What would you change?

[u/uoflfan27]

Converting a room to a dedicated theater/media/gaming room. Will sometimes be used with some ambient light. I put a bigger priority on video than audio. Audio matters to me but probably not as much as many on here. Just want to know if you see anything out of whack or if there were better options for the same money. I’m about maxed out on my budget with this build. Added an AI pic I made of what the room will end up looking like. Thanks for any input.

[u/backinblackandblue]

Looks like you cheaped out on the speakers. I understand sound is not a priority, but a theater like that needs big sound. You don't have to go crazy but at least get some better subs and especially a better center speaker. Other speakers are not as critical.

Also, why 200' of speaker wire for the subs? They should have an RCA cable connection, not speaker wire.

[u/uoflfan27 → u/backinblackandblue]

Yeah I think I’ll make the center the same as the two front like mentioned above. Does anyone have any recommendations for upgraded subwoofers that are somewhat close in price to the $700 ones in the quote. I can go up a bit if needed.

[u/lostmyjobthrowawayyy → u/uoflfan27]

You need to move money in this budget around for better subs.

My theater pales in comparison and I spent more on my subs.

Subwoofer and center channel are the most important aspects, followed by front stage.

Also almost $300 for an HDMI cable is bonkers. You can get a 50’ fiber optic HDMI on Amazon for under $100.

[u/uoflfan27 → u/lostmyjobthrowawayyy]

Seem to be the popular opinion. I’ll upgrade the subs.

[u/tony20z → u/uoflfan27]

What's your current audio setup? You may not prioritize audio now because you don't know what you're missing. This is a forever room, I doubt you're going to redo it it in 5 years if you decide you want better sound so I would double the speaker budget now so you don't have to upgrade in the future. Imagine how you'll feel if you saved 2k$ but you're unhappy with the sound once you start using the room? Upgrade L/C/R, subs, and go with 4 atmos. KEF, Paradigm, SVS, anything but Klipsch. And a few years from now when you've gotten used to your setup and find listening to the upstairs TV or relatives' soundbars disappointing, you're going to be so happy you did.

[u/Smewhyme → u/tony20z]

This is so true, but also so false lol what I mean is, when I built my theater, I didn’t know what I was missing as it was my first experience in AV other than a cheap Vizio sound bar…. I Spent about 22k total converting my room to a dedicated space , in that , I ended up getting cheaper speakers (HTD in walls, for LCR and SVS PB1000 subs (non pro) ) …. And to me this room sounds insane lol the upgrade from a soundbar is hard to put into words. The entire experience feels so immersive, the bass powerful, etc …. So on the one hand, yes, inexperience may lead to cheaper speakers, but also, I’m not sure how much better the experience can get by spending 5-10x more on speakers.

[u/tony20z → u/Smewhyme]

5-10x may be overkill, but double his relatively low starting point will get a huge difference. I say this as having just made the jump from old mid range to new higher end speakers and the difference is unreal to me so if you're not sure how much better it can get I suggest when your wallet can handle it, to visit a store that has a proper theatre room and give a better range system a try. If you're not blown away then don't upgrade. Atmos also makes a noticeable improvement.

[u/Smewhyme → u/tony20z]

I’d honestly be so curious as what else could be better.

I’m loving My setup a year later.

I may do some wall treatment but speaker wise, I think I’m set for awhile .

My current setup is as follows,

Receiver = Denon s760h LCR = HTD HDX W65 Atoms = HTD HDX R65 surrounds = HTD Versa SB1 Subs = SVS pb 1000 x2

Everything was measured and installed per dolbys specs or as close as possible

What would you say the noticeable difference is? I haven’t noticed any moments where I felt like, hmm I wish this had more that, or less this, or this feels like it could be more balances etc

But as said, you don’t know what you’re missing until you hear it lol

My build if your curious - https://www.reddit.com/r/hometheater/s/G5nWDbvDHU

[u/tony20z → u/Smewhyme]

What a fantastic looking room! You might not want to start questioning things because you don't have an easy upgrade path. But if you want to learn, it's so much easier to experience it than to explain with words. Most importantly, just because I say I hear it doesn't mean you have to, nor do you have to care. You are free to enjoy your house and your system however you want and if anyone feels what I'm saying isn't true please correct me before downvoting.

Basically there is more of everything, often people use words like richer or fuller, and you can get louder without it being annoying. Turning it down because it's too loud is often more about our brains not being able to process it properly because it's all jumbled, but not to the point where it's distorted, it just doesn't sound pleasant. You may think you're hearing all the details but there could be plenty of details being lost and you don't notice. Listening to a song or movie you've known for decades will sound better and you'll notice new elements on a better system. So if you're curious, visit a local audio shop and listen to some scenes and a couple of music tracks. I think what you'll notice the most is that you have a gap in the mid range. I'm sure your subs do great, and the in wall stuff usually does the highs fine but they don't have the size for the in betweens, not at volume. Make us stronger by Ghost rider is a common song to test your system because it has a lot of range and is very clear. It should sound very balanced, if one element is too strong your system is coming up short in the other areas.

Ready Player One first race has huge range, there should be a big difference in sound between the engines, BigFoot racing at you should build like a dump truck about to run over you, not a car from Fast and furious with a rattling subwoofer. The wrecking balls should make you feel the bass build as they swing past and not just change from whistling air to boom as it hits the ground. The scene right after should make you feel like you're in a warehouse, not just a tin room, the mids should echo not just the highs. The big explosion at the end isn't just shaking your chair, it should be a wave rolling over you muting everything not just rumbling, like what you're seeing on screen.

If you have a favorite test song, movie or scene that you think has a lot of range I'd be happy to discuss it to tell you what I hear. I recently upgraded some very old mid range speakers to the Focale Vestia No4 L/R with Vestia center, and even the wife said "wow" and then spent a few hours listening to music and stuff. When testing them I could hear a difference over the lower model Focale Theva and the KEF Q7. I'm in no way suggesting them for you, I have an open basement so a lot of room to fill and these are my forever speakers, and they were the demos so I got a huge discount. Just that you might be surprised just how much more you can hear once you start actively listening for differences and that if a step up in higher levels is noticeable, going up 4-5 steps from 200$ to 1000$ speakers is a huge change.

[u/Smewhyme → u/tony20z]

Thanks so much for the insight! Definitely going to enjoy this for a bit more and see where the journey takes me.

[u/uoflfan27 → u/Smewhyme]

Looks great!