Topic: Man Caves/Home Theatres

[KD]

Looking for suggestions from the HT gurus on this forum:

Set up the TV in the rec room downstairs.  It is 21x10.  The way the room is set up (keeping in mind that we want it to feel as open as possible), the bar takes up one of the shorter walls, and we have a full-size couch with a couple of end tables set up along the other shorter wall.  The TV is along the long wall, and the room doesnt have a 4th wall on the long side.  It is open to the staircase coming down to the basement.  There is a shallow 58" wide cubby, where we plan to put in a loveseat so we have a spot to sit right across from the TV, when it is just the missus and I watching TV.

The problem is there is no obvious spot for the rear surround speakers.  According to HT wisdom, I'd have to install them on the stairs, which is obviously not going to happen.  Any ideas?

So you plan on watching from the cubby area?  If so, you could install in-wall speakers.  Might be a little difficult to tune them in properly though.  Honestly setting up your ht system along the long wall is bad practice though.  Is there any way to rearrange stuff to get it along the short wall?  Pictures or a drawing would help us help you. 

[SearhardBurger]

I'm planning on using the surrounds from my old Energy Take Classic 5.1 system.  So the speakers aren't gigantic.  I would have liked to have it along the short wall, but that severely limits how many people you could have in the room facing each other.  We like to entertain so we have already had friends over to hang out at the bar once a week on average! 

Also even if we did move it to the short wall, it would mean having the rear surrounds speakers behind the couch i.e only about 2-3 ft from the bar stools, which I'd be nervous about.  Wall mounting might be doable.  See pics below.  There's just an ottoman there now, but the plan is to put a small loveseat in there.  It is a 58" wide space.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/sRyLwb5uB1T0L1gm1

[Ex-airbalancer]

I'm planning on using the surrounds from my old Energy Take Classic 5.1 system.  So the speakers aren't gigantic.  I would have liked to have it along the short wall, but that severely limits how many people you could have in the room facing each other.  We like to entertain so we have already had friends over to hang out at the bar once a week on average! 

Also even if we did move it to the short wall, it would mean having the rear surrounds speakers behind the couch i.e only about 2-3 ft from the bar stools, which I'd be nervous about.  Wall mounting might be doable.  See pics below.  There's just an ottoman there now, but the plan is to put a small loveseat in there.  It is a 58" wide space.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/sRyLwb5uB1T0L1gm1

Can we get a 3D CAD drawing 

[SearhardBurger]

Glenn can hook you up!

[KD]

I'm planning on using the surrounds from my old Energy Take Classic 5.1 system.  So the speakers aren't gigantic.  I would have liked to have it along the short wall, but that severely limits how many people you could have in the room facing each other.  We like to entertain so we have already had friends over to hang out at the bar once a week on average! 

Also even if we did move it to the short wall, it would mean having the rear surrounds speakers behind the couch i.e only about 2-3 ft from the bar stools, which I'd be nervous about.  Wall mounting might be doable.  See pics below.  There's just an ottoman there now, but the plan is to put a small loveseat in there.  It is a 58" wide space.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/sRyLwb5uB1T0L1gm1

Well the picture sure helps!  In that caase i would get some in ceiling speakers to maintain the clean look of your room.  I just think surface mounting yoor current speakers in that small space might look a little awkward unless they are teensy. Also, i would prefer ceiling mounted in that particular situation, and flush mounting them will give them a little more distance between you and make it easier to tune them in properly.  You can always use your old speakers in another area. 

Edit;  after looking at the picture again that is likely air ducting above that area, so you probably have to wall mount them anyway if thats the case. 

[HeliDriver]

I’m not a HT guy, at all, but would you really want your rear speakers directly over your head? Or right beside your ears? Isn’t that going to sound pretty odd?

I realize there isn’t another option in this case, so I’d be tempted just to forget the rear speakers and go 3.1.

[KD]

Nothing wrong with a good 3.1 system either.  Wont give a good surround effect though, but would be better than a poorly tuned 5.1 system.  It is possible to get decent sound out of ceiling speakers but depends on how flexible the ht receiver is for adjusting delay.  There are also some really good sounding soundbars on the market, but the good ones aren’t cheap.

