Help with Home Theater setup!! (1 Viewer)

[kennyle1990]

Hello everyone. I am in need of help!!

My speakers are
Front LR: 2 - R-625FA
Center: R-52C
Side LR: 2 - R-51M
Rear: LR: 2 - R-51M
Overhead: 6 Total = Micca M-8C (4 in movie room, and two in patio)

Receiver: I am leaning towards Denon 8500H but feel free to change my mind after you read this

Projector: Optoma P1

Room Dimension: 13' x 12'

I am currently in the process of building my house with my wife. We are at the stage where our walls just got primed and textured and interior trim and doors are going in this week.

I bought the Klipsch setup couple months ago and got the movie room all prewired for a 7.1.4 setup and another 2 overhead speakers from the patio going into the movie room. I realized this over the weekend, that my Front L&R speakers, R-625FA have two pair of inputs (one for the main speakers and another for the upfiring Dolby Atmos) but I only got the house wired for 1 pair of input for each speaker. Which is why I'm not sure if my setup is 13 or 15 channels..

My questions for you experience folks...

1). Can I just use one speaker channel for each R-625FA and use a conductor for the two inputs? Or do the Upfiring Dolby Atmos needs its own speaker channel input?
If this is the case, then my prewired 7.1.4 setup is now a 9.1.4 movie room setup with 2 overhead speakers from the patio, equaling 15 speakers.

2). Is it silly to go with the Denon 8500H 13 Channel Receiver or should I definitely pre-amp and get an additional Amp to go with for example the Denon 6500H (11 channel)?


I tried using the search function for my questions but couldn't find what I was looking for. Thanks for reading this! Let me know if there are more information needed

 

[Wayne_j]

If you want the R-625F's to have actual atmos you need to send them the speaker cable for that height channel. If you don't want to use those upfiring modules you don't need to connect those terminals at all.

 

[kennyle1990]

If you want the R-625F's to have actual atmos you need to send them the speaker cable for that height channel. If you don't want to use those upfiring modules you don't need to connect those terminals at all.

Great...so now I need a 15 channel setup. How would you hook all this up if it were you?

 

[JohnRice]

I bought the Klipsch setup couple months ago and got the movie room all prewired for a 7.1.4 setup and another 2 overhead speakers from the patio going into the movie room. I realized this over the weekend, that my Front L&R speakers, R-625FA have two pair of inputs (one for the main speakers and another for the upfiring Dolby Atmos) but I only got the house wired for 1 pair of input for each speaker. Which is why I'm not sure if my setup is 13 or 15 channels..

The Atmos feature of your front speakers is only for use if you don't have overhead Atmos speakers. You do not use the Atmos module in them if you have overhead Atmos speakers, because overhead is significantly better than the reflecting modules. So, you simply do not connect the upfiring connections of your front speakers.

 

[JohnRice]

Great...so now I need a 15 channel setup. How would you hook all this up if it were you?

No, do not do that. Read the post that was posted as you were replying.

 

[JohnRice]

BTW, the two speakers in the patio are separate from the surround system. At least, I'm guessing you want to play music on them, and they're not in the movie room for surround sound.

 

[JohnRice]

If you could post a diagram of the room and where the speaker connections are, it would help.

 

[kennyle1990]

If you could post a diagram of the room and where the speaker connections are, it would help.

Thank you for your responses. That sounds good to me, I'll just use the front speakers since I already have four in ceiling speakers.

and yes, you sir, are indeed correct with the patio speakers. They are just above the outside dining table so I'll only use those for when the family is outside in the back. I just had everything wired to the movie room because my wife didn't want any AV receivers or anything of that sort in the kitchen.

I draw the layout real quick just now. Sounds like I can use the 7.1.4 setup still and maybe get a smaller receiver strictly for the two patio speakers?

 

[JohnRice]

OK, that looks good. You're setting up a 7.1.4 system. Pretty straightforward, and your speaker placement looks good. The other two channels outside the room are a "Zone 2" setup, which is separate from the movie room, so it isn't included in the surround configuration.

FWIW, at the price of the Denon 8500, you should definitely look into separates, as in a preamp and external amps. You could look into a Marantz AV7705 and (2) Outlaw Audio 7000x amplifiers to run the whole thing, including the remote speakers. You'd have one unused amplifier channel left over. That's in the same general price as the 8500 alone. At least it was, but the 8500 might have come down in price.

