Help with new home hifi/tv set-up

Ole · 16 Mar 2017 at 12:25

We're about to lay new wood flooring in our lounge, which has presented the opportunity to run some cabling underneath and get some speakers set up in our snug area.

The layout of the room is a bit odd, in that the sofas are in the snug, but the TV is on the wall above the fireplace in the main lounge area.

I want to put a hifi on/in the sideboard on the right of the TV, and then speakers on the two small walls which frame the snug. Hopefully these pictures will make it easier to understand what I mean...

The objective is:

speakers are connected to the TV, so we can get some decent sound into the snug (currently the TV is a good distance away, so sound for films etc is rubbish)
can stream good quality audio into the snug (we have Sonos set up elsewhere in the house, but are happy for this element of the system to be separate)
we plan to get a record player

I'm only just starting to look into this, so could really use some help!

What do I need to buy to achieve the above?

I'm assuming, at least:

streaming amp
flat cables to run under the floor
wall-mountable speakers & mounts
record player
sockets for the walls
cable to connect speakers to sockets

Do we need a subwoofer? Or can 2 good speakers do the job?

I'm a total noob in this area, so any and all assistance gratefully received!

hornetstinger · 16 Mar 2017 at 12:31

It sounds like you just want stereo, not multi-channel audio.

Not sure what stereo audio streaming amps are available, but generally it's good to have seperate audio/video streaming boxes, rather than relying on ones built into your amp. If the streamers go out of date, just replace the source.

Wall mountable speakers generally have poor bass response, so I would add a subwoofer as well.

For inwall sockets I presume you mean speaker connectors, these can be added, but best to visit a home audio installer unless you're good at DIY.

Cables would be speaker cable, audio, video cable, RCA's. Just depends what kit your're buying.

For record lecks check out Rega or Project. You could also need a phono stage pre-amplifier, unless a new amp has one built in.

Would you wall wall mountable speakers, or speakers that go inside the wall so they are flush?

champ222 · 16 Mar 2017 at 12:42

do you use the fireplace?

If not, the first thing I would do is fill it in and move the TV down to eye level (when sat)

avoid mounting speakers on the wall if you can. if you must do this, try to find some that are designed to be mounted on a wall. there are a few around. Could you put some small floor standers into the front corners of the snug? subwoofer wouldn't be required if this was the case, unless the floorstanders are really slim dainty things, but that'll just make things much more complicated.

a pair of speakers, means a stereo amp. which is easy. you should be able to find a small stereo amp that you can fit in the snug, which makes the wiring easier, you then just need a way to get the tv audio to the amp. optical would be the obvious choice as its thin (good for under the floor) and can run long distances without issue. you can get converters if need be.

a record player does complicate things, i'd place that out of the snug and cable into the amp.

Ole · 16 Mar 2017 at 15:49

hornetstinger said:
It sounds like you just want stereo, not multi-channel audio.

Not sure what stereo audio streaming amps are available, but generally it's good to have seperate audio/video streaming boxes, rather than relying on ones built into your amp. If the streamers go out of date, just replace the source.

Wall mountable speakers generally have poor bass response, so I would add a subwoofer as well.

For inwall sockets I presume you mean speaker connectors, these can be added, but best to visit a home audio installer unless you're good at DIY.

Cables would be speaker cable, audio, video cable, RCA's. Just depends what kit your're buying.

For record lecks check out Rega or Project. You could also need a phono stage pre-amplifier, unless a new amp has one built in.

Would you wall wall mountable speakers, or speakers that go inside the wall so they are flush?

Thanks, this makes for a helpful starting point!

Yes, I did mean speaker connectors - a home audio installer sounds like a good idea!

For the speakers, I did mean wall mountable, rather than sitting flush in the wall. From the 2 responses, it sounds like I need wall mountable and a sub, or floor standers?

hornetstinger · 16 Mar 2017 at 15:51

You can add a subwoofer to floorstander, really depends on usage, whether you want a sub, power of your amp (using bass management will help with low powered amps) How large your room is, what floorstanders you have.

Ole · 16 Mar 2017 at 15:53

champ222 said:
do you use the fireplace?

If not, the first thing I would do is fill it in and move the TV down to eye level (when sat)

avoid mounting speakers on the wall if you can. if you must do this, try to find some that are designed to be mounted on a wall. there are a few around. Could you put some small floor standers into the front corners of the snug? subwoofer wouldn't be required if this was the case, unless the floorstanders are really slim dainty things, but that'll just make things much more complicated.

a pair of speakers, means a stereo amp. which is easy. you should be able to find a small stereo amp that you can fit in the snug, which makes the wiring easier, you then just need a way to get the tv audio to the amp. optical would be the obvious choice as its thin (good for under the floor) and can run long distances without issue. you can get converters if need be.

a record player does complicate things, i'd place that out of the snug and cable into the amp.

Thanks for the response!

As it is currently set up, we would not be able to squeeze the floorstanders in. However, I'm considering getting a corner unit sofa and dumping the big wooden crate in the corner, which would free up room for floor standers and a stereo amp. Is the stereo amp in addition to another amp, which the TV and record deck would also plug into (sorry, showing my total ignorance here!)?

hornetstinger · 16 Mar 2017 at 15:56

Nah you just need a stereo integrated amplifier, that contains pre-amp and power amplifier in one box
You could go seperates but that is up to you.

Biggest problem if this is a AV setup in stereo + sub, or stereo system. Because if's stereo a AVR may be a better choice. The stereo amp will sound better, but the AVR has features you may want, such as HDMI, auto room EQ setup, bass managment, video/audio routing etc.