BIG SPACE NEED ADVICE

[Farrymark]

Hi there all you far more knowledgeable than I

i am building a home and I want a set up predominantly for music listening, but will use for tv as well.
I have spent hours on phone and reading, have friends in sound engineering but it still has me bugged!!

i was thinking this set up for the space which is large 6m x 10m as you will see below with rake ceiling to 4m.

AMPLIFIER—NAD C 388 Integrated Amplifier
SUB —
SVS SB-1000 Pro 12" Sealed Subwoofer
SPEAKERS— had looked at in 4 in roof speakers have wires in roof to point marked on plans

Whats your thoughts ??

i should add that I do like bass (old junglist haha ), understand roof speakers are not that great just more for aesthetic and my wife not-overly keen on me mounting speakers.

would I be be better just getting two floor standing speakers on long wires and then when we want to party swing them out from the tv area ??

thanks In advance

 

[ski2xblack]

That's a big room, and a living/dining/family room.
-You need a bigger sub.
-Dynamic range is your friend, so towers are definitely justified, but not absolutely necessary.
-Ceiling speakers are not meant to be the main channels, but fine for atmos or surround channels. (The band and the sound system at the club aren't up on the ceiling, so neither should your main speakers be, if creating a convincing facsimile of the show at home is the goal.)
-Don't go crazy trying to achieve ht perfection in there. Do choose your speakers and sub wisely and you'll have a satisfying 2.1 rig.
-Get the biggest, ugliest, least WAF speakers possible, as a test of her commitment to you and your audio proclivities. (/s...sorry, couldn't resist.)

I had a *very* similar room situation, where a 3.1 rig really enhanced sports and movie viewing pleasure, and a single corner loaded sub worked pretty well. We had the tv spanning the corner where the sub is located in your layout, with the tv stand credenza creating triangular spot behind it for the sub. This effectively hid the sub from view, which was good for WAF. The left and right speakers were wall mounted, several feet out from the screen on each side, positioned so the axes crossed behind the mlp. The couch occupied that mlp, out in the middle of the room, oriented diagonally and directly facing/parallel to the the tv screen. Not only did the couch enjoy a very nice sweet spot, but the areas to the rear of the room also had pretty good coverage and enjoyable full range sound, perfect for a multi-use living/family/rec room. We did eventually add some rears, which your pre-wired locations could accommodate similarly, but it was pretty solid even as just 2.1 and 3.1.

 

[mono-bloc]

A couple of things to consider ,Firstly is the space shown in gray on your plan an open area or a closed in room. I suspect it's open which really does not reflect an area for a good sound systems performance, As it also has to compete with external house noises and the coming and going of kitchen traffic. Avoid fixed ceiling speakers, main reason being there's zero movement if there placed incorrectly. Your main speakers, LCR need to be large, to cover the space .even if you have then close to wall. If there stuck out in the open there life expectancy will be limited when the kids crash into them, and trust me they will. If you intend using the NAD 388, which is a fine bit of kit. BUT it's simple a twin [stereo] channel integrated, there is no provision for extra speakers or a sub. So disregard for what I said about ceiling speakers, etc. You might want to reconsider if you want a theatre set-up in the future. Also what do you intend using as a source Turntable / CD / streaming etc. And lastly but more importantly what have you set your budget at.. This type of install can run wild and rarely come in on budget, most double.

 

[Farrymark]

That's a big room, and a living/dining/family room.
-You need a bigger sub.
-Dynamic range is your friend, so towers are definitely justified, but not absolutely necessary.
-Ceiling speakers are not meant to be the main channels, but fine for atmos or surround channels. (The band and the sound system at the club aren't up on the ceiling, so neither should your main speakers be, if creating a convincing facsimile of the show at home is the goal.)
-Don't go crazy trying to achieve ht perfection in there. Do choose your speakers and sub wisely and you'll have a satisfying 2.1 rig.
-Get the biggest, ugliest, least WAF speakers possible, as a test of her commitment to you and your audio proclivities. (/s...sorry, couldn't resist.)

