Moving to a new place, HT Placement Q's....
11-10-01, 07:30 PM
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Moving to a new place, HT Placement Q's....
Hey all,
I'm moving into a new apartment next month. I am trying to figure out how I am going to set up my home theatre stuff, I am open to any general suggestions. First off, I need to figure where I am going to set it up. I am not sure which of these 2 living room I am getting in the apartment, it depends on which one is available when i sign the lease, but here are the dimensions.
Choice #1: 12'2"x17'6" (or 2nd bedroom might be the movie room, and my office would be out in the living room. If this is the case, the room would be 10'9"x11'1")
Choice #2: 13'x19' 6"
Both of these rooms run into a dining room (shaped like an "L") I have full sized couch and a love seat couch i'd have out there, possible just one or both. I also have a coffee table, and possibly some end tables and lamps. Currently I have an entertainment center type deal, Ikea style. Probably 2ft wide x 8ft long x 6ft high. I have a 20" flat screen, CD player, DVD player and Receiver. I also have kenwood speakers and sub. I am going to upgrade to an HDTV within the next 5 months. (either the 40" ish toshiba 4:3, or a panasonic 46" 16:9)
I will be on the ground level for either one, so moving shouldn't be too bad. I believe the Panasonic comes in two pieces, so that would help. The Toshiba 4:3 isn't huge, so that shouldnt' be a problem either.
Ok, So....My main questions
*How would you set up the furniture for the best HT experience?
I don't know the exact dimensions of the couches, but they will fit pretty much however you arrange them.
*Would you hang the rear speakers or use speaker stands? How woudl you hang them without causing too much damage?
*What HDTV would you suggest for the room sizes I have?
*What type of wiring should i use?
*Where can I get the following posters and frames for the posters? (Les Mis, Dave Matthews, Gold retreiver pic) And also smaller frames (possibly black?) to frame lyrics to hang on the walls?
*Ok...last one....anyone have any suggestions for cool stuff to put in my apartment? My g/f is helping me decorate, she is very creative, but it is definately going to be MY place. I am having curtains and shades made, but they are going to be simple colors and practical.
-pedagogue
I'm moving into a new apartment next month. I am trying to figure out how I am going to set up my home theatre stuff, I am open to any general suggestions. First off, I need to figure where I am going to set it up. I am not sure which of these 2 living room I am getting in the apartment, it depends on which one is available when i sign the lease, but here are the dimensions.
Choice #1: 12'2"x17'6" (or 2nd bedroom might be the movie room, and my office would be out in the living room. If this is the case, the room would be 10'9"x11'1")
Choice #2: 13'x19' 6"
Both of these rooms run into a dining room (shaped like an "L") I have full sized couch and a love seat couch i'd have out there, possible just one or both. I also have a coffee table, and possibly some end tables and lamps. Currently I have an entertainment center type deal, Ikea style. Probably 2ft wide x 8ft long x 6ft high. I have a 20" flat screen, CD player, DVD player and Receiver. I also have kenwood speakers and sub. I am going to upgrade to an HDTV within the next 5 months. (either the 40" ish toshiba 4:3, or a panasonic 46" 16:9)
I will be on the ground level for either one, so moving shouldn't be too bad. I believe the Panasonic comes in two pieces, so that would help. The Toshiba 4:3 isn't huge, so that shouldnt' be a problem either.
Ok, So....My main questions
*How would you set up the furniture for the best HT experience?
I don't know the exact dimensions of the couches, but they will fit pretty much however you arrange them.
*Would you hang the rear speakers or use speaker stands? How woudl you hang them without causing too much damage?
*What HDTV would you suggest for the room sizes I have?
*What type of wiring should i use?
*Where can I get the following posters and frames for the posters? (Les Mis, Dave Matthews, Gold retreiver pic) And also smaller frames (possibly black?) to frame lyrics to hang on the walls?
*Ok...last one....anyone have any suggestions for cool stuff to put in my apartment? My g/f is helping me decorate, she is very creative, but it is definately going to be MY place. I am having curtains and shades made, but they are going to be simple colors and practical.
-pedagogue
11-11-01, 01:32 PM
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Interesting question - I'm moving into a new apartment in a couple of weeks, and the shape/dimensions of the living room were a major consideration 
I spent quite a bit of time browsing thru floor plans at apartmentguide.com, and as luck would have it, found something that appears to be quite reasonable.
Size is 16'x19' and looks something like this (not to scale):
____________19'______________
| ........... TV ? ...........................|
| ..............................................|
| ..............................................|
X..............................................| kitchen
X...............................................|
X ..............................................| 16'
X ..............................................|__ __
X ..............................................
