Advice on equipment

Trizcakes

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Hi, so I'm wanting to make my sunroom into a make-shift Cinema room. It's going to be a duel purpose room as opposed to a dedicated cinema room.

So far I currently have nothing purchased and want to start the work asap, but need to know what equipment is going in the room, such as the projector and speakers etc, so I can get the wiring all sorted etc..

Attached is a floorplan of the room, along with pictures (Currently used as a dumping ground, so ignore the complete mess) None of the furniture you can see is being used in the cinema room.

My question is, what would you recommend for this sized room?

Design intentions:
I'm going to be getting the walls and ceiling plastered, and then will paint the walls cream and the ceiling a navy blue (Remember this is a duel purpose room, so although black is preferred, it'll be too dark for normal use)

Then I intended to have navy blue black out curtains around all 4 sides of the room
(Possibly these: Luna Brushed Navy Blackout Pencil Pleat Curtains | Dunelm)

and change the hanging light to 6 halo spotlights spread across the room

However I'm not sure on which projector to get or what sound system to get. It doesn't need to be anything fancy fancy, like I don't have a budget per se, but I don't wanna be spending 4k on a projector, I'm thinking like 1k max, and as for sound system, as it's a smallish room, then I imagine something averagely priced should do it?

I purely intend to just watch things streamed from the internet such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+, ITV Player etc.. so realistically I can just hook up a smart device that allows all those apps to be installed to it, (such as an amazon fire stick or similar)

All advice and links to products are appreciated and suggestions of course!
Thanks in advance!
 

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Epson TW7000 looks to be best option at the 1k£ region. Decent picture quality, fairly silent in ECO mode (24db) confirmed by reviews/owners, manual/vertical lens shift helps setting picture.
Amazon product ASIN B07Z45Y6YP
Here is 10 page review, in US it`s known as 3200, in UK/EU as TW7000:


Throw distance calculator for it here:


You have the black glass door opening just where the left main speaker would go and it would ideally need to sit on stand against wall or to look on-wall speakers but they often cost more. Don`t put the couch against rear wall if possible as that is not the best place to sit sound wise. I see you have the glass door going out at middle so the couch can`t come too much forward, but still perhaps you can choose something that isn´t super deep so listeners heads wouldn´t be against the rear wall. You have to mount surround speakers in each rear corners higher up and you don´t want to sit too close to them either, raising them higher helps to get extra distance.
 
Epson TW7000 looks to be best option at the 1k£ region. Decent picture quality, fairly silent in ECO mode (24db) confirmed by reviews/owners, manual/vertical lens shift helps setting picture.
Amazon product ASIN B07Z45Y6YP
Here is 10 page review, in US it`s known as 3200, in UK/EU as TW7000:


Throw distance calculator for it here:


You have the black glass door opening just where the left main speaker would go and it would ideally need to sit on stand against wall or to look on-wall speakers but they often cost more. Don`t put the couch against rear wall if possible as that is not the best place to sit sound wise. I see you have the glass door going out at middle so the couch can`t come too much forward, but still perhaps you can choose something that isn´t super deep so listeners heads wouldn´t be against the rear wall. You have to mount surround speakers in each rear corners higher up and you don´t want to sit too close to them either, raising them higher helps to get extra distance.
Brilliant, thanks for your reply!

As I'm having curtains around all 4 walls, it kinda rules out the option of wall mounted speakers anyway. (The ones behind the screen will be forever closed, with the others either half open, such as the one near the sliding door, and the rest of them open when the room isn't in use as a cinema room) but yes I haven't selected a couch yet, kinda waiting on which sound system and projector to get so I can get the wiring sorted, then I'll look into seating options etc.

I'll read that Porjectors view later on, thanks for the suggestion!

I was planning on getting either ceiling speakers in the 2 furthest corners opposite the screen, or floor mounted speakers, then perhaps a Sonos Soundbar for the front, no idea where to place it though, however I can look at replacing the sliding door for something else, so that the entrance would then be on the right as you walk in, as opposed to being currently on the left as you're walking in, which is somewhat where the screen falls, and like you said, would be where the speaker goes should I go down the option of a full 7.1 system. Though I'm more kinda leaning towards just an Immersive Sonos Set with Arc as I feel for a room this small it should be sufficient enough to deliver what I'll need it for.
 
First, you call it a "makeshift cinema room", I wouldn't use the word cinema in association with the word soundbar. Second, I wouldn't call it a small room.

