Speaker placement for living room

[phelectric]

Hey there guys, here is my first post. I know how to fish wire. I'm actually an electrician. I've pre-wired lots of houses for speakers, however that's about as far as my experience has gotten me.

So I've been racking my brain for about the last two days straight.

I've found some stuff on Monoprice.com some reviews say great bang for your buck. Called the guy at monoprice and he recommend:

1) Fronts and Surround: (Qty 4) Monoprice 4103 http://www.monoprice.com/Product?c_id=108&cp_id=10837&cs_id=1083702&p_id=4103&seq=1&format=2

2) Center Channel: (Qty 1) Monoprice 6317 http://www.monoprice.com/Product?p_id=6317

3) Sub-woofer: (Qty 1) Monoprice 10801 http://www.monoprice.com/Product?c_id=109&cp_id=10906&cs_id=1090602&p_id=10801&seq=1&format=2

4) Floor tower: (Qty 2) Monoprice 12209 http://www.monoprice.com/Product?p_id=12209

5) Receiver: Yamaha RX-V579BL 7.2 channel http://www.monoprice.com/Product?p_id=13947

I also found this other receiver on Amazon, seemed comparable, but I could be wrong:

(6) Receiver: Yamaha RX-V677 7.2channel: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00ILCS182?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00

I've got 500' of 14/2 and 16/2 speaker wire. I have about 100 banana plugs and AV plates and HDMI cords.

So this brings me to my main points w/ having approx. $1,000 budget.
1) Is this equipment a good setup, seems like I've heard the 4103 monoprice in-ceiling speakers are more for just room fill music, not good surround.

2) I would like the option of good surround sound/ TV sound for movies and football games. I would also like the option to crank some volume in that area. I also wanted to put in two more in-ceiling speakers in kitchen/dine area on Zone 2. Just for fill music, possibly when football game is on, just to give the sound a farther carry.

3) In the pics I'm attaching you will see my room layout, it doesn't seem completely ideal. You will see my finger pointing to the corner. I want to put a large TV hanging bracket there w/ the extend arm for 50-60" TV. I will have low maybe 24" tall floor cabinet to put my equipment in, subwoofer next to it. These are my thoughts, big question is, what would recommend for location of audio in this room the way it is setup.

What gear do you recommend? What's the ideal speaker locations?

Thanks guys, you have no idea how much I appreciate any help on this. I tend to over think things. Being I don't have a ton of knowledge, my wife is going to kill me if I spend 2 weeks trying to figure out the best possible plan on my budget. She wants it done, me too football season is here

 

[jonnythan]

You don't want to have markedly different front speakers vs center channel. Your front soundstage simply won't sound right. Having an in-wall center and tower mains is not a good idea. You might want to consider a soundbar system for your space, actually.

 

[phelectric]

You don't want to have markedly different front speakers vs center channel. Your front soundstage simply won't sound right. Having an in-wall center and tower mains is not a good idea. You might want to consider a soundbar system for your space, actually.

So your saying just a sound bar only, no other speakers? Or are you just saying a really good sound bar for the just the front channel, and still using the sub, and the rears?

 

[jonnythan]

Well you can get a sound bar package that includes the sound bar (for the front speakers), a pair of surrounds, and a subwoofer. These are great for small spaces and you generally don't need a receiver.

If you want a more traditional setup, just make sure the 3 speakers across the front all match. Ideally the rears would also match but that's much less important.

 

[herbu]

Putting the TV in that corner is probably not the optimal solution for audio. Even so, your Center should be in the center of your TV, either above or below, as close as you can get it. Then your L/R should ideally be equidistant from the Center. You can adjust the L/R some w/ equalization.

These 3 should be pretty easy, even with the corner location. Your Surrounds will be a bit more of a challenge. If you loathe visible wires, you may have to consider ceiling speakers. It won't be great, but better to do that with your surrounds than your L/C/R.

The V677 appears to be a current model. The V579BL does not, and does not have some of the capability of the V677, (like Zone-2 for the kitchen).

 

[phelectric]

My buddy did Klipsch center in wall front speaker. And two front LR towers and it sounds awesome. Not sure how he sets it. Maybe he turns the towers down for TV sound. But for music those towers Rock.

So one other question I have. His Yamaha receiver says it puts out 630watts. The Yamaaha V677 puts out only like 130watts. Seems to me (non pro) that's a huge difference. Would the 130 be per channel? Thanks for your time.

 

[herbu]

The V677, according to the Yamaha website, is:
90 W per channel (8 ohms, 20 Hz-20 kHz, 0.09% THD, 2-ch driven)

There are several ways to report power. None are meaningful unless you understand the parameters associated w/ the reported power. Your buddy's 630w is most certainly some kind of total, summing up channels. How many channels, which frequency and what load in ohms is anybody's guess. Yamaha's top of the line DaddyO $2200 AVR, measured the same as the 90w, is 150w.

Many, (most), people play their music in stereo. That means the Front Left & Front Right speakers only. Your buddy's ceiling mounted Center likely is not used for music.