HT setup including room acoustics 8-10lakhs budget

[samcruise]

Hi guys, I have posted a thread long back and couldn't setup the theater then but its back on track now. We have a dedicated room for home theater with dimensions 26*19ft (19 being the screen side). I am looking to get the acoustics well made with ply,rock wool,fabric,vineer/laminate and everything that's need for a dedicated HT setup. I am looking for 7.1.2 setup. I have a budget of 8-10 lakhs for both equipment and acoustics included.

1) I have been quoted about 450-600/sft for the acoustics. Is that reasonable or too expensive? Would it be better if we give it on a turnkey basis or provide them the material and get the work done?

2) I am looking to make the acoustics well made and go with a decent speaker setup which i might probably upgrade in 3-4 years, but something which would be good and my main purpose is to watch movies.

I have had a chance to visit and audition polk tsx550 and rtia7's, focal, bose. I felt polk tsx550 was good and rtia7 was a little strong but i heard both of them in different setups, so that could be the difference. Anyways i am open to suggestions about brands but i am looking at a good av receiver since that drives everything.

3) Is it better to have 2:35 or 16:9 screen? Also what size would be ideal.

4) Also please suggest good projectors which have a good lamp life and 3d is not a compulsion.

Thank you in advance, your suggestions and help in this regard would be greatly appreciated. I am looking for all this in hyderabad, if that helps

 

[Aquarian09]

Hi guys, I have posted a thread long back and couldn't setup the theater then but its back on track now. We have a dedicated room for home theater with dimensions 26*19ft (19 being the screen side). I am looking to get the acoustics well made with ply,rock wool,fabric,vineer/laminate and everything that's need for a dedicated HT setup. I am looking for 7.1.2 setup. I have a budget of 8-10 lakhs for both equipment and acoustics included.

1) I have been quoted about 450-600/sft for the acoustics. Is that reasonable or too expensive? Would it be better if we give it on a turnkey basis or provide them the material and get the work done?

2) I am looking to make the acoustics well made and go with a decent speaker setup which i might probably upgrade in 3-4 years, but something which would be good and my main purpose is to watch movies.

I have had a chance to visit and audition polk tsx550 and rtia7's, focal, bose. I felt polk tsx550 was good and rtia7 was a little strong but i heard both of them in different setups, so that could be the difference. Anyways i am open to suggestions about brands but i am looking at a good av receiver since that drives everything.

3) Is it better to have 2:35 or 16:9 screen? Also what size would be ideal.

4) Also please suggest good projectors which have a good lamp life and 3d is not a compulsion.

Thank you in advance, your suggestions and help in this regard would be greatly appreciated. I am looking for all this in hyderabad, if that helps

Where did u get the quote for acoustics ??

 

[samcruise]

Couple of people i approached for a complete turnkey basis. The price 450-600/sft included the wall and ceiling paneling with all material and labor. Is that too expensive or less?

 

[elangoas]

2 pairs of high end 5.1 satellite speaker package.. Something like this Speaker Systems : GoldenEar SuperCinema 3 5.1 system

This would make your system 10.2.. You can keep 5.x layout + 1 rear surround speaker + 4 top/ceiling speaker

From the net, DTS X has no fixed layout like Atmos... They say it is flexible & can adapt to any layout...Not sure how it is going to be, but in general it doesn't seem to demand speakers on the ceiling like Atmos..

For AVR strictly Marantz 6010/7010 (or) Denon X 4000 Upwards with Audyssey MultiEQ XT 32 advanced room calibration.. Pioneer LX series of AVR and Yamaha RX Aventage series too...

 

[raghupb]

You have a large room. So invest wisely in speakers now. No need to change them in 3-4 years. It is the electronics that may need upgrade in a few years time (new av formats). The room will take 7.x.y or 9.x.y Get the wiring done for the most no of channels. Front LCR speakers must be good ones. Most of movie sound is here. 2 subs would be good. FS for L/R and matching center. For surrounds use stand mount speakers. Surrounds can be dipole/bipole. Look for an AVR that has pre out; will give opportunity for LCR outboard amps.

Polk RTi is good. A7 fronts and A6 center. Audition Dali, Klipsch, Wharfedale, etc. SW can be a good one like Velodyne.

FM aquarian09 is very passionate about HT. Seek his opinions on elements of HT.

Cheers,
Raghu

 

[samcruise]

For AVR strictly Marantz 6010/7010 (or) Denon X 4000 Upwards with Audyssey MultiEQ XT 32 advanced room calibration.. Pioneer LX series of AVR and Yamaha RX Aventage series too...

Yeah, Marantz or Denon is what i am looking at. Satellite speakers, not sure about them. Thank you for the reply

 

[samcruise]

You have a large room. So invest wisely in speakers now. No need to change them in 3-4 years. It is the electronics that may need upgrade in a few years time (new av formats). The room will take 7.x.y or 9.x.y Get the wiring done for the most no of channels. Front LCR speakers must be good ones. Most of movie sound is here. 2 subs would be good. FS for L/R and matching center. For surrounds use stand mount speakers. Surrounds can be dipole/bipole. Look for an AVR that has pre out; will give opportunity for LCR outboard amps.

