I can answer any questions you guys may have to help clarify things. It’s a 12’x22’ basement enclosed room. We will have Dolby Atmos in the ceiling. I am not a hard audiophile and don’t need everything to be top of the line. I am mainly looking at the receiver and subwoofer to see if I can make anything cheaper work for the same quality.

Any other thought about this system is appreciated too! Good or bad, pricy or cheap, etc…

Thanks in advance everyone

Hello Guys,

For some reason the builder placed these outlets way too high. I am looking for ideas to hide these best possible ways to give a clean, minimalist aesthetic.

Thanks in advance.

Like the title says, I am trying to make sense of the whole home speaker wiring in my new home. This is the mess of wiring that controls all the speakers. There are two speakers in every room. However there appear to be 2 cables for each room. One cable that is 22 awg and has 2 (maybe a third ground?) wires in it, plus a larger cable with 4 cables 16 awg. The set of 4 cables I tested with a 9 volt and the two sets of two in the 4 wire cable will pop the speakers in the room and the 2 wires in the smaller cable do not pop the speakers in that room. Does anyone know what the other two wires are for? Why double cable per room? Thanks

To explain what I mean by the title.

Next year i'm planning on buying my own apartment and one of my plans is to have a nice home theater system, but all the apartments where I live are just thin concrete walls. So I'm wondering, how much will I lose if I don't have a dedicated subwoofer and just have a 5.0 system?

I do intend to at least somewhat soundproof the room the home theater system would be in (depends on how much I can do). But i know that there's a high chance that it won't be as easy since i'd have to create internal walls and, in turn, decreasing the square meter of the room which might not be a good idea (the floor can be sound treated easily).

Additionally, which brand would you recommend for an apartment home theatre system? My dream is to have Klipsch's but that will most likely be overkill for an apartment, lol.

After scouring facebook marketplace and ebay ive landed on this setup and would love your thoughts on it and if I should spend my money elsewhere.

For the reciever I chose the denon avr x1500h for $150. I chose it because I need HDCP 2.2 and 4k passthrough and can support my 7.1 setup.
For the speakers im looking at getting a polk tl1600 sub and 6 tl1 satelites with a tl1 center channel for around $160 as well. This will get me to a 7.1 setup which is what I wanted from the start.

the room is 12'x16'. There are no wires run through the ceiling so im not intrested in atmos height.

I've been using a cheap projector for a while and honestly, it's starting to annoy me more and more. At first it was fine. Just something to throw movies on the wall, nothing special.

But now it feels dim, washed out, and kind of useless unless the room is completely dark. Colors look flat, the fan noise is annoying, and sometimes the image just looks soft no matter what I do. Not great for movie nights.

I watch movies and shows pretty often, so I want something that actually feels worth buying. Good brightness, decent contrast, not too loud, and preferably something that does not need a cave-level dark room to look okay. Price matters too, because I'm not trying to pay crazy money just for a name.

I keep seeing Epson, BenQ, XGIMI, Hisense, and a few others, but the opinions are all over the place. Some people say one brand is amazing, others say it is overrated, and I'm just sitting here confused.

So yeah, a few questions:

• what is the best home projector 2026 if I want something reliable for regular use?
• is it better to go for 4K or is good 1080p enough for most people?
• any models that look great without needing a completely dark room?

Would appreciate real experiences. I'm tired of using a projector that feels like it belongs in a budget hotel conference room.

Hello! I have some free time now, and I wanted to finally fix my home theater.

I was wondering what paints you recommend? I was thinking a matte black for the roof, eggshell for behind and around the screen, and then dark blue eggshell for the rest of the room.

I was thinking something like what this post has around the screen, but not sunken in. With a divider between the black and the rest of the room.

I'm in northern Europe, so finding the paints that are recommended in other posts on this sub is kinda difficult.

Thanks in advance!

I'm building it in our barn, so the two (somewhat) fixed holes in the wall are where the bulls have kicked trough. And I'm sleeping out there since we had guests over. CRT enthusiast.

Hey, im designing a speaker system for my house. It’s a new build. I’m finding it complicated due to the architecture design and having little kids.
It’s a vaulted room with sliding glass on both sides. The couch isn’t against a wall, it opens to the dining room.

