Sound setup for 35 x 12 room

[Bartleby]

I'm in the process of planning my pint size luxury / efficiency home and it makes sense to plan for sound now rather than after it's been built. A brief overview of the space is a 12 x 12 kitchen / dining area on the right, bedroom area on the left and comfy chair / tv in the middle. The chair will be about 2 feet off the back wall

I'm a little stuck though;

My first thought was to get a high quality sound bar like the Sennheiser Ambeo, or possibly the new Sonos arc and supplemental speakers. The problems I'm running into are;

1. The room is 35 ft. Wide. As I understand it, soundbars work by bouncing off walls. Is the distance between walls going to be too far? And, how well will it work when some of the sound bounces off nearby cabinets and some of it bounces off the distant wall?

2. My ideal setup would allow me to get Atmos surround sound when I'm in the chair watching a movie or playing a game, but also have the ability to (not simultaneously) play music while I'm working in the kitchen, eating or lying in bed. But I'm not sure how to set this up, or if there is an easy way to switch speaker configuration from Atmos while watching movies to stereo while in the kitchen or sleeping area.

Is there a way to just fill the entire 35 x 12 area with lovely sound? Sound budget $4,000. How would you build it?

Maybe Sonos Arc directly below the TV

A pair of Sonos 5's mounted above the doors (horizontal configuration) on each 12ft sidewall

A pair of Sonos 5's mounted above the bed and above the kitchen table (opposite wall from sound bar/tv, horizontal configuration) equal distance from side walls and center chair

Sonos sub under the soundbar

I don't know how well that would work.

 

[Pogre]

Is this all in one big 30' x 12' room or are you wanting sound and speakers in multiple rooms? Any way you could provide an image with proposed speaker placements and where you will be seated for most of your viewing/listening?

 

[shadyJ]

Since your criteria is "lovely sound," you can rule out soundbars right away. If you are interested in Atmos, plan for in-ceiling speakers. I would be looking at a 7.1.2 system using bookshelf speakers and an AVR.

 

[Bartleby]

The main area is all one open space 35 x 12. The bathroom is another 10 feet of width, but I'm not including it in my sound budget. The attached diagram shows a 6ft. Measurement across from the chair. That's where the entertainment center will be. Ceilings are 12ft. High if that matters for sound gear selection.

 

[Bartleby]

Since your criteria is "lovely sound," you can rule out soundbars right away. If you are interested in Atmos, plan for in-ceiling speakers. I would be looking at a 7.1.2 system using bookshelf speakers and an AVR.

Let's qualify that.... As lovely sound as I can afford with 4k budget and space constraints. Audio quality is not the #1 design consideration, rather, I want the best I can get with above limitations.

 

[Pogre]

Let's qualify that.... As lovely sound as I can afford with 4k budget and space constraints. Audio quality is not the #1 design consideration, rather, I want the best I can get with above limitations.

4k is not a huge budget, but it's not bad either! I'm thinking a nice 5.1.2 (or 4) atmos setup for HT viewing and when you're doing stuff in the kitchen or other areas you can just switch to stereo and turn it up.

 

[Bartleby]

4k is not a huge budget, but it's not bad either! I'm thinking a nice 5.1.2 (or 4) atmos setup for HT viewing and when you're doing stuff in the kitchen or other areas you can just switch to stereo and turn it up.

Okay so what would you pick specifically? How do you accomplish the switch between Atmos and stereo?

Do you think it would be better to just get the Bowers and Wilkins wireless duo? No Atmos, but I bet that pair could fill the space alright.

I just don't know enough about audio systems to get the best bang for my buck.

 

[shadyJ]

Let's qualify that.... As lovely sound as I can afford with 4k budget and space constraints. Audio quality is not the #1 design consideration, rather, I want the best I can get with above limitations.

