taking on a major room rearrangement project...

[xneox]

My HT, unlike many here, is really an infusion into a multi-purpose room. It's a typical family living room. My desk is here. My son's toybox and pack-n-play is here. A bookshelf for his books...cabinet for my files. It's a well-used [12x24] room.

Problem is, the way I have the HT portion set up, it's central to the room, and space is limited. I've been unhappy with my arrangement for a while now, mainly because I have no room for anything larger than the tiny bookshelf speakers I'm running for mains. To the right is a hallway to the rest of the first floor...to the left, the open-sided staircase to the second level. My a/v cabinet (huge WAF on that piece) takes up the whole wall in that area, which is why my entire front stage is on top of it.

Here's the layout as it is now. It's not quite as cramped as the 2D layout would suggest, but like I said...it's a well-used room. The kid-related furniture is an ever-changing situation...one is 2 years, and one is 3 months.

Room and all contents drawn to scale.



So I figure it's time for a change. I brainstormed a different room arrangement, and already ordered all new speakers + sub. I'm unwilling to arrange the room in a way that would put the tv on an outside wall...and the bottom wall is an outside wall. I just don't want to deal with snaking thru insulation. Seems like the way I've laid it out will work great...it gives me room for floorstanding mains, plus tucks the viewing area out of the main through-way. My only worry is that I'll have the wall on the right as a source of reflection for the right front & rear channels...but considering the advantages over how it's set up now, I'm thinking the benefits outweigh that particular drawback. It's a big-deal move, because the tv is, and will be, wall-mounted...so naturally, I wanted to lay it out before making any major changes.

So here's the plan...the HT area is the main focus, obviously. The other area is open for whatever arrangement my wife finds most appealing...I can see it this way, but she has to see it in real life. Comments welcome.

[srrndhound]

Looks like a worthwhile re-arrangement. My comments are few:

1) Yes, the right wall could be an issue. Drapes over the windows will help, especially if lined for light control.

2) The right-front speaker and sub. Once you have the gear fired up, might be worth checking your shown setup, then try pulling the R speaker forward a little, and rotating the woofer 90-deg with the driver aimed to the wall. This will allow you to shift the R speaker laterally between the R wall and the cabinet. An optimal location may emerge, which you can then mirror with the L speaker. It's hard to say right now which speaker (the R front or the sub) will gain or suffer the most from interacting with the corner/wall. In fact, if the woofer gets too rambunctious in the corner, it could be shifted next to the L speaker.

So the new layout has some tuning flexibility.

[Buddy Christ]

IMO

Clear out everything but HT equipment.

Ht room or nothing

[xneox]

hound:

I do have opaque shades on the two windows shown on the right wall, as well as decorative drapes. Also, it's a north-facing wall, so direct light really isn't a problem either.

As for the speaker layout - one of the problems that I didn't mention in the first place is that the cabinet has bi-fold doors. When watching a movie, at least one of the doors has to be open (wherever I decide to put the receiver & BD player), or it gets HOT in there. Fans are an option, and I actually have a couple to install, so maybe that problem will go away...but for now, I'm trying to plan around having an open door. I'm trying to place the speakers where I can sneak the door past them without having to move them. That's why they're shown where they are. Figured I'd put the heat-producing components on the left, so I could run with the right closed (hence the sub location).

Placing the sub anywhere in the entire room is an option...but I've seen so many setups here with them plopped directly in the front stage, so I thought the idea had merit, and was worth planning for. I could also place it between the loveseat and the wall, in front of the right surround, if that seems viable.

blu:

if only.

[xneox]

So, without any special equipment, or self-calibrating receiver, how do I go about 'tuning' the setup?

[neos_peace]

looks like a very similar deal that I will be doing my self here in the next couple of months. but fine tuning yea diffently.

