High-quality system: B&W Speakers, Epson 5040UB, Marantz - what's missing? (1 Viewer)

[Scott99999]

Hello,

I'm a relatively experienced electronics guy but without much experience setting up a true home theater system. I live in a house that is configured such that our living room has an angled ceiling and a very theater-like two-story wall on one side, so I've finally decided to "bite the bullet" and configure that room as our hybrid living / multimedia room. I've experimented with unmounted Epson projectors in there in the past and they look amazing, even without a screen.

So far I've got the following on order or in hand:

-- Epson 5040UB projector
-- Bowers and Wilkins s2 703 floorstanding speakers
-- Bowers and Wilkins 700-series 3-channel center
-- Marantz SR7012 receiver
-- Apple 4K TV

Accessories / for installation:
-- Chief angled ceiling adapter
-- Chief fixed extension columns (6" and 12")
-- Chief RPA 375 ceiling mount
-- Chief RPMAUW ceiling mount (alternate, may return)

Cables:
-- 2 of RUIPRO HDMI Fiber Cable 33 feet

Other stuff:
-- Roku
-- PS4 (in another room)
-- Eero 1st gen network on Fios (don't love it)
-- 4K LCD (smaller, for day-to-day watching)

QUESTIONS:
-- What's missing for the installation?
-- Given the B&W speakers and receiver, what's a good speaker wire? I know there are tons of debates, but looking for guidance.
-- I'll likely take some heat, but I'm going to forgo a screen - projected video already looks great for color
-- Good router?
-- Any opportunity to control the system through an iPad, etc.?
-- Other stuff that will make managing the system easier? We have blu-ray DVDs, but not many - it's mostly streaming video or music. I play games occasionally, but haven't used a Shield.

I'm doing lots of research, but your experience and opinions are appreciated.

Thanks!!!!

Scott

 

[David Willow]

Add a subwoofer for sure. It sounds like you have a pretty big space to fill so don't skimp on this. A sub (or 2) will make the theater rock.

Speaker wire is speaker wire. Get at at least 14 gauge (12 is better for longer runs). Don't waste you money on expensive stuff. Even the HDMI cables you have are way too expensive, IMO. Use the savings on a great sub. Check out monoprice.com or Blue Jeans Cables.

Edit to add: I missed the fact that you do not have surround speakers either. Get at least the sides to make it 5.1. Stick with the B&W speakers made to match your existing ones.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

I agree with David on all points. A quality subwoofer and a some matching B&W surround speakers seem to be the most obvious things you are missing. As for speaker cables, I am using inexpensive 12 gauge wire from my Denon X3300 receiver to my B&W 600 Series speakers. I do use banana plugs for all the connections, but that has nothing to do with sound quality -- it's for convenience, as it can be difficult to feed bare speaker wire into a tightly packed rear panel of a receiver, and the cables are easier to unplug from the speakers if I need to move them to clean the carpet or any other reason.

 

[Bob Bielski]

Both responses are great. Sub is biggest bang for the buck. I use a cheaper OFC 10 guage, very high strand count. Electrons flow along the wire not through it like water in a pipe so alot of strands means less resistance. I'll give you a link. And get the surrounds same as your front 3, same sound helps fool the brain as to where the source is coming from. Uniform timbre creates seemless envelope of sound. Check this wire.
https://www.altex.com/Pro-Sound-102...P140342.aspx?gclid=CJqH0_fhpMUCFdcRgQodiFAAig
They also have the 12 and 14 guage.
Good luck and keep on experimenting till you are happy with your system. I stream as well and use Fios with 50/50 decent bandwith, and hardwire to components with Cat5. Less dropouts hardwired compared to wireless router wi fi. I just got a dual band router 5 gig and 2 from Fios. N series.

 

[JohnRice]

Yeah, don't spend a ton on cables. Monoprice.com is your friend. Rather than quibble about speaker wire gauge, just go with their 12 ga OFC. It's so cheap, it's not even worth giving a second thought.

BTW, on the center speaker, I think you mean 3-way, not 3-channel. I'm guessing you're referring to the HTM71.

You definitely want to add some surround speakers. Either the 706 or 707. One on each side, for 5.1 and two toward the sides of the back wall for 7.1. And definitely add a sub, but don't bother with a B&W. Get one from a consumer direct sub manufacturer like Power Sound, SVS, Hsu, etc.

 

[Bob Bielski]

Like John said I would go with HSU for price and if you want best go with SVS. I use HSU kicks ass.