My first home

WRXiceman

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Right, we’re all moved in and settled into our first home.

I’ve set up everything as best as I can at the moment, and although it’s nowhere near as impressive as some of the other threads on here, I’m still chuffed.
I do feel there’s still some more fine tuning and tweaking to do (like figuring out how to raise the surround speakers slightly) but so far I’m EXTREMELY happy with the outcome, especially considering it’s my first attempt.

This is the main lounge too, so not a true dedicated cinema room, but a nice little hybrid that ticks all the boxes that I wanted.

I took the time to sort all of the cabling out with banana plugs as well, which makes things 10 times easier.

Trunking sorted too as I HATE seeing cables/wires everywhere.
Blends in nicely with the skirting now.

I originally had the sub on the left side of the TV Unit, but experimented with it tucked away between the sofa and wall and it made a bigger difference than I was expecting so I’m leaving it there. I can actually feel more of the bass, so much so that I had to reduce it in the settings to -4.0db.

Still need to tidy behind the TV Unit a little more but it’s getting there.

LG B8 55” OLED (looks bigger in the flesh)
Denon AVR-X2500H
Q Acoustics 3000 Speaker package
PS4 Pro

Thoughts, comments, suggestions, criticisms welcome!

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Looks lovely - really nicely done
Is your centre speaker on top of your amp - is it OK for cooling?

Thanks man!

It is, yeah.
Only temporary until I mount the TV on the wall.

I’ve placed some small felt pads underneath the centre speaker to raise it a little more too.
I might also buy a small USB fan to plug in the back of the amp to aid cooling.

So far it’s been absolutely fine though.
 
With the speaker being on top of amp, besides heating problem, it will also suffer from the electrical field of the amp and with the speaker being inside the cabinet that in itself is going to produce poor audio. So glad it's being moved.

Your fronts, though, also require attention. You have the room put them on stands for best results. At the moment their positioning will produce too many unwanted reflections off the top of the cabinet.

Now the surrounds. Please don't shoot the messenger! They need better positioning. Because of the construction of the sofa they are set too low and they need to be angled in towards the sofa. The right speaker, as you look at the photo, is almost totally obscured by the high arm of the sofa. I would put those speakers on wall brackets to achieve the correct height and angle. You could then use those stands for the fronts.

A few simple speaker movements could totally transform the audio.
 
@gibbsy

Yep, you’re 100% right.

I was thinking wall mounts for the surround speakers but already had the stands to use for now.
They definitely need raising.

I came from a small £250 HTIB so this is 10x better already!
 
Very nice Iceman.

Being your first, proper setup, you’ve got some much fun ahead of you. As per @gibbsy recommendations, some subtle changes and there will make for BIG improvements.

Great job once again :smashin:
 
Very nice Iceman.

Being your first, proper setup, you’ve got some much fun ahead of you. As per @gibbsy recommendations, some subtle changes and there will make for BIG improvements.

Great job once again :smashin:

Thanks a lot man! :)

Yeah Gibbsy’s advise is very useful and will be correcting those things as soon as possible!
 
Hi there, love the setup! You have picked out some really nice components.
I would look to use the stands for the front two speakers and mount the surrounds on the side walls as you have your couch right back against the rear wall. Right now the surrounds won't sound right as they are two low and the fronts would benefit from being a little wider to catch everyone on the couch inside the front sound stage. When you move the center speaker up remember to position right at the front of the unit to avoid reflections!
 
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Hi there, love the setup! You have picked out some really nice components.
I would look to use the stands for the front two speakers and mount the surrounds on the did walls as you have your couch right back against the rear wall. Right now the surrounds won't sound right as they are two low and the fronts would benefit from being a little wider to catch everyone on the couch inside the front sound stage. When you move the center speaker up remember to position right at the front of the unit to avoid reflections!

Thank you!

Some very good points that I wouldn’t of necessarily thought of, like moving the centre to the very front of the unit!
 
Hey man, very nice setup you have there and congrats on your first home.
Along with @gibbsy advice I would also consider moving the entire system and sofa about 1ft to 2ft to the right. This would open up the surrounds and give you a much wider and clearer soundstage.
 
That’s one from Ikea. It’s called Hemnes. I had to not put in the middle draw so there was room for the amp.

Nice little hack - wouldn’t have guessed.
 
Little update, got the TV on the wall... finally :D

Need to buy some stands for the front speakers still.
I've also raised the height of the rear speakers too so they're no longer being blocked as much.

I'm also on the hunt for a more modern, sleeker and wider TV unit but not having much luck with that.
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Little update, got the TV on the wall... finally :D

Need to buy some stands for the front speakers still.
I've also raised the height of the rear speakers too so they're no longer being blocked as much.

I'm also on the hunt for a more modern, sleeker and wider TV unit but not having much luck with that.View attachment 1327693
Bring those speakers forward so that they are sitting proud of the front edge of the cabinet by around 25mm. Will stop unwanted reflections from the cabinet top. Also put them on some isolation feet if you haven't already done so. It could do with a rug in front of that cabinet.

Good selection of cabinets from Skovby.
 
Bring those speakers forward so that they are sitting proud of the front edge of the cabinet by around 25mm. Will stop unwanted reflections from the cabinet top. Also put them on some isolation feet if you haven't already done so. It could do with a rug in front of that cabinet.

Thanks for the tips!

There is a rug just out of shot too :)
 
Lounge looks lovely 👌
I could spend hours enjoying the system there without ever missing going out :lol:
 
Lounge looks lovely 👌
I could spend hours enjoying the system there without ever missing going out :lol:

Ah thanks mate!
Got a nice new coffee table too.
Suits the room and style better and saves loads of space.
The last one was way too big and bulky.
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