Next year, I will be moving to my own home. What kind of home theatre can I setup in the space that I have?

[Jagadeeshr]

Two available locations: living room or spare room. The living room will be 13 feet wide, 24 feet long , and 10 feet tall. The spare room will be 12 feet wide, 9 feet long, and 10 feet tall.



I have zero experience with home theatres, so these are the questions that I have.

I. Location

Which location would be more suitable, living room or spare room?

II. TV size

No matter where I put the TV the max distance between the tv and couch will be between 9 to 13 feet. At this viewing distance, what size would be ideal?

III. Audio

Since I have no experience setting up a home theatre, I would like to start with 2.1 and then expand to 5.1 or 7.1. Initially, can I just buy the receiver, sub-woofer, and 2 speakers. After that add more speakers.

IV. Connecting Speakers to Receiver

How to connect the rear and side speakers to the receiver? These speakers will be far from the receiver, how to run the cable between them? Just running them along the floor doesn't seem ideal.

V. Brands

If I setup a home theatre, I will not be upgrading it for atleast 10 to 15 years. Is it better to go with a big name brand or any alternate brand that offers the same features at a cheaper price?

VI. Changes during House Construction

Is there anything I can include during the house construction to make it easier to setup the home theatre. For Ex: Audio outlets in the wall to connect speakers, size and location of windows/doors, etc.

 

[ajuvignesh]

I would choose the spare room. You can even install a projector for a better view. I think, a 100 inches is doable.

 

[vadi07]

HI

i prefer bigger rooms home theatre, it gives you excellent imaging
myself building room for Audio & home theatre 17' x 25' room

tky

 

[Jagadeeshr]

I would choose the spare room. You can even install a projector for a better view. I think, a 100 inches is doable.

What would be the input for the projector? Let's say I want to play video games, can I connect my gaming console to the projector? Or if I have some media in an external hard drive, can I connect it directly to the projector?

 

[ssf]

Two available locations: living room or spare room. The living room will be 13 feet wide, 24 feet long , and 10 feet tall. The spare room will be 12 feet wide, 9 feet long, and 10 feet tall.

View attachment 70627

I have zero experience with home theatres, so these are the questions that I have.

I. Location

Which location would be more suitable, living room or spare room?

You will have more freedom to do what is required to set up a proper HT in the spare room, so spare room it is for me.

II. TV size

No matter where I put the TV the max distance between the tv and couch will be between 9 to 13 feet. At this viewing distance, what size would be ideal?

Get the biggest screen that you can afford. With quite a lot of HD content, seating distances of 8 feet for a 65 inch TV is quite normal.

III. Audio

Since I have no experience setting up a home theatre, I would like to start with 2.1 and then expand to 5.1 or 7.1. Initially, can I just buy the receiver, sub-woofer, and 2 speakers. After that add more speakers.

Of course you can. I would a plan a 5.2.4 if I were you.

IV. Connecting Speakers to Receiver

How to connect the rear and side speakers to the receiver? These speakers will be far from the receiver, how to run the cable between them? Just running them along the floor doesn't seem ideal.

If it is a room under construction, run the speaker wires through the wall via a pipe. (Concealed in-wall wiring)

V. Brands

If I setup a home theatre, I will not be upgrading it for atleast 10 to 15 years. Is it better to go with a big name brand or any alternate brand that offers the same features at a cheaper price?

Get the best receiver that you can afford which will support 5.2.4 channels.

VI. Changes during House Construction

Is there anything I can include during the house construction to make it easier to setup the home theatre. For Ex: Audio outlets in the wall to connect speakers, size and location of windows/doors, etc.

Most certainly. Plan in-wall wiring and outlets at the stage of construction.

https://www.dolby.com/en-in/about/support/guide/setup-guides/5.1.4-overhead-speaker-placement/#gref

 

[ajuvignesh]

What would be the input for the projector? Let's say I want to play video games, can I connect my gaming console to the projector? Or if I have some media in an external hard drive, can I connect it directly to the projector?

You can buy an AVR (Audio Video Receiver) for the job. As ssf said already, I would pick a 5.2.4 channel AVR. You can connect your TV/ Projector to it and connect your Gaming console, Bluray player, firestick etc to the AVR.

 

[edjamesx]

If you are movie freak, then better to setup Home theater in dedicated Room. (in spare room 12x9 is the decent optimal size for dedicated HT).
If you will be watching the TV primarily then , Living room is the better choice.

 

[hydra]

Without having anything to offer as suggestions, let me compliment you for the excellent room proportions for sound. Both are fairly close to the 1:1.618 ratio. Since your 12 x 9ft room has a 10ft ceiling, I would consider that room as a 2nd choice, as the width and height are close (and even the length is somewhat close. It is absolutely not the end of the world (not in the least), but since you have a choice of a better room (the large room), I'd take it.

 

[Naveenbnc]

Two available locations: living room or spare room. The living room will be 13 feet wide, 24 feet long , and 10 feet tall. The spare room will be 12 feet wide, 9 feet long, and 10 feet tall.