Polk RTi is good. A7 fronts and A6 center. Audition Dali, Klipsch, Wharfedale, etc. SW can be a good one like Velodyne.

FM aquarian09 is very passionate about HT. Seek his opinions on elements of HT.

Cheers,
Raghu

Hi, Could you please let me know what pre out means in an AVR. Not too good with the technical jargon here . Is there a difference between A7's and A9's in polk? Velodyne is what i am thinking but i read SVS is a also a good Subwoofer. Just trying to get as much information as possible before i leap in. Thanks again and sure will seek aquarian09's suggestions

 

[raghupb]

A9s are power hungry. A7 can be driven by many AVRs that have atleast 80-100 Wpc. Since there are going to be subs, no point going over board with fronts.
Yes, I have heard SVS is also good for sub. I have personally heard Polk/Velodyne (separate setups); so can comment on them.

Now in a big room, the front 3 speakers can seem weak if the AVR cannot drive them to potential. Having an AVR that can put out the decoded and processed signal to an external outboard amp is an advantage. Normally in a HT setup in a room size such as yours, you may feel the need extra amplification for L/R and maybe center.
Marantz 6010/7010 have them, so do many models in Denon, Onkyo, etc.

If you feel LCR sound is lacking, separate 3-ch amp or 2+1 ch amp may be added in the future. More flexibility, that's all.

Cheers,
Raghu

 

[samcruise]

A9s are power hungry. A7 can be driven by many AVRs that have atleast 80-100 Wpc. Since there are going to be subs, no point going over board with fronts.
Yes, I have heard SVS is also good for sub. I have personally heard Polk/Velodyne (separate setups); so can comment on them.

Now in a big room, the front 3 speakers can seem weak if the AVR cannot drive them to potential. Having an AVR that can put out the decoded and processed signal to an external outboard amp is an advantage. Normally in a HT setup in a room size such as yours, you may feel the need extra amplification for L/R and maybe center.
Marantz 6010/7010 have them, so do many models in Denon, Onkyo, etc.

If you feel LCR sound is lacking, separate 3-ch amp or 2+1 ch amp may be added in the future. More flexibility, that's all.

Cheers,
Raghu

Got you. Thank you for the info. Also which is a better speaker? A7's or tsx550?

 

[raghupb]

Got you. Thank you for the info. Also which is a better speaker? A7's or tsx550?

In my audition of the two polk series RTi appealed to me. I was looking for L/R that would double up for music listening. TSx sounded a bit too raw and untamed for music. For movies both series are good, TSx being lower priced.

Carve you budget out into electronics/speakers/room/misc. Then go auditioning within the range. LCR + Sub(s) should get decent portion of speakers budget.

Cheers,
Raghu

 

[venkatcr]

Sam:

If you are looking for a serious HT system, do take a look at in wall speakers. Most major speaker manufacturers do make in wall speakers. It will sound very nice, have precise placement, and save a lot of space.

Cheers

 

[samcruise]

Sam:

If you are looking for a serious HT system, do take a look at in wall speakers. Most major speaker manufacturers do make in wall speakers. It will sound very nice, have precise placement, and save a lot of space.

Cheers

Do in wall speakers have the same performance as floor standing speakers. Also one of the guys that i got the quote from told me that floor standing speakers can also be concealed in wall and it wouldn't affect the performance, is that true?

 

[GeorgeO]

Sam
At your budget my strong recommendation is to go for separates-have a HT prepro + multichannel amp instead of an AVR. It may cost a bit more though.

 

[venkatcr]

Do in wall speakers have the same performance as floor standing speakers. Also one of the guys that i got the quote from told me that floor standing speakers can also be concealed in wall and it wouldn't affect the performance, is that true?

Yes, in-wall speakers do perform very well. In addition, they are relatively less expensive than FS, and you could build a small bank of speakers that will deliver a larger sound stage than FS.

You can hide FS behind anything. What you have to keep in mind are the following:

1. There has to be a large gap between the wall and your dry wall to accommodate FS. Unless you are ready for odd shaped dry wall, you will lose a lot of space. Secondly, unless you fill the whole space with sound absorbing material, there is going to be a lot of hollow space in your room.

2. If any work needs to be done on the FS, you may need to break the dry wall and rebuild it again. Of course you can avoid this by building an alcove for the FS, but that will result in odd shape. An in-wall can, on the contrary, be simply removed and reinstalled.

3. FS need some space to breathe. Depending upon the FS you get, you will lose some 2 feet all around the FS. That means more space lost.

4. Multiple banks of in-wall will allow you to create a 5.1 or 7.1 for multiple rows of seats, very similar to a cinema hall.

If you do go in for in-wall, the speaker dealer has to coordinate with the contractor building you acoustics to ensure space is measured and left for speaker installation. In-wall speakers are a little difficult to install, and someone has to run specific SPL readings and use predefined software that will specify exactly where to install the speakers.

But if all that is done, the sound effect is phenomenal. You and your guests would not even know where the sound is coming from.