[HeliDriver]

I just remember the HT system in my dad’s place. He didn’t want speakers cluttering up the room, so he put everything in the ceiling. Yes, everything: front speakers and rear.

The rear speakers were right over the couch, and it was just weird to hear stuff from directly above. Of course, it might not have been as bad if there were at least proper speakers in front: even voices were seemingly floating up in space.

[KD]

I just remember the HT system in my dad’s place. He didn’t want speakers cluttering up the room, so he put everything in the ceiling. Yes, everything: front speakers and rear.

The rear speakers were right over the couch, and it was just weird to hear stuff from directly above. Of course, it might not have been as bad if there were at least proper speakers in front: even voices were seemingly floating up in space.

I would never do an entire built in system.  It takes a bit of position tweaking to get the separation just right between the speakers and you can only really do that with separates.  With a built in you’re stuck with what you have.  I’d rather get smaller speakers if space is an issue. 

The rear speakers can be the exception as proper positioning for them is a common problem.  The better quality ceiling speakers can be dialed away from the listening position to avoid being too direct. 

I havent really folowed this stuuf a lot in the last few years so im sure there are a lot more options available now. 

[Weels]

Was going to suggest to get a pair of stands for the rears and put them behind the couch?
https://www.primecables.ca/en/p-360934-cab-ss-01-height-adjustable-metal-satellite-speaker-floor-stand-set-of-two-black-primecables?from_pla=google&gclid=CjwKCAiAhfzSBRBTEiwAN-ysWHU7jxd0AiVDVOdMr5rnu5VEE7_rQOi-rT5Xl3ld5owDuWIKBl3CBxoCRJ4QAvD_BwE

Then I looked up a pic of your Energy speakers -- looks like they'd be too big for that to work?

[JG20]

Surround speakers should be directly to the side of or slightly behind the main position mounted a couple feet higher than ear level. In your case, I would mount the right speaker on the couch wall near the corner right around the level of the wall sconce and aimed at the love seat.  For the left speaker, we can't see the wall on the other side in the pic but it looks like there's a door there.  If there is wall space to the right of that door, that would be a good place to mount.  Try to mount it at the same level as the right surround and also aiming at the love seat.

Next, if your AVR has this feature, run a room correction or something similar. This will measure the distances between the speakers and the main viewing/listening position and adjust delays for each speaker so that sound arrives at the main position at the same time.  Some can even correct for multiple postions.

Check this for visual image of speaker placement
https://www.crutchfield.ca/S-ny7qBBI6eeJ/learn/learningcenter/home/speaker_placement.html

[SearhardBurger]

Thanks for the suggestions, guys.  I'm not really looking at putting the speakers in the ceiling because I do plan to upgrade the speakers in the foreseeable future.  I'll play around with the positioning and see what works best.  I already have a couple of wall mount brackets that I can use if that is the route I go.  Unfortunately, there is no room to the right of that door.

Ideally I'm hoping they can go slightly higher up on the walls that will be flush against the sides of the loveseat.  I think if we have to pull the loveseat forward by 1-1.5 feet to get ideal sound quality while watching movies or TV shows then so be it.  The speaker stands would also give us flexibility.  Says weight capacity is 5lbs.  My surrounds are about 3lbs each so should be ok. 

The receiver is a Sony STR-DN1080 so it does have all the calibration features (what they call "flexible speakers") to work around sub-optimal speaker placement.

[KD]

Thanks for the suggestions, guys.  I'm not really looking at putting the speakers in the ceiling because I do plan to upgrade the speakers in the foreseeable future.  I'll play around with the positioning and see what works best.  I already have a couple of wall mount brackets that I can use if that is the route I go.  Unfortunately, there is no room to the right of that door.

Ideally I'm hoping they can go slightly higher up on the walls that will be flush against the sides of the loveseat.  I think if we have to pull the loveseat forward by 1-1.5 feet to get ideal sound quality while watching movies or TV shows then so be it.  The speaker stands would also give us flexibility.  Says weight capacity is 5lbs.  My surrounds are about 3lbs each so should be ok. 

