Adsibob Posted January 6, 2022 Share Posted January 6, 2022 I found this photo on the web and wondered what other people's configurations look like. Anyone managed to camouflage massive speakers into their living room or does the set-up below not bother you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProDave Posted January 6, 2022 Share Posted January 6, 2022 I wasn't going to reply as I don't consider mine as a "home cinema" just a big telly hung on the wall. But since that is what your picture appears to be then here goes. Sory my speakers are not as big as yours. the front tv speakers are on the shelf and the woofer on the floor underneath. The floor standing speakers at the side are for the hifi not the tv. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saveasteading Posted January 6, 2022 Share Posted January 6, 2022 About 45 years ago I built my own speaker cabinets from plywood. The design came from a nerdy book with many designs and an explanation of the theory (of the volume required and either acoustic dampening or a long travel path for the sound waves to dissipate, and the need for a robust enclosure to avoid resonance.) The speaker is in a box to prevent the sound wave off the back of the diaphragm cancelling the one from the front, if I remember correctly. One of the designs involved screwing the speaker units directly over holes in the wall, with the drive mechanism in the wall, and using the cavity of the wall as the dampening chamber. That would be very neat indeed, but nowadays would be seen as a gap in the wall for fire spread. I think someone should try it and report back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saveasteading Posted January 6, 2022 Share Posted January 6, 2022 Or this. Folds back into a column and disappears into the ground. No clutter in the house. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epsilonGreedy Posted January 6, 2022 Share Posted January 6, 2022 No home cinema plans for me, though I as get older I might invest in a 5.1 sound system in order to selectively crank up a centre speaker for more vocal emphasis. Too much modern video has an overly complex soundscape at the cost of vocal dialogue clarity. I would also like to embed some rear speaker wire in the wall of ceiling but this requires confirmation of a long term furniture layout before 2nd fix ends. If I go high-tech in any department it will be multi room ceiling speakers so I can listen to podcasts, audio books and music via voice control. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nod Posted January 6, 2022 Share Posted January 6, 2022 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nod Posted January 6, 2022 Share Posted January 6, 2022 36 minutes ago, nod said: Just getting settled down to watch Z cars ? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CalvinHobbes Posted January 6, 2022 Share Posted January 6, 2022 (edited) Just been reading about this..https://www.techadvisor.com/news/gadget/samsung-freestyle-3812086/ We have an ancient 40" samsung hanging on the wall, still a decent pic. Edited January 6, 2022 by CalvinHobbes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adsibob Posted January 6, 2022 Author Share Posted January 6, 2022 2 hours ago, epsilonGreedy said: I would also like to embed some rear speaker wire in the wall of ceiling but this requires confirmation of a long term furniture layout before 2nd fix ends. I also would like to do this ideally, but in practice I left it too late. The second fixers wanted to close up the plaster board today and I just didn’t get my act together in time to sort out what I wanted. I was a bit annoyed about it to begin with because this was a great example of my perfectionism getting in the way of actually making a decision, but I’ve now realised that and accepted that an imperfect solution where I either don’t have a proper surround setup and just have a decent sound bar, or I have one that requires me to conceal the wires in recesses behind skirting will be fine. It all went to pot when I realised that the only place for the TV was in the corner of a room, which is never easy to make work with a 5.1 system. Then I learned about Atmos and I allowed myself to believe that I simply had to have it, even though 10 days ago I would have been very happy without it. It’s easy to get lost in a labyrinth of materialism. I may just go for a 3.1 system and progressively increase the volume on my Center speaker as I get older/deafer, as others have suggested here. Just thought that photo that I posted (which is not mine) was funny as it shows the lengths some people will go to to convert their living room into something that I would find hard to live in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperJohnG Posted January 6, 2022 Share Posted January 6, 2022 11 minutes ago, Adsibob said: great example of my perfectionism getting in the way of actually making a decision 'Perfect is the enemy of good' I seen that quote somewhere and it describes me too a T. Sometime just making a decision and moving forward it better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adsibob Posted January 6, 2022 Author Share Posted January 6, 2022 1 hour ago, SuperJohnG said: 'Perfect is the enemy of good' I seen that quote somewhere and it describes me too a T. Sometime just making a decision and moving forward it better. So true! