2. home-theater
  3. 1129489407

Very BIG Room? Music and Home Theatre Challenge

Could anyone please comment on issues that come to mind when setting up audio and home theatre in a big, barn like room?

I have been asked by a friend for some advice on a soon to be renovated "great room" which will be converted from a barn that was attached to their house.

Therefore, the new room will connect with the kitchen and extend to approximately 25' wide by 60' long with 14-15 foot ceilings.

The walls are made of stone and the floor is hardwood.

At the far end of the room, there will be a new chimney and fireplace installed, and the only brief I have so far is that will do lots of entertaining in this room, have a bar, and approximately 3 different seating areas within the room, and would consider a large projection or display device over the new fireplace.

The room is naturally pretty dark, which I hope will help with the video aspect.

As a Magneplanar fan, I would like to recommend 3.6s and all the Maggie surround sound speakers, but I need to learn more about their tastes and preferences.

I do know my friend loves to watch football and tennis, so I am also thinking HDTV in a big screen format.

But any ideas for such a project would be greatly appreciated.
cwlondon
elevick
2,638 posts
 
I agree that horns are not many "people's cup of tea". However, I suggested them for 2 reasons: efficiency and tons of tight solid bass. They will save a lot of money on amps and subs.
I feel very strongly against Maggies in most applications due to the very narrow "sweet spot". One person gets to sit in simply amazing sound while everyone else is missing the point. If I have a 1 chair listening room with a 400+ watt amp, Maggies are an amazing choice. Otherwise, forget it.
cwlondon OP
1,210 posts
 
Please put me down for the "horns are not my cup of tea" category.

Therefore, more recommendations of dynamic speakers that could fill such a room would be greatly appreciated. Other than Magneplanars, I have only had Apogees and Martin Logans. I rarely meet a box speaker I like.
sogood51
2,157 posts
 
How about a hy-brid type?...check these out. The largest (M-6) are "Targeted at large auditoriums and advanced home theatre installations in need of extremely high SPL´s, i.e. over 130dB with very low distortion, Model 6 offers all the advantages of Model 5 and, in addition, features a true, no-compromise open dipole woofer section containing no less than 30 woofers per channel".

http://www.transmissionaudio.com/pages/738786/index.htm

Also...check out their PA systems!

Dave
elevick
2,638 posts
 
Ok, no horns....
Speakerlabs can put out loads of bass and can be much less directional.
Otherwise, I like B&W Nautilus series, Coincident and maybe wilsons for this large room.
unsound
7,330 posts
 
O.K., how about giving us a budget? Please indicate all the needs, such as speakers (how many?), power, cables, source, etc.?
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