then connected to the speakers as well as to a powered sub.

 

[darveshpreet]

Hi guys,
I am new here and a noob when it comes to audio H/W. I need suggestion in builiding a home theater system for my room.
I would like to use my HTPC to connect the speakers and I don't wanna use an AVR.
Room Size 10Ft x 10FT
Equipment in use:-
LG JAZZ 42" LCD
PC (Works an both work+Entertainment PC)
Quad 6600+ATI Radeon 4850+ Sound blaster Extreme audio (PCI)+ 3TB HDD Storage + 4GB RAM 800MHZ
Just bought Xtreamer Pro 2010 series
Currently using Philips old model 5.1 speakers which connects to the sub woofer for power don't connect to any AVR ( I don't know what they are called I guess active speakers)
Wanna upgrade these any suggestion for a 5.1 setup what should I get for my room to get a superior Movie experience.
Usabliiity 60% Movies+40% Music.
Thank you in advance.

 

[Hi-Fi]

Can you please enlighten me more about the separates for AV-pre pro and multichannel amps?

Thanks!

Hey Tau, since you are in Mumbai, you could check out the PANDAM Professional Audio showroom in Mahim. You could get some great ideas on room acoustic design there as their demo room is quite amazing. They also have a range of very high end players, preamps and active speaker systems to audition.

 

[venkatcr]

I am new here and a noob when it comes to audio H/W. I need suggestion in builiding a home theater system for my room. I would like to use my HTPC to connect the speakers and I don't wanna use an AVR. Room Size 10Ft x 10FT

Equipment in use:-

LG JAZZ 42" LCD. PC (Works an both work+Entertainment PC) Quad 6600+ATI Radeon 4850+ Sound blaster Extreme audio (PCI)+ 3TB HDD Storage + 4GB RAM 800MHZ. Just bought Xtreamer Pro 2010 series Currently using Philips old model 5.1 speakers which connects to the sub woofer for power don't connect to any AVR ( I don't know what they are called I guess active speakers) Wanna upgrade these any suggestion for a 5.1 setup what should I get for my room to get a superior Movie experience. Usabliiity 60% Movies+40% Music. Thank you in advance.

10 by 10 is a small room. Ideally you should get satellite speakers, or at the most bookshelf speakers, and a small sub.

I am not sure what is the power of your Sound Blaster Xtreamer Audio, nor am I clear whether it has 5.1 output. Since you have a Xtreamer Pro, it would need an amplifier. Unless your HTPC has a an AV input, how are you going to use the Xtreamer Pro without an AVR? You can use active speakers, but they will be expensive.



Cheers