HT Set up for Living Room

[rajivaryan1984]

Dear FM's,
Hope I can use little bit of your inputs and guidance here as I am very much in need of the same. In next 4 months I am going to shift to our new apartment. As per my plan I am going to set up a Music + Movie environment in my living room plus bed room (which will be dedicated for HT).

Talking about the living room, it is divided between my open kitchen and dining hall. For all your reference I have shared the master plan in the attached image below.
I wanted badly to setup a music environment in the living room and also have a 5.1 environment for watching Movies via Blu ray, hardisk, Netflix and amazon. But it seems creating a HT setup with 5.1 package seems to be difficult. As per my HT Professional who is a very renowned person in the industry due to lack of proper space at back in the area of seating position surrounds may not be possible. He has suggested me to go ahead with a Stereo Amp which will be connected to my sources like CD Player and Cambridge CXN V2 (bought today) and go for a premium FS speakers at front (audition is scheduled for coming Saturday as which brand and all) with 2 sub woofers at front (SVS SB 1000 - One I have in my current setup and another will needs to be procured) and he has suggested me to use the same setup for movies also. As suggested by him due to space reasons and distance between the TV unit and seating position the surround will not be of much value add.

Kindly advise --

1. Is it possible to have a 3.1 HT setup to enjoy the movies in the living room without the surrounds ?
2. Please share some best amps for stereo which can be connected to FS (pair), Center Speaker (if possible) and 2 Sub woofers? The source to stereo will be Marantz CD6006, Cambridge CXNV2 ( for Music )..

Looking forward to your valuable inputs....

Regards
Rajiv

 

[elangoas]

I wanted badly to setup a music environment in the living room and also have a 5.1 environment for watching Movies via Blu ray, hardisk, Netflix and amazon.

BR Rips, Netflix, Amazon all have multi-channel out.. Why loose the sheen and settle for stereo amp?.. I would suggest you to conisder an AVR than a stereo amp.. Moreover you are anyways planning for dual subs, easier to integrate with AVR..

I wanted badly to setup a music environment in the living room and also have a 5.1 environment for watching Movies via Blu ray, hardisk, Netflix and amazon. But it seems creating a HT setup with 5.1 package seems to be difficult.

1. Is it possible to have a 3.1 HT setup to enjoy the movies in the living room without the surrounds ?

It may be difficult to position surrounds at your listening position, but yes you can still add surrounds.. Atleaset to me, i get a feel it is possible to add surrounds besides your listening position..

From the image you have attached, here are some options..

1) one surr speaker on the wall where i can see the sink in the image and an other surround on the opposite side (balcony wall)..
2) Behind your listening position, towards the corners of the living/dinning room.. This position will be good as the surrounds are away and behind you for even better feel..
3) If the above 2 options are not possible, then you may consider a 5.1 AVR with Atmos, which can do heights.. 3.2.2 rather than surrounds (5.2) with dual subs.. This will give maximum oomph for movies as well as music..

 

[jr83]

1. 3.1 is definitely possible. I had a 3.1 setup for a while in my living room, with two towers, a center and a sub. Surround is only like 10% of the sound, and while I do enjoy it in my full blown 5.2.2 setup in the dedicated room, I don't terribly miss it in the living room.

Also, surround with compromise is better than no surround at all.

2. Stereo amps will not allow a center channel. You have to look at AVRs. At the low end, I'd recommend a Marantz NR1509 which lets you upscale power later if you want through its pre-outs. At a higher level with atmos connectivity, look at the NR1609 or any of the many other receiver options.

 

[rajivaryan1984]

1. 3.1 is definitely possible. I had a 3.1 setup for a while in my living room, with two towers, a center and a sub. Surround is only like 10% of the sound, and while I do enjoy it in my full blown 5.2.2 setup in the dedicated room, I don't terribly miss it in the living room.

Also, surround with compromise is better than no surround at all.

2. Stereo amps will not allow a center channel. You have to look at AVRs. At the low end, I'd recommend a Marantz NR1509 which lets you upscale power later if you want through its pre-outs. At a higher level with atmos connectivity, look at the NR1609 or any of the many other receiver options.

What is the difference between NR and SR series in Marantz please ? I was planning to go with SR1603...

 

[dillihifi]

If music is prime then would suggest you to go with stereo amp and speakers however it would be a challenge to decode the multichannel audio and thereby you would be served better with an AVR. But in case the decoding is done then a stereo amp would have much more authority and power (comparing with a similar priced AVR) so you can list out the pros and cons.

If you watch a lot of movies/content on streaming services where the sound in stereo is better than the multichannel feed so a stereo amp would serve you better.