[jayeshdamle]

Hello All,

I have a question on the belwo combination for my living room with 50% listening of music and 50% of movies HD channels ect.

1)AV Receiver - Marantz NR 1604.
2) Speakers - Boston Acoustic Soundware S 5.1.
3) TV - Panasonic TH-L42ET60D.

What do you guys think about the above combo. I am been quoted for 74k for the above (excluding TV) but the Marantx Bluetooth receiver is included.

Appreciate your advise on this one.

Thanks,
Jayesh

[Funda]

Originally Posted by navin

Wow when you PMed me I thought you needed help, but from this post it seems you got is all sorted out on the audio front, the questions you have are more to do with networking and wifi. I know absolutely zilch about networking.

Ok the way i understand all this is this:

You have a central server somehere in the house. This central server houses your media (photos, video, audio, etc..).

For each room you have a receiver which connects to this central server. This receiver sends control signals to the server which then pushed the media required by that receiver to be played back in the room.

So every room needs it's own speakers, receiver (amplification), and TV. Only the media storage is shared. Would it not be simpler to just have 2-3 small servers one for each room and not worry about networks and whyfi and that bluebeard thing? Forgive me but I am old school, very old school, old enough to have seen a phonograph cylinders albeit made by Dictaphone for office use.

Well the central location is more or less at the center of the house. The network just doubles up as additional connectivity for internet and other uses like accessing the central server if needed, Cat 6a cables can also double up as a HDMI cable and so on.

As you see there is still a lot of work pending. I want to get away with the onlyo speakers, so I definitely need advise there. Is it ok to use heavy curtains instead of walls? Are there any specific materials that work better? (I was planning to get plain heavy cotton curtains as am not aware of any special material that is available).

And regarding old school, I prefer traditional approach in this cases. I wanted to borrow from your experience to review the arrangements to identify flaws, loop holes and get suggestions for improvement. My brain and heart are so tuned to my thoughts its hard for me to find out the loop holes.

Originally Posted by diyguy

I have a similar setup as you. I have setup wall mounted network swivel racks for my HT equipment, wall mounted swivel led tv, NAS that streams content throughout my house, network Yamaha receiver, Yamaha speakers and sub, optoma projector behind my cot, projecting to the wall above the wall mounted HT equipment. I had the wall painted a shade of grey white and use that instead of the fuss of a screen. Happy with the setup and use it very frequently as it is in my bed room.
Good luck with your build. All if mine was DIY except for the wall paint!

Hey diyguy nice set up buddy. Quick question why did you place the equipments next to the TV? Aren't they distracting? Frankly I dont watch much of TV , but sometimes I do 2-3 three movies at a strech. Also Where do you project ? on the wall behind the TV?

I wanted to choose a screen (motorised if budget permits) because my TV will be centered at around 5'4" from the floor at my eye level. One last question you have used a Swivel for your TV - do we get Swivels for 40" or 46" TVs? I might go for a Plasma for my stupid reasons.

[diyguy]

Originally Posted by Funda

Hey diyguy nice set up buddy. Quick question why did you place the equipments next to the TV? Aren't they distracting? Frankly I dont watch much of TV , but sometimes I do 2-3 three movies at a strech. Also Where do you project ? on the wall behind the TV?

I wanted to choose a screen (motorised if budget permits) because my TV will be centered at around 5'4" from the floor at my eye level. One last question you have used a Swivel for your TV - do we get Swivels for 40" or 46" TVs? I might go for a Plasma for my stupid reasons.

I had to clear up floor space for my chest of draws and had no other place but to put them up symmetrically around the TV.
I project on the wall above the TV and the AV racks (upto the ceiling) and when I use the projector, I generally tend to sit through 2-3 movies myself.

Since it is in my bedroom, we lie down on the bed and the height of projection is comfortable to watch.

The swivel I use is for a 55" tv. I had bought 2, one for a pal who had got a 55" sony and one for my 37" LG. I used the larger stand because I tend to move my TV a lot due to my AV racks. To prevent LED screen breakage, the large metal frame is easily reachable and I use that to put force to rotate the TV instead of putting pressure on the TV body itself.

[navin]

Originally Posted by Funda

As you see there is still a lot of work pending. I want to get away with the onlyo speakers, so I definitely need advise there.

Is it ok to use heavy curtains instead of walls?

And regarding old school, I prefer traditional approach in this cases.

