[wilkinkc]

Hello all, looking at getting back into a surround sound setup. I had one previously at my old home, which I had a dedicated room for and it worked out perfectly. My knowledge of equipment is outdated, and a guy from Circuit City actually installed and setup my last system. I just knew how to turn it all on etc haha.


What I am wondering is, will this room layout work very well for surround sound? (Pic below). I would do ceiling mounted speakers if that would help out with the sound. I'm not going to recess them into the ceiling but would do wall mounts. Let me know if you guys think I could make something work or not. I just dont know since the room has a large opening that merges into the kitchen. My last room was more of a rectangular shape and had doors. Plus I was able to layout the 2 couches and chair better than I am able to now unfortunately.

I appreciate and and all help!


Ryan

 

[commsysman]

You don't have any dimensions there, but my first thought would be to put the TV and main speakers on the wall to the right, so the the longest wall is opposite the speakers. Your TV should be on a stand with shelves below to hold the receiver and center speaker. Check out Tech-Craft if you need one.


I would start out with a good pair of tower speakers and a receiver, and go on from there, adding a subwoofer first and a center speaker next.


If you are going to have rear speakers, you will need to get the sofa or whatever you are going to sit on off the wall and more into the center pf the room.


What kind of total budget?

 

[wilkinkc]

New picture posted in post 1 with dimensions room is 17x12 with 8 fr ceilings. 12 fr along the wall with the front door. I really want to keep the tv where it is if possible. Mounted to wall with holes to hide cables already. Would be a pain moving it and fixing everything back to normal lol. For the rear speakers could I get away with mounting them up the walls some to make up for the furniture placement?


Thank you for the response it's appreciated. No idea what I'm doing haha.


Budget is going to be probably $1000 for the receiver and speakers.

 

[Ethan Winer]



Quote:
Originally Posted by wilkinkc  /t/1420256/purchasing-setup-for-living-room#post_22218971


will this room layout work very well for surround sound?

The best arrangement for this room is to put the TV on the wall to the left, with the speakers firing toward the right and the kitchen. Sitting directly in front of a reflecting wall, as you are now, is about the worst place you can be. Further, with a wall directly behind you the surround speakers can't be placed properly. More here:

How to set up a room


--Ethan

 

[wilkinkc]

I guess I left out important information again. I really can't move the tv, there are windows on two of the walls. See new picture in post 1. Sorry, I'm sure that's helpful information.

 

[CruelInventions]

Be that as it may, Ethan's recommendation is still the best. Everything else will be a compromise, sound-wise, to one degree or another. Unfortunately, the way you have it set up now would probably rank as the furthest from ideal. That's not to say you couldn't live it and still experience reasonably satisfactory listening that way, but do fully understand that there will be a definite trade-off when favoring this room layout arrangement/aesthetics over the acoustical ideal.


For what it's worth, there are certainly some people who DO place their system centerpieces (TV/Stereo) in front of a window. I haven't looked through the AVS gallery in a long time, but there used to be some occasional "in front of window" type of setups which could give you some sense of how that sort of arrangement might look and possibly work for your room as well. Or, it may cement even further your preference for not fully or partially blocking a window in that way. If it's mainly an issue of staring into a tv with a distracting bright background, there are always curtains and shades with varying degrees of adjustable light control. And with all plasmas and some LCDs having glossy screens, this is another point in favor of placing a TV in front of a window (one less potential major source of screen reflection).


Also bare in mind, not knowing what size television you have, for the distance you are currently viewing TV from, the recommended ideal size to fully experience 1080p from that distance is at least 65". Moving your TV/Stereo setup to the left window wall and setting up the main sofa across from it at about an 8-10ft distance would allow you to stick to a 55" or so TV to get the full 1080p immersion effect, saving you an extra grand or two right there!

 

[mcnarus]

Unfortunately, people want to tell you what's ideal, rather than how to work with what you have. For the record, what would be ideal would be to tear your house down and build a better room.


If the TV can't be moved (and I understand why it can't), then the best thing you could do for your sound is to try to move the furniture away from the wall. If you can't do that, then you're stuck with what you have. Go with a 3.1 system and enjoy. Lots of folks have to make compromises like this (and much worse). It's the rare consumer who has both the means and the knowledge to create a sonically superior space.

 

[Ethan Winer]



Quote:
Originally Posted by wilkinkc  /t/1420256/purchasing-setup-for-living-room#post_22220859


I guess I left out important information again. I really can't move the tv, there are windows on two of the walls. See new picture in post 1. Sorry, I'm sure that's helpful information.

I hate spending time making suggestions only to find that the original info was incomplete.


Just kidding.

In that case, keep things as they are but move the couch forward. It's way too far from the TV anyway. Then consider acoustic treatment in corners for bass trapping, and at the reflection points including on the bottom wall behind you to improve overall clarity.


--Ethan