The receiver is a Sony STR-DN1080 so it does have all the calibration features (what they call "flexible speakers") to work around sub-optimal speaker placement.

Yeah, in the end the best solution is always the one that comes with the fewest compromises.  You can get pretty carried away with this kind of stuff....just like with cars. 

Moving the loveseat when required is a good solution.  We do that a lot in our room when we need the space, as our room is kind of split into two sections.  I prefer a multi-purpose room as opposed to a true home theatre setup.

[SearhardBurger]

Agreed.

I'm not really worried about the absolute best sound when we have people over and are watching sports, playing musc in the background.  But if it us just the two of us hanging out listening to music or watching something then moving the loveseat would be the simplest and cheapest solution to get the best quality imo. 

Will set up this weekend and report.

[Solstice2006]

Agreed.

I'm not really worried about the absolute best sound when we have people over and are watching sports, playing musc in the background.  But if it us just the two of us hanging out listening to music or watching something then moving the loveseat would be the simplest and cheapest solution to get the best quality imo. 

Will set up this weekend and report.

Good luck,

With the news from the other thread.  I wouldn't spend too much time and money on the HT.  Maybe more on headphones! 

[Railton]

The 65" Samsung TV lost the wireless signal last night for the first time in two years - I had to reset the the router and the TV twice before it would connect. I phoned the Samsung Hotline and the tech suggested the use of a wireless booster as he thought that the distance from the router to the TV was too great (likely 40 ft or so as the crow flies) and as we have a number of devices on the network - upwards of 10 devices between laptops, TV's, ipads and iphones.
I have a Asus RT-AC68U - AC1900 Dual Band Router, it's maybe a year old now.
https://www.staples.ca/en/ASUS-RT-AC68U-Dual-Band-AC1900-Wi-Fi-Gigabit-Router/product_317890_1-CA_1_20001
Does anyone have any suggestions for a booster for my setup?
Thanks,
Railton

[pi314]

Do you have any Ethernet wiring in the house? Then I'd get an ubiquiti. Slightly technical though.

If not consider a mesh network.... You can add devices and they seamlessly work as one. More expensive than just adding a repeater but having multiple routers and networks in a house is annoying.

[Railton]

Do you have any Ethernet wiring in the house? Then I'd get an ubiquiti. Slightly technical though.

If not consider a mesh network.... You can add devices and they seamlessly work as one. More expensive than just adding a repeater but having multiple routers and networks in a house is annoying.

So, you're suggesting to dump the year old Asus I have a get myself a mesh router as opposed to just adding an Access Point for the existing Asus?
Railton

[pi314]

Do you have any Ethernet wiring in the house? Then I'd get an ubiquiti. Slightly technical though.

If not consider a mesh network.... You can add devices and they seamlessly work as one. More expensive than just adding a repeater but having multiple routers and networks in a house is annoying.

So, you're suggesting to dump the year old Asus I have a get myself a mesh router as opposed to just adding an Access Point for the existing Asus?
Railton

It may be more than one mesh router depending on the size of your house. I do understand there's more expense involved.

You can for sure just add a repeater; it does the job BUT you'll have your devices either hunting/switching between networks a lot, or have two different SSIDs so some devices use the router, and the others use the repeater. In my parents' house we have 3-4 wireless networks; Sometimes based on performance you end up switching networks, but you have to do so manually. A mesh network does this automatically and the devices communicate.

If you want it exclusively for the tv some repeaters have an ethernet port and you could plug your tv into that.

Just throwing out the option because they're quite a bit more sophisticated (and user friendly) than the traditional repeater option.

Another option would be to buy a mesh router and keep the ASUS and down the road replace it with another mesh router. Then use the Asus device as a repeater.

[pi314]

Though, costco seems to have sales on repeaters right now. Either would do the job for cheap. If your router does the job for the other devices Just set one of these up and that'd solve the TV issue

https://www.costco.ca/Amped-Wireless-REC10-CA-High-Power-Compact-Wi-Fi-Range-Extender.product.100096335.html

https://www.costco.ca/Amped-Wireless-Plug-in-AC750-Wi-Fi-Range-Extender.product.100413842.html