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpmiller Posted January 6, 2022 Share Posted January 6, 2022 I hate fancy setups with a vengeance (having been an installer in my teenage years) yet in a previous life was the one called on to debug the MD's £4k car system... I'm pleased therefore to say that just tonight I fitted the rear speaker sockets in our "good room" for the 5.1 system that I'll be happy with til I'm removed feetfirst hopefully... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bitpipe Posted January 7, 2022 Share Posted January 7, 2022 12 hours ago, Adsibob said: I also would like to do this ideally, but in practice I left it too late. The second fixers wanted to close up the plaster board today and I just didn’t get my act together in time to sort out what I wanted. I was a bit annoyed about it to begin with because this was a great example of my perfectionism getting in the way of actually making a decision, but I’ve now realised that and accepted that an imperfect solution where I either don’t have a proper surround setup and just have a decent sound bar, or I have one that requires me to conceal the wires in recesses behind skirting will be fine. It all went to pot when I realised that the only place for the TV was in the corner of a room, which is never easy to make work with a 5.1 system. Then I learned about Atmos and I allowed myself to believe that I simply had to have it, even though 10 days ago I would have been very happy without it. It’s easy to get lost in a labyrinth of materialism. I may just go for a 3.1 system and progressively increase the volume on my Center speaker as I get older/deafer, as others have suggested here. Just thought that photo that I posted (which is not mine) was funny as it shows the lengths some people will go to to convert their living room into something that I would find hard to live in. Don't feel bad, every self builder has a similar story, if not ten. I spent a weekend removing and replacing board to get last minute UFH trunking in for the bathrooms but similarly forgot to do some things that would have made my life so much easier. The lesson we all learn is, put the duct in when it is easy and worry about what will get pulled through it later... In relation to 'home cinema audio' we put in cable for 4 wall speakers in the living room and hooked up a cheap LG home cinema / DVD unit which was ok but is now a bit flakey (volume randomly increases and decreases). Stopped using it and got a cheap Sony sound bar as the late TV audio is not great and it's fine for the vast majority of viewing. Now have 4 unused speakers on the wall and a vague plan to upgrade to a proper 5:1 av amp some day in the future. I've always felt that a lot of audiophile 'science' is just marketing nonsense (I remember the fad for 'oxygen free cables') and to persuade people to part with £££. By the time you're in your late 40s/early 50s I would suspect that your hearing range is suitably diminished so as not to be able to tell the difference - even though you 'know' it's better. Similar to those blind tests where the experts can't differentiate between £100 and £10 wine etc.. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billt Posted January 7, 2022 Share Posted January 7, 2022 This ours. We don't do minmalism. Fortunately clutter disguises the speakers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jack Posted January 7, 2022 Share Posted January 7, 2022 20 hours ago, saveasteading said: The speaker is in a box to prevent the sound wave off the back of the diaphragm cancelling the one from the front, if I remember correctly. When the box is entirely sealed, that's roughly right. It's quite frequency dependent - some purists build "open baffle" loudspeakers, which are literally a large, heavy board with the loudspeaker in the middle of it. Nearly all modern loudspeakers are "ported", meaning they have a tuned length port through which sound from inside the enclosure is directed. The interaction of the box, port, loudspeaker driver boosts certain low frequencies, at the expense of introducing phase issues and a less even frequency response. 18 hours ago, Adsibob said: I also would like to do this ideally, but in practice I left it too late. The second fixers wanted to close up the plaster board today and I just didn’t get my act together in time to sort out what I wanted. I was a bit annoyed about it to begin with because this was a great example of my perfectionism getting in the way of actually making a decision, but I’ve now realised that and accepted that an imperfect solution where I either don’t have a proper surround setup and just have a decent sound bar, or I have one that requires me to conceal the wires in recesses behind skirting will be fine. For once, I actually got my act into gear in time, and ran ducts for loudspeaker cables and wiring, from a recess in the back corner of the room, over to the front of the room where the TV and loudspeakers would go. There was one duct for each cable - centre, left and right. I then came home to find that they'd double-boarded everything up with the ducts hanging out through holes they'd chopped into the ceiling against the top of the wall! WHY!? