Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Systems Theatre Design Help...

I am huge home theatre fan, a huge Meridian fan and have hit a road block so thought where better to ask for advice and input than here...

I will try to provide the right balance of detail but should you need / want more then let me know...

There is a room in my basement that I would like to convert into a dedicated home theatre (i.e. 100% Blu-Ray or HDTV, 0% music) and to this end I hired a well known engineering firm to draw up the specifications which addressed all aspects of home theatre design (i.e. optimal speaker placement as well as suggested speakers, optimal screen size as well as suggested screen, rerouted HVAC, separate electrical, separate room for the equipment racks and projector, sound treatment, etc.)..you name it, it is in the specifications including 7 speaker for L/C/R/RR/RL/SR/SL, 12 subwoofers, etc.

What is the problem you ask...well, in a word, the cost because when I started the process I was told (by both the engineering firm as well as by the excellent integrator that I use) that the cost to build plus additional equipment would be $X but the price tage is now coming in at $2X which i) I do not have the cash on hand at the moment given the economy ii) I would likely not spend even were I flush with cash as the cost is stagerring (i.e. think a small house in a large metropolitan city)...

With that I have a number of options some of which include:

i) Proceed with all the equipment (i.e. audio inclusing custom wall to hold the front speakers and screen, seating, video, etc.) / positions recommendations without any of the construction (otyher than the risers), sound isoltation / treatment but to some extent I feel that this is a little like winning the battle and loosing the war as the audio performance will be less that it could be while still having a major hardware expenditure (i.e. remember those 19 speakers + equalization +...).

ii) Scrap the whole plan and do what most of us here do...purchase an on-wall screen (as opposed to the AT screen), purchase 5 or 7 DSP speakers (i.e. likely DSP 5200's) + DSP subwoofer (as apposed to 7 in-wall speakers, 12 subwoofers and professional eq equipment), purchase a comfortable couch / seating for 3 to 5 people (as opposed to the theatre seating, risers, etc.) and do a much more modest but very nice looking decor and call it a day.

iii) Wait...that is, do nothing for now and save money until all this is in the affordable range which raises other problems...what do I do with all my kit (M557, M558.2, M800, M861, Marantz VP-11S2 projector, Lumagen RadianceXE, etc.)...will I be comfortable / satisfied with the 50" plasma that is in my family room for 3 years...etc.


iv) Whatever other options you can think of...

Very disappointed at where I am ending up as the dream theatre which I thought was in my reach -- based on the initial pricing estimate -- no longer appears to be so, very deflated which is something only those who frequent here can possibly understand...

Looking forward to everyone's feedback...


PS. Apologies for any and all typos as I am typing this on my BlackBerry...

It sounds bad news for a beautiful dream

12 subwoofers ???????????????????????????????????

Depending on the speakers choice, i can (try to) understand a maximum of... 8, if you choose small boxes and want to define 7 large speakers, plus one sub for LFE.

What room volume have you planned ?

Serge.

The speakers were as follows:

-- Triad in-wall golds for L/C/R
-- Triad in-wall surround silvers for SR/SL/RR/RL
-- Traid in-wall silver/15 subwoofer x 3 for the front wall
-- Triad in-wall bronze/6 subwoofer x 3 for each of the left, rear and right wall

And yes, it is bad news for what was something highly anticipated...

12 subs is a bit ott

why not a 60"plasma
and a Trifield front

build up gradually

Plus rumours of in-wall Meridian DSPs...

Already have a secondary and full 5.1 system that in my family room ...the purpose of this room is to i) house my front projector and ii) provide a material improvement over my plasma / secondary system...

Ok. The 3 subs are here to have full range channels on the front wall.
But where is/are the subwoofer(s) dedicated to the LFE channel ?


So it's a full range system on each channel ? But why do you have 9 small subs for only 4 surround speakers ?

Serge.

What I would do, in fact what I will be doing in the next couple months, is to finish the room as a home theater, ie sound isolation, double drywall, running wires in conduit in the wall, fitting out a place for a projector with power and cables (even if you're not going to buy a projector right now), and then use your current equipment. You can always add or upgrade equipment later, rebuilding a room is much more difficult.

12 subs??? I don't see the need for more than 4

You can get a very reasonably priced AT screen at SeymourAV.com. Or you can really save money by buying the fabric and building a frame.

If you don't read the Dedicated Theater forum over at AVS Forums - you should - AVS Forum

@ whumpf, I am there under the same name...I did consider the route you are going but this is essentially what I am doing with my option iii) because I *DO NOT* have speakers or subs for this room as the "old stuff" has been relugated to the family room...

What kit were you having installed???

What projector?? What screen??

If it is a dedicated room why would you consider anything other than a fixed frame screen?? Anything else is a compromise. You need to spend 10x the amount to get almost as good.

And 'in wall' speakers?? Again, a serious compromise imho.

My last house had the Kef Reference Custom install speakers, and it was OK, but not a patch on decent DSP speakers.


I am actually goin the other way, just sold my cinema room equipment and going back to having a nice, neat DSP system in the spare reception room, where I know we will actually use it every day.

If it were me, I would get a builder in to do the work you want and buy the kit and install it yourself, you made need someone in to set up and calibrate the projector to get it singing, but that will be small fry compared with the expense of getting a custom install company in where they are taking their cut of every step.

Joel,

I very much agree with whumpf. Get the room built to your spec and then look at 'filling' it with kit. Set perhaps a smaller budget for the physical build if you can and work towards regaining collatoral for the future hardware. As VK says there may be in wall DSP's shortly (now that would be funky) and if you are a big Meridian fan then I'm sure you would want to audition these (I know I would).

Enjoy the Meridian kit you have at the minute with the knowledge that you will have a dedicated room in the near future to plan (sometimes the planning is one of the best bits).

However it goes good luck, it's nice to have a basement to consider such an endeavour (wish I had a basement!!).

Keith.

I have spoken to a few local M dealers and have been advised that new in-wall DSPs are on their way but they will perform at the level of the 5200s which would be the base levl of performance that I am aiming at...

I should also point out that I appreciate all the advise given so far but that the focus should be on the solution to the problem and not on the kit itself meaning that while comments about in-walls vs in-room, fixed screens vs masked screens etc. are appreciated they are not the *MAJOR* part of the issue that I am attempting to resolve as the kit has been specified by Anthony Grimani who I have full and complete faith in...

Thanks for all the feedback and keep it coming...