Cheers

 

[raghupb]

In wall speakers need a lot of planning and commitment from the owner. They are not the kind that will allow you to upgrade or change without minimal civil construction work.
What Venkat says about hiding FS is true. If you go for FS, then don't try to hide them. It is more practical to have them in the open for placement flexibility.
For surrounds you may consider in-wall, on-wall, stand-mount etc. Stand mounts give you the maximum placement flexibility and upgrade options at the cost of space/clutter.
Since your room is big (26x19), it is up to you to get the right visual/performance balance.

As George suggests, pre-processor + power amps is also an option. But this is at a higher up-front cost.

Cheers,
Raghu

 

[Aquarian09]

Well,
First things first, thats one really good budget you fixed for that monstrous room
That room will definitely need a 9.2.4 or 11.2.4 depends on your budget as well, so lets start with a 7.1.2 or maybe 5.1.2 just to make sure that everything will be in your budget, you can increase the number of speakers if its not crossing your budget.

I seriously and strongly recommend you to do very good room acoustics, its a very big room and you gotta be very careful and precise with acoustics or else the entire speaker and other equipment will be of no use. Next will be wiring, if u ask me, I would certainly suggest to go ahead with wiring a 9.2.4 or 11.2.4 system, for future upgrades.

Regarding the speakers and equipment, I again strongly recommend you to demo 2 or 3 times every brand thats available in Hyderabad. Then you will surely have numerous questions which we are very much ready to answer

Raghu is very good with cables and electronics take his suggestion for sure. His calculated guidance will very much help us.

i have replied to your PM, get back to me regarding that

Cheers,
Aditya

 

[raghupb]

Aditya, I only look for future flexibility and vfm. My approach is never visually neat. Some folks may not like it; Eg stands and wires in plain sight.

As for electronics, I am no expert. The only advice to others is needs, means and opportunities method.

Always ask yourself these questions
Do I need this feature/element?
Do I have the means to get this feature/element (mainly budget)?
Do I have the opportunity to implement/enjoy this feature/element?

Answers to these will most of the time lead to satisfactory decisions that you will not regret in near future.

Cheers,
Raghu

 

[MJ23Bulls]

Carve you budget out into electronics/speakers/room/misc. Then go auditioning within the range. LCR + Sub(s) should get decent portion of speakers budget.

Will a 20:50:20:10 (in the same order as you've mentioned above) good budget split?

Thanks
BK

 

[samcruise]

Sam
At your budget my strong recommendation is to go for separates-have a HT prepro + multichannel amp instead of an AVR. It may cost a bit more though.

Hi GeorgeO, i believe that is going to shoot up the budget like u mentioned but i am going to keep that in mind and try to plan accordingly, thank you

 

[samcruise]

Yes, in-wall speakers do perform very well. In addition, they are relatively less expensive than FS, and you could build a small bank of speakers that will deliver a larger sound stage than FS.

You can hide FS behind anything. What you have to keep in mind are the following:

1. There has to be a large gap between the wall and your dry wall to accommodate FS. Unless you are ready for odd shaped dry wall, you will lose a lot of space. Secondly, unless you fill the whole space with sound absorbing material, there is going to be a lot of hollow space in your room.

2. If any work needs to be done on the FS, you may need to break the dry wall and rebuild it again. Of course you can avoid this by building an alcove for the FS, but that will result in odd shape. An in-wall can, on the contrary, be simply removed and reinstalled.

3. FS need some space to breathe. Depending upon the FS you get, you will lose some 2 feet all around the FS. That means more space lost.

4. Multiple banks of in-wall will allow you to create a 5.1 or 7.1 for multiple rows of seats, very similar to a cinema hall.

If you do go in for in-wall, the speaker dealer has to coordinate with the contractor building you acoustics to ensure space is measured and left for speaker installation. In-wall speakers are a little difficult to install, and someone has to run specific SPL readings and use predefined software that will specify exactly where to install the speakers.

But if all that is done, the sound effect is phenomenal. You and your guests would not even know where the sound is coming from.

Cheers

Hi venkatcr, thank you so much for the detailed analysis. For now i am inclined towards FS and making space for them along the screen wall. But like i mentioned, i am just starting to understand and i am open to suggestions. I will keep that design aspect in mind before i commit to anything, Thank you

In wall speakers need a lot of planning and commitment from the owner. They are not the kind that will allow you to upgrade or change without minimal civil construction work.
What Venkat says about hiding FS is true. If you go for FS, then don't try to hide them. It is more practical to have them in the open for placement flexibility.
For surrounds you may consider in-wall, on-wall, stand-mount etc. Stand mounts give you the maximum placement flexibility and upgrade options at the cost of space/clutter.
Since your room is big (26x19), it is up to you to get the right visual/performance balance.

As George suggests, pre-processor + power amps is also an option. But this is at a higher up-front cost.

Cheers,
Raghu

Hi raghupb...Yeah even i think the placement of the speakers would enhance overall look of the HT and ofcourse sound output is the primary goal. I will try to get all the placements right before the work is started. Thank you