Project Overview

This great project was for a neighbor that had been considering adding surround for some time, she is totally happy with the video quality on her Samsung 55″ LED but the audio quality left something to be desired. The client was looking for a more immersive movie watching experience and also to solve the issue of some guests having trouble hearing dialog on movie night at her home. Because it was a living room install the room imposed a few challenges to the design parameters. The only wall where the HDTV could be mounted was 10 inches wider than the TV with no room for speakers alongside the screen, or towers on the floor. A great sounding KEF L/C/R soundbar speaker mounted below the TV solved this issue. Every other speaker position except the subwoofer was impacted by the room layout. We settled on a pair of Pinnacle K6 ceiling speakers slightly forward of optimal surround positioning combined with some beefy Monitor Audio BR2’s behind the couch  as rear surround channels. Using our calibration skills carefully, we were able to “steer” the surround field via level adjustments to get the large, immersive soundfield the client had asked for. A Pinnacle Baby Boomer does impressive bass from a tiny cabinet that will hide in any living room setting. All equipment is installed out of sight in the hallway broom closet and controlled via RF with a URC MX-450 remote.

Project Photos

Key Components

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  • Onkyo AV receiver
  • KEF
  • Monitor Audio
  • Pinnacle Speakers
  • Monster interconnects
  • Panasonic BluRay
  • Universal Remote Control
  • Samsung HDTV

 

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Comments

The project turned out with great results and using careful design techniques, we were able to create more space in the client’s living room while adding 7.1 surround. An added benefit was the opportunity to install a new closet organizer which optimized the storage space.