Setting up my livingroom

W

wgalex

Audiophyte
Hello audioholics community!

I have a problem for witch i found via google that your forum is one of the best places where i could get a good answer too:

I need to setup my living room and no experience at it. This is a rough sqetch of what my livingroom looks like:
I CAN'T POST IMAGES BECAUSE MY POST COUNT IS 0. I'd rather not spam the forum for nothing so if anyone is intrested to help pm me i can pm the picture link.
Rooms dimensions:
L 4,30m
l 3,10m
h 2.20m

I need a complete audio combo - speakers, vinyl player, dvd/br/cd player, amplifier, etc. I need specific models so that i know what to look for in stores/online shops.
I want to point out that i don't create (unfortunatly for me) music i just listen to it so i don't need 2 decks or any stuff like that. I also preffer quality of sound rather than how loud it can get (though it should pack some punch aswell for those crowded saturday nights :p). On a sidenote i hate 5.1/7.1 systems - i'd love some studio-type speakers. A dreamprice for me would be around 1000euros but i could probably get to 2000euros if needed (above that i'm selling a kidney).

The main reason i posted the image is that i would like some expert opinion on how should i place the speakers so that the sitting area gets the best acoustic (given the walls, archways-rooms, size of the room).

Any help with this would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers

===========
*i hope i posted in the right spot, i did take the time to read the FAQ and browse briefly through the forum
**all-in-all all i want really is to sit back on a friday night with a glass of wine and listen to Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon (or Animals, or The Walls, or anyother album they pulled out really - dont have them though )
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Pyrrho

Pyrrho

Audioholic Ninja
Given your budget, it is probably good that you hate surround systems. You don't state where you are, but judging from the metric distances and currency mentioned, I would guess you are somewhere in Europe. That is going to affect things, as at the price you are considering, if you lived in the U.S., I would suggest considering something like:

http://www.magnepan.com/model_MMG

But I don't think they will ship to you, and I believe that Magnepan speakers are generally more money in Europe than in the U.S. (they are made in the U.S., so shipping to Europe is going to add to the cost). So the next model up, that may be available at a Magnepan dealer in Europe, is probably going to cost about the entire amount that you want to spend (though you might be able to manage it if you are willing to go with the 2000 Euros that you say may be possible).

The first thing you need to do is go to all of the audio shops in your area that you can stand to visit, and listen to as many different speakers, and as many different types (e.g. domes, horns, ribbons, whatever) of speakers, as you can stand, that are within your budget (between about 500-1000 Euros, depending on how much you want to keep the total price nearer 1000 or 2000 Euros). This is because there is no such thing as a perfect speaker, and so it is a question of which vices are going to bother you the most. None of us can answer that issue for you.

I recommend that you budget about half of the money you want to spend, just for the speakers, as they will affect the sound more than anything else.

After you select your speakers, then it is time to consider the amplification, as what you need for that depends upon the speakers you select. The reasons being that speakers vary in impedance and efficiency, and so they may require something very powerful, or not.

For Blu-ray, DVD, and CD, if you are wanting to keep the price down, I would recommend Panasonic. Probably the DMP-BD65K.

For the turntable, you will need to ask someone else. Analog sources vary quite a bit in their characteristics, and turntables are a bother to get set up right. I really don't like vinyl, so I have not kept up with the latest on this. But if you have not yet purchased many vinyl records, you might want to read the article found at:

http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/component/content/article/426.html

It continues at:
http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/technical-articles/427-a-secrets-technical-article.html

The fewer sources you have, the more money you can either save or spend on better other components (like better speakers), so make sure you are not buying more things than you really want/need.


And for connecting wires, I recommend that you first read:

http://www.roger-russell.com/wire/wire.htm

And then go with inexpensive wires, because hoping to get magic out of them is a waste of money.


As for speaker placement, generally, it is good to place them symmetrically in the room, a half meter or so from the nearest wall, with your seat forming the third point in an imaginary equilateral triangle (with the two other speakers being the other two points), though different designs of speakers sound better in different positions. Typically, you will get good advice on this from the manufacturer of your speakers. Often, though not always, it is good to point the speakers slightly inward, so that they are facing or nearly facing you at your listening position, though, again, the manufacturer of your speakers may advise you on such matters.
 

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