[leo95se]

so.. im not even sure where to start!

im setting some final framing up in my basement for the theater area, and want to lock in some decisions on placement of gear.


i have a pioneer 5080, sc-27, BD player, and bose 5.1 speakers. i imagine i will wind up upgrading the speakers, but am not sure how to build around them. i know the TV will be on the wall, and prefer the receiver and other gear to be hidden somewhere. i think ill build a small enclosure at the right front side of the wall for this stuff.


re: speakers - free standing seems to be the most bang for the buck, but i prefer not to see them. id like a 7.1 system and will mount the sides, rears and rear center on the walls, and ceiling, thats easy. but the 3 fronts? are bookshelf speakers ideal in a low mounted place, if i were to conceal them in a similar bench (which i would then make across the entire front), or is that too low a placement? another option is to frame out the two sides of the front wall and conceal tower speakers, but then what about the center?


here is a pic of where i am now.. the room is ~12'x25', and open in the rear.


i really need to lock in my purchases of wiring, box placement, etc, so any help is appreciated!

 

[BIGmouthinDC]

You may be a candidate for in-wall speakers. I would give a look at the HSU in-wall model. I don't have any direct experience but the boxed version has had some good reviews.

 

[flyng_fool]

Most people think that the lights from their audio gear is distracting when you're trying to watch a movie. Have you thought about putting it in the back of the room?

 

[moneypit]

When I started my basement family room theater planning I used the speaker placement app on the Dolby website. I started with a general room size and layout then used the speaker placement tool to asssist in the frame out to allow for wire chases, low voltage boxes and additional framing support for things like the surrounds. I used a similar tool for the TV placement. I drew out the floor plan and overlayed suitable speaker locations with furniture and equipment and modified it many times to fit my use requirements by modifying closet size and placement and adjusting speaker placement based on my furniture and final room layout. .


In the end, my room is coming along nicely, looks like any other room in the house but has a 7.2 surround system and is prewired for 9.2.

 

[leo95se]

thanks for the tips folks!


im still not sure where to start, since i can purchase any type of speaker. should i enclose all my speakers in the wall? should i mount the front on the wall, and get two towers? ugh.


i see two options: a full length cabinet with side towers and keeping everything hidden, but that limits me for the future.

or

sheetrock the current layout, find a place to hide the gear, mount the center speaker on the wall, and get tower speakers, but this seems 'boring'.


where do fabric walls etc come into play? im clueless :/

 

[lewke]

Speakercraft in ceiling speakers are an option....you can angle the woofer and tweeter actually...most only angle the tweeter....I went this route for a cleaner look......