Question Living room setup

UChoudhari

Standard Member
Joined
May 8, 2008
Messages
13
Reaction score
1
Points
4
Location
London
Hi all, i have been reliant on this forum for all things related to AV for a while.
I have not used it for some time but am now finally in a position to build out a 7.1 for my new living room.

I am complete newbie and rely on reviews from experts on here and would be grateful for some advice.
I am building out a new living room (rectangular shape, 5m (l) x 3m (w)) and looking to prepare it for 7.1 system.
i already have a pair of PMC FB1 floorstanding speakers and am looking to add the following (based on advice from a local AV shop):
Cables - Atlas HYPER speaker cables for wiring the room
Centre channel - PMC Twenty5.C
Sub - REL T9 (or S3)
AV receiver - Arcam AVR 550

At a later date:
for rears: Monitor Audio Godl FX
For in-ceiling (dolby atmos): Monitor Audio in-ceiling (TBD)

other than the FB1s that i already possess, i dont have any knowledge of the other speakers.
I would be grateful for any guidance on this setup.

My budget is ~£5-7k

thanks in advance all!
 
I think I would decide if you will invest in a full, more integrated ATMOS set up. For me 5.1 is fine. The added cost and complexity means there will be a quality compromise, so I’d start 5 .1 or 7.1. The kit list looks good and I have heard good things about the Arcam at that price point.

Try not to spend too much on cables, but buying too cheap will compromise. Lost of debates on cables here as you know, so I will avoid that. Will this be in combination with a PJ or TV ?
 
PS, as your room is longer than wider, I personally find 5.1 can work well here as you do have some distance to the rears. Adding two more to the side might not add very much IMO. Being closer to the rears in my current set up makes integration slightly more sensitive to angle, position from my experience.
 
Hello, thanks for responding.
My main use of the system will be music and watching sports/ TV on a day-to-day basis and the occasional movies.
So i would agree that 5.1 should be sufficient.
If i add the Monitor Audio Gold as rears, they will be right behind the seating position.

W.r.t. TV or PJ, i was thinking a wall-mounted 55' TV.
 
Which way will you be facing - across the room, or lengthways?

55" is a small TV for anything more than around 5 or 6ft away - it may seem big if you're not used to it, but you will quickly wish you had a bigger screen if you sit further away. Of course, you could always have a small TV like that for day-to-day viewing, and then lower a screen in front of it with a projector for movies! ;)

As far as surround sound etc. Just bear in mind, that if you plan on moving from 5.1 to 7.1 at some point, the side surrounds are placed slightly differently in each configuration, so plan ahead accordingly.

These are the Dolby guidelines for installing Atmos, but the bed layer, the 5.1 or 7.1 is valid, with or without overhead speakers. https://www.dolby.com/us/en/technol...tmos-home-theater-installation-guidelines.pdf
 
the setup will be lengthways so the distance between the tv and the sofa will be around 3.75 - 4m.
i am also worried about the size of the TV and currently working on a linked workstream to convince my partner to let me get a 65'! :)
 
the setup will be lengthways so the distance between the tv and the sofa will be around 3.75 - 4m.
i am also worried about the size of the TV and currently working on a linked workstream to convince my partner to let me get a 65'! :)

Yep - you need to work on them rather a lot! For regular viewing of a TV, we sit about 5-6ft away from a 55" TV, that's in the kitchen. In my cinema room, the front row is 8ft from a 10ft wide image! Even the back row is only around 4m (13ft) from this screen - you'll need a telescope to watch a 55" screen from your distances! :D

Home theater viewing angles, distances and sightlines - Acoustic Frontiers

Have a read of the above - the farthest recommended viewing angle is approx. 36 degrees, and bigger is better (up to a point). In my cinema room, my front row is at about the SMPTE closest recommend distance, with the rear row, at the SMPTE reference.

In round figures, you should be seated roughly between 1 and 1 1/2 times the width of the image you're watching (personal preference and room size will naturally have a bearing on this) - but for a 55" TV, that equates to between 4 and 6ft away being optimal. To sit 3.75 - 4m away from an image, you really need a screen and a projector if you want to experience any sort of immersive feeling!

HTH
 
Yep - you need to work on them rather a lot! For regular viewing of a TV, we sit about 5-6ft away from a 55" TV, that's in the kitchen. In my cinema room, the front row is 8ft from a 10ft wide image! Even the back row is only around 4m (13ft) from this screen - you'll need a telescope to watch a 55" screen from your distances! :D

Home theater viewing angles, distances and sightlines - Acoustic Frontiers

Have a read of the above - the farthest recommended viewing angle is approx. 36 degrees, and bigger is better (up to a point). In my cinema room, my front row is at about the SMPTE closest recommend distance, with the rear row, at the SMPTE reference.

In round figures, you should be seated roughly between 1 and 1 1/2 times the width of the image you're watching (personal preference and room size will naturally have a bearing on this) - but for a 55" TV, that equates to between 4 and 6ft away being optimal. To sit 3.75 - 4m away from an image, you really need a screen and a projector if you want to experience any sort of immersive feeling!

HTH
thanks so much! it does help a lot.
 
Hi everyone, I have now got the room built and ready for wiring. Now that I know room dimensions (4.5m length x 2.7m wide) I have been in to the local hi FYI shop and demoed some setups. This is what I have settled on:

1 X Arcam AVR550
1 X PMC Twenty 5 C
1 X REL S3 sub woofer
1 X PMC Twenty 5 24s

I had a couple of questions:
1. Given the size of the room, is this setup excessive?
2. I have fallen in love with the PmC sound - does anyone have any experience of how the 25.24s compare to 25.26 and the fact range (fact.8)?

Thanks,
 
1 X PMC Twenty 5 C
1 X REL S3 sub woofer
1 X PMC Twenty 5 24s
Can you confirm just how many speakers and in what configuration your intend to use them. Do you mean does 1 mean 1 pair? Do you have a centre? What orientation in the room, ie, will the speakers be on the short wall?

I see the 5C will be your centre. So are you going for a 3.1?
 
Hi gibbsy, apologies for not being clear.

the speakers will be on the short wall i.e. the living room will be long ways with sofa on one short wall and TV + speakers on the other short wall.
i intend to wire the room for 5.1 but initially going for 3.1 setup with a pair of 25.24s and 5C as centre speaker.

i am set on PMC but wanted some feedback and advice on what people think of the 25.24s vs 26.26 and Fact 8.
 
If you keep the floorstanders out of the corner, they like space to perform to their best and also keep enough distance between them for a good stereo soundstage, say 2 metres tweeter centre to centre then that should be good enough. Dirac on board the 550 will do an excellent job of EQing them into the room.

I don't believe there is anything called overkill, it's just an eye on the future and indeed the 550 will excel at 5.1 or even higher. I've only heard the PMCs in a non critical environment at my local AudioT so can't really comment on how they sound although the salesman did his best to sell them to me as he absolutely loves them.
 
thanks! that helps. I will stick with the 3.1 for now.
Personally, the 25.24s blew me away. I am not trying to find out if i should get the bigger 25.26s or the Fact 8 (given this is meant to be the flagship range)
 
i have been looking through the forum to find comparisons between Fact 8 and 25.24s and have not had much luck.
would appreciate any advice here.

thanks!
 
Post a question here:
Home Cinema Speakers

Just don't flit between threads regarding the speakers as it will make it easier for members to reply.
 

The latest video from AVForums

TV Buying Guide - Which TV Is Best For You?
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Back
Top Bottom