djfilms

hello, I need some advice:
I have been shopping for houses lately and one of the main features Im looking for is a livingroom that will accomodate my home theater, but Im not quite sure what Im looking for.
My main concerns are the size of the room and the placement and type of the rear speakers.

What size should the room be (minimum) for a setup up with an 8ft screen? Is it better to have the speakers behind the sitting area? Im afraid that I wont be able to find a room that is big enough to do it that way. Would the next best thing be to put the rears on the sides of the sitting area? what about bipole speakers? are those better than dipoles in any situation, or does it matter what your speaker placement options are?

since I havent bought the speakers or the house yet, my options are still open. I just want to get an idea of what those options are exactly.

thanks

-DJ

drmoze

Best is to have a separate HT room, with dark curtains. For an 8-foot screen, I assume you're talking front projection, in which case you want a dark room and not a regular 'living room.' I think you'llwant at least 15',preferably 18-20' for an 8-footer. Rear speakers on the side are fine, if not preferable. To be safe, why not go with dipole/bipole switchables? Dipole is fine for pro-logic and processed stereo; bipole is preferable for 5.1/DTS. Cambridge Soundworks makes nice ones (the Newton 300's, I think), and Polk makes them, and others...