Just fishing for some experienced opinions here...
I've had my 5.1 system (comprised of Rotel and Paradigm equipment) for about 6 months now absolutely love it, but as I become more experienced with everything, I am beginning to question whether I made a mistake in having the rack of equipment located in the same room (Family Room) as the LG Plasma, Furniture and speakers, etc.
Let me briefly explain. The room has become very "front heavy" with all the equipment. The front of the room is laid out as follows (from left to right) - full rack of equipment (far left); Left Paradigm Studio; fireplace hearth (with Paradigm CC570 Center Channel on it); Right Paradigm Studio 100 speaker and PW 2100 Subwoofer (far right). Plasma is above fireplace.
So, I called my installer for ideas. He suggested a rewire of the equipment rack to be located in my basement and to put the DVD and CD player in the back of the room (near the rear speakers) since they are really the only pieces that I need to get to. He said we would get an IR repeater for the remote that would bounce the IR signal from the remote to the equipment.
Sounds like a good idea and should make my Family Room more appealing and open, but - I am worried about my putting $3,000 of equipment in my basement because of the elements like humidity; dampness, etc. The basement is fairly dry but you never know what can happen.
So, I'm looking for your input. Does anyone have a set up like this. My installer insists that most of his installs of equipment are in a basement.
I really like the idea but am worried about the elements. I might be able to make a cabinet to enclose it. I'd really appreciate any comments/incite or ideas that you might have. Thanks!
That is a lot of scratch for purely cosmetic reasons (to me and my wallet that is). You are running a risk of course in putting your eqpt in the basement, but managing that risk should not be overly difficult, especially since you are already prepared to make that kind of investment in the move in the first place. Make sure you have detailed plans and an end-state prior to making one hole though.
Post some pictures and lets see if we can work with that you already have.
Thanks for your post Michael. I have tried to attach two pictures but I get an error during the upload process that my pictures need to be less than 600 x 600. Can you instruct me how to do that? If not, I could email them to you.
I did the best I could with trying to upload the pics. Don't know how two pictures got joined together. The second one that got cut off is a view of the back of the room where the two rear speakers are located. The first picture is a view to the front of the room. Sorry about the uploading mess!
I built a cabinet for my system that raises the 3 front speakers to properly frame the picture.
You could build two (one on either side of the fireplace) and one side would hold your components.
If you have tools and are handy, both might cost $200.00 in materials for a really nice job. I'm sure a carpenter could do something for under $1000.00.
Your centre is a little low and your plasma a little high. I wouldn't use the fireplace as is.
If you knew a mechanical engineer/welder, I bet he could design a wall bracket that would hold your plasma and centre speaker so it could be lowered into viewing position and raised (to where it is) the rest of the time.
First off, I don't understand what you are suggesting about building a cabinet in the ront of the room. I'm not sure what you mean when you stated.. "I built a cabinet for my system that raises the 3 front speakers to properly frame the picture.." What does "frame the picture" mean? Also, if anything, I am looking to take away from the front of the room, not add to it. As I stated in my initial post, I believe the room is very "front heavy" and was looking for alternatives. Moving the equipment to some other location came to mind as a way to free up space.
I agree that the Center Speaker is a little low and the Plasma is a little high, but I didn't have much of a choice. I really thought of different ideas, but in reality there is no other place in the room for the Plasma. The rear of the room as you suggested, is not an option strictly because we do use the fireplace and also the wall is not nearly as wide as the front wall. We actually like the Plasma above the fireplace and have gotten used to it in a short period of time. I had my fireplace installer come out to check the installation and he sees no issue with heat affecting the Plasma.
I am baffled by the Center speaker though. It's an eye sore in the front, but I had my installer use quick release jacks to a wall plate so we could easily relocate the the Center Speaker when using the fireplace. Due to its size, it cannot be installed on the mantle.
I am intrigued by your idea of a wall bracket which could raise and lower the plasma and the center speaker when they are being used. That would have to be a very strong/heavy bracket though as the Center speaker is very bulky. Also, in your idea, where would the center speaker go when not in use? The plasma would go back to where it is, but where would the center speaker go? That would be some kind of bracket to make all that work.
