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6 Posts
I want to start off by saying that this is a great forum and tons of very useful information. A big thankyou to all of you who take time out to share your knowledge and expertise. I didn't want to post my request until I had read some of the earlier posts and I must say that I have learnt a lot over the last 2 weeks going through the forum.
I am trying to figure out the correct setup for a HT system for my family room and the correct equipment to buy. Here is my situation and I am positng some pictures to highlight some of the issues I am facing.
The family room is rather large. I wired it for 7.1 before moving in, just because it was a lot easier to run the wiring and patch and paint over the hole in the walls and ceiling. Didn't know much about speaker placement for 7.1 and I don't think i got the placement of speakers just right.
Ceiling height: 9'
Family (HT) Room dimensions: 19' L x 15' W (2565 cu ft) and has no wall on right and is open to a dining/kitchen area which adds to the volume
kitchen: 17' L x 11' W ( 1683 cu ft)
dining : 10' L x 15' W ( 1350 cu ft)
total volume: 5598 cu ft
Distance from TV: 14'
Issues: (that I noticed based upon everything I read in this forum and some common sense
. You can probably point out more )
> back wall has big windows and blinds
> no wall on right. (little or no reflected sound from right)
> couch is againt the back wall so can't mount surround speakers at back plus no place to mount on back wall due to windows
> location for ceiling speaker is 8 ft from back wall (probably should made the holes closer to back wall. didn't know any better)
> Left surround speaker position is farther away because the TV is off center to the right
> flooring is travertine with carpet covering the area near the sitting position
Type of Use: 70% movies and 30% music
Budget: $3000 - 4000 (for all speakers and subwoofer, not including the receiver). Since the wiring is done. I think I can hook everything up myself. I am looking forward to that part.
Timeline: No urgency but would like to complete the project in 3-4 weels
Existing equipment that I plan to use
TV: Samsung 46'
BD player: Samsung
Toshiba: Hard disk based DVD recorder/player
I am considering the following equipment for the HT setup
Receiver: Denon 3313 CI (waiting for it come out).
front speaker: not sure ( listened to B&W CM5 bookshelf speakers at Bestbuy recommends and liked them)
Center Channel: not sure
in ceiling surround: not sure
side surround speaker: Pair of mirage omnipole (seems to be the recommendation in this forum).
subwoofer: not sure
Speaker Color preference:
Black for Front and While for in Ceiling and black for side surrounds
Questions:
1. Should I buy bookshelf speakers for front speaker or wall mount speakers. It's probably better to go with bookshelf speakers so they are lower than the wall mounted ones.
2. For wall mount front speakers they would have to be small considering the small size of mounting area
3. for Bookshelf speakers, the max separation between L and R is 8 feet is that a problem
4. for Center speaker, ideally it should be at a lower level but there is no suitable place for it. How big an issue is it to have center speaker on the shelf above the TV. Does it make sense to put the center speaker to the right of the TV.
5. Left and Right surr speakers at 5 ft high, is that an ok height
6. in ceiling speaker are 8 ft from back wall. Do I need to move it closer. How big an issue is this?
7. i plan to put the subwoofer in the cabinet under the TV. it should hold a woofer smaller that 14 in x 21 in. The door of the cabinet has a black cloth front so that should be ok. are their any issues with putting the subwoofer inside the cabinet.
8. Denon 3313CI specs look good. should I be considering any other receiver. HDMI passthrough is important so I can watch TV without having the receiver ON. I like the 3 HDMI outputs so I run an HDMI cable to a TV on the other side of the wall.
9. do i even need 7.1. Maybe 5.1 is OK for my setup. If I stay with 5.1 setup I can use the 2 extra channel to drive the whole house audio.

I am trying to figure out the correct setup for a HT system for my family room and the correct equipment to buy. Here is my situation and I am positng some pictures to highlight some of the issues I am facing.
The family room is rather large. I wired it for 7.1 before moving in, just because it was a lot easier to run the wiring and patch and paint over the hole in the walls and ceiling. Didn't know much about speaker placement for 7.1 and I don't think i got the placement of speakers just right.
Ceiling height: 9'
Family (HT) Room dimensions: 19' L x 15' W (2565 cu ft) and has no wall on right and is open to a dining/kitchen area which adds to the volume
kitchen: 17' L x 11' W ( 1683 cu ft)
dining : 10' L x 15' W ( 1350 cu ft)
total volume: 5598 cu ft
Distance from TV: 14'
Issues: (that I noticed based upon everything I read in this forum and some common sense

> back wall has big windows and blinds
> no wall on right. (little or no reflected sound from right)
> couch is againt the back wall so can't mount surround speakers at back plus no place to mount on back wall due to windows
> location for ceiling speaker is 8 ft from back wall (probably should made the holes closer to back wall. didn't know any better)
> Left surround speaker position is farther away because the TV is off center to the right
> flooring is travertine with carpet covering the area near the sitting position
Type of Use: 70% movies and 30% music
Budget: $3000 - 4000 (for all speakers and subwoofer, not including the receiver). Since the wiring is done. I think I can hook everything up myself. I am looking forward to that part.
Timeline: No urgency but would like to complete the project in 3-4 weels
Existing equipment that I plan to use
TV: Samsung 46'
BD player: Samsung
Toshiba: Hard disk based DVD recorder/player
I am considering the following equipment for the HT setup
Receiver: Denon 3313 CI (waiting for it come out).
front speaker: not sure ( listened to B&W CM5 bookshelf speakers at Bestbuy recommends and liked them)
Center Channel: not sure
in ceiling surround: not sure
side surround speaker: Pair of mirage omnipole (seems to be the recommendation in this forum).
subwoofer: not sure
Speaker Color preference:
Black for Front and While for in Ceiling and black for side surrounds
Questions:
1. Should I buy bookshelf speakers for front speaker or wall mount speakers. It's probably better to go with bookshelf speakers so they are lower than the wall mounted ones.
2. For wall mount front speakers they would have to be small considering the small size of mounting area
3. for Bookshelf speakers, the max separation between L and R is 8 feet is that a problem
4. for Center speaker, ideally it should be at a lower level but there is no suitable place for it. How big an issue is it to have center speaker on the shelf above the TV. Does it make sense to put the center speaker to the right of the TV.
5. Left and Right surr speakers at 5 ft high, is that an ok height
6. in ceiling speaker are 8 ft from back wall. Do I need to move it closer. How big an issue is this?
7. i plan to put the subwoofer in the cabinet under the TV. it should hold a woofer smaller that 14 in x 21 in. The door of the cabinet has a black cloth front so that should be ok. are their any issues with putting the subwoofer inside the cabinet.
8. Denon 3313CI specs look good. should I be considering any other receiver. HDMI passthrough is important so I can watch TV without having the receiver ON. I like the 3 HDMI outputs so I run an HDMI cable to a TV on the other side of the wall.
9. do i even need 7.1. Maybe 5.1 is OK for my setup. If I stay with 5.1 setup I can use the 2 extra channel to drive the whole house audio.