Open Wall Sound Problems? (1 Viewer)

[Paul^R]

I am in the process of putting together the equipment for my new home theater. It won't be on the level that a lot of people here do, as i will not be building or modifying a room, but using my current living room.

My living room is 16x18 with 10' ceilings. I plan on putting the tv on the north wall and the couch on the south wall, this is the 16' length. I can't use the 18 because that is where the door is. Anyways, the West wall is solid with the front door there while the East wall is wide open to the Dining room. Is this going to cause a problem for me? Will it even be worth it for me to buy a good sound system if i won't be able to enjoy like I was meant to due to the open wall?

Thanks for any info.

Oh, I will also be replacing the carpet and taking this time to run the wires for the rear speakers. Can i go straight across under the the carpet, or should i follow the walls? And all i need is the regular Speaker Cable right? I will be running the cable a week before I order the equipment so I need to make sure i run the right cable while the carpet is up.

Am I assuming this is easier than it really is?

Thanks

Paul

 

[Wayne A. Pflughaupt]

Welcome to the Forum, Paul!

The opening isn’t the end of the world. You can expect that speaker to have a little less bass output than the other, but it may not be enough to be noticeable. I certainly wouldn’t ditch the idea of putting in a system just for that. Any surround sound is better than no surround sound!

It won’t be a problem running the speaker wire under the carpet. I had some 12 ga. wire across a heavily-traveled doorway in our last place for 17 years, and it was never a problem. With an upgraded pad you couldn’t even tell it was there, even when you were barefooted. With a regular pad you should be able to get away with 14 ga. wire. Just keep an eye on the installers and make sure they leave a gap in the tackstrip where the wire crosses it to the baseboard.

Regular speaker wire is fine. They do make some flat wire that would be even more "invisible" under the carpet, if you prefer.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

 

[chris_everett]

There's a saying in the pro sound world.

"In the beginning there was perfect sound. Then man invented rooms and messed it all up."

Open space is ideal for sound. All you hear is the speakers and no reflection. In your environment you will of course get reflections from one side and not the other. You may benifit from putting some absorbtion on your west wall to help match the sound.