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Challenging HT placement... is decent sound possible?

854 Views 4 Replies 2 Participants Last post by thefuz, Jan 23, 2008

thefuz

Discussion Starter · Jan 22, 2008

Hello,

I'm trying to set up my living room with an LCD and appropriate receiver/speakers but I'm a little lost on what to do. The room layout is shown below. The room is about 15x20 but we'd like to put the LCD on the wall (circled area). There's a credenza there but my wife's putting the kibosh on floor speakers next to it (there's possibly room on the left and right for small bookshelf or satellites though). In-wall speakers aren't really an option (plaster walls in that room

).

Should I just go with a home theater in a box for now or possibly one of the Bose setups? I'll have an HD cable box (Cablevision Optimum in CT) and am considering a PS3 to cover the Blue-Ray angle. I don't want to spend more than $2,000 for the remaining components (not including the LCD). Refurb stuff is probably just fine (I've seen some decent deals on Marantz out there).

Thanks in advance for any assistance!

Oh, PS - the LCD will be a 52xbr4 and the corner of the L-shaped couch is about 12ft from the desired LCD location. We've considered having the LCD over the fireplace, but then there's a mismatch with the way the couch is facing (the side on the right is a chez - so only once person can really face the fireplace).

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bpape

· #2 · Jan 22, 2008

Do you NEED to see the fireplace (serious question). Mostly it's for ambience and warmth. I'm thinking of a corner orientation in the upper right corner of your drawing and turn around the seating. That also allows viewing from the dining room if desired.

As for the system, please just ignore the Bose marketing hype. You can buy a better system for less money. The little HSU sat/sub system is much better. Couple it with a little Oppo DVD player and a smaller Pioneer receiver and you're good to go.

Bryan

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thefuz

Discussion Starter · #3 · Jan 22, 2008

As much as it pains me to say this (*hands in sac at the door*) we do need to have the couch facing the fireplace... I've given up arguing aesthetics with the wife. I'm just happy she's yielded to a 52" LCD for the room (she was arguing that even a 46" was too big - GAH!).

I've heard much the same on the Bose stuff... I just wasn't sure if the newer systems were any better. I definitely dig the Oppo. I have a 970 for our 32xbr4 in the bedroom and love the thing. Great features and all-around PQ at an extremely reasonable price. I assume since you're recommending Oppo that I shouldn't get a Blu-ray player - they don't make one yet, right?

As for the speakers - did you mean something like this?
http://www.hsuresearch.com/products/enthusiast2.html

I'd also like to have everything fed through the receiver, if I can. Do I need to get a higher end model for proper HDMI switching?

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bpape

· #4 · Jan 22, 2008

That'd be a nice little system.

For the Oppo, I have 2 of the 981's and love them. They're also coming out with a new one soon

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=905400

If it was me, I'd skip the HDMI swithcing. Why process it again if not necessary - just more ways to mess it up. Run digital audio to the receiver and HDMI to the TV. Simpler connections, fewer cables, less chance of mucking something up. If you must have the receiver do it, you'll have to move up in the line to get it.

You could save the money from the receiver upgrade and put it toward a nice universal remote...

Bryan

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thefuz

Discussion Starter · #5 · Jan 23, 2008

I hear you on saving the cash by not wasting on redundant reprocessing.

Universal remote is an interesting thought... though are there any lower-cost options that work via RF? I have an old (now very old) Philips Pronto but it's always bugged me that the IR needs to be pointing just so when using the thing (especially annoying for long/complex macros).

I've seen some good prices on refurbished Marantz receivers out there... are refurb's trustworthy or is it too risky. I don't want to buy something that's going to just crap the bed in the first year.

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