New home theater setup

[jifaudio]

Hi everyone,

It's been a (very) long time since I set up a home theater, and I'd appreciate some advice about which equipment to go for. Specifically, a receiver and a speaker set.
I'll try providing as much info as possible here, but if I'm missing anything, please let me know.

The plan is to get the LG G1 as the new TV.
Connected devices - Xbox Series X, PS5, potentially Google Chrome. It'd be great to have an extra free HDMI just in case, but it's not a must.

Usage priorities:

1. Games / TV shows (about equal importance)
2. Movies
3. Music (streaming)

I'm not really an audiophile. I can tell when something is too flat, but I can't really tell the nuances.

I prefer support for multiple standards, but the highest priorities are Dolby Atmos (and Vision, the TV covers that).

Set up is meant to go in the living room. The dimensions are 12'x13.5' (12 is couch wall to tv wall). It's an open space with the kitchen that extends beyond the 13.5' length.
The ceiling is vaulted, lowest side being the sofa side at roughly 10', and the tallest side is the TV wall at about 15'.

Hoping for a 5.1.2 setup. Also open for a 5.1.4 setup if the space is not too small. I believe a 7.1.X setup would be problematic as it's not an enclosed room (can't put speakers on one of the sides without it being in the way).

Some preferences:

• Common brands (ones you can find at Best Buy, Amazon, etc).
• No floor speakers if possible. Especially for the back, there's very little chance I can fit something on the floor (the sofa I have is really long).
• Not looking for ear deafening volumes. It's more about the immersive feeling than making sure the neighbors can hear what I'm watching/playing.
• Given the connected devices, HDMI2.1 is important, and ones that are free from the bug that doesn't play nice with Xbox Series X (this is the main device).
• Would be nice if the receiver had a built in chromecast, but not a must.
• Nice to have: google home/apple homekit integration or some level of control using z-wave/zigbee.

Budget: flexible? Not including the TV, I'd probably want to spend 2-2.5k on the receiver and speakers, but can go up to around 4k. Happy to hear about different suggestions for different budget levels.

Thanks for the help!

 

[MalVeauX]

Hi,

If you want actual Atmos experience, go for a 5.X.4 setup so that you have front and rear atmos so that there's actual directional reality from atmos and not just "voice of god" which doesn't give the same effect at all.

Your room is smaller, so that will make it easy to use smaller speakers and still get good SPL at listening position and will make it easier on your sub(s).

You say you don't want floor standing speakers, but what does that mean? Do you want bookshelf speakers on stands (taking up the same space?) or do you want wall hangers? You'll need to be specific on what the foot print can be in this room and what your preferences are.

$1~1.5k should cover a receiver for your needs. The only problem is the HDMI 2.1 as that's a hot topic in general with respect to receivers. Baring HDMI 2.1, most receivers a few years old that can do 5.X.4 will easily do everything you need. There's no bullet proof HDMI 2.1 receiver currently. It may take another release cycle to see an appropriate HDMI 2.1 compatible receiver that works perfectly with this. So keep this in mind. You may need to get something low end that just "works" for now and not focus on HDMI 2.1 with the expectation to see what happens in the next release cycle if HDMI 2.1 is important to you for your XBOX.

You can easily do the rest on a $3.5~4k budget for speakers. You can build overkill for this if you want (putting a lot into two good subs), or you could frankly do this for like $2k and save the rest for other things if you want. The room is smaller, so you could easily use bookshelf speakers or wall hangers and put two decent subs in the room for around $2k total with lots of wiggle room.

I would look at Chane Audio, HTD Level Three and Ascend Audio. Mix in with either HSU reasearch subs, SVS subs or Monolith subs. These subs linked are small, because your room is small, you can of course go bigger if you're all about that monstrous bass. Two subs are superior in a room for smoothing out response in all listening positions.

We can recommend atmos speakers after knowing if you're doing in-ceiling for those, or if you're going to hang speakers off the roof and aim them, etc.

