Layout and Equipment Help Needed (1 Viewer)

[jaidog]

Background
----------
I am in the process of converting a room so it can be used for music
and home theater. In addition to these functions, the room will also
be a family room. Seating will consist of a sectional sofa.

Room dimensions
---------------
The room is 15' x 20' with 9' ceiling height. I have the option of
locating the viewing screen on either the 15' wide wall or the 20'
wide wall.

Equipment
---------
I own Proac Tablette speakers, a 6-channel*120w Parasound amplifier, and
a Parasound CD player. I will need to purchase remainder of equipment.
I am leaning towards a projector rather than a monitor.

General Questions
-----------------
1 - From an acoustical perpsective, should the speakers and viewing
screen be placed on the 15' wall or 20' wall?
2 - Same question as above, but from a viewing perspective.
3 - How large should the viewing screen be?
4 - How far back from the viewing screen should the seating be?
Are there some general rules/formulas for determining the
ratio between the screen size and distance from the screen?
5 - Should I mount the projector on the ceiling or is a different
option better? How far from the viewing screen should the
projector be mounted?
6 - From my limited exposure to projectors, the fan noise from
them is loud. What can be done to minimize the affect this
has on the viewing/listening experience?

Equipment Questions
-------------------
I am planning to purchase a dvd player, projector, 5.1 decoder,
center channel, and subwoofer on the used market.

1 - What are some reliable sources for purchasing this equipment used?
2 - Please provide recommendations for the above equipment. I want
the biggest bang for the buck, and am not looking for super high-end
equipment.

Rough budget: dvd player < $300, projector < $1000, 5.1 decoder ??,
center channel < $300, subwoofer < $400


Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Robert_J]

1. My screen is on the short wall. Allows 2 rows of seats.
2. I wanted 7.1 so I could have side and rear surrounds. Short wall made sense again.
3. Depends on where you sit.
4. Pick the seating location and then determine the screen size. There are some guidelines like your field of vision shouldn't be more than 30 degrees. It's been 3 years since I calculated it for me so I can't remember where I found the information. I'll try and look it up this weekend. But I sit 11 feet away from a 103" 16x9 screen. That is nose to screen material distance. I made my wife sit in my spot and I measured. She thought I was nuts.
5. Depends on the room. Mine is on a shelf. You also need to think how you will run signal and power wires to it.
6. Search for a "hush box". You will have to build one yourself since they are custom to each installation. Otherwise just live with it. I can only hear mine when the show is paused. My 3 DVR's are louder.

1. Here. Reputable ebay seller.
2. I use a Panasonic AE900 projector. DIY screen. DIY speakers. DIY sub. Pioneer VSX-1014 7.1 receiver. Panasonic DVD player. A cheap DVD player to play burned discs. DirecTV high def DVR's. A blu-ray will be purchased soon. Looking at the $188 Memorex. I have no ideas about other equipment other than subs I mention in the speaker section. I'm a bass nut so that's what I focus on.

-Robert

 

[Joseph DeMartino]

Oooh. Classic rookie mistake. You're fine buying a sub on the used market, but unless you find a Proac Tablette speaker from the same series as your existing pair, you're not going to be happy.

A lot of people think of the front left and right speakers as their "mains", and everything else as secondary. Actually the front left, center and front left are the main speakers in a 5.1 or 7.1 system. They must produce a seemless front soundstage because they carry most of the music and nearly all of the dialogue, and because modern soundtracks, especially, often pan from side to as actors or sound sources move, or as people react to off-camera sounds. If the front three speakers are not timbre-matched these shifts become noticible and distracting. If the speakers don't have the same tonal quality you'll hear the change as a voice (or a car, or an instrument in a marching band

) moves from the right speaker to the center and then to the left.

You can get away with mixing and matching rear and side surround speakers, because front-back pans are less frequent, they are mostly used for effects and music "fill-in" and because we expect sounds come from behind us or to the sides to sound a bit different from those directly in front of us. That's our real-world experience. (And because of that the surround channels won't sound identical to the fronts even if you do used timbre matched speakers for those.)

BTW, you might look for a 7.1 receiver capable of handling the latest digital sound formats, even if you only plan to use five speakers and a subwoofer right now. 1) There isn't going to be that much of a price difference, even on the used market, and it is always nice to have more capactiy than you need. 2) The receiver will still deliver all the sound encoded in the 7.1 soundtrack to your existing 5 speakers, so you won't be missing much. 3) You get the benefits of the lossless codecs even you don't get the full benefits of 7 speakers.

Regards,

Joe

 

[jaidog]

First off, thanks for the quick and very useful advice. I now have a couple
of follow-up questions/comments.

Robert, I think that 11 feet away from the screen will work for my room
set-up. With a diagonal screen size of 103" and a 16x9 screen, I come
up with a screen that is 90" wide by 50" high. The wall on which the
screen will exist is eight feet high. How high on this wall should the
screen be located? I'ld like to figure this out now so I can determine
if there will be room under the screen for my equipment. The location
of my equipment will determine how I run my wires.

Joe, I do plan on getting a center speaker that matches my Tablettes.
One idea I had was to find a single Tablette -- hopefully for a decent
price -- and use that as my center channel. Will this work or are center
channels inherently built differently than a left/right speaker?

Thanks again,

Jai

 

[Robert_J]

Divide the screen into 3rds with 2 horizontal lines (imaginary. You dont' need any lines on the real screen.) Your eyes while sitting should be even with the bottom horizontal line. This game me more than enough room to put a 12" sub, 2,400w amp and a center channel under the screen. The rest of the equipment is at the back of the room. I didn't want any annoying lights in front of me.


Having 3 identical speakers across your front stage is the best way to do it.

-Robert

 

[Joseph DeMartino]

Using an identical speaker should be just fine. Some manufacturers basically make three identical speakers for their front sets, but orient the drivers in their left and right speakers vertically and those in their center speakers horizontally. Some, like my Atlantic Technology set, add a rocker base to the center speaker so you can adjust it up and down on top of the TV. In my current installation I have the left and right AT front speakers laying on their sides, so they're oriented the same way as the matching center, because they look better that way. I can't say I've noticed any difference in the sound between the veritcal and horizontal arrangements.

Regards,

Joe

 

[sestamuch]

You can buy it used on craigslist or on ebay, though ebay is safer in my opinion. Excellent advice in here in any case.


By the way Robert you forgot to post a link to the seller?

 

[Robert_J]

It should have been:
1. Here or us a reputable ebay seller. I have both purchased and sold equipment here with no issues at all. There are a lot of very honest guys here.

-Robert

 

[jaidog]

Robert,

You must be sitting much higher than me. I measured and my eye height
from the ground while sitting will be 36". With a 50" tall screen and using
your rule of thirds, I come up with only 36 - 1/3 * 50 = 19". I think this
will barely be enough to get just a center channel below the screen,
and definitely not any equipment unless it's sitting on a really, really
low shelf.

Speaking of the center channel, should it be angled upwards so the sound
hits the listener at ear-level or is it okay for the sound to come out of
the center channel so close to the floor?

Thanks again,

Jai