Help finding appropriate surrounds

[William Lemmerhirt]

Yeah, the focals are in the wrong spots, but it’s hard to tell how far. Atmos is pretty forgiving soooooo.....
If he gets the 7012, there’s no reason not to.

Also I agree that good 5.x is better than mediocre 7.x
And definitely some atmos is better than no atmos. I’m lucky enough to have 7.3.4, and while the 7.3 in my LR was pretty damn good, atmos just moves the bar higher. Period.

 

[HTfreak2004]

Especially when selecting the Atmos option on the movie. Heck my processor is from 2004. Anthem AVM 20 version 2. It has a proprietary surround mode called anthem logic. Makes any 2 channel source sound almost as good as a well recorded DVD. I can even apply thx options to the anthem logic mode. The processor can decode up to 7.2 so Dolby Atmos is out of question but with a 7 foot ceiling in my theatre And my medium size room 1680 cubic feet I have huge over kill in power from speakers with excellent dispersion. Paradigm sub 15 and Anthem MCA 50 amp


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[sven1olaf]

Ok, I screwed up.

Seating position = 108"

L/R separation (center to center) = 48"

Angle = 22.2 deg from center of listening position, or 44.4 deg total separation.

This is more online with what I was estimating. I wish I had another 18" on either side!

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

Well, not perfect but they’re installed already so it’s just a matter of connecting them.

But your right to think about the front of the room. It’s definitely more important. I’ve been wracking my brain to find a solution. Is there another room in the house that might lend itself better? I mean I’ve tried thinking of rotating the room or mounting speakers on the header above the tv etc, but every solution comes with a different problem lol. Still at the drawing board...

 

[sven1olaf]

Well, not perfect but they’re installed already so it’s just a matter of connecting them.

But your right to think about the front of the room. It’s definitely more important. I’ve been wracking my brain to find a solution. Is there another room in the house that might lend itself better? I mean I’ve tried thinking of rotating the room or mounting speakers on the header above the tv etc, but every solution comes with a different problem lol. Still at the drawing board...

Yeah I'm in the same boat. There just isn't a good solution, outside of getting the built in stretcher from Paul.

I'm acting around with the idea of a middle of the road demo on the built-in, raising the lower shelf about 6", eliminating the top shelf entirely, wall mounting the TV, and having the front on a better plane, but then i still have the separation issue...and now a higher than optimum TV placement.

The rear ported center needs to get out of the small enclosure it's tucked in.

Would it be helpful to line the individual cubbies with acoustic foam?

Today and increased the angle the L/R/C are tilted down by a bit. It has really helped with clarity, though the center channel is still struggling with some mids.

We love this house, but I almost put the deal breaker on this built in, anticipating this very struggle. Meh, can't win em all.

I'll keep at it, and hopefully while I'm auditioning some of the recommended surrounds I'll be able to talk one of the techs into taking a look at my room to see what they think.

Thanks again for all the thought and input!

Please don't hesitate to drop in here if you have anything to add.

 

[Danzilla31]

We recently moved, and I had to leave behind my well designed room, and walk into a new opportunity.

There new room has x4 Phoenix gold Atc6's in the ceiling, an oddly shaped layout, and a limiting built-in.

Long term, I'm working on getting ideas to resolve the built in, but this will most likely require construction of some sort.

Short term, is like to at least get into a proper 5.2 setup. The placement of the in ceilings it's very narrow, and straddles the front and back of the listening position.

My thinking is to try to find some decent speakers on stands for surrounds. Dealing with rear surrounds will be more challenging... Though I'm open to ideas.

Current gear: upgrade ideas are welcome

AVR: marantz SR5007
Player: Oppo bdp-103
Player: PS4 Pro
L/R: Focal 807v
C: Focal 800v
Surrounds: x4 in ceiling 6.5" Phoenix gold Atc6 (these came with the house)
Subs: x2 Sunfire HRS-12
Display: Panasonic 65st50

TIA

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For the front I'm thinking go projection. Build a screen that you put over that that's acoustically transperent and behind it put the speakers or any other type of speakers you want they'd work real well set up behind the screen on the big shelf where the TV is at.

You would even have room to go all 3 identical vertical speakers behind that screen on that shelf and get a dream come true wall of sound.

You'd have to get heavier window blinds to darken the room maybe a sliding panel on that open area you can walk into on the right but it would work and sound a he'll of a lot better and hell that screen would look a lot better then a TV.

 

[sven1olaf]

Should I consider these Ultra Series Surrounds from SVS as well?

https://www.svsound.com/products/ultra-surround

 

[sven1olaf]

For the front I'm thinking go projection. Build a screen that you put over that that's acoustically transperent and behind it put the speakers or any other type of speakers you want they'd work real well set up behind the screen on the big shelf where the TV is at.