I wanted to choose a screen (motorised if budget permits) because my TV will be centered at around 5'4" from the floor at my eye level. One last question you have used a Swivel for your TV - do we get Swivels for 40" or 46" TVs? I might go for a Plasma for my stupid reasons.

I have no idea about networking and the only cat I know is the one in my building my wife feeds leftover fish to.

Curtains are absorbers, walls are reflectors. Soft surfaces absorb, hard surfaces reflect. Bookshleves (if the books are difference sizes) scatter.

The brain is a pretty simple device and gets confused with early reflections. So think of it this way. early reflections = bad. late reflections = accpetable and in some cases even nice. no reflections means you live in the great outdoors or in an anechoic chamber.

Since we do not live in recording studios or concert halls we do not need to follow LEDE to the letter but use common sense to attain what the boffins recommend.

A bookhelf or two, curtains over glass surfaces, a rug near each speaker (early floor reflections) can help without causing social unrest in the apartment. I got some links for you below.

http://www.dwellhomedecor.com/improv...oom-acoustics/
http://www.primacoustic.com/flexifuser-science.htm
http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/1997...trolrooms.html
http://www.eng.hifi.pl/advisor/room-...strategies.php

My TV are not on swivel but you can swivel large TV using brackets like the one below (the Pioneer Plasma bracket is well recomended but installation is just as crucial)
http://www.amazon.com/VideoSecu-PDP-.../dp/B001CDD55G
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xm1...lasma-lcd_tech

[Funda]

Originally Posted by navin

I have no idea about networking and the only cat I know is the one in my building my wife feeds leftover fish to.

Curtains are absorbers, walls are reflectors. Soft surfaces absorb, hard surfaces reflect. Bookshleves (if the books are difference sizes) scatter.

The brain is a pretty simple device and gets confused with early reflections. So think of it this way. early reflections = bad. late reflections = accpetable and in some cases even nice. no reflections means you live in the great outdoors or in an anechoic chamber. ....

Thanks Sir. I was planning on using a floor carpet as well to control floor reflections. I was planning to use the mirror technique to identify the spots. Yes one of the reasons for the curtains was to absorb sound plus to give the space a roomy feeling. I will definitely visit the URLs and come back with questions as I devour the content. The only plain wall be the one opposite to the TV. It will have seating and the surround speakers though. I am planning to do some DIY seating using waste wood packaging that comes when heavy electronics is shipped.

[diyguy]

You can plan the tapestries and carpeting later too. Once you have setup your speakers, you may not really need too many adjustments, though this is dependent on your ear for detail. I suggest start with the basics and refine.

[navin]

[quote=Funda;3371303]

Yes one of the reasons for the curtains was to absorb sound plus to give the space a roomy feeling.

Just do not overdo the absobtion. We all live in a reverbarnt soundstage in that whatever we hear (except in the great out doors) is a mix of direct and reflected sound. So if you want to "keep it real" you need to have the "right" reverb. You will know when you hear it, I find it diffcult to describe in words.

Try toeing the speakers as the limits early reflections from the walls around them. Dont worry too much about the center and rear speakers. They are only used in HT mode and then sound is not as critical as the brain is processing a picture and sound together.

[Funda]

Originally Posted by diyguy

You can plan the tapestries and carpeting later too. Once you have setup your speakers, you may not really need too many adjustments, though this is dependent on your ear for detail. I suggest start with the basics and refine.

Yes am taking one bite at a time because of time and money. As you said it right starting with basics and refining. At the moment I have just laid cables under the floor and walls because that cannot be done later without hitting my pocket badly. Incremental stuff and upgrading will be slower. I am yet to get posession of my flat and the builder is slower than me

Originally Posted by navin

Just do not overdo the absobtion. We all live in a reverbarnt soundstage in that whatever we hear (except in the great out doors) is a mix of direct and reflected sound. So if you want to "keep it real" you need to have the "right" reverb. You will know when you hear it, I find it diffcult to describe in words.

Try toeing the speakers as the limits early reflections from the walls around them. Dont worry too much about the center and rear speakers. They are only used in HT mode and then sound is not as critical as the brain is processing a picture and sound together.

Yeah I also had the same notion. Initially I will be using 5.1 channels and when I upgrade the speakers I will probably move to 6.1 which my reciever supports. It wont be anytime soon as I will be cash strapped after getting the flat. I dream of having a 11.2 Denon but thats way way far. At the moment am in wait mode and sourced some in wall key stone connectors for the speakers and a few banana plugs and HT face plates for having a clean look on the walls. My next step would be to install the boxes and clean up the walls with a neat look.

