Question Best Setup for living room and projector

infinitydreams

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I'm looking at sorting out my living room with some proper AV including a projector, amp, surround sound etc.

The room in question is 3350(d) x 5100(w) x 2220(h) and as you'll see from my crude mockup designs below it has a window and door on the outside wall and one internal door.

I'd be really keen to get your thoughts on what you think would work better for the cinema experience. This is a living room so won't be completely black, but I would get decent blinds if we were going to watch anything properly during the day. Ideally I'd just project onto the wall as it would look nicer, not sure if anyone does this, recommends paint (most my house is a very very light grey).

Option A - This is actually as the room is setup now but with a 50" TV and no surround sound. It works as a room layout but my concern is it's not great for audio, when it comes to rear/surround speakers. My other concern is if the image will get blocked by the person sitting in the middle. I'm not sure I want the projector in the middle of the ceiling, hence me trying to keep it at the back. But again I'm not sure if 5m is too far.

Living%20Room%20Option%20A_zps0tv7eri9.png

Options%20A_zpsl7nqssk5.jpg



Option B - This is basically swapping the room around completely, it would be better for audio as I could easily have surround/atmos speakers (room above seating area is carpet so can come up for speaker install). My concern is if the distance would be too far from the screen (4.5m).

Living%20Room%20Option%20B_zpsyk23ojip.png




Options%20B_zpsugvlxthu.jpg


Option C - This isn't great for audio and I'm worried the window opposite will cause issues with screen, but it does mean you're closer the the screen.

Living%20Room%20Option%20C_zpsxc7dqebk.png

Options%20C_zpslcshbbbu.jpg


Dream Option - The final option is the long term goal and that's to extend the house and completely flip it, moving the kitchen to the back of the house and then have a cinema room at the front. But that's a long way off as need to save for that, but here's my thoughts on layout. Hard for you to understand but it's basically a 3m single storey extension on the back of the house, opening it up to a big kitchen/dining/tv room with bi-fold doors. A man has to dream right!?!

Living%20Room%20Option%20D_zpsfajca45w.png


Conclusion

So based on the layouts above (excluding dream option) what do you think works best and why?

In terms of my plans for the space, I'm thinking about building a stud wall on the left/right 3m wall and sound proofing (I'll have to post about that separately) then depending on what option is chosen sorting the sound. Likely a Denon AV with either Epson 7300 or Optoma UHD60 and then speakers I'm not sure, I currently have stereo speakers only, Q Acoustics Concept 20. So could maybe keep them or sell and replace, I was thinking if I built a stud wall I could do flush in wall speakers but then would I have to do 2 stud walls for sound proofing? Again any thoughts or ideas on what you'd do in this space and what equipment you'd go for.

Thanks in advance.
 
I think I'm leaning towards Option B, but thinking I could retain my 50" TV and wall mount it to the floating soundproofed stud wall I'll build for daytime viewing, then have a projector screen come down when we want to watch a movie/something at night. It means that I can also get a 5.1.4 or maybe 7.1.4 setup as well.

With regarding to the best speaker setup is 7.1.4 much better than 5.1.4? On the stud wall I'll build behind the sofa I'm guessing I could have surround speakers in the corner and then rears as flush wall speakers in the stud work?
 
If you want to go projection I'd look at the corner sofa in Option A or Option C as a more realistic seating/viewing layout than Option B (where you are viewing from too far away from the screen).

A decent Black Out blind will deal with the window in Option C.

Audio is always a bit of a compromise - personally I prefer less speakers if I can't optimise positioning - legibility of dialogue is way more important (to me) than surround or immersive effects.

Where space (and budget) is at a premium I'd happily live with the best 2.0/2.1 system my space/budget will allow.

Joe
 
Interesting. I measure the distance from what will be seated to the screen for option B and it's 4m, looking at projector screen sizes I'm confident I can get a 108" screen. So is 4m too far away from a 108" screen?
 

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