So, my advice would be that you must have some proper speakers with an AVR in there. Not saying expensive.

I think you will end up with a marvellous PJ and screen showing films immersively with utterly disappointing sound about as immersive as your computer speaker. 🤣
 
It's going to be a duel purpose room as opposed to a dedicated cinema room.

Also, will that be with swords or guns? 🤣🤣 Make sure you get very strong speaker covers either way!
 
First, you call it a "makeshift cinema room", I wouldn't use the word cinema in association with the word soundbar. Second, I wouldn't call it a small room.

So, my advice would be that you must have some proper speakers with an AVR in there. Not saying expensive.

I think you will end up with a marvellous PJ and screen showing films immersively with utterly disappointing sound about as immersive as your computer speaker. 🤣
Haha, ok I'll see about getting a proper speaker system then, I'm just worried about where the hell I'll put it.

I already have this AVR, I bought it about 4 years ago for my turntable, would this do the job?

Any suggestions for which speakers etc to partner with it if so?
Also any screen suggestions, ideally like a an electric one because I am the pinnacle of lazy, I was thinking about this one?


Also, will that be with swords or guns? 🤣🤣 Make sure you get very strong speaker covers either way!
I was thinking more swords, a gun duel wouldn't last as long you see! haha oops, dual purpose*
 
Brilliant, thanks for your reply!

As I'm having curtains around all 4 walls, it kinda rules out the option of wall mounted speakers anyway. (The ones behind the screen will be forever closed, with the others either half open, such as the one near the sliding door, and the rest of them open when the room isn't in use as a cinema room) but yes I haven't selected a couch yet, kinda waiting on which sound system and projector to get so I can get the wiring sorted, then I'll look into seating options etc.

I'll read that Porjectors view later on, thanks for the suggestion!

I was planning on getting either ceiling speakers in the 2 furthest corners opposite the screen, or floor mounted speakers, then perhaps a Sonos Soundbar for the front, no idea where to place it though, however I can look at replacing the sliding door for something else, so that the entrance would then be on the right as you walk in, as opposed to being currently on the left as you're walking in, which is somewhat where the screen falls, and like you said, would be where the speaker goes should I go down the option of a full 7.1 system. Though I'm more kinda leaning towards just an Immersive Sonos Set with Arc as I feel for a room this small it should be sufficient enough to deliver what I'll need it for.

As mentioned forget the "bedroom soundbars", they won`t wow you. Buy something small and you will get small sound. That is not the way to go especially with big screen. Stick with 5.1 system, less is more in this case with limited budget and you likely don´t have one meter space behind the couch recommended for surround back channels.

So you meant in-ceiling surround l/r speakers? They shouldn´t go directly in to corners or too close to side walls. The effects shouldn´t ideally come from ceiling, but i think you don`t have much options so it`s compromise you have to make and as i have mentioned here before this is something what many in US has opted for with open spaces without walls and it works fine. To keep the cost at bay i wouldn´t spend massive amounts for effect channels. Something like the Kefs would do great. It requires some extra work with the cabling and possibly fire hoods for the speakers.

The Pioneer receiver will do fine as it´s not too old it has 4K support hdcp 2.2 etc and also supports the dolby digital plus and newer hd formats so all good for streaming! It´s really good news you have av-receiver already cause the prices are astronomical now so this means more spent for speakers and subwoofer which is where it matters most!

The question is can you have speaker stands for the front main speakers and center channel? The speakers would likely go against the front wall each side of screen and center channel below it tilted upwards as people come to room close of that left front.
 
As mentioned forget the "bedroom soundbars", they won`t wow you. Buy something small and you will get small sound. That is not the way to go especially with big screen. Stick with 5.1 system, less is more in this case with limited budget and you likely don´t have one meter space behind the couch recommended for surround back channels.

So you meant in-ceiling surround l/r speakers? They shouldn´t go directly in to corners or too close to side walls. The effects shouldn´t ideally come from ceiling, but i think you don`t have much options so it`s compromise you have to make and as i have mentioned here before this is something what many in US has opted for with open spaces without walls and it works fine. To keep the cost at bay i wouldn´t spend massive amounts for effect channels. Something like the Kefs would do great. It requires some extra work with the cabling and possibly fire hoods for the speakers.

