Think about your cable routing (including TV/FM/DAB aerial, broadband/telephone and satellite feeds) and power points now. I just did a similar project on a small lounge and just doubled up everything on the basis that it cost relatively little to do it while the room was apart. And get it all done by a qualified electrician, then inspected by another independent one.

I have easy access to the ceiling and all walls but I need to think this through as you say.

You don't mention your choice of heating. Radiators can be reflective and are bad for positioning speakers and amplifiers.

I have an heat pump air con unit and I plan to get some gas heater running off bottled gas.

You don't mention floor construction. This will impact cable routing (see above) and bass response (see below). If it is suspended and not solid concrete, get your builder to pack it so all bounce is removed. I just had this done and it makes the whole room more stable.

Floor is as described above built on concrete sub floor Im the builder, Im a pro carpenter for work.

Curtains are an important consideration as glass and blinds can be pretty sharp sounding. Black-out linings and acoustic padding cost a LOT more than you would think. Also think about automated operation.

I have some vertical blinds.

On the equipment side, your 557s will work well with the N802s (from personal experience). I would run them biamped rather than bridged. The ultimate would be two bridged 557s per speaker. Those matrix HTMs cannot take a lot of volume and you should consider something significantly better. In that space I would think about big floorstanders for the rear e.g. N803s (I use matrix 802s) or even more N802s. Until you have experienced full range all round you don't know what you are missing. Can't comment on the 805Vs.

I have used the 802 and 557 for years and they sound great. I have long interconnects using balanced connectors running the amps bridged. The 805v are the same as matrix 805 but with the tweeter on the side. They are quite rare. B&W made these as a center speaker before they made the matrix htm. I have two of each that im planning to use as rears and side rears fitted to the ceiling. Floor standers would be no good. I would like to get a B&W Nautilus htm1 center but until I do, I will use the 2x matrix htm. I take your point about lack of volume though.

You don't mention a centre. I have succesfully used a DSP5000C with the N802s but, again, in that space you will need a DSP5500C or one of the new B&W centres to get the full effect.

IMHO, you won't need a sub if you go full-range everywhere else.

I forgot to mention subs. I have 2x B&W ASW4000 with the 15" bass drivers from the N801.

The 568.2mm processor will be brilliant value for money in that set-up (again personal experience) but you might need to consider a G-series processor if there is a chance that lively bass would require taming using MRC.


I suspected this would be the processor to get. Would a 568 or any of the other varients be OK or do you think I need to track down a 568.2mm? Thanks for your detailed response. Regards, Az
Goods luck and keep us updated. There are many lessons to be learnt and shared in these projects.

Last edited by azazel; 2009-11-22 22:10.
B&W N802, Nhtm1 2xM.805, 2xM.htm, 2xASW4000, Meridian 568, 502, 504, 508, 5x557, VDH Revolution & D102mk3 XLR cables.