[NorCo_1806]

xneox, what's under this room? You mentioned snaking wires, so I'm thinking basement/crawlspace? If basement, finished or not?

my current lay-out is much like your newly proposed...at least the theatre side (though my theatre area is 15' deep...and is about 11.75' wide). The right-hand wall at my place has the big windows. I've got my sub sitting under them, so it's on the side.

I recently moved it there so last night was listening for its directionality. I watched The Thomas Crown Affair, Transformers 2 & Revolutionary Road. Not much sub activity in two of those movies....while the center selection of my three-movie night almost never stopped sending LFE.

I was pleased with the limited feel of, "wow the sub is on my right!" that I experienced.

I asked about your rooms’ subterranean level because I have also considered what I have seen done a few times. Mounting my sub between two floor-joists in my crawlspace. Then using a standard vent cover for the ported airflow. ---for sealed enclosures, the woofer itself can be directed up through the vent.

If you'd be willing, this could be done in the middle of the front soundstage....just below the center channel. That would mean a hole in the floor in-front of the media cabinet...something to remedy whenever you move the equipment or leave the house. Not impossible, but something to think about.

Or this could be done in the corner or wherever you find best placement for the sub, on the perimeter of your room. Making that extra vent less noticeable later on, as it would be along an outside wall. --even if your heater/cooling system doesn't use floor vents...it's still less obtrusive than the aforementioned hole in the middle of the room!!


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Edit~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Forgot my two other questions:

What the heck is a klikklak? Figure it's a piece of child-rearing equipment that wasn't around when I was in those early parenting stages.

and
What program did you use to create your "to scale" drawings?

[xneox]

Originally Posted by NorCo_1806

xneox, what's under this room? You mentioned snaking wires, so I'm thinking basement/crawlspace? If basement, finished or not?

Basement - the unfinished portion. Actually, it's my little corner workshop, as I have no garage . There is a large finished portion to the basement as well, and before I had the plasma, that's where my man-cave was. I've toyed with the idea of putting it down there again, but with two small kids, most of the weekend and after-work activities have to be performed on the main level. If I rebuild the subterranean man cave, it'll be relegated to movie-nights only. I rather enjoy watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and the random daytime show on the plasma...which is why it's staying on the main floor.

my current lay-out is much like your newly proposed...at least the theatre side (though my theatre area is 15' deep...and is about 11.75' wide). The right-hand wall at my place has the big windows. I've got my sub sitting under them, so it's on the side.

I recently moved it there so last night was listening for its directionality. I watched The Thomas Crown Affair, Transformers 2 & Revolutionary Road. Not much sub activity in two of those movies....while the center selection of my three-movie night almost never stopped sending LFE.

I was pleased with the limited feel of, "wow the sub is on my right!" that I experienced.

I asked about your rooms’ subterranean level because I have also considered what I have seen done a few times. Mounting my sub between two floor-joists in my crawlspace. Then using a standard vent cover for the ported airflow. ---for sealed enclosures, the woofer itself can be directed up through the vent.

If you'd be willing, this could be done in the middle of the front soundstage....just below the center channel. That would mean a hole in the floor in-front of the media cabinet...something to remedy whenever you move the equipment or leave the house. Not impossible, but something to think about.

Or this could be done in the corner or wherever you find best placement for the sub, on the perimeter of your room. Making that extra vent less noticeable later on, as it would be along an outside wall. --even if your heater/cooling system doesn't use floor vents...it's still less obtrusive than the aforementioned hole in the middle of the room!!

Yeah, there will be no cutting holes in floors. My wife is very accepting of my need for all of this, but we'd hit negative numbers on the WAF-o-meter for that one. Cool idea though...maybe in the next house, if I do end up with a dedicated man-cave.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Edit~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Forgot my two other questions:

What the heck is a klikklak? Figure it's a piece of child-rearing equipment that wasn't around when I was in those early parenting stages.

