Home Theatre Surround Setup

Jayy · Mr. Ponzi Joined: 08 Jun 2009 Karma :

I'm not very clued up about this type of thing, I've always used high quality headphones but I want a pro audio setup. I have a 4K HDR projector and I want audio to match.

From what I understand, I want to be going down the 5.1 route with an AV receiver and the necessary speakers? I already have a soundbar and not that impressed.. maybe it could be utilised in the new setup?

I only need to hook up the PC and Xbox One X to it.

Am I best buying a bundle from say Richer Sounds or am I best creating my own setup?

recman · World Chat Champion Joined: 26 Mar 2012 Karma :

Absolutely create your own.
I'm no expert but you can have an outstanding set up for not much money at all.
Check out shpock and gumtree, my 7.1 Denon AV was £35. As was my Gale center speaker.
Really impressive sound, no sound bar could compete.

t121anf · World Chat Champion Joined: 23 Feb 2007 Karma :

Pro audio and 5.1 seems a mismatch in 2018.

I had 5.1 back in 2000.

at least 7.1 maybe even 7.2 to get near a pro setup.

Oh and sound bars are poo, IMO they are a way of extorting more money from the buyer to compensate for the poor quality audio in the tv.

Jayy · Mr. Ponzi Joined: 08 Jun 2009 Karma :

Jayy · Mr. Ponzi Joined: 08 Jun 2009 Karma :

There was a guy on youtube saying he always likes to go for 100w per channel minimum with his AV and speakers just as a personal preference.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/202437292492

Would something like that be good?

Jayy · Mr. Ponzi Joined: 08 Jun 2009 Karma :

It all lies with the receiver, doesn't it? If I get a 5.1 channel AV, I can't add more speakers later and make it a 7.1 setup because the AV needs to be 7.1?

If the AV can only support 95w per channel, then every speaker / sub has to be that or less?

Sorry for all the noob questions. Was just looking on Richer Sounds and the bundles they do seem quite expensive based on looking at what some of that kit goes for 2nd hand on ebay.

natefz6 · Brolly Dolly Joined: 06 Apr 2005 Karma :

I have seen some crazy cheap amps on Facebook market place too. Amps that are 12-18 months old going for less than 25% of what they were new.

How many watts you need kinda depends on the speakers but also how big the room you are trying to fill is. My old amp was 120w per channel where as my new is 70w per channel I don't really notice any difference. My living room is 4x4m and I am never more that 50% volume. https://www.qacoustics.co.uk/blog/2017/08/14/beginners-guide-matching-speakers-amplifiers/ is a good write up on steaker to amp pairing.

I have found that I ended up upgrading my receiver before my speakers as the tech moves much faster on the amps with HDMI versions higher resolutions etc. My trusty KEF 2005.2 are still going strong after over 10 years of use! (well the sats are the Kef subs are shit) Amps are so much cheaper now than 5 years ago.

As for the 5.1 to 7.1 to atmos I guess its a toss up between how immersive you want the sound and your room aesthetic. I had to do enough work to get the Mrs to accept the 5.1. i.e I have no visible cables most of the speakers are not obvious (we have a fairly minimalist house) and the usage of the system has to pass the wife test, not requiring 20 buttons to get on and working.

Atmos sounds awesome but as I watch most of my stuff streamed from Netflix/iplayer/amazon the support for it is somewhat limited with the devices I use. This and the fact that I would need to find a way to hide even more speakers (and rerun more cables) has stopped me looking to integrate it. Its worth looking into your full systems compatibility as you may have to upgrade more components to get it working. https://help.netflix.com/en/node/64066
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Jayy · Mr. Ponzi Joined: 08 Jun 2009 Karma :

I know I could pick up an old AV but as you say, the tech moves quickly and a 10 year old one for me wouldn't be helpful as I need 4K UHD with it.

The watts per channel is just one dude who said he likes to get around 100w minimum but that's just his preference.

Device wise, it's really down to my PC / Xbox One X and either playing un-touched Bluray remuxes directly from the PC or 4K / HDR discs from the One X.

I've always been a bit of a format snob when it comes to this stuff. I don't stream anything other than TV shows sometimes. If it's a movie, it has to be retail bluray and minimum 1080p to 4K. There's no way I'd watch a cam rip or something Laughing

My main concearn is hiding the wires and mounting speakers too. I keep looking at this room and wondering where / how I would do it. The room is 3.8m by 4m wide.

In my head, I have budgeted £1,000 for this setup, which looking at AVs on ebay last night and speakers, this should be easily achievable second hand.

Ste · Not Work Safe Joined: 01 Sep 2002 Karma :

natefz6 · Brolly Dolly Joined: 06 Apr 2005 Karma :

Sounds like you would be best going all out if you are into your movies that way which I should have guessed by the 4K projector.

In my current room I ran all of the cables under the floor boards before I laid the engineered flooring and then mounted terminals on the skirting boards or channeled up the walls depending on the speaker location. I have something like this https://www.nexxia.co.uk/product-category/audio-wall-plates/architrave-wall-plates .

At my old place it was much easier as it was plasterboard walls so I just dropped the cables through a hole in the wall behind the speaker and ran them back to the amp in a recess in the underlay.

If you are looking at used doing it for £1000 should be easy.

Dammit now you have me looking again, I can feel my wallet burning my pocket.
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"no I didn't steal it that's just the way I ride"

sickpup · Old Timer Joined: 21 Apr 2004 Karma :

I've noticed a lot of modern amps you plug your seperates in via HDMI, do they have a passive pass through so for example you can watch films voa xbox or Blu-ray without having the amp turned on?