Thoughts? 26' rectangular room -- 2 channel on one short wall, 5.1 on the other

 Elliot, Thanks for the reply -- and you have a delightful looking system. Good pointers to keep in mind and much appreciated.

@freediver  Waste of $$'s is a non-sequitur -- I already have the two systems. So, trying to distill something relevant from your post. I suppose, if the two-system room gets too complex, I have no problem with getting rid of the 5.1 stuff. I would probably just need to combine the AVR and the tube amps on a rack.

just to add, my HT, rear surround speakers:

are on their backs behind the sofa, firing up, using the space between the sofa and wall as a sort of transmission guide. surprisingly successful, and no need to solve where they or their wires would go if your systems are ’back to back’. Window/drapery locations luckily worked out and I have a light blocking shade in the window with up/dn chain just behind my head!

my HT SUB is actually at my end of the sofa facing the video and main speakers opposite. I’m essentially not aware of it unless I turn it off. It’s for Jurassic Park; Black Hawk Down; Movie Domino (what a sound track), the mains have 12" woofers.

What about acoustic ( moveable ) diffuser pannels , dividing the room ? 

IF you want an integrated high quality 2 channel with a HT,

you need HT BYPASS

on your 2 channel preamp or integrated amp. It is an INPUT, it takes the AVR’s FL and FR output directly to it’s amps. The AVR controls the front volume along with center/surround volume speakers that it drives.

Thus the better equipment ALWAYS drives the FL and FR (any source 2 CH or AVR and always drives the FL and FR speakers.

I had it backward, soix and others set me straight big greg’s diagram quite helpful

big_greg4,837 posts07-14-2021 9:32am

Why HT Bypass? Shortage of Inputs?

Why? Because of space limitations I have a combined 2 channel / home theater system. I don’t want to use the AV processor for two channel listening.

When listening to 2 channel, it looks like this: Source --> Preamp --> Amp --> Speakers.

The HTBP allows me to use the same amps and speakers for the front two channels. The volume control on the preamp is disabled and the signal from the source goes to the AV processor, which controls volume, room correction, etc.

When listening to home theater, it looks like this: Source --> AV processor --> L/R outputs --> Preamp --> Amp --> Speakers.

As the name implies, the signal bypasses the AV processor and goes to the amps/speakers with the simple push of a button, allowing you to share the amps for the front speakers between two separate systems.

maxwave

acoustically, dividing the room makes a ’rear wall’ right behind you, earlier reflections even if diffused

and dividing limits the space others can enjoy, audibly and visibly. I or a friend and I sit in the mid focused ’imaging’ spot when listening, meanwhile Donna is behind on the sofa. others in chairs (video end, video off),

imaging limited to prime spot, yet the sound is very good anywhere in the large room, and without a divider the music can go out to the porch, bounce around corners into the kitchen ...

my somewhat large room (nj not texas standards) is the feature that turns this small split level house into a winner. When I visit houses, i.e. ’Open Houses’, often a much bigger home does not have a room that works as well.

OP is planning a basement, more easily divided temporarily, while mine is a light filled space (luckily with easy light control for video during a bright day).