Mega Noob who just got himself a house needs help

FoordDass

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Hello everyone, one of my first posts here, great forum by the way. Over the last 6 months I have been looking through threads and other peoples builds to get some ideas and help, now that our house purchase has gone through and we are in, it's time to tackle my first ever (basic) build for our living room. Just need some general tips and help to make sure I am going down the right path. So my budget is around £2500 (not great I know) and I need to get myself a TV, 5.1 with amp and a couple of ceiling speakers for basic Atmos. I will pick myself up a 4K player as well at some point.

So I was thinking for the TV - Samsung QE65Q7FAM 65″ 4K Ultra HD HDR Smart QLED TV
- HD Tv, 4k Content, Ps4, will try HDR out.

5.1 and amp - Denon AVR-X2400H AV Receiver w/ Q Acoustics 3000 Speaker Package 5.1

Atmos (ceiling speakers) - Cambridge Audio MINX MIN12 (X2)


So my questions are,
- Is that pretty good for the money i.e could I do better?
- Will the speakers be OK for the size of the room or would I need more/less?
- Will I get a fairly good Atmos effect.
- Do I need to change anything at all in terms of layout?

The Plan is as follows, we are going to extend the existing chimney out by about 4 inches to hide the wires and to make sure the sit's flush. We are going to build a basic av rack into one of the cupboards to store the ps4 and amp etc, and get that ventilated with some fans.

I am open to any suggestions or help people are willing to give.

Thanks in advance.
12mCZ.jpg

My poor attempt at sketchup haha!

122B3.jpg

cnlakMn
 
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Personally i wouldn't stretch yourself on budget to try achieve everything in one go - a lot of the fun comes with upgrades so don't be too concerned if you have to wait to have room fully complete.

Personally, i would focus on getting the room right - wire for as many speakers possible 7.1.4 is probs the max, with 5.1.4 being most suited to your room size.

Consider acoustic treatments, usually these can be DIY. There is lots of info throughout the forum. --- this will ensure you get most out of your speakers regardless of there cost.

Look at the classifieds/ebay/ex display etc. There are bargains to be had potentially getting you a higher spec for you budget. Speakers are very rarely driven hard and there hasn't been major improvements in models

I have got 4 Cambridge Minx for ATMOS speakers and personally i do not think they are up to the job - i have mine 5db+ compared to other speakers to hear them & they lack any low end. --- Again wire for ceiling speakers, you can always leave the cables behind the plasterboard ready to cut at later date.

Hope project goes smooth & be sure to add lots of pics..:)
 
I think your budget is fine.
The Denon is a great piece of kit (I have the 2300) and the speaker package looks great too.
There becomes a point in pricing where you wont hear much of a difference or have to spend a lot more money for miniscule improvements.
Don't forget to budget for the speaker cable too a this can cost a few hundred. You don't 'need' the best, but this is the only thing that is not really easily upgradable without a LOT of hassle if hid in the wall, so get the best you can afford at the time. I bought some Van Damme cable (blue range), but only because it was a good price as someone had some left over from a build.
 
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Personally i wouldn't stretch yourself on budget to try achieve everything in one go - a lot of the fun comes with upgrades so don't be too concerned if you have to wait to have room fully complete.

Personally, i would focus on getting the room right - wire for as many speakers possible 7.1.4 is probs the max, with 5.1.4 being most suited to your room size.

Consider acoustic treatments, usually these can be DIY. There is lots of info throughout the forum. --- this will ensure you get most out of your speakers regardless of there cost.

Look at the classifieds/ebay/ex display etc. There are bargains to be had potentially getting you a higher spec for you budget. Speakers are very rarely driven hard and there hasn't been major improvements in models

I have got 4 Cambridge Minx for ATMOS speakers and personally i do not think they are up to the job - i have mine 5db+ compared to other speakers to hear them & they lack any low end. --- Again wire for ceiling speakers, you can always leave the cables behind the plasterboard ready to cut at later date.

Hope project goes smooth & be sure to add lots of pics..:)

Thanks so much for your advice, any particular acoustic treatments you can think of? And my ceiling is only 8ft 10, would the Cambridge Minx work well or should I opt for something else?

I think your budget is fine.
The Denon is a great piece of kit (I have the 2300) and the speaker package looks great too.
There becomes a point in pricing where you wont hear much of a difference or have to spend a lot more money for miniscule improvements.
Don't forget to budget for the speaker cable too a this can cost a few hundred. You don't 'need' the best, but this is the only thing that is not really easily upgradable without a LOT of hassle, so get the best you can afford at the time. I bought some Van Damme cable (blue range), but only because it was a good price as someone had some left over from a build.

