Game Room Speaker Choice

[Pariah Zero]

I've a feeling this is likely to be in the range of I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing, so I'll start with the room (The 21 foot x 13 foot center area):

The blue rectangle in the center is a pool table. The speakers are going to go along the 'top' wall, along the leftish and rightish corners, though placement is somewhat flexible. A subwoofer is planned to go in the bottom left corner, but placement is flexible as well.

There will be a TV mounted in the center of the top wall as well. There really isn't any seating - it's a game room, and people are going to be walking around the pool table or watching between plays.

So my goal is to try to get as good/even sound as possible over the entire room; obviously the idea of 'imaging' is not a goal.

What kind of speaker(s) would work most optimally for the room/setup? (Is this a setup where omni speakers make sense? I've seen links to the Sound Reproduction book, and that's certainly a place to start, but reading a 500+ page book is a bit much for the bit of knowledge I want at this stage. I've got a ton of Harry F. Olson's ribbon mic theory to understand for an entirely different project as it stands).

 

[sanmateo]

a small restaurant or bar would use a 70V distributed speaker system, all in mono. The nice thing about the 70V systems is the speakers can be daisy-chained together and the speakers are powered

when you don't have a fixed listening position, then multi-channel or even stereo setups begin to make less sense

 

[staticV3]

I'd place a single full-range speaker for good coverage and minimal interference/comb filtering. In-ceiling could be nice.

One could experiment with adding a sub for bass reinforcement, but chances are with just one sub it won't work out very well due to room modes.

 

[Pariah Zero]

a small restaurant or bar would use a 70V distributed speaker system, all in mono. The nice thing about the 70V systems is the speakers can be daisy-chained together and the speakers are powered

when you don't have a fixed listening position, then multi-channel or even stereo setups begin to make less sense

I mean, I don't know why my mind is blown, as I already learned during my build that commercial LED lighting is different from the residential lighting... it is entirely sensible, though. I just figured they used some sort of powered speaker connected with a master digital signal.

I hadn't even considered mono, even though it does make perfect sense.

 

[EERecordist]

From your description, you want your broadcast sports audio at a volume people can carry on a conversation. That doesn't sound like critical listening is a use case. You could add critical listening by adding a couch or chairs along the wall across from the screen.

First I would do some research on what sound format the games you want to watch are broadcast in. Stereo, 5.1, or ATMOS with overhead sources? A good question is do they broadcast with rear channel information? If they are mixing with rear channel information, your game table and friends are sitting in a seat at the game!

Then, depending on the answer, how is that managed in your AVR or in the eARC? Whoever you buy your screen/speakers/AVR from should be able to help. You could start by listening to your games in audio store listening rooms with screens at various volumes and walking around the room with your friends having conversations.

You might put some wires in the walls or conduit to pull them at the construction phase. I would make the floor dead - carpet over jute padding, or area rugs over jute pads.

Then I would suggest inviting your friends over for a game and trialing an ATMOS sound bar with all the settings. It will have up directing speakers aimed at the ceiling, which needs to be reflective, not dead. The same time trial, a 5.1 system with Center under the screen, and pick what works. Many stores will allow you to buy and return what doesn't work.

I've never heard of a pool table on wheels, but that would provide some flexibility.

 

[kemmler3D]

For something like this the nicer KEF in-wall speakers might make sense, (IME the coaxials do well for a walking-around type listening scenario) but it really depends on budget, I think they are $2-3K each?

 

[staticV3]

In-ceiling could be nice.

Perfectly timed review by Amir

KEF ci250RRM-THX In-ceiling Speaker Review

This is a review and detailed measurements of the KEF ci250RRM-THX 3-way home theater speaker. It was sent to me by the company and costs US $2,499. Please excuse the stock picture. Mine in the plywood baffle doesn't look very pretty. I must say, I was not prepared for how substantial this...

www.audiosciencereview.com

Installed directly above the pool table, everyone would be pushed off-axis like intended by KEF.

KEF have many in-ceiling models if the one tested here isn't a good fit:

In Ceiling

This is the official KEF international website where you can choose your region in order to explore more on our wireless speakers, hifi, headphones and more. Shop LSX & LS50 Wireless.

international.kef.com

 

[Drej182]

KEF would be a great choice. They cover a large area by design.

 

[Pariah Zero]

Definitely _not_ sports audio. I'm about the opposite of a sports fan.