Are you wiring the Atmos yourself?
Is the room wired?
Or are the wires going to be on the floor or hugging walls?

Very best,

 

[jifaudio]

Thanks for the detailed reply!

Regarding the speakers - wall hanging would be the best option, at least for the rear ones. I could move the sofa a bit and may have room on the floor, but it will really ruin the layout in the room. Regarding footprint, would it help to know the available width I have on the wall? One of the speakers would need to fit between a window and a fireplace.

HDMI 2.1 - I started seeing posts that some newer receivers don't have the famous issue, but perhaps that was more announcements on upcoming releases than ones that are actually available. I'm not in a real rush to get this set up, just in the planning stage. If it's a matter of waiting a few months, that's perfectly fine.

Happy to save money with the budget, not looking for an overkill system for sure. Thanks for the suggested speakers/subs, I'll look into them.

I'm planning to pay for the speaker installation as I'd rather have them run the wires inside the walls instead of having them out in the open. I'm as far from being handy to do that on my own as one can possibly be. Not really sure about the ceiling speakers - can in-ceiling installation actually work given the ceiling is slanted and the speakers won't be pointing down directly? I somewhat assumed they'd have to hang off of the ceiling to compensate for the angle.

 

[MacCali]

Hi everyone,

It's been a (very) long time since I set up a home theater, and I'd appreciate some advice about which equipment to go for. Specifically, a receiver and a speaker set.
I'll try providing as much info as possible here, but if I'm missing anything, please let me know.

The plan is to get the LG G1 as the new TV.
Connected devices - Xbox Series X, PS5, potentially Google Chrome. It'd be great to have an extra free HDMI just in case, but it's not a must.

Usage priorities:

1. Games / TV shows (about equal importance)
2. Movies
3. Music (streaming)

I'm not really an audiophile. I can tell when something is too flat, but I can't really tell the nuances.

I prefer support for multiple standards, but the highest priorities are Dolby Atmos (and Vision, the TV covers that).

Set up is meant to go in the living room. The dimensions are 12'x13.5' (12 is couch wall to tv wall). It's an open space with the kitchen that extends beyond the 13.5' length.
The ceiling is vaulted, lowest side being the sofa side at roughly 10', and the tallest side is the TV wall at about 15'.

Hoping for a 5.1.2 setup. Also open for a 5.1.4 setup if the space is not too small. I believe a 7.1.X setup would be problematic as it's not an enclosed room (can't put speakers on one of the sides without it being in the way).

Some preferences:

• Common brands (ones you can find at Best Buy, Amazon, etc).
• No floor speakers if possible. Especially for the back, there's very little chance I can fit something on the floor (the sofa I have is really long).
• Not looking for ear deafening volumes. It's more about the immersive feeling than making sure the neighbors can hear what I'm watching/playing.
• Given the connected devices, HDMI2.1 is important, and ones that are free from the bug that doesn't play nice with Xbox Series X (this is the main device).
• Would be nice if the receiver had a built in chromecast, but not a must.
• Nice to have: google home/apple homekit integration or some level of control using z-wave/zigbee.

Budget: flexible? Not including the TV, I'd probably want to spend 2-2.5k on the receiver and speakers, but can go up to around 4k. Happy to hear about different suggestions for different budget levels.

Thanks for the help!

I am one of delusions of grandeur, I wanted 11 channels. I think you should just start with a 5 channel system. Maybe purchase something with 7 or 9 channels.

Everything comes with Dolby atmos now.

I have 5 channels and I think it’s more that enough. I also have a small room, and honestly it gets louder than a theater. My room is 12 by 16’.

If you are hiring a professional I would setup the wiring for more speakers, yet hold off from getting all the speakers at one time. You can do speakers in the front and just above the left and right position of main seats.

Also you can always do Audio advice, they have a speaker/home theater set up guide based upon your room dimensions.

Definitely not a pro here, and anyone else feel free to correct me. If you want to go with just two Dolby atmos I would go with two set up to the left and right above the main seating area