 

[kennyle1990]

The Denon 8500 is about $3700. Thanks for your suggestions John. I'll consider doing the whole preamp and external amps. I just thought it would look cleaner with just one receiver. I just dont want the wife to look at the setup and freak out cause it looks like there are three receivers and that just looks expensive in her eyes haha

 

[JohnRice]

The amps can be hidden away. They just need good ventilation, so sometimes fans are needed. Those Outlaw amps are heavy too. 62 lbs each.

 

[kennyle1990]

The amps can be hidden away. They just need good ventilation, so sometimes fans are needed. Those Outlaw amps are heavy too. 62 lbs each.

Wow...yeah I should make sure my console table can handle all this weight lol

 

[Mike Frezon]

Kenny:

Welcome to the HTF!

As you have already found, we have tons of experts here glad to help you spend your money!

 

[JohnRice]

Wow...yeah I should make sure my console table can handle all this weight lol

There are lighter options, which I can direct you to if/when the time comes. In general, good amps are heavy, due to the significant weight of toroidal power transformers. In recent years there are some less weighty options using newer designs.

BTW, if you go with the 8500, you'll still need an external amp to power everything. You need to power 13 channels, and the 8500 has 11 channels of power. Also, it appears the 8500 is a one time thing from Denon. It doesn't appear they plan to come out with a new 8000 series receiver. The new top of the line will be the 6700. There's two sides to that. There might be deals on the 8500 soon as it's phased out, or it might even get more expensive, knowing there won't be a new 8000 series receiver.

 

[kennyle1990]

There are lighter options, which I can direct you to if/when the time comes. In general, good amps are heavy, due to the significant weight of toroidal power transformers. In recent years there are some less weighty options using newer designs.

BTW, if you go with the 8500, you'll still need an external amp to power everything. You need to power 13 channels, and the 8500 has 11 channels of power. Also, it appears the 8500 is a one time thing from Denon. It doesn't appear they plan to come out with a new 8000 series receiver. The new top of the line will be the 6700. There's two sides to that. There might be deals on the 8500 soon as it's phased out, or it might even get more expensive, knowing there won't be a new 8000 series receiver.

Yeah I thought if I at least go with the 13 channel Denon 8500, then I would only need something cheap for the two patio speakers. They won't have the same usage as the movie room so I didnt think I needed to spend so much on a receiver for them

 

[kennyle1990]

There are lighter options, which I can direct you to if/when the time comes. In general, good amps are heavy, due to the significant weight of toroidal power transformers. In recent years there are some less weighty options using newer designs.

BTW, if you go with the 8500, you'll still need an external amp to power everything. You need to power 13 channels, and the 8500 has 11 channels of power. Also, it appears the 8500 is a one time thing from Denon. It doesn't appear they plan to come out with a new 8000 series receiver. The new top of the line will be the 6700. There's two sides to that. There might be deals on the 8500 soon as it's phased out, or it might even get more expensive, knowing there won't be a new 8000 series receiver.

Hey John, with your input and research, I think I want to go with the Denon 6500H, 11.2 channel receiver and add an Outlaw 7000-7 channel amp so I could power my 9.1.4 setup and the two patio speakers out back and have a few extra channels for the future. Would this work?

 

[JohnRice]

Hey John, with your input and research, I think I want to go with the Denon 6500H, 11.2 channel receiver and add an Outlaw 7000-7 channel amp so I could power my 9.1.4 setup and the two patio speakers out back and have a few extra channels for the future. Would this work?

I'll give it a closer look, but that should work.

What I suggest is that you use the Outlaw to power the front three and four side surround channels, then have the receiver power the Atmos and patio speakers. You want the Outlaw to power your most critical and demanding channels. You should be able to configure it that way. That's probably a better plan than the 8500, all in all and cost wise.

 

[kennyle1990]

I'll give it a closer look, but that should work.

What I suggest is that you use the Outlaw to power the front three and four side surround channels, then have the receiver power the Atmos and patio speakers. You want the Outlaw to power your most critical and demanding channels. You should be able to configure it that way. That's probably a better plan than the 8500, all in all and cost wise.

And I just realized, I said 9.1.4 again but its really 7.1.4 since I wont be utilizing the Upfiring speakers from the R-625FA since I have the overhead speakers already. Maybe I can do 6500H and then just get a cheap 2 channel then..

 

[JohnRice]

You could do that too.

 

[kennyle1990]

Update: I was talking to another AV group and they told me about the new Denon 6700H that was just released, anyways, I decided that was the route I wanted to take so I pulled the trigger! It's going to be here next week.

As far as the two patio speakers out back, I'll probably go with a cheap 2 channel amp from Audiosource...its good enough for what I think I need.

Can't wait!!