Gameroom design (1 Viewer)

[dano83]

Hello all. Looking for suggestions on equipment and layout for a game room/theater in a new house we are building. I am having the contractor just leave the room built with studs and I'm going to finish it all out after we move in so nothing is set in stone. The ceiling is going to be coffered, if that makes a difference. I added the pillars on both sides of the tv with intentions of putting in-wall speakers in them and powered subs in the bottom of them so they are hidden. I'm thinking 2 12" subs and ones that possibly have a smaller footprint would be ideal. I see some of the SVS subs are not as deep as many. I would like all the speakers to be in-wall, if possible but I'm open to any ideas.

What are you looking for (Speakers, Subwoofer or Both)? Both

Primary Use: 60% Music, 40% TV & Movies(I watch a lot of racing/sports, rock concerts and a few movies here and there)

Desired Configuration: 5.2.4, 7.2.4 Not really set on Atmos, would like suggestions

Room Size: 29*18

Is the room open to other areas of your home: No

Do you already have an AV receiver or amplifier? No

What's your budget (low to high): $5000, possibly more

Any special requirements (Wife Acceptance)? Nope

 

[DaveF]

What do you mean by “gameroom”? Video games on the big screen? Or a media room with freestanding arcade games or pool table or networking gaming PCs?

The former, build a good movie room and get a projector with HDMI2.1 and low latency.

The latter, you’ve got to think about ambient light diminishing the movie experience.

 

[JohnRice]

My #1, completely over riding suggestion more than anything else you can possibly do...

Do NOT use in-wall speakers. Just don't. You can put bookshelf speakers on shelves if you want, but going with in-wall is just not worth the compromise. So, you don't need the pillars. You just want to be sure the speakers don't have rear ports, so they will work well against the wall. I understand you want "invisible" speakers, but the sacrifice isn't worth it. Not in my book, anyway.

To keep the subs compact, you ought to consider sealed subs, which are much smaller. Don't be swayed by the outdated belief that sealed subs aren't suitable for movies. SVS in particular offers all their box subs in both sealed and ported versions and for the same price as any given ported model, you you can step up to the next higher sealed model.

Also, optimum placement of subs probably isn't what you expect. Looking at the layout, your ideal placement for dual subs would be one in the front left corner and the other in the rear right corner. The subs can be connected wirelessly to make this easier. SVS has their own system for doing this.

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

My #1, completely over riding suggestion more than anything else you can possibly do...

Do NOT use in-wall speakers. Just don't. You can put bookshelf speakers on shelves if you want, but going with in-wall is just not worth the compromise. So, you don't need the pillars. You just want to be sure the speakers don't have rear ports, so they will work well against the wall. I understand you want "invisible" speakers, but the sacrifice isn't worth it. Not in my book, anyway.

To keep the subs compact, you ought to consider sealed subs, which are much smaller. Don't be swayed by the outdated belief that sealed subs aren't suitable for movies. SVS in particular offers all their box subs in both sealed and ported versions and for the same price as any given ported model, you you can step up to the next higher sealed model.

Also, optimum placement of subs probably isn't what you expect. Looking at the layout, your ideal placement for dual subs would be one in the front left corner and the other in the rear right corner. The subs can be connected wirelessly to make this easier. SVS has their own system for doing this.

Normally, I'd have to agree w/ all this... for a setup that prioritizes audio fidelity, especially if music playback fidelity is further prioritized... BUT I'm not sure that's his priority (at all) here given he's talking game room (and has the kind of intended room layout he has so far) w/ intended usage of "a lot of racing/sports, rock concerts and a few movies here and there"...

Looks/sounds more like he just wants something like his own personal, mini-ESPNZone (maybe to entertain a few family and friends) in his own home, which means audio fidelity (for both music and movies) is probably rather low priority vs all the other aspects...

_Man_

 

[JohnRice]

Normally, I'd have to agree w/ all this... for a setup that prioritizes audio fidelity, especially if music playback fidelity is further prioritized... BUT I'm not sure that's his priority (at all) here given he's talking game room (and has the kind of intended room layout he has so far) w/ intended usage of "a lot of racing/sports, rock concerts and a few movies here and there"...

Looks/sounds more like he just wants something like his own personal, mini-ESPNZone (maybe to entertain a few family and friends) in his own home, which means audio fidelity (for both music and movies) is probably rather low priority vs all the other aspects...

_Man_

Understood, and agreed to some degree. I just see a lot of people jumping directly onto in-wall speakers without considering that it eliminates 98% of the speaker options, while never even considering small shelves and bookshelf speakers instead.

 

[JohnRice]

Here's an option. Keep the pillars, but make sure they are wide enough and include a "cubby" to put bookshelf speakers into. Make sure it's large enough to accommodate a decent size speaker. Then there could be a horizontal mantle between them, below the TV for a center channel speaker and electronics. You want that to be probably at least 18" deep, though a little deeper would be preferable.

 

[DaveF]

My #1, completely over riding suggestion more than anything else you can possibly do...

Do NOT use in-wall speakers. Just don't.

In case OP is still with us…this is a perspective on room design. There are other perspectives on room design.

Use the speaker solution that fits your total needs for room layout, performance, and aesthetics. That might make in-wall a good choice.

 

[JohnRice]

Are we all stating the obvious now?

I guess we all have to start every post with "this is just my opinion."