I would still go for separate speakers. Getting a better look at your layout, I would go for a 5.1.2 setup. I would go for wide dispersion speakers so you can better enjoy sound throughout the room. You might look at some RSL CG5 speakers or maybe some Ascend CBM170s. For a bit more, look at the Outlaw Audio BLSv2 speakers or the Monoprice Monolith THX-265B speakers. If you need a little one, look at a RSL Speedwoofer 10S or a MartinLogan 600X. If you can handle larger sizes, check out the Hsu VTF-2 mk5 or Monoprice 10" THX Select. If you want big sound from a small footprint, check out the SVS PC-2000 while its on sale.

 

[Pogre]

Okay so what would you pick specifically? How do you accomplish the switch between Atmos and stereo?

Do you think it would be better to just get the Bowers and Wilkins wireless duo? No Atmos, but I bet that pair could fill the space alright.

I just don't know enough about audio systems to get the best bang for my buck.

I hate to be dramatic, but I would jump on this right now, before it's gone. There's only 1 left.

Amazon.com: Denon AVR-X3500H 7.2CH 4K Ultra HD AV Receiver with Built-in HEOS Wireless Multi-Room Audio Technology and Alexa Voice Control

Amazon.com: Denon AVR-X3500H 7.2CH 4K Ultra HD AV Receiver with Built-in HEOS Wireless Multi-Room Audio Technology and Alexa Voice Control

www.amazon.com

*It's used so make sure your return options are solid. I'm only suggesting it because those are out of stock everywhere. The next in line would be over $1000. I have another post coming...

 

[Pogre]

Okay so what would you pick specifically? How do you accomplish the switch between Atmos and stereo?

Do you think it would be better to just get the Bowers and Wilkins wireless duo? No Atmos, but I bet that pair could fill the space alright.

I just don't know enough about audio systems to get the best bang for my buck.

Okay, here's the post I was working on when I found that.

You want to put as much of the budget into the front 3 speakers as possible. A decent mid-range receiver with room correction and a good sub are the basics. One way to go would be to piece it together over time. You could start with a good 3.1 or even 2.1 setup that will sound very, very nice and you can add to it as more funds become available. You would go ahead and figure out your speaker layout and pre-wire for what you ultimately want to end up with if you're still in the building phase so when you do get more speakers setting them up will be easier.

That way you can get much nicer quality sound with your current budget. The front 3 speakers are most important. You want those to match and get the best you can afford. After that, or equally important would be your subwoofer(s). Surround speakers and atmos speakers aren't as critical because they're mainly there for effects and don't see nearly as much action as your front 3. That's where skimp a little if I have to.

As for power and processing the 2 receivers below are great and have all of the features I like to see in an avr. Refurb, but both come with a 3 yr warranty.

Accessories4less: High End Audio at Low End Prices!

www.accessories4less.com

Accessories4less: High End Audio at Low End Prices!

www.accessories4less.com

Normally I'd recommend a Denon AVR 3500/3600H (still has the right features and less expensive) but like I said above, they're out of stock everywhere.

Accessories4less: High End Audio at Low End Prices!

www.accessories4less.com

Amazon.com: Denon AVR-X3500H 7.2-Channel 4K Ultra HD AV Receiver with HEOS, Black: Electronics

Amazon.com: Denon AVR-X3500H 7.2-Channel 4K Ultra HD AV Receiver with HEOS, Black: Electronics

www.amazon.com

 

[Bartleby]

Thanks @Pogre! I'm still a ways out from buying. Right now I'm trying to put together as holistic a picture for project cost as I can. You mentioned something about "everything I like to see in a receiver.". What are those things?

 

[Pogre]

Thanks @Pogre! I'm still a ways out from buying. Right now I'm trying to put together as holistic a picture for project cost as I can. You mentioned something about "everything I like to see in a receiver.". What are those things?

Good room correction and a full set of preouts are the main 2 things I look for. Denon/Marantz are the same company, basically and share a lot of the same internals. They also both use Audyssey MultEQ for room correction, which I personally think has produced the best results in my room. Yamaha, Sony, Pioneer and Onkyo all make very good receivers as well but I got best results with MultEQ XT32.