View attachment 70627

I have zero experience with home theatres, so these are the questions that I have.

I. Location

Which location would be more suitable, living room or spare room?

II. TV size

No matter where I put the TV the max distance between the tv and couch will be between 9 to 13 feet. At this viewing distance, what size would be ideal?

III. Audio

Since I have no experience setting up a home theatre, I would like to start with 2.1 and then expand to 5.1 or 7.1. Initially, can I just buy the receiver, sub-woofer, and 2 speakers. After that add more speakers.

IV. Connecting Speakers to Receiver

How to connect the rear and side speakers to the receiver? These speakers will be far from the receiver, how to run the cable between them? Just running them along the floor doesn't seem ideal.

V. Brands

If I setup a home theatre, I will not be upgrading it for atleast 10 to 15 years. Is it better to go with a big name brand or any alternate brand that offers the same features at a cheaper price?

VI. Changes during House Construction

Is there anything I can include during the house construction to make it easier to setup the home theatre. For Ex: Audio outlets in the wall to connect speakers, size and location of windows/doors, etc.

If you a serious movie lover, and watch movies at higher volumes, spare room is better. It will not distrub family members.

If you not a serious movie lover, and your family members also watch casually, living room is better.

Secondly, if you use a projector, the room needs to be kept semi dark. It's not practical in a living room. Spare room is better for a projector and maintain low ambient light.

Having said that, small rooms have bigger issues with bass and standing waves.

 

[Naveenbnc]

Spare room allows you to do all sorts of acoustic treatments. Living room aesthetics will be messed up unless it's professionally designed with acoustics in mind.

 

[Yelamanchili manohar]

I would setup a HT system in the living room for the entire family and guests to enjoy. And then slowly build a dedicated 2 channel music system in the spare room, and make it a man cave

 

[k-pad]

Two available locations: living room or spare room. The living room will be 13 feet wide, 24 feet long , and 10 feet tall. The spare room will be 12 feet wide, 9 feet long, and 10 feet tall.

View attachment 70627

I have zero experience with home theatres, so these are the questions that I have.

I. Location

Which location would be more suitable, living room or spare room?

Welcome to the madness Jaga
I'd go with the spare room, provided you don't need to house anything else there.
Living room brings with it a whole lot of problems with it, biggest being pressurising it well enough for good bass.
If the living area opens into other area (which I can't see in the diagram) it is even more of a no-no.
Agreed, the spare room is kind of smallish, but it will lend itself very well for a small but room-filling system.

II. TV size

No matter where I put the TV the max distance between the tv and couch will be between 9 to 13 feet. At this viewing distance, what size would be ideal?

I do a 65" at 6 feet and love it. Assuming you prefer to sit a bit further back from that, I'd say anything between 65-83 sounds good.
Alternatively, you could do a 100ish Projector in the spare room.
My vote would be for a 65 or 75 oled in the spare room, provided you can black it out for your viewings. Else similar size TV of other tech for brighter environs.

III. Audio

Since I have no experience setting up a home theatre, I would like to start with 2.1 and then expand to 5.1 or 7.1. Initially, can I just buy the receiver, sub-woofer, and 2 speakers. After that add more speakers.

Yes, you can. All you need to ensure is to later buy a matching centre. So, while you audition speakers, please audition them with the centre also, so you know where you stand in the upgrade path. Surrounds and heights (if you want them) are speakers you can totally cheap out on.
Keep a healthy portion of your speaker budget for the LCR + Sub.
If spare room, a good 12" or 15" sub should do it.

IV. Connecting Speakers to Receiver

How to connect the rear and side speakers to the receiver? These speakers will be far from the receiver, how to run the cable between them? Just running them along the floor doesn't seem ideal.

If it is a new space, you can ask the contractor to make indents in the wall and run speakers the same way they lay electrical cables.
If that is not possible, then false walls or raceways are your only options. The raceways run along the meeting point of wall and floor and won't be an eye sore once you paint them the same colour.

V. Brands

If I setup a home theatre, I will not be upgrading it for atleast 10 to 15 years. Is it better to go with a big name brand or any alternate brand that offers the same features at a cheaper price?

Don't go by brand name. Almost any good speaker will last a couple of decades easily, if not more.
So, the key is to figure out via auditions what kind of sounds and signatures you like. Then, maybe narrow down the auditions of a short list of that particular type of sound you like.

VI. Changes during House Construction

Is there anything I can include during the house construction to make it easier to setup the home theatre. For Ex: Audio outlets in the wall to connect speakers, size and location of windows/doors, etc.

Yes, a couple of things you can.
Can draw separate power line for the spare room, or wherever you are placing the system.
Keep a lot of plug points and outlets on the TV wall, which will also have your AVR power supply and subwoofer power supply + any other add-ons.

And you can get the electrician to pre-wire the room for the biggest possible requirement you might end up with. As of today, I'd say pre-wire the room for 9 Auro 3D channels if possible. Else, at least 5.1.2

You can use finolex or polycab dual-core electrical wires if you are not too fussed, or buy speaker cables and give it to the contractor.

