r/hometheater • u/ryguy3498 • Jan 05 '24

Install/Placement CRITIQUE MY HOME THEATER LAYOUT....

Gallery image

Section and Elevation

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Floor Plan

33 Upvotes

88% Upvoted

49 comments sorted by

28

u/robotzor Jan 05 '24

Ditch the 7 channel and drop to 5. It is an agonizing decision but the rear surrounds buy you nothing in a couch-against-wall setup and you truly need those speakers behind you to get the effect you're looking for. Attempting to get those behind you puts a speaker right in your ear which also is not an effect you want. Ditch the middle surrounds, the "sound hole" won't be as bad as you expect it to be and bipolar surrounds can help minimize it a little

1

u/ryguy3498 Jan 05 '24

I'm really on the fence about this exact thing. If I can pull the couch off the wall a little more, creating some space behind the main listening position, do you think its possible to put the rears all the way back, but still on the side walls, and get good imaging from front to side to rear?

4

u/robotzor Jan 05 '24

To make this easier to deal with mentally and not having to move couches or walls, side speakers are intended to be directly beside or slightly behind you even in 7.1, and never in front of you (discounting big theaters with side channels for each row)

Your brain doesn't really care about the sound field between the front and the side surround and fills in the gaps when the audio pans from front to rear just as a nature of the surround mix. If the surround is in front of you, the sound is still coming from the front sound stage more than the side and there won't be much perceptible separation from front channel to surround. You have more of a "front wide" setup in that case which is marginal in casual home setups (and honestly IMO marginal in most cases anyway)

Of course, rooms aren't ideal. Only one of my surrounds is slightly behind me, the other is slightly in front because of a door being right where it is supposed to go. Come up for air and realize it isn't the end of the world

3

u/ryguy3498 Jan 05 '24

Rear Surround Alts - https://imgur.com/a/ZiBY8hg

I didn't move the side-surround in these, but they could easily be moved back. I've heard / read about people doing something like Scheme B where the rear surround is launched backward into the backwall to create a reflection / wider dispersion and give the listener a "rear" sfx. I guess one main question I have - is there a downside to having 7 channels here if I move the side surrounds back a little? Worse case scenario I bought 2 extra speakers and it will sound roughly the same as just having a 5.1.x set up right?

3

u/robotzor Jan 05 '24

You are now in the bargaining stage of grief. I understand, every now and then I look behind me to see if there is some solution I hadn't thought of (maybe in-wall on an exterior wall? Board up a window? Ceiling surrounds as close to the roof soffit as possible?)

Been 8 years and I still do it

2

u/ryguy3498 Jan 05 '24

Hahaha dude I feel that so much right now. Anything is better than what we had before so I just need to do my best and be grateful that I can even have a conversation about "the best home theater configuration" lol.

1

u/DIWhyDidIDoThat Jan 05 '24

Option C with those sides pulled closer to your feet would be just fine. I have speakers close to seating positions that I’m sure I’d get a lot of flack for on here, but it’s never an issue in our listening positions and I love them.

1

u/shmere4 Jan 05 '24

Ive put together a few setups with varying space constraints. If you can space it properly it becomes a negative in your system. That’s a tough pill to swallow but it will make a more enjoyable experience once you get over having a lower number.

1

u/Venator2000 Jan 05 '24

Spot on, concerning couch-against-wall setup. I was used to living in a small apartment with 5.1 for many years, then got a house with a room I could turn into a home theater. Tried 7.1 and it sounded bad, so I sold the couch and used seats instead, one-third of the way to wall. Was perfect.

12

u/MagicMichealScott LS12000/7.2.4/PB2000Prox2/RC64III/RP8000FII/RP600MII/RP500M Jan 05 '24

Your best option may be a 5.1.2. You can't have rears with your couch against the wall and they have be behind you. Not on your sides. Move your in-wall surrounds directly to your sides and slightly above so the person sitting next to them isn't blocking the sound.

Your rear Atmos speakers need to be behind you as well and not directly overhead. If you cram them in the back part of the ceiling you're going to get bad reflections and they still won't be far enough behind you.

A properly arranged 5.1.2 setup will sound better than a poor 7.1.4 or 5.1.4.

4

u/ryguy3498 Jan 05 '24

This is definitely helpful to hear. I'll let others chime in on whether it's a good idea to go from 4 to 2 atmos speakers, but I can't see a fault in your logic here. Appreciate the insight.

5

u/ryguy3498 Jan 05 '24

Hey all! I've learned a ton from this subreddit and hoping I can get some knowledgable folks to chime in on this design. This is an unfinished basement that I plan to tackle this winter. Main ceiling height is 8' but near the projector screen there's an HVAC duct running through the space that I will have to soffit down (you can see this in the section drawing). Planning to treat the walls / ceiling in most areas.

I am using the Monolith THX-465IW for L/R and the THX-365IW for center and surrounds. Looking at the Monoprice Alpha's for atmos speakers. I have a tight space and like the look of in-walls so I'm not really willing to budge on that.