Thanks mate for your help, any particular cable that I actually need, or is it just speaker cable? Sorry for the dumb question but do you need different cable for different speaker packages?
 
I have seen plenty of tests on speaker wires that show very little difference between worst and best, so not sure it will make much difference which you get (providing you don’t use bell wire).
However having said that the wire needs to be there for many years and who knows what electrical interferences may appear in the future.
Also if spending thousands on AV fear why scrimp on cable. That would be like buying a Ferrari and only driving on heavily potholed roads.
I would advise going for the best you can afford, just ensure it’s a reliable decent make.
 
When it comes to speaker wire the main thing is to get something that's thick enough to not introduce a significant amount of residence in the length you need. Avoid copper clad aluminium (CCA) and allow for the minimum resistance your speakers may be (this could be half the nominal resistance). Something with 2.5mm2 is plenty for most people. That can be had for under £1 a meter
 
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As mentioned before get some decent speaker cable, doesn't have to be expensive but pick a good quality one. I also used Van Damme Blue Studio range speaker cable like the other forum member. Good quality fairly cheap cable but recently upgraded to the Van Damme HiFi speaker cable, uses Lc-ofc which is purer copper than the ofc used on the blue Studio series.

Both are actually the same price and the Van Damme HIFI Lc-ofc speaker cable made my modest 5.1 speaker system sound clearer more natural and better bass. Highly recommended it's a bargain for the reasonable price, comes in 1.5mm, 2.5mm, 4mm & 6mm. Here's a review comparing both cables - Van Damme "Blue" and Hi-Fi Grade 6.0mm Speaker Cables | Hifi Pig
103796-UKHDMI-2-GB.jpg
 
Hello everyone, one of my first posts here, great forum by the way. Over the last 6 months I have been looking through threads and other peoples builds to get some ideas and help, now that our house purchase has gone through and we are in, it's time to tackle my first ever (basic) build for our living room. Just need some general tips and help to make sure I am going down the right path. So my budget is around £2500 (not great I know) and I need to get myself a TV, 5.1 with amp and a couple of ceiling speakers for basic Atmos. I will pick myself up a 4K player as well at some point.

So I was thinking for the TV - Samsung QE65Q7FAM 65″ 4K Ultra HD HDR Smart QLED TV
- HD Tv, 4k Content, Ps4, will try HDR out.

5.1 and amp - Denon AVR-X2400H AV Receiver w/ Q Acoustics 3000 Speaker Package 5.1

Atmos (ceiling speakers) - Cambridge Audio MINX MIN12 (X2)


So my questions are,
- Is that pretty good for the money i.e could I do better?
- Will the speakers be OK for the size of the room or would I need more/less?
- Will I get a fairly good Atmos effect.
- Do I need to change anything at all in terms of layout?

The Plan is as follows, we are going to extend the existing chimney out by about 4 inches to hide the wires and to make sure the sit's flush. We are going to build a basic av rack into one of the cupboards to store the ps4 and amp etc, and get that ventilated with some fans.

I am open to any suggestions or help people are willing to give.

Thanks in advance.
12mCZ.jpg

My poor attempt at sketchup haha!

122B3.jpg

cnlakMn
Tv won't be in a ideal position so high above that fireplace much higher than your eyeline when sitting on the sofa. Could swap the centre speaker with the tv as long as the heat from the fireplace doesn't cause a problem. Also if it's a wooden floor a thick foam pad for the subwoofer and a rug to help with the sound.
 
Tv won't be in a ideal position so high above that fireplace much higher than your eyeline when sitting on the sofa. Could swap the centre speaker with the tv as long as the heat from the fireplace doesn't cause a problem. Also if it's a wooden floor a thick foam pad for the subwoofer and a rug to help with the sound.
Thanks a lot again for your advice, I think I will get the van damme cable, looks reasonanly priced as well! I thought you needed a center speaker? What would you say is an ideal height? In regard to the TV, is that model ok or should I look at something else?
 
Thanks a lot again for your advice, I think I will get the van damme cable, looks reasonanly priced as well! I thought you needed a center speaker? What would you say is an ideal height? In regard to the TV, is that model ok or should I look at something else?
No worries, i meant to move the tv down to where the centre speaker is on the sketch and move the centre speaker just above the tv. Some people prefer the centre speaker below the tv, it just comes down to preference. Fireplace doesn't look that tall in the sketch so current position would be fine if you prefer centre speaker below the tv.

