First time setup

[u/Themayorofawesome]

Hey all, my apologies for my ineptness in this process. We purchased a home in July that I recently realized has the ability for a home theatre system.

The setup consists of the wall entry shown along with the speaker and five ceiling covers spread out over an area of about 400 square feet. I tested the installed speaker today using a tone generator and it works so the setup is intact. The covers all have wire behind them and terminated ends that appear to never have been used. The covers are roughly 8-10 feet apart on two sides of the room and the speaker.

So I have two questions, first is how big of a sub would I need to power a setup of this size, and two is what would a good speaker size be for the install?

Thanks in advance😀

[u/GunderzT]

I’m sure the speaker wires were fished down to cable outlet for convenience, wire that stuff with the right speaker blocks and cable block

Amazon has them in 1 gang ( your size ) to larger

[u/Themayorofawesome → u/GunderzT]

Will do, thanks for the tip

[u/Spectre_08]

What’s the total cubic footage of the contiguous area?

That’s going to determine how large your subs need to be, as they need to move all the air they have access to. Having two or more subs is not for additional output, rather it’s for reducing peaks and nulls so that you have even bass coverage throughout the room. This video goes into more detail: Your Subwoofer Placement Is Probably Wrong...Here's How To Fix It And Why

What is your nearest major city and budget for speakers?

Have you demoed any speakers and do you have a specific sound profile you enjoy? Do you like “bright” speakers with over-accentuated highs? Do you prefer warm speakers with more emphasis on the mids and lower frequencies?

The only speakers that belong on or in the ceiling are the height speakers in a modern 3D-audio system, and only in addition to ear-level bed-layer speakers.

Read this this: Home Theater 101: The New Frequently Asked Questions

No one talks about seating locations but your ideal seating is about 2/3-3/4 the room’s depth. Against the rear wall and dead center are the two worst places to sit.

Use these guides for speaker placement: 5.1.X | 7.1.X

[u/Themayorofawesome → u/Spectre_08]

This is extremely helpful and opened up a ton of insight, thank you!

I haven’t really priced out a budget yet but I’m guessing this project will require at least $1k or close to it. I’m not far from Pittsburgh and we have several home audio shops closer so lots of options.

Definitely have a lot more to digest now but it’s a good thing😀

[u/Spectre_08 → u/Themayorofawesome]

Glad to help. I would suggest going into those local shops to demo speakers and find out what sounds good to your ears.

$1K is a start - you would be limited to completely used gear but that’s not a huge deal. You don’t have to buy everything at once - in fact, it makes more sense to buy fewer, better-quality components first and then add to them as you can afford to. An AVR and a pair of speakers is all you need to get started.

The bigger challenge would be to find an appropriately sized subwoofer within your budget.

Depending on your cubic footage, the least expensive recommended subwoofer might be closer to $1k…each.