complete "newbie"

[john_bal]

I'm a complete newbie to "home theatre" so please forgive me if my questions sound a bit dumb. The last time I was involved in sound systems was back in the 70's when hi-fi was all the rage.

Recently I purchased a 66cm (i.e. 26") widescreen TV and I want to piece together a reasonably small home theatre system (i.e. nothing too ellaborate).

Hence - the questions:

(1) What equipment will I need to purchase? i.e. speakers etc and how much should I spend considering I don't want anything "too ellaborate"?

(2) What sort of speaker wattages would I need, considering the area where It'll be located is in the Lounge of an "L" shaped open Lounge/Dining area where the width of the "L" is 25'8" and its height is 14'2"? In this area the lounge measures 16'2" wide x 14'2" high and the Dining area is 9'6" wide x 10' high. In this setup the TV will need to go against the 14'2" wall.

(3) What is the optimum length to width ratio of a home theatre to get the best acoustics?

Thanks for any help given.

 

[Lyle_E]

Well being a newbie also... Welcome...

First dont feel bad we all stumble around at first so no question is stupid - wish i would have come here first before i bought my lil HT setup.
Second you could not have come to a better place to ask questions.

Myself - I started with a Onkyo HTiB that cost about 600 and I am happy with it

You would have to ask yourself - 'what kind of budget am i working with?'

You could spend $100 up thousands of dollars and these guys can give you a good idea on where to start.

Ill let everyone else pipe in now

 

[GeorgeAB]

Your L-shaped room, with irregular ceiling heights, renders the space extremely difficult for predicting acoustic behavior. The only time small room dimensions are helpful for predicting acoustic performance is in a rectangular box, without any openings into other rooms. Otherwise the calculations become far too complex. Fundamentally, you wouldn't want any of the three dimensions to be even multiples of each other. There are many other variables in room design that come into play as well. You are looking for simple answers. When it comes to room acoustics, there are none, especially without knowing many more details and actually inspecting the room.

"High fidelity" will always be desireable, in both sound and picture performance. The term simply implies an attempt to replicate performance that is true to the original. In home theater that means a big, beautiful, film-like picture with an impactful, enveloping sound field. We can't all afford a dedicated, fully equiped, reference-grade, private screening room. Be content to implement what you can currently afford and take the time now to learn more for future upgrades.

Best regards and beautiful pictures,
G. Alan Brown

"Advancing the art and science of electronic imaging"

 

[john_bal]

Thanks "Lyle_E" and "GeorgeAB"

Sorry to confuse the issue by stating that the height of the "L" is 14'2". What I meant by this is that the vertical leg of the "L" was 14'2". The actual height of the "L" shaped, open Lounge/Dining area is 9'0" not 14'2".

Regards - john_bal

 

[Ted Lee]

also, be sure to read our primer -- lots of good info there.

http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htfo...hreadid=120328