Wishing you all the best.

 

[k-pad]

Just saw Manohar's left-field suggestion.
That is a great option if you can work on making the living room more AV friendly. And if you want a listening space at all.

 

[Abhisidd]

Hey guys, butting in here, as I will soon be shifting to a new home in a high-rise building and somehow have been able to persuade the better half to let me build a home theater in the spare (3rd) room, instead of it being a guest room . Now, I have finalized, due to shortness of room size, Benq V7050i UST Projector, a 100 inch Grey ALR PET Truevision Screen, Marantz NR 1510 AVR, and Elac Cinema 5.2 Speakers. The Room size is something like this - L- 11.6 ft ; W - 9.75 ft ; H - 8.66 ft. Room would be of grey/black colour. Any suggestions apart from this setup? Thanks.

 

[aeroash]

One should always check OP's 'last seen' status. Many a time new members turn into magicians and do the disappearing act.

 

[srinisundar]

I prefer to do in Living room, since now lot of in-wall speakers are widely available, it will not spoil the living room atmosphere as all wifey expects and also serve as the HT room for us.

 

[arj]

Two available locations: living room or spare room. The living room will be 13 feet wide, 24 feet long , and 10 feet tall. The spare room will be 12 feet wide, 9 feet long, and 10 feet tall.

View attachment 70627

I would seriously consider the option suggest by many of the Spare rom as an HT. watching movies as an immersive experience in a room that can be kept dark all daty and with min interruptions which happens in a living room

Considering the size and shape you can so really make it a 9.1 in the future as you can place speakers without worried about aesthetics and also do basic room treatment . you can also put an option of a projector as a medium to long throw should be possible.

also power requirement and speaker sizes can be kept small. Ill suggest starting with a 3.1 with the best speakers and then upgrading but get a receiver which can do 9.1 for pother channels get used/speaker pairs as they appear. on sale.

A living room is a family room and IMHO you can always keep a 2nd TV there for news etc etc...

One should always check OP's 'last seen' status. Many a time new members turn into magicians and do the disappearing act.

LOL. true. But again may help someone else

 

[aeroash]

LOL. true. But again may help someone else

Unquestionably true! I don't have any HT equipment, nor have the desire. But I'm willing to learn the fundamentals. While I cannot speak for the OP, I am pleased to see the diverse views of FMs.

 

[jenson]

Living room it is. Spare room will present lot of other issues related to acoustics.

 

[cmsajith]

Eventhough the OP is not following this thread, it will help others in a similar situation.

The living room is the best among the options as it is bigger in size but has lot of limitations for acoustics as we have big windows at one side of the wall.

I would choose the spare room as it has better options when you adopt proper treatment methods. The only issue is that we cant have many seats as the room size is small, only 1 row is possible (2 seats or a custom built 3 seater Max). Bean bags can be used for extra or temp seats. However in the living room also we cant have more than 1 row of seats as we cant have a theater like seating arrangement. So seating options are same for both the rooms.

Another issue is the acoustics limitations of a small room. It will come up ONLY when its a CLOSED small room, for that I would have done the following:
- Keep the rear portion of the spare room open

- Acoustic transparent False wall (marked in yellow in the pic)
Extend the two side walls 1 - 1.5ft into the living room and build a false acoustic transparent 1ft thick absorber wall with the door at the middle. This will act as a 2.5 - 3ft thick absorber as it has infinite open living room space. The low freq is reflected back if we have hard walls and corners to accumulate them, but here it will absorb a good amount of low freq. The inner and the outer surfaces of the wall can be fabric stretched to give a wall kind of look for aesthetics.

The rear diffusers (marked in blue) can be at either sides of the door on the spare room side and for the living room aesthetics a showcase or a display unit right behind this area can be made. Rest of the wall is acoustically transparent and acts as an absorber. This completely avoids the closed room issues (corners) in a small room, now its acoustically a big room.

- This is a good candidate for a Single Bass Array design with 4 custom built subwoofers mounted on the infinite baffle wall (along with the LCR speakers) behind the screen for consistent bass for all seats.

- Usually any theater build starts by finding the best seating locations of the room and rest of the speaker locations, screen size, acoustics etc are dependent or developed based on that. Since the rear is open we cant exactly predict the room modes' location and since this is a narrow room, we need to do in reverse. So the screen size can be the max possible, 8.5ft min, if possible the entire 9ft width without any edges, it will give ~115 16:9 screen. Eventhough the room mode locations cant be predicted exactly at the initial stage for the seating locations, it will be somewhere ~8.5-10ft. So this screen size will be well within the proper viewing angle. Later the seating location can be fixed by proper acoustic measurement of the room.

- The projector (if reqd) can be either installed within the rear false wall or a hush box can be built in the living room side with proper throw distance for the screen size.

- All the equipments can be placed in the living room itself so that we get the max space inside the spare room. It will also isolate any kind of noise from them.

Apart from that with proper spread of absorbers, diffusers or absorber-diffuser combo on the side walls we can make it sound bigger.