A decent (ideally wireless) surround sound system
Discussion
One of our rooms is quite large and we have a projector with a big screen (hidden when not being used). There isn't a TV in the room but we can watch live TV if we ever want to through a Panasonic bluray/hard disk recorder and an AppleTV. The sound for both the AppleTV and the BR/HD recorder are through an ageing Panasonic home cinema system. All 3 devices are connected to the projector, the HD recorder directly and the other two via an HDMI switch because there are only 2 HDMI inputs into the projector, and AppleTV and the HD recorder are connected to the optical sound input of the home cinema system via an optical switch as the home cinema system only has a single optical input. AppleTV and the HD recorder are connected to the WiFi and contcent can be accessed from other devices on the notwork. Here's a diagram showing all the connections:
The home cinema system is an old 5.1 surround sound system but it's getting a bit old and our ears are ageing so it isn't as clear as it could be and the surround element of the surround sound is a bit lacking, so we would like to replace it with something which makes conversations clearer and gives a better surround sound experience. The kids in particular like watching movies and it would be nice to have a more cinema like experience. Naturally, we don't like having wires trailing all over the place and somtimes the room helps, but at other times it makes life a bit difficult. The (NOT to scale) diagram below gives a pretty good representation of the room layout:
In the diagram, black is the walls including the fireplace. In the periphery, the 2 light blue lines on the left are windows and the 3 amber lines at the top are doors. The purple rectangles are the 4 sofas (1 x 4-seater, 1 x 3-seater, 2 x 2-seaters), brown rectangle on the left is the AV cabinet where all the kit lives, light pink on the right lower corner is a medium sized table, and the green line on the right is the screen. The speakers are all in red, one in each corner, centre speaker under the screen and the subwoofer next to the AV cabinet. There are speaker wires going under the floorboards from the cabinet to where the centre speaker is via inspection hatches, from there on, the wires are hidden behind panelling.
A few things to note about the room:
1) Size. It's approximately 30' by 20' and the ceiling is about 17' high.
2) Ceiling is part decorative wood and part glass so nothing can be attached to it.
3) There are sockets everywhere so getting power to any point around any of the walls is not difficult and smaller cables can be tucked behind the panelling, however, getting cables past doors and the fireplace are massive jobs which we can't undertake at the moment.
4) There are 3 sets of ordinary speaker cables connecting the the front speakers and the centre speaker to the AV cabinet which were put in when the room was being rewired a few years ago. Although I would prefer a wireless set up, these can be used/reused for new speakers if necessary.
Things we need from the new sound system:
1) We would like the best sound we can get without getting ridiculously expensive. Given the size of the room, especially its height, I don't think a soundbar would be capable filling the room.
2) I'd like something that comes as a package, I really don't want to be messing with having to buy different components separately.
3) My preference is for a wireless system, but if I can use the 3 existing cables going from the cabinet to the other side of the room, I guess having wires wouldn't be that much of a problem. However, I can't put any more than the existing 3 sets without major work which is something I can't do right now.
4) Although I can't put anything up in the ceiling, there are high places where I can put up speakers, either above head level or ceiling facing (high shelf where the AV cabinet is, mantlepiece and above the doors) so it might be possible to have a Dolby Atmos system if it would work given the room's dimensions.
5) It has to work with AppleTV and the Panasonic HD recorder. If it was possible to get rid of the optical switch with something that has two optical inputs, that would be really good.
Any suggestions from those who know please?
Also, there seem to be a lot of brands which I know very little about, Kef, Onkyo, Denon. Are they any good?
Thanks all.
The home cinema system is an old 5.1 surround sound system but it's getting a bit old and our ears are ageing so it isn't as clear as it could be and the surround element of the surround sound is a bit lacking, so we would like to replace it with something which makes conversations clearer and gives a better surround sound experience. The kids in particular like watching movies and it would be nice to have a more cinema like experience. Naturally, we don't like having wires trailing all over the place and somtimes the room helps, but at other times it makes life a bit difficult. The (NOT to scale) diagram below gives a pretty good representation of the room layout:
In the diagram, black is the walls including the fireplace. In the periphery, the 2 light blue lines on the left are windows and the 3 amber lines at the top are doors. The purple rectangles are the 4 sofas (1 x 4-seater, 1 x 3-seater, 2 x 2-seaters), brown rectangle on the left is the AV cabinet where all the kit lives, light pink on the right lower corner is a medium sized table, and the green line on the right is the screen. The speakers are all in red, one in each corner, centre speaker under the screen and the subwoofer next to the AV cabinet. There are speaker wires going under the floorboards from the cabinet to where the centre speaker is via inspection hatches, from there on, the wires are hidden behind panelling.