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProDave Posted January 7, 2022 Share Posted January 7, 2022 7 minutes ago, jack said: For once, I actually got my act into gear in time, and ran ducts for loudspeaker cables and wiring, from a recess in the back corner of the room, over to the front of the room where the TV and loudspeakers would go. There was one duct for each cable - centre, left and right. I then came home to find that they'd double-boarded everything up with the ducts hanging out through holes they'd chopped into the ceiling against the top of the wall! WHY!? Experiences like that make you happy to do the lot yourself. Worst "stupid boarders" incident I had was rewiring a renovation. I had laid out the kitchen downlight cables ready to leave in the ceiling void for me to fish out. So I came back, cut No 1 hole went fishing, no cable. No 2 no cable, and so on, no cables to be found within fishing distance of any of the holes. Went upstairs and thankfully there was still a board up in the room above. The &^$$£ boarders had taken the cable I had neatly laid out for all the downlights,. coiled it up in the middle of the room and put the boards up. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jack Posted January 7, 2022 Share Posted January 7, 2022 28 minutes ago, ProDave said: Worst "stupid boarders" incident I had was rewiring a renovation. My electrician installed a piece of protective steel plate across some 240V wiring that supplied the external blinds on a window. It was close to where someone might drill to install supports for a curtain rod, so clearly pretty important. I walked into the room after the boarder had been through. He'd clearly realised the steel was going to slow him down a bit, so he'd just ripped it off and threw it on the floor. Lazy and stupid? Sure. But literally so lazy and/or stupid that he'd made no effort to conceal what he'd done. I raised it with the contractor who'd got him in and he started getting cranky with me for being "unreasonable". First (and from memory the only) time I lost my rag at a tradesman onsite. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saveasteading Posted January 7, 2022 Share Posted January 7, 2022 Some of us know a lot about very little. Some know a little about a lot. The above trades were people who knew very little about very little, but didn't know how little they knew.....they are scary... and they are out there now. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pocster Posted January 7, 2022 Share Posted January 7, 2022 22 hours ago, saveasteading said: Or this. Folds back into a column and disappears into the ground. No clutter in the house. Oi that's my gaff! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pocster Posted January 7, 2022 Share Posted January 7, 2022 48 minutes ago, saveasteading said: Some of us know a lot about very little. Some know a little about a lot. The above trades were people who knew very little about very little, but didn't know how little they knew.....they are scary... and they are out there now. So does that mean I know (expletive deleted) all about (expletive deleted) all. So I know everything! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProDave Posted January 7, 2022 Share Posted January 7, 2022 8 minutes ago, pocster said: So does that mean I know (expletive deleted) all about (expletive deleted) all. So I know everything! Who was it made the unknown unknowns speech? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanR Posted January 7, 2022 Share Posted January 7, 2022 (edited) 5 minutes ago, ProDave said: Who was it made the unknown unknowns speech? Donald Rumsfeld Quote Reports that say that something hasn't happened are always interesting to me, because as we know, there are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns—the ones we don't know we don't know. And if one looks throughout the history of our country and other free countries, it is the latter category that tends to be the difficult ones. Edited January 7, 2022 by IanR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saveasteading Posted January 7, 2022 Share Posted January 7, 2022 39 minutes ago, pocster said: So I know everything! That would be the worry. That you think you know everything, like the boarder or the sparky mentioned above. But such a person would not be on this site, asking (or answering) questions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pocster Posted January 7, 2022 Share Posted January 7, 2022 2 minutes ago, saveasteading said: That would be the worry. That you think you know everything, like the boarder or the sparky mentioned above. But such a person would not be on this site, asking (or answering) questions. So I'm also very special aswell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saveasteading Posted January 7, 2022 Share Posted January 7, 2022 Back to entertainment systems. I know a company that will install a system in your Mayfair basement or your yacht anywhere in the world. When he shows his 'secret' client list people just gulp at the names. Once he asked if the client would like a pre-loading of music onto the system, and was handed the client's phone and told to spend up to £10k on downloads. Happy to pass on your contact details if anyone needs that help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now