Help! I'm buying a new house, but will my home theater work with it? (1 Viewer)

[james e m]

I am just starting to look for a house, so I wanted some advice on what to look for when buying a house as far as the home theater is concerned. I still have to buy a new amp and a sub but here is a list of what my complete system will consist of:
Sony DA5ES as pre/pro
Outlaw 770 Amp
Paradigm Studio 100 x2
Studio CC
Studio 20 x 4 (for 7.1)
and either SVS B4-Plus or 2 SVS Ultras

The current house we are looking at has a vaulted ceiling and is 19'9" x 15'8". The home theater will be in the corner of the room because of a fireplace. The surrounds will be very close to the walls except for one which will have nothing behind it, which I am really worried about. Our 11' long sectional will be on a wall that is 11'9" long. That means I don't have much room for my L and R surrounds, because there is an opening to the kitchen I may have about a foot on each side to play with. Is this enough room?

The couch will be a foot or two off the wall which means the 2 rear surround speakers will be almost directly behind the listener. Will this be a huge problem?

I will have plenty of open space for my front speakers, so I'm not concerned with this. If it matters this house is new construction.

Does this sound like a pretty good set up or does it have some major flaws? Is there anything I can do to make it a better set up?

What should I look for? What should I avoid?

How far should my speakers be from the wall?

Is it alright that my room has two entrances?

Basically what else should I consider?

How can I figure out if my new house will have any power problems? Is there a way to test for ground loop hum or anything like that?

Any advice would be great, I star looking this weekend!

Thanks guys, I really appreciate it.

James

 

[TimForman]

Strictly speaking, rear surrounds should be the same distance from the acoustical center as the front 3. If they are closer then you should delay the signal accordingly. I believe the number is 1 ms of delay for every 1.17 feet. As for the others there are many variables and you will most likely have to experiment. Most mains don't like to be flush against a wall and subs tend to work better in corners.

 

[james e m]

Thanks for the advice, I may have to do some experimenting with it.
James

 

[Wayne A. Pflughaupt]

The home theater will be in the corner of the room because of a fireplace.

If I were looking for a house, this would be a deal-breaker for me. I would look for a place with an uninterrupted wall (i.e., no windows, doors or fireplaces) long enough to serve as the place to put all the equipment – entertainment center, speakers and hopefully a sub in the corner. Any house that can’t accomodate a home theater – on to the next.

Setting it up off in a corner beside the fireplace – that reeks.

I have a buddy with a similar set up: Centered fireplace with shelving on both sides of it, a good, uninterrupted wall right of the fireplace, a wall with windows to the left of the fireplace, and no wall to the rear, because it opened up to the kitchen. He set up his stuff on the uninterrupted wall and put the seating in front of the windows (i.e., the fireplace is to the left of the seating, and the kitchen is to the right). Space was tight so he used in-walls in the ceiling for the rears. Works pretty good.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

 

[Dave Kalloch]

If this house has a basement, it might be time to think about a dedicated home theater.