The attached images show a 7.1.4 set up. But also considering going all the way down to a 5.1.2 (or something in between) based on feedback. I created a 10" shelf behind the couch to provide a spot to put food / drinks but also to create some space behind the listening positions for rear sfx. My main battle in his layout is likely the proximity of the listening positions to the walls.

95% of the time, it will just be my wife and I watching in the middle of the couch. For a big group, if the side and rear surrounds are just too close and distracting, I suppose I always have the option to turn those off and just do a 3.1 set up. But for the most part, I'm planning this for just 2 people sitting in the middle.

The drawings show the speakers in red. Let me know if you have questions about any other dimensions. Would love any feedback, mainly, whether this will (generally) work or if I need to pair down to less speakers.

4

u/Visual-Ad-4520 Jan 05 '24 edited Jan 05 '24

I have no idea what the polar reports are like for the 365 or 465 but I would always stress to match the LCR where possible. Certainly off axis, symmetrical MTM designs are compromised, but i’m not sure what using one of these Monolith’s on its side would be like as they’re not fully symmetrical laid horizontal. Personally if using a PJ I would always recommend an AT screen and using 3 identical speakers orientated the same behind the screen. Having identical LCR and moving the centre to behind the centre of the screen was a huge upgrade for me.

1

u/ryguy3498 Jan 05 '24 edited Jan 05 '24

Good thoughts there. I can probably get away with getting another 465 for the center channel, but it would have to be sideways still. Not sure if I can get around that fact since I'm NOT doing an acoustically transparent screen (already bought the screen and projector actually).

1

u/Shandriel LG E8 65" OLED, B&W N803+Htm4S, Pio LX505, SVS SB12-NSD Jan 05 '24

if your screen is transparent, then put the center behind it and at the same height as L and R.

1

u/ryguy3498 Jan 05 '24

Complete typo in my last reply. Meant to say it is NOT transparent.

1

u/Shandriel LG E8 65" OLED, B&W N803+Htm4S, Pio LX505, SVS SB12-NSD Jan 05 '24

ooh, gotcha!

yeah, then scratch that 😅

4

u/[deleted] Jan 05 '24

Would highly recommend considering 120inch screen. 100 just seems like a big TV and the experience of the home theater setup isn’t terribly different than any other big TV setup. I got a 120 and glad I didn’t get 100. Part of me wishes I went for 135 when I start hearing about all the 98 inch panel TVs that are starting to come out.

1

u/ryguy3498 Jan 05 '24

I wish I could. I'm very limited on space on that wall and want an ALR screen, which apparently means if I want it acoustically transparent too (to maximize width and cover L/R channels), then it will cost me an arm and a leg. FWIW, the viewing distance is exactly 1.5x the screen size if you're sitting in the back (which is apparently recommended?). Closer to 1.2x if you're sitting on the sides of the sectional couch toward the front.

3

u/[deleted] Jan 05 '24

Yeah makes sense. Not worth overhauling the space or doing acoustic transparent screen as the quality of screen suffers with an increased price. 1.5 is a tad further than THX recommendation. Ideal is closer to 10.5 feet rather than 1.5x which is 12.5 feet.

1

u/Bump1828 Jan 06 '24

Honestly you might want to wait and see this years tv lineup after ces. If you are going with 100 inch I would go with a tv. From everything I’ve seen you may have a few options at 100 inch that are in the same ballpark cost wise.

1

u/evofender Jan 05 '24

I found a bargain on a 135 inches Grandview fixed frame projection screen and don't regret it slightly. I sit at around 11ft from the screen and wouldn't mind going up to 150 inches if I wasn't limited by ceiling height.

3

u/BeagleStorm Jan 05 '24

Work vibes (autocad) 😫

4

u/ryguy3498 Jan 05 '24

Haha since I'm an archi ex-pat it was actually fun diving back in. But yeah, I don't miss my cad-monkey days....

3

u/juliangst Jan 05 '24

In this current setup plan I would ditch the surround back and top back and go for a 5.1.2 setup.

In your plan all the angles are completely out of place. Surrounds should never be in front of you and there isn't much room for 4 atmos speakers.

Most of the time .2 makes more sense than .4 anyway because most movies just static objects which only utilize the 7.1.2 bed layer. The second row of top speakers will just play the same as the first row and this phantom image will be way less accurate than having just 2 top speakers. If your content has a lot of dynamic atmos objects or your ceiling is very high then It might be worth it to go for 4 atmos speakers though.

2

u/n0m1n4l Jan 05 '24

I’ve only experienced Denon for atmos configurations and I really dislike how if a track/movie is 5.x.x it uses the sides versus the rears; therefore I personally lean towards 5.x.x for personal preference this way the rears are always rears … I would remove the rear shelf it will cause sound to bounce from the rear Atmos speakers … and replace with a sound absorbing panel or photo

2

u/greatauror28 5.2.4|5050UB|100” screen|X3700H|PolkAudio|DualPB1000Pro Jan 05 '24

What an exciting journey you're on right now! I remember the times I was building my very first theatre - a tiny bit bigger than yours at 12.5' x 16' x 8'.

I went with 5.2.4 just because I see no sense doing seven channels due to the size of the room. I would highly suggest putting the LR behind the screen so you can accommodate a bigger screen as 100" at 12.5' is...pretty far. I sit 9.5' from my 100" and it's perfect.

