A first post from a new member...
It’s time to build a new house, and install an HT speaker system that will satisfy my critical ear and meet the stringent WAF criteria. And a new wife at that. I have an audiophile history (Linn-Sondek, Rega, Dahlquist, Ampzilla, Hafler, Snell), but most recently have settled on Denon (AVR-3805) and Polk Audio (Original 42” Soundbar and PSW-12 sub) for reliable and crisp (if not true 5.1) HT sound and occasional CD listening. I need some advice to make the best of what is not a standard HT space.
The HT set-up will be (must be) in the basement rec rm in an alcove that ends in a layout something like five sides of an octagon (135 deg angles). Sort of an angular band shell layout (I could only hope). The area is beneath the 2-story Family room and the TV wall will be under where the fireplace is on the main floor. This wall and the two ~135deg “wings” are 5’8”. The remaining octagon sides are perpendicular (and open) to the main rec room which is something like 23x13 based upon inspection of the floorplan. The viewing listening couch will be 10-12 ft from the TV wall with the back in line with the opening or about 2 ft. into the main space. The drywall ceilings will either be 9’ or 8’ (I have an $1800 choice to make at contract signing next week). The flooring will be ~48oz nylon on an 8# rebond pad over concrete. Framing is 16” On-Center Stud Walls (except where I need it on the TV wall) and 19” On-Center Engineered Floor Joists (I-beam look), with Tongue-In-Groove ¾” Water Resistant OSB Sub Flooring and ¾” hardwood above.
My current option 1 is to install a Polk Audio LCi-C center speaker at my ear level and Polk’s LC265i’s for left and right front. I estimate that their centers will be about 2” shy of the “minimum recommended” 5’ separation. They will be mounted in their optional performance enclosures. If they were to be located to the sides of the screen I would be stuck with a 42” panel forever. 42" screen is not too bad from a viewing perspective in this space (at 10.5 ft at least), but I have decided to keep the front sides at ear level and raise the screen to clear them.
I plan to put the rear surrounds for 5.1 in the ceiling just behind the listening area. I intend to use the Polk LC-80i’s with performance enclosures and aim the tweeters to taste. I have never heard a 7.1 system that was so much better than a 5.1 that I would add the extra speakers (limited experience perhaps), but if you think this space is right for that treatment, let me know.
Option 2 would be to use my 42” Soundbar. I am fine with the clarity and spacious, if not discrete, sound field in my current room, and I can save a lot of money. I still don’t understand why a wall mounted Soundbar passes the WAF criteria and other non-in-wall options do not, but as I said, I like these speakers. According to some reviews, hooking up the rear ceiling speakers as 7.1 rear surrounds could do wonders for the overall surround experience. My current old reliable Denon can handle those.
My biggest issue is sub-woofer choice and placement. To meet the WAF criteria it must disappear from the floor space. I know that in-wall or in-ceiling placements are not ideal, and that sound levels my puny little PSW cube can generate with ease in my current room will require a lot more power, and money, but money is not the issue here. Since I have liked every Polk speaker I have heard, my first choice was a Polk CSW-155 in-wall, but because of a peculiarity in the TV wall framing requirements, none of the stud spaces are wide enough. There is a 42” wide recess in the foundation for a gas fireplace, but that is where we will be putting a built-in equipment cabinet. And no cloth covered doors!
An alternative would be a Polk CSW-200 in-ceiling sub coupled to the recommended Polk Amp. But I am concerned about “bleed through” to the Family Room above. Some is acceptable, but furniture “walks” are not. Another is to used the CSW-155 on wall to the side of the media “nook.” A third option is to use a smaller in-wall unit in the front wall – the Klipsch RW-5802 will “just fit.”
So given my sub-woofer placement options, do I go with a ceiling, side or front mount location to give me the least chance of problems? Once the drywall is up, they aren’t going anywhere and neither is the listening location. The amp-sub combos are pretty robust, so I don’t expect quantity of base to be the issue, but I want to minimize the potential for quality problems. I am no longer a audiophile perfectionist, but my “liveable” standards are shaped by my audiophile history.
Any comments and recommendations are welcome.
Jfglenn7997