You would even have room to go all 3 identical vertical speakers behind that screen on that shelf and get a dream come true wall of sound.

You'd have to get heavier window blinds to darken the room maybe a sliding panel on that open area you can walk into on the right but it would work and sound a he'll of a lot better and hell that screen would look a lot better then a TV.

This is a great thought!

It still leaves me with the lack of optimum L/C/R separation, but would resolve the built-in issues.

Definitely going to think about this more. Any rough estimates on budget for a projector, screen, other, needed to get into a projector that can rival my perfectly calibrated Panasonic 65" st50?

 

[Danzilla31]

This is a great thought!

It still leaves me with the lack of optimum L/C/R separation, but would resolve the built-in issues.

Definitely going to think about this more. Any rough estimates on budget for a projector, screen, other, needed to get into a projector that can rival my perfectly calibrated Panasonic 65" st50?

There are a lot of great 1080p projectors out there that you can pick up for very cheap now that 4k has started. And they have budget 4k that if you can darken that room better will give that TV a run for its money as well.

4k hasn't even gotten full out on content yet so 1080p is going to be around for a bit longer altho your seating area looks close to your screen so 4k you will notice altho a good budget one can be had for around 1000? I wouldn't go with a high end 4k projector even with darkening the room you won't be able to pull out the higher end models true potential but a budget one will kick ass in there with some light control

As far as front l c r separation you look like you sitting fairly close so if you put them on that middle shelf behind the screen use 3 vertical bookshelves for l c r and ditch the center you should be able to get good enough separation to make it work

 

[Danzilla31]

On budget in my room I found a mom and pop shop that refurbished projectors and builds screens so for $600 I got an optoma HD26 1080p projector and 120 inch fixed frame screen. And that optoma puts out a nice picture compared to my 1080p I had up there it's a badass picture with install it ran me $750 total

I ended up going from a rinkydink tv to this

 

[Danzilla31]

Should I consider these Ultra Series Surrounds from SVS as well?

https://www.svsound.com/products/ultra-surround

The ultra line is legit very good speakets from SVS but do those fit your budget? They aren't cheap

 

[HTfreak2004]

Great setup with centre floor stander. That’s timber matching at its best


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[Danzilla31]

Great setup with centre floor stander. That’s timber matching at its best


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Hey thanks man I'm really lucky that front wall is so long and tall gave me the ability to do that now my surrounds and rear surrounds? It was a nightmare to figure out my rooms a mess back there like our op's so I can really empathize to his situation

 

[Verdinut]

Great setup with centre floor stander. That’s timber matching at its best


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Have a look at this:

https://forums.audioholics.com/forums/threads/my-7-channel-system.111234/

 

[Danzilla31]

Have a look at this:

https://forums.audioholics.com/forums/threads/my-7-channel-system.111234/

Daaaaamn no matter how many times I see it I love that setup!

 

[sven1olaf]

As I've been enjoying my setup with the speakers pulled out of the built-in, I think I have noticed an issue with my center channel. It may be compromised unfortunately.

So now I'm looking at a full L/C/R replacement (L/R towers), with surrounds (IC or OW), x2 IC Atmos, and maybe sub/s.

I really like the stuff from Salk Sound, but am open to suggestions.

 

[HTfreak2004]

Given the narrow stage you have to play with I would have a projector and motorized screen after removing the whole built in shelves from your mix.

Mount the TV on the wall for usual viewing and give the centre channel room to breath.

Use the motorized screen for big cinema and TV for everything else.

 

[sven1olaf]

Given the narrow stage you have to play with I would have a projector and motorized screen after removing the whole built in shelves from your mix.

Mount the TV on the wall for usual viewing and give the centre channel room to breath.

Use the motorized screen for big cinema and TV for everything else.

My bad, I did not explain that I am working on deleting the built-in and pushing into the closet area for wider, flat space to place the front sound field in. This will give me proper L/C/R separation and bring them in line to the listening plane.

Something like this:

Also, pics of the room:

 

[HTfreak2004]

Great idea

Are you thinking Projector or staying with TV?

Definitely spreading out the soundstage will bring your setup an improvement in the soundstage imaging.

Look forward to seeing it with the closet opened up!

 

[sven1olaf]

Great idea

Are you thinking Projector or staying with TV?

Definitely spreading out the soundstage will bring your setup an improvement in the soundstage imaging.

Look forward to seeing it with the closet opened up!

I've always wanted to get into a projector setup, but with the renovation, and now need for a new L/C/R, my budget is tapped.

My Panasonic 65" st50 is performing very well...in 1080p of course.