One other wild and crazy idea is to move the Center Speaker to the rear of the room between the two rear Surround Speakers in the Armoire. I know it defies all laws of good HT but it would free up space...
How about moving the whole kit-and-caboodle into the den? Have that current space your relax-and-cuddle space, reading a book by the fire, quiet time with the wife, a little background music...
The room you see is my den / family room. It's basically an all-purpose room for everything you just mentioned (and some things you can't mention..). My Living Room is the sitting rrom that you spoke of and is really not an entertainment room. So - I take it you would move the equipment to the basement.I'm open to any idea!
The sound from your front speakers should sound like its coming from the screen. Putting the centre channel closer to and the sides beside the screen (not below) will "frame the picture."
I was trying to describe two cabinets (one on either side of the fireplace) that will lift your side speakers to a position beside the screen. They could double as component cabinets.
The metal wall bracket I visualize would hold both the plasma and the centre channel. They would move together - up and down.
How about losing the cherry nick nack cabinet in favour of something larger that would also hold your components (even your rear speakers)? A carpenter could build anything.
I know everyone is getting caught up on re-arranging the room and moving your system around, but what I wanted to get back to simply moving your rack. What I suggest to many of my customers is merely rewiring the system into a closet. I don't know the actual layout of your house, but are there any closets that have room for the rack? The IR repeater will then work with that setup and moving the dvd player could also be accomplished to make it more accessable.
Exactly! Now you're getting the idea.. My initial post has always been to simply move the rack which would create alot more space in the front of the room. As I mentioned previously, the installer suggested that he move all the equipment to the basement which he said was fairly common. But he did however suggest moving the equipment to a closet as well. Unfortunately, I don't have any space left in the only 1 closet I have on the first floor. Wherever I move the equipment, I still need to keep the DVD player and CD Player close by in the Family Room (possibly in the rear on the armoire that I posted in the picture). Since you are an installer - what do you think about the basement? Also, the other big issue is the Center Speaker - what an eye sore. I'd really love to move it awayt from the fireplace to the rear of the room, but I realize that would defy all laws of Surround Sound. Thanks for your input.
As far as moving the equipment to the basement, it always just depend on the humidity and whatnot. If you're uneasy about the climate, you might want some form of dehumidifier to put down there and plug in with your compentents to keep the air nice and dry. As far as the center channel, you really do need it to be in front of you. With the current center channel, there really isn't much you can do that I see. You could move some of the photos on your mantle to the back of your room and place the speaker directly below the tv. The DVD player being kept near the room isn't too big of a problem, just mainly depends on how long of wiring you're needing. Let me know how it all turns out!
Thanks again for your input, James. The basement is definitely the way to go since it is has alot of open space. It has always been dry, but a dehumidifier is probably a good idea (which I actually already own but don't use). I just worry about leaks, burst pipes, etc. Maybe an idea is an extension of what Hogwild said in his posts - by getting a carpenter to build me a simple cabinet off the ground and enclose it in the basement (or not enclose it). My installer tells me that rewiring the rack from where it is upstairs to the basemet is not too big a deal since all the wiring was initially fished from the basement anyway and he would just drop them back down. I think where we will get into money is the long woring needed to keep the DVD Player and CD Player (2 separate pieces upstairs and move them to the back of the room in the armoire shown.). We'e talking pretty long runs of both digital and analog connections for each although maybe now is the time to consider an HDMI connection since the LG Plasma has the ability to accept them (but the Rotel equipment does not).
As far as the Center Speaker, your suggestion of putting it on the mantle and moving the pictures will not work. The height of the Center speakers is greater than what is avaialable under the Plasma. Of course, I could have the installer move the Plasma even higher, but I didn't want to do that. Maybe I could find a new Center Channel that woud work with your idea. I don't think Paradigm makes one small enough though that woukld match the qulaity of what I own and I'm not sure I should mix and match speaker manufacturers. Thoughts?
$3000.00 for the inconvenience of having your components in the basement? Whatever.
I suggest you consult some books on home theatre and interior design for some attractive and creative solutions. You are looking for balance after all.