Actually, it's half couch, half futon...it looks like a lowboy couch with no arms, and the entire back section clicks down so that it's completely flat for sleeping. The name comes from the sound it makes while converting...sort of like the chaise lawn chairs that have head & foot sections that can be positioned at all different degrees of recline. The wife likes to put the 2-y-o down for his afternoon nap on it, which is why it's in the main room. Personally, I'd prefer it elsewhere, as it's getting a little crowded in here...but she makes a good argument.

Here's one on Amazon. Very much like the one we have, only ours is brown microfiber.

and
What program did you use to create your "to scale" drawings?

Adobe Illustrator w/the CADtools plugin. I use it for work, and can log in to my work computer from home. This is a very crude drawing...one that I didn't want to take too long. I actually did this same thing about a year ago, only on a giant scale. I laid out our entire plant with it, in much greater detail (phones are on desks). Came in handy when the office manager was looking for a way to arrange the account rep area to allow for teams. I gave them a new layout, and we were in there the following weekend rebuilding the office.

[xneox]

So my MIL just came over to hang out with her grandbabies...and shes a rearranging fool. Her place is never the same every time we go over there.

She gave me an interesting idea. I have a room off my kitchen...didn't draw it, but it would be just the other side of the stairs...that is technically our third bedroom, but is being used as a different kind of catch-all room (see a theme?). My dog's crate is in there...a dining room table and hutch...my 30" Toshiba CRT HDTV...a buffet being used as a changing table.

Anyway, getting to the idea - she suggested I set up the area that I'm talking about moving the HT into as a sort-of dining area...move the DR table, hutch, changing table/buffet there, and put the 30" TV where the plasma is now...and claim the room off the kitchen as my HT room. Huh. Way to complicate things, mima. And here I thought I had my mind made up.

Back to Illustrator I go.

[xneox]

Ok, I think I like this idea better...again, suggestions/comments are welcome.

[srrndhound]

Now you're talkin'!

[NorCo_1806]

That's cool, but like you mentioned a bit ago.....with the most of your activities involving some or all of the family...will you use your dedicated theatre that often? I hope so, I actually like the idea a great deal.

What are the dimentions on that space? When you decide to go 7.1 you'll have a great spot for those additional surrounds....unless you go the GOOD way and use front heights (I'm biased, can you tell?)

When has a MIL ever come up with a way to help any man with his home theatre?? WOW, congrats....

Uh-oh....problem noted: the klikklak being moved ....does your wife wanna lay the 2 year old down for naps in your theatre or on the loveseat in the livingroom? --do you have a drool cover for it? I'm sure you've already encountered that one.

I just got a new couch and my 15 year old said, "Don't let me sleep on it. I'll ruin it with my drool, like I did moms couch." ---his moms couch is rather drooled-upon.

[xneox]

Originally Posted by NorCo_1806

That's cool, but like you mentioned a bit ago.....with the most of your activities involving some or all of the family...will you use your dedicated theatre that often? I hope so, I actually like the idea a great deal.

That's the idea, anyway. That room is right off the kitchen, so it'll be easy access. Only real problem I'm sort of struggling with is having two toddlers with floorstanding speakers. Hoping it won't be too big an issue...and baby gates work wonders.

What are the dimentions on that space? When you decide to go 7.1 you'll have a great spot for those additional surrounds....unless you go the GOOD way and use front heights (I'm biased, can you tell?)

It's 12' wide x 14' long. I've initially planned to put the computer in there as well, but that could change. We'll see...
And I'm not really sure if I'll ever do the 7.1 thing...sure, I'll upgrade the receiver someday to something a bit better quality, but the rear channels aren't high on my to-do list. But you're right - if I do go that way, the layout would work.

When has a MIL ever come up with a way to help any man with his home theatre?? WOW, congrats....

Uh-oh....problem noted: the klikklak being moved ....does your wife wanna lay the 2 year old down for naps in your theatre or on the loveseat in the livingroom? --do you have a drool cover for it? I'm sure you've already encountered that one.

Well, we've discussed it, and she doesn't have a problem putting him in there for his nap...but between now and then I'll work on convincing her that the reclining loveseat is a much better idea.