Help a luddite design an 5.1 setup...
Discussion
Hi folks,
We're doing a bit of minor re-modelling and will be upgrading our manky old CRT TV.
We plan to have:
LCD TV (haven't purchased yet)
Humax PVR
Basic DVD
iPod Dock
And we'll be buying some kind of surround sound home cinema amp (most come with an FM tuner built in) driving 4 satellite speakers, a centre speaker and a sub.
Problem is I don't know how to set the system up in the room below:

As you can see from the next pic it's the ideal time to be installing cables so my first question is where to place the speakers. We want to keep the speakers hidden or as unobtrusive as possible so will be having either tiny BOSEesque cubes or flush ceiling mounts.

The woofer can be hidden behind a sofa and the centre speaker will be mounted below the telly but bearing in mind both sofas are used, where do you think the best place to mount the satellites would be?
Next, do you think putting conduits in the walls for the speaker cable is worth it or should I just gunge them in place when we plaster? And can you get small wall plates to finish the wiring off tidily or do you just have them sticking out of the plaster?
Sorry for all the questions, it's the first time I've done this.
Cheers
Dave
We're doing a bit of minor re-modelling and will be upgrading our manky old CRT TV.
We plan to have:
LCD TV (haven't purchased yet)
Humax PVR
Basic DVD
iPod Dock
And we'll be buying some kind of surround sound home cinema amp (most come with an FM tuner built in) driving 4 satellite speakers, a centre speaker and a sub.
Problem is I don't know how to set the system up in the room below:

As you can see from the next pic it's the ideal time to be installing cables so my first question is where to place the speakers. We want to keep the speakers hidden or as unobtrusive as possible so will be having either tiny BOSEesque cubes or flush ceiling mounts.

The woofer can be hidden behind a sofa and the centre speaker will be mounted below the telly but bearing in mind both sofas are used, where do you think the best place to mount the satellites would be?
Next, do you think putting conduits in the walls for the speaker cable is worth it or should I just gunge them in place when we plaster? And can you get small wall plates to finish the wiring off tidily or do you just have them sticking out of the plaster?
Sorry for all the questions, it's the first time I've done this.
Cheers
Dave
By soundbar do you mean one of these? http://www.mordauntshort.com/summary.php?PID=62&am...
Do you think something like these would work? http://www.mordauntshort.com/summary.php?PID=37&am...
Perhaps in the top right and bottom left corners and then one above each sofa?
Perhaps in the top right and bottom left corners and then one above each sofa?
DJFish said:
Do you think something like these would work? http://www.mordauntshort.com/summary.php?PID=37&am...
Perhaps in the top right and bottom left corners and then one above each sofa?
You could put speakers in just about where you like and then use clever room correction kit to sort it all out but the cost of that tends to be more than being a bit clever with the location, fit and treatments of the television.Perhaps in the top right and bottom left corners and then one above each sofa?
Ceiling based surround can work, the soundstage is never quite right in the fronts. The surrounds are less sensitive to it though.
The only celing fronts we've had good experience with are the Atlantic Technology items and then Sonance Ellipse LCRs.
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