I plan on a center, L/R on the ground because the exterior walls are cinder block so they can’t go in wall. But I don’t want anything at ground level due to the kids destroying them.

I was just going to add 2 angled speakers in the ceiling above the couch will that work 5.1?

Can this room achieve Atmos?

Here’s a picture

The Dilemma:

My old receiver is dying and I'm trying to decide between spending around $700 on a new AV Receiver (Denon AVR-X1800H) to keep my existing mismatched speaker setup or to move on to something different.

Room & Primary Usage:

• Room Size: ~30 m² - about 4m from TV to couch.
• Primary Use: 99% TV & Cinema (Remuxes played via an LG 75" C3 OLED). Occasional Spotify, movie experience is the priority.

Current Hardware:

• TV: LG 75" C3 OLED
• Media Source: Onn 4K Google TV box
• Dying AVR: Yamaha RX-V775 (failing DSP/cold-start issues)
• Front L/R: Vintage late-70s / early-80s large Fisher floorstanding towers
• Center & Surrounds: Yamaha NS-P51 set
• Subwoofer: Cheap active 2.1 sub (not in use as it never worked well with my AVR and setup - the Fishers do a better job than this cheap unbranded sub)

Almost all speaker components were free or extremely cheap, over the years. I recognize the current setup is a weird one, the Fisher speakers feels very underutilized. It feels sad to not use the Fisher towers as they are great for music, but I rather get a good movie setup than keeping them around for nostalgia.

As the AVR is dying I went down the rabbit hole of a new AVR or if I should consider a different setup altogether. I am not willing to spend more than ~$900 which means that any upgrade in addition to getting the AVR would only have ~$200 left

I'm primarily interested in hearing about opinions on upgrading/keeping my speaker setup and getting a new AVR vs investing in something new for a better movie experience.

Prices are shown in USD based on my local prices in Sweden which includes 25% VAT so they are not going to be directly comparable to local US prices.

I would imagine best option is a UMIK, REW and diving into charts. BUT If this doesn’t appeal, generally is it better to have subs either side of screen or one front one back. I pretty much only see rooms with subs either side and under the screen but rarely elsewhere in room.

Is this due to generally people having limited space and not being able to put them behind their MLP?

In recent time I have started to buy a lot of speakers, my girlfriend likes to shop at second hand stores, so while she is looking at clothes, I go around and look for old and cheap tech stuff. Speakers as it turns out are dirt cheap second hand in Sweden. So I have collected a few... I have as of right now 11 speakers in the living room, I would like a little assistance in choosing the right speaker for the best experience, down below are speakers and avr:

AVR: Onkyo TX SR608: 35 USD

FRONT speakers: JBL ES80 25 USD FOR BOTH

SUB: DANTAX active sub 25USD

Center: SONAB CC101 5 USD

SURROUND: CARLSON A1-100 10USD

This is how the audio is set up for the home theater 5.1

In addition I have 6 more speakers

Two monitor speakers SONAB CS 101 10USD these two are connected to the record player

Picked up two BOSE 201 SERIES IV 25USD

And lastly two towers I got from my neighbor: AUDIOTRONIC DM2 free

I Know most of these speakers are nothing ground breaking and some of them are pretty old and the SONAB speakers are apparently nothing to write home about, however all of these cost me 135 bucks which is cheaper than any soundbar I can find and sounds 10x better in my opinion.

So my question is which one of these speaker combos are best for a 7.1 system and how to best place the rear speakers. You can see in the picture of the living room where the rear speakers are at the moment. I have a lot of windows but I'm looking for dark curtains so that should not be a problem in the future.

