Help with sound design

[Drewsta26]

My wife and I just recently had a home built and sadly purchased the "home theatre rough in package". We also had custom cabinetry built around the fire place and wall mounted tv. My problem is they only ran 1 HDMI behind the tv with some components and speaker wire. These run to the far left bottom cabinet. I want to purchase a receiver but I feel this may be useless considering there is no way to run speakers with the cabinets up now. My tv's speakers our horrible and really dont know what to do at this point unless I want a bunch of wires hanging out. Sorry for rambling just really need some help.
Thanks!

 

[markw]

Frankly, I can't understand what you're saying or complaining about, but the time to clarify these things is before they build your home. By not clearly specifying, in writing, what you want up front, you set yourself up for disappointment. These guys are building contractors, not audio experts or designers.

 

[Drewsta26]

Thanks for the inspiring words

 

[markw]

Sorry. What can we do to help?

 

[Drewsta26]

Just want some ideas of how I could get some sound and different ways to run it. I would run a sound bar just below the tv but the power cord will then be hanging. Any ideas would be helpful. Thank you

 

[markw]

In all honesty, none of us have any idea what your problem area looks like. Pictures just might help elicit some meaningful responses. And, try to have some idea of what's behind the walls.

Question: Isn't there a power outlet behind the TV???

 

[TheWarrior]

It sounds like you 'like' the idea of home theater, but have absolutely no idea what it is, or where to begin. Before asking questions, use this site for its intended purpose...education!

There are dozens of pages on audioholics.com that go form basic to way beyond your specific needs. There are also e-books for purchase that might be more up your alley, and give you what you really need. Then follow up here on the forum when you are ready to purchase things, or just post pics and share!

 

[zieglj01]

Need more detail - it depends on your layout - however, look at this
http://www.teenyideas.com/2013/10/22/how-to-hide-cables-behind-a-t-v-cabinetteeny-tips-tuesday-7/

http://www.techhive.com/article/220593/clean_up_your_cables_home_theater_edition.html

http://lifehacker.com/how-to-clean-up-the-birds-nest-of-cables-behind-your-t-1218074485

 

[WaynePflughaupt]

Kinda tough to figure out how to help. We don’t know what you mean when you say “no way to run speakers” or “different ways to run sound.” Typically cabling is “run,” not speakers themselves and certainly not the audible soundwaves they generate.

Likewise, when you say “they ran components and speaker wire behind the TV,” it sounds like they put things like a cable box and game console in the wall along with the speaker wire. Of course, that makes no sense to us, and probably not you either.

If you can post some pictures it would give us an idea of what you’re facing and maybe we can come up with some ideas for you.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

 

[Drewsta26]

Will try and post some pics. Thanks everyone for the replies!

 

[slipperybidness]

Will try and post some pics. Thanks everyone for the replies!

Here's a little secret in this hobby-- Home Theaters are almost always a series of compromises. It's all about getting the best audio and video, and getting the cleanest install possible, and figuring out where to spend the time an $ to minimize the compromises in the most important areas.

If you have dedicated HT room, then you compromise less. If you have a HT / Living / Family room, then you compromise more.

Get some pics posted and you will start getting advice from guys that have dealt with similar situations and learned how to make the best of it.

 

[BMXTRIX]

Where are the speaker wires they ran? Built-ins with speaker wires behind them should of been put together with the speaker wires coming out through a hole in the built in somewhere.

From there, you would get some bookshelf speakers... and put them on your bookshelf!

Even if you can only set it up as a bookshelf stereo setup, it will sound far better than any speaker bar you could possibly get.

I would figure out where those speaker wires are which you paid for and talk to the builder if they got buried in the walls somewhere behind cabinetry. Make this THEIR issue, not yours.

Communication is key in all of this. You shouldn't need to raise a stink about it, but just let them know you have an issue, what the issue is, and have them deal with it. You should also talk to us about your expectations so that we can help you ask the right questions and make the right complaints.

If you bought a surround sound prewire, then ONE HDMI CABLE IS A LOUSY MOVE ON THEIR PART! They should have run 2 HDMI cables and 2 pieces of cat-5e from the equipment location to the TV if the wires run through joists. They should have run 5 speaker wires throughout the room for surround sound and one coaxial cable for the subwoofer (5.1). This would be the most basic wiring that should be acceptable for a theater 'package' as they call it.