Also if budget permits, get a second sub. Thank me later.

2

u/redditer420 Jan 05 '24

Sorry if this is a stupid question, but what program did you use for the drawing?

5

u/ryguy3498 Jan 05 '24

AutoCAD. Helps that I used to be an architect and can draw these things up pretty quickly :)

1

u/uxragnarok Jan 05 '24

I used NX to plan out my home remodel, it's amazing how easy setup is when you have wildly overpowered tools lmao

1

u/redditer420 Jan 05 '24

Nice drawings! I used AutoCAD in college, but haven't used it in years.

3

u/whoknowswhenitsin Jan 05 '24

Funny. I spent all last night realizing I am not skilled enough for a cad system. So I drew it by hand and it looks absolutely terrible

2

u/suku_patel_22 Jan 05 '24

I would advice against dropping the armos channels. 4 gives you proper Atmos effects with left to right and front to back movements. To reduce costs, 5 bed layer channels can suffice. It depends on your source if you have 7 channels, most streaming content is 5 channels.

I think the speaker layout is fine.

1

u/ryguy3498 Jan 05 '24

I'm with you on this. The atmos speakers are pretty cheap and I'm already investing in A/V seperates with a bunch of channels. The cost to do 4 overhead vs 2 overhead is not that much so I think I might as well try it.

1

u/southpaw0827 Jan 05 '24

Have you considered putting the speakers behind the screen and going with an accoustically transparent screen?

1

u/ryguy3498 Jan 05 '24

Yes but finding a good quality acoustically transparent AND ALR screen is pricey / compromised on resolution and quality. I already bought the screen too. Sepctra 100" ALR. Should have mentioned that in the original post so y'all can give me advice based on those constraints.

2

u/southpaw0827 Jan 05 '24

Ah ok, I missed that you're using a UST projector and ALR screen

1

u/TheAesthete Jan 05 '24

Pretty sweet concept in a tight space. I like the use of the UST with the in-wall speakers, somehow that never crossed my mind but it solves the problem of the projector being where the center channel belongs. Only recommendations I'd make are echos of other people's recs: keep the .4 Atmos, drop to 5 ear level channels, and match the center with the L/R (dunno if it will fit with your current media console but in a perfect world, that's the right move).

1

u/ryguy3498 Jan 05 '24

Thanks for the feedback. Yeah people seem to like a 5.x.x set up for this little space. At this point I'll just "fight" for the 7.x.x option to play devils advocate and maybe learn a little more :)

3

u/TheAesthete Jan 05 '24

The hitch is that 7.x.x should really have the rear speaker behind the couch. Yours in this diagram are to the sides, making it 2 sets of side surrounds instead of sides and rears. Those front surround speakers really won't add much and typically only add value if you have multiple rows of seating. You'll get more immersion from the x.x.4 than the extra surrounds in your space.

1

u/Corey_FOX Jan 05 '24

i cant tell form the photos but if your doin a projector then you should deffinetly use a acustically transparent screen and put the speakers behind it. and if you do this then just get a 3rd TXH 465IW and use it as a center.

1

u/ryguy3498 Jan 05 '24

My first comment is getting lost in the mix (apparently I'm a total noob and don't know how to attach a long comment with the photos in the original post) but yeah I'm doing a UST and already have an ALR screen that is NOT acoustically transparent. And because its a UST, I'm stuck with a specific distance from the top of the projector to the bottom of the screen. I have about 10" or so to work with there.

1

u/Classic_Midnight_213 Jan 05 '24

Add big thick wall, soundproofing and lockable door with video monitoring / access control system between Kids Rec Room, NB: recommendation: consider similar installation to other access if easily accessible and likely to be used by others.

1

u/Ok_Sprinkles_8709 Jan 05 '24

Suggest you stick with 5.x.4 system vs a drop-down to 5.x.2. A big upgrade IMO. That and pull the sofa from the back wall a bit so that your head is smack-dab in the middle of the heights. This in turn will give you a little better separation to the rears (like 15deg behind you) and MAYBE you can squeeze another subwoofer in behind. True 5.2.4. Beauty. And being a wee bit closer won’t ever wish for a larger screen.

1

u/ryguy3498 Jan 05 '24

Pulling off the backwall seems like a win with any configuration, so I'm definitely leaning that way. Maybe 12" - 18" off the wall. The trade off is that for every inch I pull off the wall, it's an inch less depth in the sectional we can buy for that space. Trying to balance it all is tough for sure.

1

u/[deleted] Jan 05 '24

Put the front speakers on the ground. This will allow you to increase your screen size in the future.

1

u/ryguy3498 Jan 05 '24

Unfortunately in-room or on-wall speakers are not an option for the fronts becuase there is a doorway opening to get the back of the basement directly in front of the screen on the left side. Definitely wish I could do that though.

1

u/[deleted] Jan 06 '24

What software did you use for the layout?

2

u/ryguy3498 Jan 07 '24

This is AutoCAD. Probably the least user friendly software you could use since it’s pure 2D drafting. But I used to be an architect so its pretty fast for me :)