Selecting the appropriate room for home theatre build

[NFX]

Hi all,
I plan to build a home theatre and have 2 rooms that I think are the more suitable ones for the installation. But a dilemma exists as there are quite a few parameters to consider. Kindly let me know through your expertise which room and which setup suits my requirement.

Describing the layout:
Room 1:
Master bedroom sized 14 X 10 X 10 (in ft)
There is only one set of windows, on a wall spanning the length of the room. The headboard of the bed is placed 1ft directly away from that window. The bed is along the width of the room and faces the opposite wall.

The bed faces a 4ft deep cubbyhole on the opposite wall, leading to the wash. The cubbyhole is wide enough to fit a door. The same wall with the cubbyhole has the bedroom door at its rightmost end.

Fully furnished 6ft tall MDF wooden wardrobes (not in-wall) cover over 7ft of the two walls spanning the width of the room. There is a loft above one wardrobe, covered by wooden doors. Basically there is a lot of wood in this room.

Possible setup along the width:
The bed (5.5 X 6 X 1.5) can be used for viewing. The wall with the cubbyhole, facing the bed can be used for hanging the 6 X 4 projection screen. I prefer to avoid floorstanders as there is just enough room (3ft) between the end of the bed and the wall. The walls can be used to mount LF, RF, LS, RS. For the centre channel, I can mount it from the top of the cubbyhole directed towards the bed. Having said that, I have to use an acoustically transparent projection screen.

Room 2:
Bedroom #2 sized 10.75 X 10.75 X 10 (in ft)
Two adjacent walls have windows. There is a 6ft tall 4ft wide wardrobe, a loft above it and a door beside it, all made/ covered in wood) on the third wall and the fourth wall is completely empty. The temporary chairs in the room can be removed, so this room is almost exlusively available for a proper setup, with the only downisde of it being a small square-shaped room.

Possible setup:
In my opinion, 3/4 walls can be used for the projector screen (sample setup diagram attached).
https://docs.google.com/drawings/d/1c6d7Aqik1CI9b9VbC8rvp5p9hVaswh1ibjtLgkCuEUU/edit?usp=sharing

Suggestions and setup ideas are most welcome!

Thanks,
Sanjiv

 

[jagdish_p]

A square room is not recommended for good acoustics unless you plan to go for acoustic treatment.

There are various theories on what is the best possible dimension and the most popular is the Golden Ratio. See below link - Its only a recommendation/guideline and may not be implementable fully.

One Room Golden Section Studio

 

[NFX]

Selecting the appropriate room for home theatre build/ speakers & arrangement

Thanks Jagdish.

These rooms are the only ones that are closed and isolated and they aren't constructed with the golden ratio in mind. So I have to make do with what I have like most people.

I do have a 19 X 16 X 10 living room but it has 3 openings/ archways in its walls that extend the available space to other rooms and a staircase as well. And the TV/PC viewing area is aligned towards a corner. So, I don't think I can manage a 5.1 with minimal/ controlled reflection.

I get it that square rooms aren't ideal for any sort of home theatre. I just wanted to see if any of you managed to do it effectively so that I can apply it. That said, it leaves me with the master bedroom.

Can you guys give inputs on:

1. Wall mounted 5.1 speaker arrangement along the width of a wall measuring 14ft in a 14 X 10 X 10 room, things that I need to consider when I place them this way, etc. I plan to sit close to the rear wall (just 1ft to 1.5ft away) and that gives me 8.5ft to 9ft towards the projection
2. Power of the speakers considering the room size
3. Recommended type of speakers: do i use dipoles or bookshelves for surrounds? Since I sit close to the rear wall, is it better to place SL and SR on the side walls than on the rear? I prefer to avoid floorstanders due to lack or room space.
4. Potential brands specific/ ideal to this setup? Wharfdale DX-1HCP and Tannoy HTS101 seem like default choices for similar setups. Or would I benefit from separates? What are some of the well-matched separates for this requirement? I liked the surround sound from the Mirage satellites: Mirage : Search : OS-FS 5.1 : Home
5. I plan to buy one of the low/ mid-range A/V receivers like the Denon AVR-1713/ Onkyo/ TX-NR515/ Yamaha RX-V375