I had a *very* similar room situation, where a 3.1 rig really enhanced sports and movie viewing pleasure, and a single corner loaded sub worked pretty well. We had the tv spanning the corner where the sub is located in your layout, with the tv stand credenza creating triangular spot behind it for the sub. This effectively hid the sub from view, which was good for WAF. The left and right speakers were wall mounted, several feet out from the screen on each side, positioned so the axes crossed behind the mlp. The couch occupied that mlp, out in the middle of the room, oriented diagonally and directly facing/parallel to the the tv screen. Not only did the couch enjoy a very nice sweet spot, but the areas to the rear of the room also had pretty good coverage and enjoyable full range sound, perfect for a multi-use living/family/rec room. We did eventually add some rears, which your pre-wired locations could accommodate similarly, but it was pretty solid even as just 2.1 and 3.1.

thanks, yes did consider tv on corner as you had but I didn’t want it to be the focus of that whole space.
I most def will test the commitment with selection !!

 

[Farrymark]

A couple of things to consider ,Firstly is the space shown in gray on your plan an open area or a closed in room. I suspect it's open which really does not reflect an area for a good sound systems performance, As it also has to compete with external house noises and the coming and going of kitchen traffic. Avoid fixed ceiling speakers, main reason being there's zero movement if there placed incorrectly. Your main speakers, LCR need to be large, to cover the space .even if you have then close to wall. If there stuck out in the open there life expectancy will be limited when the kids crash into them, and trust me they will. If you intend using the NAD 388, which is a fine bit of kit. BUT it's simple a twin [stereo] channel integrated, there is no provision for extra speakers or a sub. So disregard for what I said about ceiling speakers, etc. You might want to reconsider if you want a theatre set-up in the future. Also what do you intend using as a source Turntable / CD / streaming etc. And lastly but more importantly what have you set your budget at.. This type of install can run wild and rarely come in on budget, most double.

Re NAD, what would you suggest instead? This had the power I require which was the drawcard to this amp.

main source will be all my old tracks on mp3, and streaming. I want my wife to easily connect and just play music, withtoo many steps otherwise she’ll just start using the portable Bose

i would be happy to spend 4/5k, to skinny or?

Thanks for your time to respond

 

[mono-bloc]

There is nothing wrong with the NAD, if you like class "D" I personally would never consider anything rated at class "D" much preferring class A/B or class A. But that's just me. We all have our likes and dislikes, even if some things are somewhat strange. [end of rant ] You do realise , the NAD is an integrated stereo amp, and there is no provision for extra system speakers or a sub-woofer connection. Even though it does have a pair of pre-out's, which could possible be used. [unsure but worth checking] Really your best bet is to audition as many speaker / amp combinations as possible. But don't let on what your budget is. Audio salesmen are a bit like used car salesmen, there's always something better, but the cost is just a bit more. If it was me and I was looking for a starter system, for one of my adult kids, I would be looking at the latest Rotel, together with Paradigm or Kef speakers. But really no one can suggest anything for someone else, Your the one who has to live with it. And more importantly pay for it.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

would I be be better just getting two floor standing speakers on long wires and then when we want to party swing them out from the tv area ??

Either get big towers (like RBH SVTR, would NOT need separate subwoofers) or get big In-wall speakers (like RBH SI-831R, 3.5" deep, 8" Woofers x 3, 4.72" x 1" tweeter) or big On-wall speakers (like RBH 831WR).

 

[ski2xblack]

The NAD would work well enough, it's just lacking in features that you may find useful such as bass management or the ability to add more channels.

Is that budget for everything, or just the speakers?

Also, it doesn't make sense to spend excessively for fantastic speakers if you subsequently compromise what they can do by improper placement. For example, in your room diagram, if you were to put speakers flanking the screen, the right speaker will be closer to the corner and adjacent side wall, which would mean more boundary gain in lower frequencies and excessive reflections from the wall in the higher frequencies, none of which will do the music or fancy speakers justice. That's what drove our choice to go with the corner oriented setup described previously, and it ended up being the better choice from a music-centric and room acoustics oriented perspective.

