Home theater wiring/placement help needed

[CoreyFeldman]

So I'm re-wiring my new house, replacing the old knob-n-tube from the early 1920's. Since I'm not living there yet, and the walls are in a Swiss-cheese like state, might as well throw a ton of cat6, speaker, video, and whatnot cable into the walls.

A family friend that owns an audio-video company graciously gave me some older-model yet pretty decent speakers and equipment for a home theater. Now I have to put them to use.
They are:
Artison LRS-IW (pair)
Atlantic Technology 4200C (pair)
Leon Horizon Hz515 sound bar
Marantz SR8001 amplifier

The problem is, the room already has two big focal points... a large bay window area, and a rather large fireplace, so placing furniture starts getting complicated. To me, it seems there are two decent places to put the TV... at "A" or "B". "A" is my preference for connectivity (shares a wall with the office, easy to run wire to the ethernet hub in the basement), but not for aesthetics. "B" is preferred for aesthetics, but connectivity is more difficult and then the TV is mounted quite high above the fire place, or has to be on a mount that allows it to be lowered in front of the fireplace (which hurts the sound-bar placement?).

I'm trying to run the wires in the wall, with wall plates, keystone jacks, and whatnot, so gotta figure out where the optimal placement is ahead of time. Thoughts?

Also, how does one use both the Left-Center-Right sound bar along with the pair of Atlantic Tech speakers for main L-R?

Cheers!

 

[WaynePflughaupt]

I’d go with A. Fireplace mounting sucks on many levels – too high, (as you’ve already figured out), sound bar, (ditto), difficulty adding or changing wiring in the future, etc.

Also, how does one use both the Left-Center-Right sound bar along with the pair of Atlantic Tech speakers for main L-R?

It’s easy with that one. Just use the center speaker array only.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

 

[CoreyFeldman]

After hemming and hawing about how to set up this room, it seems that a hybrid approach might work pretty well.

Using a regular flat screen at position A for everyday tv and whatnot along with a projector (Currently have Epson PowerLite 8100) projecting movies at a screen suspended in front of the bay windows (bottom of the picture). Then I could use the sound bar for the TV and in-wall lines for a 7.1 movie system for the projector. The walls are still Swiss Cheese, so installing wires is go.

...crap, that's gonna mean two dedicated audio amps, right?... or do TVs come with audio out now?

 

[WaynePflughaupt]

TVs have been coming with audio outputs of some kind for 30 years or more. Might double-check the one you’re considering before purchasing, though. Lower-end models especially can have limited options. And make sure the internal speakers can be switched off.

Not sure what the question about two dedicated amps is about. If you’re using a sound bar for the TV and a full 7.1 system for the projector, you have two fully independent, stand-alone systems. What’s the problem?

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

 

[CoreyFeldman]

I should probably clarify... When using the TV, I'm planning on using either the built in speakers or the sound bar + sub [with the receiver/amp, 3.1(?)]... when using the projector, switching over to the 7.1 (different speakers, same sub, same receiver/amp).

My "do TVs come with audio out" is more like, "do TVs come with amplified LRC output"... I know they come with optical/digital/analog outputs.

I haven't really found a good solution for using a single amplifier for two viewing situations with one being the 3.1, and the other being theater 7.1...

In my head I want one amplifier to do it all with a manual switch to:

Viewing TV w/ 3.1:
Switch FLC of the 7.1 to the sound bar, disable all the other speakers in the 7.1 setup (except the sub).

Viewing theater:
Enable all speakers in the 7.1, switching FLC from the sound bar to the theater speakers.

My, oh my, I hope this makes sense...

 

[WaynePflughaupt]

My "do TVs come with audio out" is more like, "do TVs come with amplified LRC output"...

No. The fact that they don’t binding posts or spring terminals for speaker wire would be your first clue...

In my head I want one amplifier to do it all with a manual switch to:

Viewing TV w/ 3.1:

Switch FLC of the 7.1 to the sound bar, disable all the other speakers in the 7.1 setup (except the sub).

Viewing theater:

Enable all speakers in the 7.1, switching FLC from the sound bar to the theater speakers.

AVRs and sound bars are totally different concepts and stand-alone systems for sound reproduction. You can’t “mix and match” them.

I haven't really found a good solution for using a single amplifier for two viewing situations with one being the 3.1, and the other being theater 7.1...

Frankly, it seem silly to me to have two different sound systems when the two video monitoring systems are in the same location (Position A, right?). I’d suggest getting a AVR that has two video outputs, and then you can simply use the 7.1 system for all viewing.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

 

[CoreyFeldman]

So, as my little icon says, "audiophyte". I've been calling it a sound bar, but it's actually a single LRC speaker in bar form... as I posted originally, it's a Leon Horizon Hz515.

This might be completely stupid setup idea, but for the size and layout of the space it kinda makes sense (see original post), picture is worth a couple hundred words. Also, I've got most of the speakers, projector, AVR, and cable, with holes in the walls already for the electrical re-wire.

Pictured below is a random photo I found from where the word "built" in the original post attachment, facing the front entry/bay window area... you can kinda see how the room is set up, perhaps I'll take some dedicated photos of what I'm talking about.