M&K S150/MX350 Setup - Room Size?

[JohnHolmes]

Afternoon all
Im currently looking at plans for a new house build, but am not sure what size room I would need for the M&K setup that I want.
Would a room 5.7M x 3.2M be a good size for the above M&K setup? Will be using a 50" plasma to begin with and then maybe in the future get a projector.

If that size is not ideal what size would be for the above M&K setup.

Thanks

 

[Frank Harvey]

That size will be fine John.

 

[JohnHolmes]

Thanks

 

[Anonymous]

Hi John

my room is 5.5 x 5.0 mts using 150`s and a 350 sub

as David has said your size will suit the MK`s but if poss I personally would try to get a bit more width, if its a new build as well than nows the time to do it. I had the opportunity to tailor my room when I built our house so your in for a very rewarding time ahead.

what will you be using for rears, SS150`s maybe??

Also just a thought, consider inwalls as well for that much neater look, something about speakers that you can`t see, they just seem to sound better LOL

Al

 

[JohnHolmes]

Hi Al

Yes I was thinking of Side SS150s and maybe Rear S85s in 7.1 maybe one day

Not really bothered about inwalls as it would be a dedicated room. I will look into getting some more width but Im not sure if it will be possible. What made you decide on a size of 5.5 x 5? What would the extra width give me?

Thanks for the reply.

 

[Frank Harvey]

My room's about 3/3.5m width and it sounds fine. I feel they sound better in my room than the room we have at work, which is 5m x 5m. As long as the 150's aren't pushed up against reflective side walls they'll sound fine.

 

[Anonymous]

Dedicated room is 6 m long , 5.2 wide opening up at front wall into an alcove giving total 6m wide at front.

Bay window at the left side , glass panel at right side

The Alcove , bay and glass panel is not a good idea , so as you are starting from scratch go for a rectangular room.

Also being in the position of a new build do some research in to room dimensions as some are better than others for good sound.

Using S-150's L/C/R SS-150 surrounds , Polk Ls/FX at the rear

 

[Anonymous]

JohnHolmes:

Hi Al

Yes I was thinking of Side SS150s and maybe Rear S85s in 7.1 maybe one day

Not really bothered about inwalls as it would be a dedicated room. I will look into getting some more width but Im not sure if it will be possible. What made you decide on a size of 5.5 x 5? What would the extra width give me?

Thanks for the reply.

Hi John

our size to be honest wasn`t really to do with the cinema room it was just the size we had available to us so we maximised every we could when we built the house.

The 150`s are excellent speakers up front but the positioning of them is quite critical and they should be lasered if possible to the listening position to get the very best out of them.

I suppose just to have the ability to be able to set them up correctly without having to compromise them due to room constraints is a benefit which is why I mentioned a little bit more on the width could alleviate this but its not cast in stone if you know what I mean.

You have the basis of a killer setup though John with the MK`s so you should be looking forward to getting this setup, which I know will put a very big smile on your face.

Have you thought about center speaker positioning, would if be possible to place the center behind your screen at all?

I know its not possible for everything but once again at your stage in the planning having the center placed behind the screen is a winner imho.

cheers Al

 

[JohnHolmes]

Hi Al

How much extra width do you think I should try to add to get the best out of the M&Ks? I obviously just want the best possible performance that I can from them.
What is the optimum size/shape/layout for an AV room?
As I will be using a plasma to begin with positioning the center would have to be above or below the screen, but when I eventually get a projector I will look into placing it behind the screen. I would like to have a drop down electric screen to drop down in front of the plasma for movie viewing, and I would then use the plasma for tv shows.

Thanks

 

[Anonymous]

JohnHolmes:

Hi Al

How much extra width do you think I should try to add to get the best out of the M&Ks? I obviously just want the best possible performance that I can from them.
What is the optimum size/shape/layout for an AV room?

As I will be using a plasma to begin with positioning the center would have to be above or below the screen, but when I eventually get a projector I will look into placing it behind the screen. I would like to have a drop down electric screen to drop down in front of the plasma for movie viewing, and I would then use the plasma for tv shows.

Thanks

Hiya John

what you don`t want is a square room, a nice 5 x 4 mtr sq imho is just about right, 5.7 x 4 if you can but your size will certainly will not be bad, its the things you have in it what ruins the overall acoustics.

The 150`s don`t have a fantastic throw as well so you don`t want to be sat too far away from them to hear them at their best, i`m about 4.2 mts from mine tbh and they are 4.2 mts apart approx, i`ll measure if you want dead on distances mate.

If you are going for a drop down screen an Acoustically Transparent one is a must for placing your center behind, infact i`ve been doing mine as it happens this afternoon, i`m using a Seymour Centre Stage screen John and we`ve seen them in action against Screen Research, Vutech and a Stewart and to be honest its really very very good and half the price as well.