The Pioneer receiver will do fine as it´s not too old it has 4K support hdcp 2.2 etc and also supports the dolby digital plus and newer hd formats so all good for streaming! It´s really good news you have av-receiver already cause the prices are astronomical now so this means more spent for speakers and subwoofer which is where it matters most!

The question is can you have speaker stands for the front main speakers and center channel? The speakers would likely go against the front wall each side of screen and center channel below it tilted upwards as people come to room close of that left front.
Thanks for this reply, very helpful!

I intend to eventually replace all the doors and windows in the house (at a later date) and when I do so I can look at getting the internal sliding door changed so that the main entry point will be on the right when you walk in as opposed to on the left. So I'll then be able to have a front speaker set up in the corner on the left facing the screen; on a permanent basis. Until then I can just move that one speaker to the center so it's out the way on the entrance to that room until I want to watch a film etc..

Do you have any suggestions for decent subwoofer and front speakers? I've got no idea on what's good or would pair well with the above suggested projector and my AVR
 
Thanks for this reply, very helpful!

I intend to eventually replace all the doors and windows in the house (at a later date) and when I do so I can look at getting the internal sliding door changed so that the main entry point will be on the right when you walk in as opposed to on the left. So I'll then be able to have a front speaker set up in the corner on the left facing the screen; on a permanent basis. Until then I can just move that one speaker to the center so it's out the way on the entrance to that room until I want to watch a film etc..

Do you have any suggestions for decent subwoofer and front speakers? I've got no idea on what's good or would pair well with the above suggested projector and my AVR

There is ton of speakers to choose from and we could recommend some models which you would then research more and hopefully could visit local hifi store to listen/compare which is free and you don´t have to buy anything. You can later ask best pricing example from AVForums advertisers which also write here.
I feel the best route would have been to keep the front wall without curtains so that you could have on-wall speakers designed specifically for wall mounting. They would be out of the walkway and would sound better. There is two things to consider. If you move the one speaker constantly you need to mark the spot for the speaker stand (left speaker) and put it always on same spot as you calibrate your system with the speakers in certain spots. Also i don´t like the idea that the front speakers would go directly in corners cause you can´t move them forward due to that opening on the left side. Speakers in corner you get big boundary gain and with the basic Pioneer receiver i just don´t see them sounding as good as they could, they will sound bass heavy and muddy most likely.

So would you still be open for the idea of opting for on-wall speakers each side of screen and just paint the wall? Example Dali Oberon On-Wall (499£/pair) which is fairly compact, but still decent size with 5,25" drivers and downfiring port. 4 finishes to choose from. Check the short clip below, there is also full white grille as optional.




Adding center channel below screen then the stand would look like this:

If you would opt for the Oberon On-walls then you would add Oberon Vokal from same range as centre (329£):

However if it`s no go then we will consider something else.

For subwoofer assuming you are working with fairly tight budget you would then look BK Electronics subs which are built in UK since 90s and they sell direct to customer as the reason for such low prices. You also have many different finishes to choose from and with some models you can even choose driver orientation (forward or down firing). If you go with that centre stand and add speaker like the Oberon Vokal that means the bottom of screen would be at 60cm lowest so you could then fit taller but narrower sub aswell. You probably still don`t want anything too massive so few examples below, scroll down the links and there is small picture of finishes at bottom which you can click also. What do you think of the size/price of these? There is of course more options, but let`s start with these as they offer quite good bang for low buck.



 
There is ton of speakers to choose from and we could recommend some models which you would then research more and hopefully could visit local hifi store to listen/compare which is free and you don´t have to buy anything. You can later ask best pricing example from AVForums advertisers which also write here.
I feel the best route would have been to keep the front wall without curtains so that you could have on-wall speakers designed specifically for wall mounting. They would be out of the walkway and would sound better. There is two things to consider. If you move the one speaker constantly you need to mark the spot for the speaker stand (left speaker) and put it always on same spot as you calibrate your system with the speakers in certain spots. Also i don´t like the idea that the front speakers would go directly in corners cause you can´t move them forward due to that opening on the left side. Speakers in corner you get big boundary gain and with the basic Pioneer receiver i just don´t see them sounding as good as they could, they will sound bass heavy and muddy most likely.

So would you still be open for the idea of opting for on-wall speakers each side of screen and just paint the wall? Example Dali Oberon On-Wall (499£/pair) which is fairly compact, but still decent size with 5,25" drivers and downfiring port. 4 finishes to choose from. Check the short clip below, there is also full white grille as optional.