A few things to note about the room:
1) Size. It's approximately 30' by 20' and the ceiling is about 17' high.
2) Ceiling is part decorative wood and part glass so nothing can be attached to it.
3) There are sockets everywhere so getting power to any point around any of the walls is not difficult and smaller cables can be tucked behind the panelling, however, getting cables past doors and the fireplace are massive jobs which we can't undertake at the moment.
4) There are 3 sets of ordinary speaker cables connecting the the front speakers and the centre speaker to the AV cabinet which were put in when the room was being rewired a few years ago. Although I would prefer a wireless set up, these can be used/reused for new speakers if necessary.
Things we need from the new sound system:
1) We would like the best sound we can get without getting ridiculously expensive. Given the size of the room, especially its height, I don't think a soundbar would be capable filling the room.
2) I'd like something that comes as a package, I really don't want to be messing with having to buy different components separately.
3) My preference is for a wireless system, but if I can use the 3 existing cables going from the cabinet to the other side of the room, I guess having wires wouldn't be that much of a problem. However, I can't put any more than the existing 3 sets without major work which is something I can't do right now.
4) Although I can't put anything up in the ceiling, there are high places where I can put up speakers, either above head level or ceiling facing (high shelf where the AV cabinet is, mantlepiece and above the doors) so it might be possible to have a Dolby Atmos system if it would work given the room's dimensions.
5) It has to work with AppleTV and the Panasonic HD recorder. If it was possible to get rid of the optical switch with something that has two optical inputs, that would be really good.
Any suggestions from those who know please?
Also, there seem to be a lot of brands which I know very little about, Kef, Onkyo, Denon. Are they any good?
Thanks all.
That all looks good to me. Fairly straightforward to add the functionality you need.
You do actually need an AV amp though, as you need all video and audio signals to be handles in one place without ancillary boxes or fuss.
An AV amp will happily use you existing wiring to drive speakers.
Even if you could have “wireless speakers” it would be a bit messy, as each one would have a mains lead and possible external psu trailing!
This would also be more expensive and way lower quality
Denon AVR-X2600 and A-Acoustics speaker system will be a massive upgrade for you.
It will give you full AV facilities, room EQ, many options for wireless music / apps etc.
https://www.sevenoakssoundandvision.co.uk/p-45638-...
You can have white / black / walnut colours and wall brackets are available for all five.
How does that sound?
You do actually need an AV amp though, as you need all video and audio signals to be handles in one place without ancillary boxes or fuss.
An AV amp will happily use you existing wiring to drive speakers.
Even if you could have “wireless speakers” it would be a bit messy, as each one would have a mains lead and possible external psu trailing!
This would also be more expensive and way lower quality
Denon AVR-X2600 and A-Acoustics speaker system will be a massive upgrade for you.
It will give you full AV facilities, room EQ, many options for wireless music / apps etc.
https://www.sevenoakssoundandvision.co.uk/p-45638-...
You can have white / black / walnut colours and wall brackets are available for all five.
How does that sound?
Completely agree.
Proper AV amp and wired speakers is the way to go. It'll handle the HDMI & audio switching as well.
https://www.richersounds.com/tv-home-cinema/home-c...
Is about as cheap as you can go but consider spending a bit more on a decent twin HDMI out amp and separate speaker package. Thin surround speaker cable is easily hidden along skirting boards
Denon Sony Onkyo Yamaha all decent brands.
Proper AV amp and wired speakers is the way to go. It'll handle the HDMI & audio switching as well.
https://www.richersounds.com/tv-home-cinema/home-c...
Is about as cheap as you can go but consider spending a bit more on a decent twin HDMI out amp and separate speaker package. Thin surround speaker cable is easily hidden along skirting boards
Denon Sony Onkyo Yamaha all decent brands.
Edited by hornmeister on Friday 5th July 12:07
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