If possible get the center of the MK`s at ear height when seated John, usually a 600mm stand does the job, certainly not more than a foot above if at all possible to get the absolute best out of them, then laser them to your seating position and driven properely they should really sing to you and be at their best.

If you want any more help or advice just ask away and i`ll do my very best to help you

cheers Al

 

[JohnHolmes]

Many thanks for the info Al!

I think it will be a while before I shall be buying a projector, so I will get back in touch with you then.

As I will be using a 50" Plasma at first, I don't think I want to be sitting any further than 12ft away from the screen. Is that gonna be too close to the S150s? When I get round to buying a projector I would then obviously move the seating further away.

I wouldn't want to sit too far away from my plasma to lose 1080p detail.

I have a two seater lazy boy that I plan to have in the sweet spot and then I plan on having two chairs either side.

Another question is do I need solid internal walls all around?

Cheers

 

[Frank Harvey]

JohnHolmes: As I will be using a 50" Plasma at first, I don't think I want to be sitting any further than 12ft away from the screen. Is that gonna be too close to the S150s? When I get round to buying a projector I would then obviously move the seating further away.

I sit about 7/8 feet from mine - 12 feet will be fine. Obviously the further you sit away from them, the more power you'll need from the amp to give the same volume.

Another question is do I need solid internal walls all around?

Solid walls will keep the bass energy in the room. This is a good thing, but can also be bad, as it could lead to excessive boom. If one or two walls are partition/stud walls, they tend to flex, and will absorb some bass. It just depends where these walls are and where the sub is in relation to each other. Usually, having the sub firing into the strongest corner of the room (where the two most solid walls meet) is better for efficiency, but again, can lead to boom in some rooms. It's a case of trial and error once you've got your system up and running.

 

[Anonymous]

JohnHolmes:

Many thanks for the info Al!

I think it will be a while before I shall be buying a projector, so I will get back in touch with you then.

As I will be using a 50" Plasma at first, I don't think I want to be sitting any further than 12ft away from the screen. Is that gonna be too close to the S150s? When I get round to buying a projector I would then obviously move the seating further away.

Another question is do I need solid internal walls all around?

Cheers

your very welcome John

seating distance will be fine, David is giving some good advice here as well I note.

My wall contruction is solid all the way round apart from where my room to the left goes into our games/gym room, we are in a purpose built underground basement John approx 14 x 6.5 mts.

the entry between the rooms is about 6.5 ft across so what I did here was to make some acoustically filled folding doors that fit between the opening, this stopped room reflection from the other side, dead.

My screen wall, side walls and ceiling are covered in Devore velvet to 1.6mts from the screen wall, this has created a total black hole where the screen is with zero light reflection, its transformed the image 100% and is without doubt the biggest improvement to the room regards image contrast Icould ever have made, Devore is simply fantastic. I would recomment this to anyone who has a dedicated room but please note it renders the room vitually no good for anything else unless you have good lighting, which fortunatley that was built into the room as we were contructing.

For the first reflection points I made acoustic panels floor to ceiling also covered with Devore as its acoustically transparent as well and these worked wonders for the audio qualities, also these are covering the surround side and rear MK`s as well John so really do make for a big improvement 2 ways.

My MX350 is firing into the solid wall approx 100mm from it and is now controlled by an Antimode 8033c, this once again, to my ears is now sounding as good I think as when I had the MX5100 in there so i`m really pleased with how it all sounds atm and I get some good comments from people who visit for a demo.

Having solid walls all round i think is a bonus but if contructing stud partition walls its very easy to acoustically insulate them and using sound block plaster boards help greatly as well. The one thing you don`t want to do is to make the room "Dead" as it will sound Dead to you, a little bit of reflection is needed in any room unless its going to be an anechoic chamber used for testing purposes.

Projector wise, The JVC`s at the mo are taken some beating and they have new things on the horizon which we can`t mention as yet so please don`t ask

. Epson are coming on strong with the TW 5500, its got great black level and can be ISF calibrated but once again new things on the horizon i`m sure, we can discuss that though nearer to the time as I know things will have changed for the better by the time you are ready.

please don`t hesitate John if you need any more help and if you ever want a chat or anything no problems, i`ll give you my no. or they can be found in my bio.

cheers Al

 

[JohnHolmes]

Thanks to you both for your replies. You have given me plenty of food for thought!

Cheers

J

 

[Anonymous]

JohnHolmes:

Thanks to you both for your replies. You have given me plenty of food for thought!

Cheers

J

thats what I intended John

its not too difficult to get it right, but its very easy to get it wrong mate and can be expensive to rectify mistakes.

Planning, looking back, was probably one of the harder tasks when we built our house, luckily we didn`t rush it and it was sort of design as we went along to be honest and it worked out ok.

Anyway good luck with it and it will be nice to have some input maybe in the future

All the best Allan

 

[Frank Harvey]

JohnHolmes: Thanks to you both for your replies. You have given me plenty of food for thought!

A pleasure John, anytime.