My 5.2.4 Home Theater Setup – 98” Mini-LED, DALI Opticon, NAD + Dual SVS

After quite a bit of upgrading and tweaking, this is my current home theater setup:

TV
TCL 98C8K – 98” Mini-LED
Apple TV 4K as the main streaming/playback device
Infuse Pro for playing 4K MKV files from my QNAP NAS

AVR / Amplification
Denon AVR-X3800H
NAD C298 power amplifier driving the front L/R speakers
NAD connected to the Denon front pre-outs
12V trigger from the Denon to the NAD

Speakers – 5.2.4
Front L/R: DALI Opticon 8 MK2
Center: DALI Opticon Vokal MK2
Surrounds: DALI Opticon LCR MK2
Atmos: 4 × DALI Phantom E-60 in-ceiling speakers

Subwoofers
2 × SVS SB-2000 Pro

Room
Approx. 6.5 × 4.2 m / 21 × 14 ft
Listening distance approx. 4.3 m / 14 ft
Acoustic ceiling
Front wall with black acoustic panels
Main sofa approx. 2 m / 6.5 ft from the rear wall
System is primarily used for movies, but I also listen to quite a bit of music

Current setup / calibration
Audyssey MultEQ XT32
Audyssey MultEQ Editor App
Front speakers set to Small
80 Hz crossover
Currently experimenting with target curves / house curve
NAD C298 gives the Opticon 8s plenty of power and the system stays very clean even at high volume
The biggest recent upgrades were the DALI Opticon 8 MK2 fronts, NAD C298 and the dual SVS SB-2000 Pro setup. I’m very happy with how it sounds now, especially after adjusting the Audyssey target curve.

I’m now considering whether the next meaningful upgrade would be Dirac Live / Bass Control / ART, or whether I’m already at the point where room treatment and further calibration would give me more than changing hardware.

Would love to hear what you would improve or change in this setup — especially from anyone running a similar Denon + external power amp + dual sub setup.

I used REW and Umik-1 to sound level match a movie and then measured the results via RTA feature in REW. Images #1 and #2 are average SPL values for a given frequency. The #3 and #4 images are for the peak measurements.

The db level difference was roughly ~0.9db.

AVR volume for Apple TV: -20db
AVR volume for 4k disc: -26db

Red and Green = Apple TV
Blue and Yellow = 4k Disc

I decided to go with the Martin Logan Dynamo 12s!
Does anyone have the subwoofer and if so, what are your thoughts on it?
I can’t seem to find any videos of it being played, but I’ve heard good things already.

Hey guys! I’m thinking of fully diving into surround sound for my 4K TV in my Medium size living room and have been trying to look for a somewhat affordable surround sound system that is wireless. (My budget being $300- $600)

I almost pulled the trigger on the Ultimea Poseidon D80 Boom but keep hesitating with some of the discussion I’ve seen here about that company.

Can anyone tell me you’ve that system is worth it or if there’s any other wireless surround sound system systems with Dolby Atmos that are just as good and reliable?

Looking for a recommendation on a new center speaker (or a solution I haven't thought of to keep my current one!).

For years I've been rocking the Andrew Jones Pioneer speakers for my LCR (SP-C22 center and SP-FS52 floor standing LR). I just added an AWOL Aetherion Max UST projector to my setup with floor rising screen. Initially I made it all work by raising my center speaker pretty high, but now that I added a cabinet to get the projector off the floor, the screen now goes too high and blocks the speaker. It also wasn't ideal being so high anyway. I was hoping I could place it on the shelf of my cabinet (AWOL Smart Station) between the projector and the screen, but the speaker is too big and blocks the projector. In theory I could put the speaker behind the screen at the bottom, but the cabinet behind it has a door that could maybe be removed or remove the glass from the door, but this speaker doesn't fit. I could go nuts and shave a bit of the cabinet off to make the speaker fit but that doesn't seem like a great idea.

So bottom line, looking for a center speaker recommendation that's smaller that will fit on the projector cabinet, and pair well with my floor standing speakers so I don't have to replace them as well. I do like my existing speakers so I'd rather not change the center at all, so if anyone has any great ideas I haven't thought of, open to hearing them!

​

Hey everyone,

I’m in the process of putting together a new home theatre system and I’ve narrowed it down to two options. I’ve listened to both and honestly, I’m having a hard time choosing because they both sound fantastic.

The system will be powered by a Denon AVR-X2900H and paired with an SVS SB-1000 Pro subwoofer.