The comment about choosing the biggest, ugliest speakers was a joke, but if you can get away with some Towers of Power, it would serve the music best in such a large area.

 

[Farrymark]

There is nothing wrong with the NAD, if you like class "D" I personally would never consider anything rated at class "D" much preferring class A/B or class A. But that's just me. We all have our likes and dislikes, even if some things are somewhat strange. [end of rant ] You do realise , the NAD is an integrated stereo amp, and there is no provision for extra system speakers or a sub-woofer connection. Even though it does have a pair of pre-out's, which could possible be used. [unsure but worth checking] Really your best bet is to audition as many speaker / amp combinations as possible. But don't let on what your budget is. Audio salesmen are a bit like used car salesmen, there's always something better, but the cost is just a bit more. If it was me and I was looking for a starter system, for one of my adult kids, I would be looking at the latest Rotel, together with Paradigm or Kef speakers. But really no one can suggest anything for someone else, Your the one who has to live with it. And more importantly pay for it.

Thanks for the advice re nad, I was just going on power but I’ll look at another now cheers

 

[Farrymark]

The NAD would work well enough, it's just lacking in features that you may find useful such as bass management or the ability to add more channels.

Is that budget for everything, or just the speakers?

Also, it doesn't make sense to spend excessively for fantastic speakers if you subsequently compromise what they can do by improper placement. For example, in your room diagram, if you were to put speakers flanking the screen, the right speaker will be closer to the corner and adjacent side wall, which would mean more boundary gain in lower frequencies and excessive reflections from the wall in the higher frequencies, none of which will do the music or fancy speakers justice. That's what drove our choice to go with the corner oriented setup described previously, and it ended up being the better choice from a music-centric and room acoustics oriented perspective.

The comment about choosing the biggest, ugliest speakers was a joke, but if you can get away with some Towers of Power, it would serve the music best in such a large area.

what amp would you suggest for around 2k?

Budget was for all but I can use old amp, which will suffice but I wanted get everything new just to update.

Im not sure what choice I have re position
I have got some freestanding ones past the missus, kef ones!! As they are the most pleasing o. Eye she said

 

[ski2xblack]

That's a good start. Get ears on em, to make sure they're your cup of tea, and don't neglect to audition other speakers if at all possible. The speakers you choose will have the greatest impact, by far, of any decision you make. Choose wisely and you'll be happy for years to come. KEF makes some worthy candidates.

The amp choice is a secondary concern, as it's determined by the speakers you choose. Of course, the room they're in, and how loud you plan to listen, and how much power they can take all factor in. And the features you want/need will dictate the electronics (multi-channel vs stereo, if you want proper bass management, if it will accommodate all your sources and formats...), so it seems you have some things to mull over.

Assuming you end up with speakers of average sensitivity, KEF or whatever else is in the running, you'll want adequate power for the room. That could be one of the more powerful AVRs, or a less powerful AVR that has pre-outs with external amps, or, if you have no plans for expansion into multi ch, you could stick to stereo kit.

But speakers first.

 

[Farrymark]

Okaaayyy

here’s where I’m at

keeping mind I’mmainly listening to music

speakers
Kef q750 or;
Monitor audio silver 300

amp.YAMAHA AS-701
Please correct me if I’m wrong and I understand that I can’t add in the future to bigger HT setup, which I’m not concerned about.
This has connection for likely sub addition (SVS SB100) also connect for tv so I can move my sound bar to the other room as well as Bluetooth for the misses to play music easily

this comes in at just under4K add the sub and we still within range


Thank you all for you input very very helpful

thoughts

 

[ski2xblack]

As long as you like those speakers, those all seem like fair options.

My thoughts are influenced by my "start with the room and work up from there" approach to system design, so if I were in your shoes I might consider speakers with wider dynamic range and a suitably larger sub. Something like the Arendal monitors and larger SVS or other suitably large sub. (That's not a recommendation, as I've never actually heard Arendals, but merely an example of slightly more bangin' speakers. Another example would be a pair of Hsu CB8 and sub, but those have low WAF.)

 

[Farrymark]

Out of curiosity any one here listened to KLH AUDIO Kendall’s???