X ..............................................
| .....................................|------| hallway
| .....................................| closet
| ............. couch? ............| ...... |
_____________________________
There is a sliding door/balcony along the left wall (had to put all the dots in to get this to format correctly)
This is what I'm contemplating right now. I haven't decided what to do with the rears - I'll be experimenting, but what I'd like to do is hang them
TV right now is a 32" Tosh 4:3, but in 5-6 mos I plan to get a Tosh 57H81 16:9. From what I hear, these big TVs still don't seem "quite" big enough once you get used to them
In the short term it looks like the TV will be about 12 feet away, which is a little further than I'd like, even accounting for TV and couch footprints. Also depends on if I end up with the rears behind the couch or at the ends
What are you looking for in wiring?
Look in the yellow pages under picture frames for that kind of stuff
I spent quite a bit of time browsing thru floor plans at apartmentguide.com, and as luck would have it, found something that appears to be quite reasonable.Size is 16'x19' and looks something like this (not to scale):
____________19'______________
| ........... TV ? ...........................|
| ..............................................|
| ..............................................|
X..............................................| kitchen
X...............................................|
X ..............................................| 16'
X ..............................................|__ __
X ..............................................
X ..............................................
| .....................................|------| hallway
| .....................................| closet
| ............. couch? ............| ...... |
_____________________________
There is a sliding door/balcony along the left wall (had to put all the dots in to get this to format correctly)
This is what I'm contemplating right now. I haven't decided what to do with the rears - I'll be experimenting, but what I'd like to do is hang them
TV right now is a 32" Tosh 4:3, but in 5-6 mos I plan to get a Tosh 57H81 16:9. From what I hear, these big TVs still don't seem "quite" big enough once you get used to them
In the short term it looks like the TV will be about 12 feet away, which is a little further than I'd like, even accounting for TV and couch footprints. Also depends on if I end up with the rears behind the couch or at the ends
What are you looking for in wiring?
Look in the yellow pages under picture frames for that kind of stuff
Last edited by Illinois Enema Bandit; 11-11-01 at 03:51 PM.
11-11-01, 02:41 PM
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here is my layout for the kitchen,dining room and living room.
___door_____12'___________________
| ................................................................|
| ............................................................... |
| ...............................................9x9'9".......|________
| ................................................................Hallway to
|....|couch|..................................................bedrooms
| ----............12x17............|----- ----- door--|________
| c.....................................| |
| o..................................t.| |
| u..................................v.| |
| c.....................................| Kitchen |
| h.....................................| |
| .............XXXXXX .............|........................|
__________________________________
There is a bay window where the X's are. I am going to have drapes made to cover the window when i want to watch TV.
I would prefer to hand my rears, but i guess i could use stands.
What are your thoughts? I'm not sure what wiring i am using. I might go under the carpet, but that might be a pain.
-pedagogue
___door_____12'___________________
| ................................................................|
| ............................................................... |
| ...............................................9x9'9".......|________
| ................................................................Hallway to
|....|couch|..................................................bedrooms
| ----............12x17............|----- ----- door--|________
| c.....................................| |
| o..................................t.| |
| u..................................v.| |
| c.....................................| Kitchen |
| h.....................................| |
| .............XXXXXX .............|........................|
__________________________________
There is a bay window where the X's are. I am going to have drapes made to cover the window when i want to watch TV.
I would prefer to hand my rears, but i guess i could use stands.
What are your thoughts? I'm not sure what wiring i am using. I might go under the carpet, but that might be a pain.
-pedagogue
Last edited by NotThatGuy; 11-11-01 at 03:42 PM.
11-11-01, 04:09 PM
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Yeah, I guess I would probably go that way. I take it that's the main door in the upper left?
You can get flat speaker wire for running under carpet or rugs- I think Monster makes some, can't remember if Radio Shack has it. U-shaped nails are available for attaching wires to baseboards if pulling carpet up is not an option. You can also get these plastic cable runners to hold wires - they are strips about 3' or 6' long and 3" wide with an indentation in the underside to hold the wire - unsightly, but useful if wire needs to be laid in places where there's traffic and tripping might occur
You can get flat speaker wire for running under carpet or rugs- I think Monster makes some, can't remember if Radio Shack has it. U-shaped nails are available for attaching wires to baseboards if pulling carpet up is not an option. You can also get these plastic cable runners to hold wires - they are strips about 3' or 6' long and 3" wide with an indentation in the underside to hold the wire - unsightly, but useful if wire needs to be laid in places where there's traffic and tripping might occur
11-11-01, 06:34 PM
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I've found that these speakers are great for small spaces, they can be put on stands or wall mounted. I've got 3 so far (rl,rr,rc) and 2 Gallo subs, one passive and one powered. My front speakers are the Mirage M-490s.
http://www.roundsound.com/home.htm
Geno
http://www.roundsound.com/home.htm
Geno