I'd like to say I have some sort of golden ear or something, and I do love high quality audio, but to thine own self be true: I was born with congenital tinnitus, and have never known a moment of life without a ~65ish dB polytonal shriek in both ears.

The system's true purpose is to mask Tinnitus, preferably at 50-70 dB. (The last thing I want is to lose my hearing and have nothing except the shrieking).

For reference: the room started as a basement foundation room. It's a concrete box with fiberglass insulated floor joists for the ceiling, and some thin 1/8" thick indoor-outdoor carpet. It had (has?) a pair of Dayton T652-AIR speakers. Call it what you will (Gehenna?), but we start somewhere.

Doing better is not the highest of bars, I've already done or have plans for quite a bit of "room treatment" to the concrete box (ie. walls with rockwool insulation, acoustic panels to break up sound waves, there will be an acoustic ceiling, better carpet, curtains instead of bare windows, and on and on.

Having worked on the room, I thought it might make sense to ask about what kind of change to make for speakers -- especially as the goal is more like music playing at a pool hall than critical listening.

Apologies for not putting the information up front. I probably wasn't thinking hard enough about know what sort of info I'd need to provide to answer the question. I probably still am not... but I'm trying.

 

[Pariah Zero]

Installed directly above the pool table, everyone would be pushed off-axis like intended by KEF.

An excellent plan, with only one flaw, but it's such a huge flaw that it bears noting:

Lighting the pool table - is not only important, but it's literally a rule unto itself, as much as the cues and balls.

I had seriously considered getting the "ring" type pool table lights that are currently fashionable. They'd be perfect for a center mounted speaker. Sadly, the migraines triggered after playing on a table with one made me choose another way.

Add in my spousal units requirement for a high ceiling so we can play ping-pong on the table too, and it lead me to a light with a 6x3' columnating filter that directs the light downwards only. The catch being that 6x3 area over the table is completely occluded by the light.

Constraints are fun.

That speaker, though... I'm not sure if I'm impressed that they engineered a speaker that expensive to be thrown into a random cavity and expect it to perform, and then put their name on it. Then again, they aren't likely to be thrown in a wall by a DIY'er (I've no clue if Kef would even sell 'em they way)

I'm also tempted to dismiss it with "yeah, but that thing is a bit farther along the price end of the price/performance curve than I can tolerate right now"

It's a shame the entire ceiling can't be made into a speaker. (Well, it can, but DML speakers are a hobby unto itself. And not one with great results.)

 

[lincolnalmiron]

I've a feeling this is likely to be in the range of I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing, so I'll start with the room (The 21 foot x 13 foot center area):
View attachment 431779
The blue rectangle in the center is a pool table. The speakers are going to go along the 'top' wall, along the leftish and rightish corners, though placement is somewhat flexible. A subwoofer is planned to go in the bottom left corner, but placement is flexible as well.

There will be a TV mounted in the center of the top wall as well. There really isn't any seating - it's a game room, and people are going to be walking around the pool table or watching between plays.

So my goal is to try to get as good/even sound as possible over the entire room; obviously the idea of 'imaging' is not a goal.

What kind of speaker(s) would work most optimally for the room/setup? (Is this a setup where omni speakers make sense? I've seen links to the Sound Reproduction book, and that's certainly a place to start, but reading a 500+ page book is a bit much for the bit of knowledge I want at this stage. I've got a ton of Harry F. Omni-dipole speakers create a sound field that covers the entire room, which will help to avoid dead zones. As a subwoofer, it is best to use a subwoofer with a phase shifter, which will be flexible in terms of placement. Frankly, I envy your gaming room a little! I also want to create a place where there will be many consoles, a cool PC with two monitors for comfortable gaming and multitasking. I constantly play games and learn something new in this area. A month ago I came across the gamblizard website where I read about free bonuses. Now I would like to make a separate corner in the room in the style of slot machines, roulette, etc. But my room is not large, the space needs to be distributed correctly. It will be necessary to gradually collect all the necessary equipment. Olson's ribbon mic theory to understand for an entirely different project as it stands).

I think for your playing room and the usage you describe, the best choice would be omni-dipole or diffused speakers. These speakers will provide an even distribution of sound throughout the room.

 

[LeonardoBlevins]

seruapk games need a realistic speaker and low latency for the most perfect gaming experience