Sound system recomendation for 3x3m cinema rm

[deansplit]

Hi

I'm looking for a recommendation for a fairly mid range/decent sound system set up for a cienma room? I've not done a full on proper ceonversion - it's a high ceiling Victorian room, solid walls, 3x3m with no sound proofing and has wooden floors so sound is hardly going to be the best it can for all you. I just need a good value AV with speaker package but where to start???

Also, any advice on shelving the various units? The projector wil be on wall bracket, but I have to make a shelf for the AV, a set top box, Blu Ray player and PS4 - a lot of weight and when I was just browsing looking at AV's I was looking into the Denon AVR X520 and it's huge! Most appear to be over 300m deep, without allowing for space for the cables at the rear, that's crazy, most shelves don't come deeper than 300mm/12". Ideally wanted a floating shelf but can't imaging I'll find anything to hold the weight with the required depth.

Thanks for any help

 

[Benedict_Arnold]

You're probably going to need to build your own shelf using wood from the local DIY store and some sturdy brackets, or you could just buy a fee standing unit that will sit on the floor. People still in the UK will no doubt advise on brands, sizes, costs, features, etc.

For the room, I would recommend at least putting some rugs on the floor. Hang more from the walls if you want to. Not only will they stop sound escaping to the surrounding rooms, but they will also stop reflections / echos within the room itself.

3 m x 3 m isn't that big, so you're probably not going to benefit from more than 5 around the room sound channels, possibly with two more "front height" speakers, so don't bother looking at amything more than a 7-channel (7.2 or 5.2.2) receiver. I presume that if your home is Victorian you don't want to be cutting holes in the ceiling for in-ceiling speakers and thos "Atmos enabled" or "Atmos add-on" speakers that supposedly bounce sound off the ceiling back down to your ears really don't work that well, if at all, so concentrate on a DTS:X setup, possibly with one "voice of God" speaker on the ceiling.

The 7.2 limit opens up some nice options in the "boutique" brands as well as higher-end high street ones as well.

 

[spiny norman]

most shelves don't come deeper than 300mm/12". Ideally wanted a floating shelf but can't imaging I'll find anything to hold the weight with the required depth.

Some of the dedicated AV racks or rack systems out there are (not surprisingly) designed to accomodate stuipdly large receivers. Have a look at the likes of the Quadraspire QAVM, which has shelves 50cm deep, and can be ordered with columns giving a space of up to 32cm between shelves, allowing room for airflow sufficient even for even big, high-power receivers.

OK, so these racks tend not to be cheap, but then they do allow you to customise the design to suit your needs.

 

[deansplit]

Hi Norman

Thanks for the wisdom, but anything on the floor is a 100% no no, just haven't the room, plus the room doubles up as a play room for our 6 & 8 yr old - I did say it wasn't the ideal cinema rm!

I'll make something, that's no problem, but ideally wanted a floating shelf as I detest brackets!

 

[deansplit]

Hi Benedict

Wow, never even heard of atmos or DTS:X, but I think these are way over spec'd for my needs. I'm looking sor an all in sound system at around £400, and also Atmos will involve cables up to the ceiling. I guess wireless speakers are no an option and within this budget? So is DTS:X an additional cost or is it a function that's built in to some receivers as I notice the Denon AVRZ2200W has this function. I had my eye on a refurbished one ar £250 and thought that along with a speaker package would be a good enough set up?

 

[spiny norman]

just haven't the room, plus the room doubles up as a play room for our 6 & 8 yr old - I did say it wasn't the ideal cinema rm!

Ah, right.

 

[chrisr1718]

My rooms of a similar size as yours but probably the ceilings aren't as high, only about 8'6".

My current system is more than adequate for the size of room Denon AVR-X2200W & Tannoy HTS101 and I've got a couple of extra surround back speakers to complete the 7.1 setup. Good all round integration and I've felt it's never been lacking in bass, although this can be dependant on where you're placing the sub.

 

[deansplit]

My current system is more than adequate for the size of room Denon AVR-X2200W & Tannoy HTS101 and I've got a couple of extra surround back speakers to complete the 7.1 setup.

Of course I did mean the 'x'2200 not 'z'2200!

Thanks Chris, this is exactly the answer I was looking for - a tried and tested system in a similar sized room. So this receiver has the exact DTS:X function that was mentioned here... is it good?

 

[chrisr1718]

is it good?

Well, I've got no plans to replace it... *good*

 

[Nathan]

For that sized room, the 2200W every day. The only reason really to move up (to the 3, 4 or 6 series) is the pre-outs. Im not sure that the extra dosh for the 2300W would improve things noticably. Save it and buy some good films and a couple of seasons of Ben and Holly to get Best Dad brownie points!