I've not personally seen the QE65Q7FAM. The review said sdr 1080p viewing was good but HDR viewing not so good, an owner would be better equipped to tell you how it performs in day to day viewing.
 
If you do swap the TV and centre speaker over then bare in mind to leave a lot of room under the speaker in case you buy a larger TV in the future.
 
Hello everyone, one of my first posts here, great forum by the way. Over the last 6 months I have been looking through threads and other peoples builds to get some ideas and help, now that our house purchase has gone through and we are in, it's time to tackle my first ever (basic) build for our living room. Just need some general tips and help to make sure I am going down the right path. So my budget is around £2500 (not great I know) and I need to get myself a TV, 5.1 with amp and a couple of ceiling speakers for basic Atmos. I will pick myself up a 4K player as well at some point.

So I was thinking for the TV - Samsung QE65Q7FAM 65″ 4K Ultra HD HDR Smart QLED TV
- HD Tv, 4k Content, Ps4, will try HDR out.

5.1 and amp - Denon AVR-X2400H AV Receiver w/ Q Acoustics 3000 Speaker Package 5.1

Atmos (ceiling speakers) - Cambridge Audio MINX MIN12 (X2)


So my questions are,
- Is that pretty good for the money i.e could I do better?
- Will the speakers be OK for the size of the room or would I need more/less?
- Will I get a fairly good Atmos effect.
- Do I need to change anything at all in terms of layout?

The Plan is as follows, we are going to extend the existing chimney out by about 4 inches to hide the wires and to make sure the sit's flush. We are going to build a basic av rack into one of the cupboards to store the ps4 and amp etc, and get that ventilated with some fans.

I am open to any suggestions or help people are willing to give.

Thanks in advance.
12mCZ.jpg

My poor attempt at sketchup haha!

122B3.jpg

cnlakMn

My setup will not be to different to yours. I've just re-decorated my living room and installed new alcove units to store all my av equipment in. I ran HDMI, ethernet and optical cable between both alcove so my av equipment is not restricted to one unit. I also installed the AC infinity cooling fans in both units to keep all my equipment cool.

I'm running a denon AVR2300 receiver, Kef t series surround sound 5.1, with two Kef ceiling speakers.

Hope this gives you some ideas.
 

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My setup will not be to different to yours. I've just re-decorated my living room and installed new alcove units to store all my av equipment in. I ran HDMI, ethernet and optical cable between both alcove so my av equipment is not restricted to one unit. I also installed the AC infinity cooling fans in both units to keep all my equipment cool.

I'm running a denon AVR2300 receiver, Kef t series surround sound 5.1, with two Kef ceiling speakers.

Hope this gives you some ideas.
Yeah that's kind of what I am going towards, looks really good! Did you have any problems or anything you would do differently?

No worries, i meant to move the tv down to where the centre speaker is on the sketch and move the centre speaker just above the tv. Some people prefer the centre speaker below the tv, it just comes down to preference. Fireplace doesn't look that tall in the sketch so current position would be fine if you prefer centre speaker below the tv.

I've not personally seen the QE65Q7FAM. The review said sdr 1080p viewing was good but HDR viewing not so good, an owner would be better equipped to tell you how it performs in day to day viewing.

Does it matter if the speaker is below or above the TV in terms of sound?
 
Yeah that's kind of what I am going towards, looks really good! Did you have any problems or anything you would do differently?

Thanks mate.

It was pretty straight forward, I would suggest spending a little bit of money on good quality cables. particularly HDMI cables and I don't mean spending £100s of pounds, I bought all my cables and modules from Euro networks they were brilliant.

My project was made a little easier as I built out the chimney breast with plasterboard so it was easy running cables from one end to other.

I would also recommend running all your speaker cables from behind the lower units, and fit some additional power sockets inside the cupboards, something like the link below but make sure you have at least 50-65mm clearance from the back wall to the unit.

https://www.euronetwork.co.uk/clip-...es/uk-13a-socket-power-euro-module-50mm-black

Make sure you run some extra HDMI leads to your tv and projector if applicable just in case one fails and test the cable with a HDMI tester before running the cable.

Good Luck with the house and let the fun begin :)

Below is a link to my project:

What do You Think? Media Unit inside Alcove
 

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