I will keep the group posed or may be start a thread once my set up is complete.

[navin]

Originally Posted by jayeshdamle

1)AV Receiver - Marantz NR 1604.
2) Speakers - Boston Acoustic Soundware S 5.1.
3) TV - Panasonic TH-L42ET60D.

BA has been better days as a company, today you might find better options like Tannoy TFX/Mercury line, Acoustic Energy Aego line, Q Acoustics 2000 Cinema pack, Wharfdale DX-1, PSB (Paul S Barton) Alpha, Monitor Audio Radius, JBL Cinema 5xx, Paradigm CT100, Def Tech Pro Cinema 600/800 etc...

[navin]

Originally Posted by Funda

Yeah I also had the same notion. Initially I will be using 5.1 channels ...I dream of having a 11.2 Denon but thats way way far.

Please be aware that most AVRs might offer 5.1, 7.1 or 11.2 channels but the power supplies in many of these is not designed to really power all the channels at once. This is the real limitation.

If you want to get some install ideas check out wall mounted rear speakers in the last post here (pictures only) http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=110639.20

[Funda]

Originally Posted by navin

Please be aware that most AVRs might offer 5.1, 7.1 or 11.2 channels but the power supplies in many of these is not designed to really power all the channels at once. This is the real limitation.

If you want to get some install ideas check out wall mounted rear speakers in the last post here (pictures only) http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=110639.20

Awesome thread. this guy has done similar arrangement to what I have in mind. Except that he did his own speakers as well. Huge and nice speakers. I have checked my amp it has 95W RMS per channel on all of them, but I will re confirm again once I reach home.

[Akshay1234]

Originally Posted by navin

....

Hey Navin, am considering an entry level home theater. Planning on using one room just for this. Cabling is done, and the tv is bought which is a beautiful 64" Samsung plasma. The pic quality is quite good if I may say so myself.

For the receiver thinking of the Denon AVR-X2000, and for the front and centre speakers planning on Wharfedale Diamond 10.7 series, while the sub will again be a 12" Wharfedale and will the surround in-ceiling speakers.

What is your opinion on Wharfedale? We demoed a couple of speakers, including Phil Jones AAD and entry level Quads but found these Wharfedales gave us satisfactory sound at a good price.

[NetfreakBombay]

Originally Posted by navin

power supplies in many of these is not designed to really power all the channels at once. This is the real limitation.

Is this a limitation in real-world use? I.e. does music really stress all channels?

From what I have seen, music will be mostly 2 channels and movies will have audio in three. Rest of the channels are turned on occasionally for effects.

[pratyush6]

Originally Posted by jayeshdamle

Hello All,

I have a question on the belwo combination for my living room with 50% listening of music and 50% of movies HD channels ect.

1)AV Receiver - Marantz NR 1604.
2) Speakers - Boston Acoustic Soundware S 5.1.
3) TV - Panasonic TH-L42ET60D.

Hey Jayesh,

50% Music and 50% Movies is a tough one to handle. Typically I would want 2 separate systems for that.
However, in this case, Marantz is a good AV Receiver. BA - Well, I guess you could replace them by either Wharfedale or Q Acoustics.

74 is a decent amount to start off with. Why don't you check out www.hifimart.com ?

[DerAlte]

Originally Posted by NetfreakBombay

Is this a limitation in real-world use? I.e. does music really stress all channels? ...

Would be wrong to call it a 'limitation'. It is like salt in food - many people take less by habit, but many find less of it reduces the enjoyment. Voltage regulation can be an issue like that with 7.2 or 11.2 when all 11 are driven (hopefully the .2 is self powered) rather loud. Depends on whether one is looking for nuances or just riding the emotions.

Originally Posted by NetfreakBombay

... From what I have seen, music will be mostly 2 channels and movies will have audio in three. Rest of the channels are turned on occasionally for effects.

No, all channels are on all the time. Channels are not conditionally turned on - they just amplify whatever signal is presented to them. What comes through is what the Dolby DTS / whichever decoder is putting out in each, i.e. what was programmed by the sound recording engineer who recorded the original. There is no hard and fast rule or any other way to pre-judge content - statistical analysis would be a futile post-facto endeavor on things we hear for the first time!