[jamesk190]

Hi all,

I've been reading these forums for a few months now and I'm nothing but impressed at the level/quality of some of the setups and it's inspired me to plan my own fake chimney breast install for when me and the rest of the family move into a new place in 6-8 weeks time.

I've been back and forward with the choice of gear to splash out on and I've settled on the following:-

Panasonic TXP37X10B Plasma (the viewing will predominantly be SD Sky and DVD so opted for this instead of full 1080p)
Samsung HT-Z310R upscaling DVD/5.1 System (I know this is entry level but it's a first system and I can currently get it for £114 from dixons.co.uk when I buy the Panasonic and I can always upgrade later on)

The 5.1 is going to be installed inside (and at the bottom) of a cupboard that will also house my dvd collection. Along with it will be my Sky+ box, Wii and a space for either a blu-ray player or a PS3 (if I can convince the missus that we need one!) to be added later on. The cables will all be run through a channel between the cupboard and the chimney breast so they're not visible.

I've already picked up a PowerMid IR link and a flood emitter which will go inside the cupboard to allow me to hide all the gear away from the little ones and still control it!

The power to the gear will come via a standby saver remote controlled 6-way that will let me turn it all off using my tv (or any other) remote.

For the 'bling' touches I've stolen a couple of great ideas from the site and I'm going to backlight the tv with the much-recommended Dioder LEDs from Ikea and I'm also going to be installing an uplighting channel around the top of the room (inspiration courtesy of MitsiTurbo - cheers!) and running the rear speaker cabling around the channel as well. The LEDs and the ropelight in the uplighting channel will be controlled by remote controlled plugs so I can control them without the need for visible switches (RADIPLUG, 3x Remote Control Mains Plug Sockets/Switches).

The few questions I have are:-

Will buying upgraded speakers and/or speaker wire make much of a difference to the sound coming from the 5.1 system or will the system itself limit the quality?

If anyone has the Ikea lights...is it possible to set them up to turn on to the same mode/colour each time or do you have to rotate through the different modes/colours each time? (I went for the multi-coloured version)

Lastly (and this one's a bit weird!), if anyone has the same Panasonic TV, could you possibly measure the depth of the sides before it turns in towards the middle (not the full depth of the tv, I've got that from the pdf manual on their wesite, just the side of it). I'm trying to figure out how far in the 'hole' behind the tv is going to need to be plastered so the holes/wires cannot be seen behind it!

Cheers in advance for any advice anyone can give me!

[jamesk190]

To any of the moderators.....just realised I posted this in the Gallery not the DIY section....could it be moved please!?!?

Cheers,
jamesk190

[mabo]

Originally Posted by jamesk190

To any of the moderators.....just realised I posted this in the Gallery not the DIY section....could it be moved please!?!?

Cheers,
jamesk190

Done.

[Indecisive]

I personally wouldn't bother upgrading the speakers in an all in one system although I would recommend upgrading the speaker cable if you plan to have the wires hidden in the walls etc. This saves having to chase everything out again for when you upgrade to a dedicated a/v amp and new speakers.

Good luck with your build, it will be worth the hard work as long as you are willing to put everything in to it.

[jamesk190]

@ Indecisive...


Cheers for the advice, the speakers aren't going to be chased into the walls, they're going to run around the room in the up-lighting channel so they're always going to be accessible. The cables between the av gear and the tv will run through a semi-removable channel (big enough to put a small wooden statue/carving we have on) that will run from the side of the cupboard into the side of the chimney breast and I'm going to have some sort of access panel on the side of the chimney breast to allow easy upgrading of the cables at a later date.

That said, if the cables are going to make a difference then it makes sense to get them now and run them around the room so I don't have to mess around changing them.

That's what I'll tell the missus anyway!!!

Thanks again

[jamesk190]

@ Mabo....

Cheers!

[KobeoneHD]

Good luck with it! What speaker cable are you thinking of? I can recommend QED silver anniversary XT from this website qed-cable-shop Silver Anniversary XT speaker cable

Very cheap and really makes a difference! Oh yeah dont forget the pics

KobeoneHD

[jamesk190]

Originally Posted by KobeoneHD

Good luck with it! What speaker cable are you thinking of? I can recommend QED silver anniversary XT from this website qed-cable-shop Silver Anniversary XT speaker cable

Very cheap and really makes a difference! Oh yeah dont forget the pics

KobeoneHD

Cheers for the recommendation but they're a little out of my price range!

Maybe when I look to upgrading to a dedicated av amp I can look at them