Audio/video setup in a small space

[Pe8er]

Hey everyone!

I'm looking for setup / hardware recommendations for my strangely laid our living room. See image on the bottom. I'd appreciate advice on:

• Speaker type and model. I've been looking at Revel F35 but I'm not sure if they'll work in this limited space? Is there anything else that is fairly narrow you could recommend? Neighbors won't let me drive them to super loud levels, so I probably don't need large drivers/cabinets. Budget is up to $2K for pair. Or maybe I should just give up and get a sound bar?
• I'd like to be able to plug my TV, Playstation and Apple TV into one device and control all of them with ease. I was looking at Denon AVR-X3600H recommended by Amir. Is there anything else on the market worth looking into? The only particular requirement I have is Airplay 2 / Spotify support. Budget is up to $1K and if I cen get away with something cheaper than that, it would be great.

As I'm looking on this magnificent CAD drawing I produced, I'm thinking I could swap TV and couch, so that the speakers have more room (and no sidewall) for less reflections. What do you think?

Any ideas appreciated, I'm very new to all this!

 

[GD Fan]

Is that a pass-through between the TV and the kitchen or a floor to ceiling wall?

 

[Pe8er]

Is that a pass-through between the TV and the kitchen or a floor to ceiling wall?

Floor to ceiling wall.

 

[Tim Link]

I think it makes sense to swap the couch to the other side. It does make each speaker further from a side corner, and you can watch TV from the dining area.

 

[AdamG]

I think it makes sense to swap the couch to the other side. It does make each speaker further from a side corner, and you can watch TV from the dining area.

Yes good points. One negative is the very real possibility of light reflection on the tv screen. When the kitchen lights are on it may wash out the picture to some extent. Just a minor point to consider. Not a lot of options for that layout. Maybe look at the space from a different perspective and put tv at far right wall?

 

[JeffS7444]

I'd like to be able to plug my TV, Playstation and Apple TV into one device and control all of them with ease. I was looking at Denon AVR-X3600H recommended by Amir.

I'd think that would be great even with 2 speakers. BTW, I don't know why they don't explain the differences between Audyssey MultiEq XT32, MultiEq XT, and plain ole MultiEq, but it seems it comes down to the number of parametric filters available for room correction, with XT32 offering the most, and Denon's X3600H apparently being their least expensive way to get it. But power-wise, given your small space and concerns about disturbing the neighbors, you could probably get away with even the least expensive models.

Do consider spending the extra $20 for the Audyssey app, as it allows you to alter the target room response: The factory default target response has a midrange dip, but I found clarity of spoken word best without that dip.

But I've found that one of the most useful features in my Marantz AVR (MultiEq-equipped) is the headphone jack! Because sometimes late night action movies happen.

 

[Triliza]

Not sure if what I'll suggest would work in your place or cover your needs, but assuming you are not interested on an multi-channel setup I'd get some active speakers, you can buy some decent ones with less then $2k, (genelec, kali, adam audio...). Drive them with a RME ADI-2 dac or a miniDSP (dirac) for EQ/room correction, connect tv/playstation via optical/coax. Get a Raspberry Pi 4 (or 400) and connect it via usb to the dac, with Moode/Volumio you can use Airplay 2 / Spotify, plus you can install Libreelec (kodi) and have a complete media center for all your needs (also some retro gaming maybe?).

I don't have any experience with such a setup (aside for the Pi), so I'm not sure the above is a valid idea to begin with

 

[Pe8er]

Yes good points. One negative is the very real possibility of light reflection on the tv screen. When the kitchen lights are on it may wash out the picture to some extent. Just a minor point to consider. Not a lot of options for that layout. Maybe look at the space from a different perspective and put tv at far right wall?

There are windows on the right wall, I wouldn’t want to cover them with a TV I’ll just shut the kitchen lights off, no issues.

 

[Pe8er]

Thank you for all the suggestions! I’ll move the furniture around for sure.

Do you guys think Denon X3600H will work well with Revels F35?

Any other speakers I should consider?

 

[JeffS7444]

Do you guys think Denon X3600H will work well with Revels F35?

Any other speakers I should consider?

Denon should have no problems whatsoever with those speakers. And I imagine those are great speakers too. But I do not have a sense as to how well those speakers will work in a small space, close to a wall.