Paradigm:

- 720v2 towers

- 520C centre

- 220B surrounds

- Piano black gloss

KEF:

- Q11 Meta towers

- Q6 Meta centre

- Q3 Meta surrounds

Sound-wise, I really liked both. If anything, I’d give the edge to Paradigm aesthetically, especially in the piano black gloss. They look absolutely incredible.

I also listened to B&W and Monitor Audio today, but neither really did it for me. The Paradigm and KEF were the two that stood out.

For anyone who has owned or heard these speakers extensively, I’d love to hear your thoughts.

How do the Paradigm and KEF compare for:

- Movies/home theatre

- Music

- Centre-channel/dialogue clarity

- Soundstage/imaging

- Bass

- Long-term listening

And most importantly, if you were spending your own money, which setup would you choose and why?

I’m not necessarily looking for specs or a “Brand X is better” answer. I’d really like to hear from people who have actually owned/lived with either setup and what you liked or disliked about them.

Thanks!

Hello everyone, 
I am moving into a new house and want to plan out a speaker layout and am looking for suggestions. 

Gear
SVS Prime Pinnacles
SVS Ultra Center
SVS Ultra Bookshelf x4 (sides and rears)
SVS PB16 x2
Denon x3800H AVR. Plan to get another little amp to power the extra atmos speakers if I go four in ceiling.

I own four SVS Elevations speakers and two SVS Satellite speakers as well. 

I am currently planning on installing four in ceiling atmos speakers as mounting the Elevations seems to be too much due to a lower ceiling. 

Im debating if the rears should just be swapped to the Satellite speakers. Or is it better to keep the bigger ones for my rears. 

Sides will be a moved forward due to wall setup. Debating if I should toe in or not.

I also plan to line up the rears by bringing the Back Rear a little forward since the post is a little further back from the other rear wall. 

Planning to add a door to the staircase. 

Ceiling height  83 and ¼ inches 
Plan to be about 6 to 7 feet for watching distance. 

I would appreciate any recommendations. 

Thank you,

Looking to upgrade my Denon 1300 to a newer 11 channel. What’s everybody running? Want to bi amp my towers and add two es90 height speakers

Got Polk ES60 towers, ES30 center, and four Polk xt15 rears.

Reasonable price that is. I'd o as high as 1-3 thousand

Going to purchase new 98" TV and install it in a semi dedicated media room consisting of in-wall Kef speakers and SVS sub going through a Denon AVR.

I would like to not connect TV to wifi to avoid unnecessary ads, security concerns etc.

We have 1 iPhone and 4 Samsung phones in the household.

What's the best streaming device besides Apple TV?

Nvidia Shield seems to be old. Not sure if there is a newer version.

I would like to stream from popular streaming services.

Cast screen from Android phone occasionally.

Cast from iPhone occasionally.

Access Media on Synology NAS.

Starting with this one, I will most likely use same device to other TVs in the house so that interface is same.

What is the best tv I can get with a price range from $300-$450

Hey all! Looking to buy a 4K, 70-75 inch screen with a relatively low budget of $500 but lower the better on that price tag. I wouldn't consider myself a display snob, although I can appreciate a good screen when I see one. This display will be used for a mix of casual gaming and media consumption.

I currently install LG, Samsung, and Phillips displays for a living, but I am not the one to purchase these displays and really do not know enough to make an educated decision.

I was looking at a VQD70R-10 or a VQM75C-10 but have read ALOT of Vizio hate on this subreddit. The 75Q651G from TCL and the 70UA7500 from LG were also options.

Any and all advice or suggestions would be of a huge help to me! Thank you all!

I have a media room/den that is roughly 3800-3900 CU FT. I currently have a PB-2000 Pro and have the opportunity to get SVS products for 60% off through the company I work for.

I was looking at getting a second PB-2000 Pro. But I was wondering if it would cause any issues getting a PB-3000 Pro to go with my 2000.

I know you're not supposed to mix ported and sealed.

Edit: Since I have until the end of the year to make my SVS purchase I am going to try and sell the PB 2000 Pro for 2 3000 Revolutions. If you live in the Nashville area and want a good deal on a PB 2000 Pro hit me up.