Finishing Basement, Movie Room Speaker Help. (1 Viewer)

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I have a newly built house with an unfinished basement that is getting finished in the next couple of months. The great room will be 32x34 with 9' ceilings and is basically one open space. I'll be finishing with drywall (3/4" on the ceiling) and the concrete floors will be getting finished with a padded vinyl tile.

I have a Marantz SR7007 sitting around from my old home, so I'm going to utilize it for this project. I'd like to get a 5.2 setup that will fill the area with quality sound (in my old age I don't need loud anymore, it's about getting quality sound).

My L/R fronts will be floor standing and the center channel will sit on/in an AV cabinet. Surrounds will be in-ceiling.

I have somewhere in the neighborhood of $10-12k to spend on the 5 main speakers. We'll use the space for movies, sports, and music; but I want to make sure I get great "quality sound", not necesarily the loudest.

For the 2 subs I can budget in whatever is needed to fill the space. This is a large room so I'm counting on recommendations to be substantial subs (and substantial price to match). Again I don't need the loudest bass, I want quality bass that you can feel when it hits. I can run dedicated circuits to the subs if needed (or even 220) as this is a blank canvas at this point.

If anyone would like to throw out opinions on what I should be looking at and researching I'd appreciate it!

Thanks

 

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In case it helps, below is the layout of the basement. The screen will be on the 17' wall in the top right corner. Home theatre area is approximately 32x17 with 9' ceilings but as you can see it opens into the rest of the basement (kitchen, hallway, etc.).

Pretty sure I might do an ultra short throw projector against that 17' wall and could get 120-150" of viewable screen.

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

Are those walls/partitions you plan on knocking down based on what you say will be the end result (to open up the space some)?

IF I were you, I'd probably at least put up/extend the "bottom" wall of the HT space (based on the orientation of your posted blueprint) so that the 32x17 space is mostly, if not entirely, enclosed/able for best sound, especially since you want best sound quality (and especially best sub bass performance).

32ft length might be a bit too much space for best results (at least for sub bass in movie soundtracks) as well, but at least that's just one dimension, not two (or having odd openings).

But since you do have those 32ft to play with and want best sound quality (not so much quantity), maybe you should also consider going acoustically transparent for the screen so you can place the front LCRs behind the screen (and allow those LCRs plenty of "breathing space") for likely best results.

With $10-12K to spend on the 5 speakers (not including subs), if you're inclined, maybe you could consider a pair of well-cared-for, used (later, but not current) variant of Legacy Focus speakers for the front L/R + center to match + whatever good match for surrounds... or maybe some used Thiels anchored w/ one of their final flagships, the CS3.7s, as front L/R. They all could probably use better amps than your old Marantz AVR can provide though, but given what sounds like your budget and desire, it's probably worth springing for better amp(s) -- just be prepared to spend another $3-5K I guess... though buying those speakers used might possibly help a little bit toward that.

Going used w/ that level of high end speakers may get you best bang for your buck given your budget.

Then for the subs, I suppose you should probably be looking at least at a pair (new) SVS SB-16 Ultras, if not more (from elsewhere) -- yes, probably stick w/ sealed subs for best quality (not quantity) results.

_Man_

 

[JohnRice]

Yeah, you say it’s 32x17, but I see a wall in the middle of the 32’ side.

 

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That's an LVL beam. If you look at the blue text in the middle of that section it's labeled as a 12x12 LVL beam (i.e. support beam holding up the 1st floor of the house). There are a couple of them that run between posts (the black recantagles on either end of those beams).

The space itself is wide open except for the black rectangles which are the posts extending to the foundation floor.

Bottom of the LVL's is still 8'8" in height so although they knock out some of that 9' height for their runs, it's not bad at all. I have reclaimed barnwood from an 1880's family barn that I'm going to wrap around those LVLs to "finish them".

Hope that helps.

 

[JohnRice]

OK, I wondered if those were beams.

 

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No problem, it's a little hard to see the fine print on that layout when posted in a forum. I've attached a picture of the space as well so you can better visualize what we're dealing with here. The space is a little more finished at this point and there's HVAC / Water Treatment equipment in the cubby to the left of where my son is standing, but you get the idea.

It's really an awesome space and will make an awesome addition to our living area!

 

[JohnRice]

I encourage you to at least pre-wire it for an Atmos system. That's even something you can do yourself for minimal cost prior to the drywall being put up. Four overhead, plus two pairs on the side and one pair on the back of the viewing area. You do want to plan that out, though. Plenty of us can provide suggestions. You just need a big roll of 2 conductor, 14ga or 12ga CL2 rated wire. I'd just get a big 500' roll. The point is, if you want to "fill the area with quality sound", you'll want more than 5.1. If it's wired for 9.x.4 (three front, two pairs on the sides, a pair in the back and two pairs overhead) you'll be set for anything you want to do.