There are levels of Audyssey from regular ol' MultEQ on up to MultEQ XT32 which has the highest resolution for more precise adjustments and independent sub outputs (should you go dual, I did). For Denon it's in the AVR X3***H series and up and for Marantz it's the SR6*** series and up. Not being in a hurry is a good thing because pickings for receivers are really slim right now, but they'll be rolling out new models before too long. That means good discounts on current models are coming soon so keep an eye out! I picked up a SR6011 for $899 with a 3 year warranty from Accesories4less when the 6012 came out. That was roughly 3 yrs ago and it's still in service in my main system right now acting as my prepro.

A full set of preouts leaves the door open should you decide to add separate amplification down the road. It's not an absolute, but all of the receivers that use XT32 also usually have the preouts (and good power) as well, so win-win? You can definitely budget lower for a receiver and save some money and still get decent performance, but the room correction made a pretty big difference for me. Now that I'm spoiled I wouldn't want to downgrade, lol.

 

[Bartleby]

Thanks! I think maybe what I'll do is get one of these all in one units to tide me over, and save up for something special. I don't know, I just listened to this over YouTube compression and on my crappy pixel 3 speakers and I'm blown away. Then I checked the price of those suckers. Ooof.

 

[Pogre]

Thanks! I think maybe what I'll do is get one of these all in one units to tide me over, and save up for something special. I don't know, I just listened to this over YouTube compression and on my crappy pixel 3 speakers and I'm blown away. Then I checked the price of those suckers. Ooof.

Eek!

By and large, most of those all in ones (if you're talking about "home theater in a box") are pretty crappy. I would look at it like a disposable purchase unless you pick one with a good AVR. Personally I'd rather just have a good 2.0 system to hold me over.

 

[Bartleby]

Well let me ask this. Is there any component I could buy in my current budget that could then be used with something like those B&W 800s? I mean, would that receiver you recommend be enough to power those?

 

[VMPS-TIII]

The main area is all one open space 35 x 12. The bathroom is another 10 feet of width, but I'm not including it in my sound budget. The attached diagram shows a 6ft. Measurement across from the chair. That's where the entertainment center will be. Ceilings are 12ft. High if that matters for sound gear selection.

Bart - If you're looking for different ideas for this space, here's mine. If it was my space I would get two high quality bookshelf speakers like the BMR or the Canton Reference 9.2 on stands and a subwoofer setup (HSU) as a table next to the bed. This setup would easily fill the space with great sound and the stands can be moved around the room to fit your every need. If later, you want a center channel you could add it or maybe it's not needed? The idea is to spend the majority of the budget on two high quality bookshelves, stands plus a subwoofer. This setup would rock and it's simple.

If that took up too much space then I would install Focal 300IWLCR6 6.5" 3-Way in-wall speakers mounted on either side of the TV and below it as a center while adding the same HSU subwoofer. I would lean toward quality speakers and less of them rather than more speakers if my budget was limited. I would probably wire for 5.2 but only fill 3.1 or 2.1 to begin with. If I wanted to expand later my wiring would support it. Have fun!

 

[Bartleby]

Oooh yes that does look really nice. And I like that they are reference speakers... I plan on doing some audio recording (not music) and those would be good for that

 

[Bartleby]

Another question. With cars, and with lenses, it's the last 5 percent of performance that leads to skyrocketing price. Is it that way with audio gear too?

 

[VMPS-TIII]

Well let me ask this. Is there any component I could buy in my current budget that could then be used with something like those B&W 800s? I mean, would that receiver you recommend be enough to power those?

I have some legacy B&W 801 floor standing models and 606 bookshelves. I'm not finding they are my sonic favorites anymore. As I was exposed to other quality speakers I realized my B&W's were coloring the music and I liked a more neutral reproduction.

Regardless, of what speakers you select I would suggest the following budget map for a $4,000 target range:
Receiver $1,000
Sub $900
Speakers $1800
Wire/banana plugs $200

 

[VMPS-TIII]

Another question. With cars, and with lenses, it's the last 5 percent of performance that leads to skyrocketing price. Is it that way with audio gear too?

The last 5% for me starts at over $20,000 for speakers. If you continue down this road you will find a point where you are satisfied. The problem is sometimes that line in the sand moves... at least it did for me.