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AV Components in Living Room

2K views 26 replies 7 participants last post by  Vcook 
#1 ·
Question for all you audiophiles out there. I need help picking out an AV system (TV, Receiver, Speakers) for my new living room. The place is gutted so I can do in wall components if necessary but would probably prefer the smaller "Bose" type speakers w/ a sub in the corner. Again I'm up for other options though. The main components would be out of site and probably a story below and controlled via RF or the like.

Some background - Big room 25x16 w/ 8'-0" ceilings, TV is above fireplace (I know, bad place but it is what it is).

I could also go the "cheaper" route and just use a sound bar on the mantle. Keep it simple and wait till the basement is done to do the real audio stuff.

Any ideas?

Thanks!
 
#4 ·
In the end, even with a dedicated "theater" room I'd see myself in this room the most. And if that's the case, I'd like to have a decent setup.

Budget wise, I'd like to keep it under a grand. That's on the cheap side I know but again I plan on having a "better" setup later on down the line. I just need something that doesn't sound like a tinny TV speaker and a system that can also play music well. It's an open floor plan so the sound would carry.
 
#10 ·
Yeah I only use my Sonos for music. I think you can get the amp adapter and play whatever the hell you want (TV etc.) through the speakers, but I haven't tried that yet and likely won't. You can also utilize existing speakers that you already have or will get. Driving the system through tablets and iphones was icing on the cake.

I'm no audiofile - but the Sonos sounds as good (to me) as the Bose systems that I've heard. Wiring through the house wasn't an option for me, and being able to stream Pandora through the house was a game changer.
 
#11 ·
All things I'd eventually like to do. Running anything off the iphone/tablet would be awesome. Even without the Sonos this would be a great feature.

At some point I need to upgrade my receiver but the question is do I do it now or when I finish the basement. And would I use the receiver that I would potentially buy now for anything in the basement or would I need two separate systems? All questions I need answered. I'd prefer only one but I assume it'd be impossible to run the LR and the basement at the same time if that were the case. As my head spins, and yours too I'm sure :lmao:, it makes me think I follow VCook's advice and just wait. Maybe installing ceiling speakers for music and that's it. Use the TV speakers for regular watching. Do the big stuff when the basement happens.
 
#12 · (Edited)
In ceiling speakers, attached to a basic amp, with wall mount volume controls. Feed it from something airplay capable.

I did this for the speakers in my kitchen and use it often for pandora fed from my iphone.



edit: I regret not adding speakers to my living room at the same time, I'll probably come back and do that. with a simple speaker selector box I can turn a room on or off entirely, control the volume in that room with wall control, and feed it from my phone. This is the cheapest and simpliest way to do whole house audio. I'll adding speakers to the deck in this fashion too.
 
#13 ·
In ceiling speakers, attached to a basic amp, with wall mount volume controls. Feed it from something airplay capable.

I did this for the speakers in my kitchen and use it often for pandora fed from my iphone.

edit: I regret not adding speakers to my living room at the same time, I'll probably come back and do that. with a simple speaker selector box I can turn a room on or off entirely, control the volume in that room with wall control, and feed it from my phone. This is the cheapest and simpliest way to do whole house audio. I'll adding speakers to the deck in this fashion too.
Do you mind taking a simple pic of your in wall set up?
 
#16 ·
Nice.

Where do you house the amp? Is the amp connected to a receiver? Sorry being a little AV ignorant right now.

Also I was looking on Monoprice.com and they apparently sell speakers now. Not only are they cheap but they also all got great reviews. Seeing as I'd get a "better" setup once I move to the basement maybe this is an easy way to get a decent setup in the living room. One of my concerns is the center channel though. Could find a small one and just place it on the mantle. Might look out of place though.
 
#17 ·
The speakers are monoprice and so is the volume control. The amp is in a cabinet in the family room, it's fed an analog audio signal from an apple airport express(I got it as the cheapest way to do airplay at the time). No reciever.


Maybe just do stereo speakers for the TV. When it comes to the living space I kind of gave up on making a fantastic movie experience and focused on form and comfort.
 
#20 · (Edited)
At $50 a pair, it's worth a try.

Thanks for all the info. Think I'll pull the trigger on the speakers though I'm still a little foggy on how you set up the music via the amp/airport. Is the airport hardwired to the amp? Sorry for the annoying questions.

[edit] Or I could just Google it.
http://ipod.about.com/od/usingairportexpress/a/wireless-home-audio-itunes.htm

Btw, what wattage did you use for the ceiling speakers?
 
#21 ·
You need hardly any juice for the speakers. My amp has gain controls which are turned to about 1/3rd and the speakers are plenty loud.

airport is wired via analog cables to amp. airport is plugged into outlet. airport is fed via ethernet to my network.
 
#22 ·
Ok back to square one. I've been told by numerous people that while the man cave is all good, on a daily basis it's not where u spend your time. Hence adding whatever you want in the living room so u can enjoy whatever u are watching. Needless to say that bring me back to a 5.1 in wall/in ceiling system.

Anyone heard of htd.com? They are a bit pricier then mono price but seem to carry a better product. The sound transfer issue is something I have to take into consideration so I might have to splurge on insulated speakers.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
#24 ·
Both. Hence why they end up in the living room and not in their man cave.
 
#25 ·
Ordered everything last week from Monoprice and should have it today. Can't wait to see it all. Drywall is going up in a few days so I need to get this ironed out. I'm looking to run the Cat6 anywhere I can get it to. I figure run Cat 6 to HDMI plates throughout in order to save some space and long runs. Plus Cat6 has several uses and I'll have a 1000' of Cat6 I'll need to use. :)

I'm still up in the air how some of the components will actually work while trying to hide (other room) them. So maybe one of you audiophiles can help simplify this for me.

Here's what I'm thinking for right now -

Components - "Smart" TV, Xbox, cable box, blu-ray, computer/server, AV receiver
Connections - all components run HDMI to receiver w/ main HDMI running to back to TV via cat6 cable. Cat6 to HDMI converter at TV. Have power and will run a Quad RG6 coax, x5 Cat6 (1 for TV, 2 extra, 2 for HDMI converter) to back to TV as well.

Questions:
1. Main question is for the IR extenders; the run would be about 30' max. Do I only need 1 IR connection at the TV and all the other IR connections at the receiver? I want hardwired. How many should I run to the back of the TV? Any suggested brand/hardware I should use?

2. What's the best place for the Xbox? As of now I have to run component cables and a toslink optical cable to get Dolby Digital bc MS can't get their shit together to run it through an HDMI cable. I can get another converter that runs over cat6 and adds an HDMI, toslink and component connection at the other end. Would that work? Placement next to the TV isn't possible as I don't have a place to put it that won't be just on the floor - wife won't go for that. Maybe I'm over thinking this. Could I just run the optical and the component cables to the receiver? Wouldn't all the sound and video come from the receiver back to the TV at that point? Anyone know what the max distance a xbox controller works? I'll be, at most, 10 feet away from the console but it'll be a floor below me.

3. With the TV networked, I assume as long as my server is also networked I'll have access to everything. Do I need another PC or app to run something in order to actually view/listen downloaded files? I assume this depends on your TV. I'm looking at the Panasonic ST plasmas if that helps.

Sorry lots of questions but I appreciate any help.
 
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