Adding center channel below screen then the stand would look like this:

If you would opt for the Oberon On-walls then you would add Oberon Vokal from same range as centre (329£):

However if it`s no go then we will consider something else.

For subwoofer assuming you are working with fairly tight budget you would then look BK Electronics subs which are built in UK since 90s and they sell direct to customer as the reason for such low prices. You also have many different finishes to choose from and with some models you can even choose driver orientation (forward or down firing). If you go with that centre stand and add speaker like the Oberon Vokal that means the bottom of screen would be at 60cm lowest so you could then fit taller but narrower sub aswell. You probably still don`t want anything too massive so few examples below, scroll down the links and there is small picture of finishes at bottom which you can click also. What do you think of the size/price of these? There is of course more options, but let`s start with these as they offer quite good bang for low buck.




I am considering the wall mounted ones, they look nice and smart.
My question would be what sized screen do you think I should get, I was planning to pretty much cover the whole wall and get a 120 inch screen, which is 234cm across or 266 with the casing, and my back wall is around 289cm across, so there wouldn't be much room for speakers.

Do you suggest I get a smaller screen cause there wouldn't be any room for wall speakers if I did that, or is there something I'm overlooking?

My only concern with not having curtains at the back behind where the screen will drop down, is the fact that there is a window there leading to my kitchen, which will let in light. I have found a black out blind that can potentially go there, however not sure on its ability to keep light out, it does have tracks down the side that the blind sits in and is built into a cassette, so in theory it should work fine.


Really liking the idea of those wall speakers paired with the same make sub though, they're very sleek and minimalistic design which will go well in the room I feel.
I'll have to work out where the hell I put the AVR though, doubt it can go in the same room, might have to be the lounge, with an IR receiver so I can still use the controllers.

Just so I have some choice, do you have a recommendation for any projectors at the £1.5k mark? I assume the Oberon speakers and subwoofer, along with the 2 in ceiling Kef speakers you suggested would provide a wow-cinema like factor when viewing films... I'd ideally like to have a projector to match, with great quality and clarity etc... If that 1k one you suggested earlier is good enough then I'll be happy with that, but if there is one that's lets say 30% better for only £200-500 more, I'd rather opt for that one
 
If you going to cover the whole wall then the screen would be need to be acoustically transparent one that drops from ceiling slightly in front of speakers, this way you could also wall mount center channel at same height with left and right mains (tweeters at seated ear height). This is the most ideal scenario and one main benefits of AT-screen! However Dali doesn´t sell the Oberon On-Wall as single normally, so you would have to ask around dealers who could sell you three of those as the Oberon Vokal is the normal bulky one which would require own stand and to be placed below screen.

Otherwise you would stick with normal ~100" screen, you need to measure the max size carefully so that the speakers won´t go directly in the corners either. You could talk with Dali via email what they recommend if you are warming up for them, although i would always recommend to go listen speakers first when possible.

Hopefully the roller blind works! Could you have the av-receiver at the back of the room behind couch on rack if you can have the couch moved slightly forward? You need to consider the hdmi cable too which shouldn´t be kilometer long from projector to receiver, i believe you need higher quality one if you go close to 10 meters and it will cost extra. Read this thread:

For the av rack you could think of these if you think you could have the receiver behind couch:

Don`t buy same make subwoofer (Dali) as there is no single reason to do that, you pay more and get less also in term of support/service. Buy it from company that specializes in building woofers, my last post had link from BK which are known as best budget options in UK. This is assuming you have to buy something cheap. They also have smaller model (XLS200) IF you really can´t fit larger one. However i would caution you to consider carefully as the jump from XLS200 to the P12 can be noticeable still. Price difference is about 55£ which is nothing for long term. 360£ vs. 415£. Notice the DF and FF cabinets have different dimensions (height vs. depth) so which ever works better, performance is same.

For projector i would look the next model from Epson TW-7100. Edit. Forget that now as the TW7400 seems to be priced almost same (+100£) at AVF forum advertiser = 1800£. It´s bit over your budget but should be noticeable step up from TW-7000! It got best buy award from AVF editors too. If you are intrested send email [email protected] or send PM to @The Sound Counsel as i said they are forum advertiser and can help choosing screen, mounting tips, you can send him the room and front wall dimensions etc. You really want to talk with professional and also have someone to install them who knows what he is doing.


Epson TW7400 LCD 4K Enhanced Projector Review
 

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