Two seperate systems in one room?

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We have now concluded to sell our house, and get an apartment. (Who be finished in November or so)

The problem is that this apartment does not have two living rooms like we have today.
So we can no longer have stereo in one room, and home theater in another room.

The new apartment, on the sketch (the building not finished yet so cant see in real)
Have an open living room, dining room, kitchen style

So it is long and kinda L shaped.

My idea is to put tv and hometheater system in “living room” part, with the tv and front speakers and center on “long” wall (but it is not continuous cross the flat.)

Put couch near rear wall and side short wall (about 1 meter appears according to sketch to be likely to achieve)
So it be 1 meter in rear and 1 meter on side to wall.
And a subb placed near tv, position must be found by ear.

So then hometheater “done”

So then, mye stereo system (Not high end yet :frowning: , saving tho been wondering on Elac connected to Stellar)
But one possible way i can see in this room is cross the side, in the diningroom area. On short wall, again i should get 1 - 1,5 meter from the wall (unless wife get angry)
Now the stereo system will be on short wall, and then have “long” to siting area in “living room”)
But the short wall on the dining room side, is little longer than the short wall in living room area. Since it have open kitchen who is connected there the dining room area.

How much this is is little unsure, due to the fact it is not finished building yet.

I know this is not perfect, but how far from good is it?
Is it any chance to make this work?

Or should i just throw in the towel,skip stereo and listen to music from the hometheater system?
Wich in my mind is really not good for music… The one i have today (plan to replace that too)
When i try music on it, set to stereo. It sounds like a sock is covering the sound…
Mekis even B&W to be lacking in the high notes. (And i have tested these B&W on my stereo amp from NAD, i thought it was something wrong. But there on this old NAD amp, the high notes was slightly to sharp. Like B&W tend to be.)

Any thoughts on this? Yes i know, to figure it out propper. I do have to wait to building is finished.
And no :frowning: i can not change the shapes while building is ongoing, i can only change colors and stuff i want in to apartment.

Edit: Oh and i’m in Norway, so sorry if my spelling is little off :wink:

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Here is the sketch of the apartment i plan to get.

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Inga som helst problem med din engelska!

This is exactly what I’ve done. I have a dedicated room with a completely separate HT and 2-ch. The HT consists of Thiel PowerPoint for the L/C/R, and all in wall/ceiling for surround, back surround and Atmos. They key is to get the front in wall or in my case on ceiling speakers high enough that they “shoot” over the stereo speakers, yet not so high that it sounds unnatural.

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I do not think i get in wall speakers. And i might have to upgrade over time.

But i will not play at same time.
you mean, the speakers to the HT should not interfere with stereo in “line of sight”?

One way i think of too, is if you see the sketch, it is a two seat couch there.
My plan is to put chair there, and just turn around when play stereo, and that chair becomes listing position.
And would then put listening position 2/3 of the room Who from what i found here i live now, appears to be a decent position.

And it would make all the HT stuff behind me… (And shut off when play music)

And also get smaller dining table than in the sketch, and position that more in the kitchen area than the “dining area”

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I have two separate systems in the same room, but I have considerably more space to work with. You can make it work, but you may have to choose equipment (speaker size) that are best suited to this approach.

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Nice :wink:

And yes, i have to choose speakers for the size.
On The HT im thinking cheap and small like B&W 606 to front and surround with sub ofc
And figure out a HT amp perhaps Denon, simple and easy here.

On the stereo im thinking floorstanding but slim. Lately i tend to like what i have heard from Elac Perhaps not high end but… ELAC Carina 247.4 perhaps or if my wallet agrees perhaps ELAC NAVIS ARF-51
Ofc i have to listen more to Elac before i make up my mind.
And find a decent sub to pair with them.

Amp side, my old old NAD got about 200W in 4 ohm. I want more and better sound than that.
Perhaps Stellar S300.

now want and reality is two different things… Have to save up and buy little now and then …

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Will you have any ability to pre-wire the room with speaker cables, ceiling speakers, 2nd room connections, or perhaps some equipment located in the room on the other side of the “front” wall. If so, you can’t pre install too many channels. I think when I finished my room, my HT system was maybe a 7.1. It’s now 9.2.4, and every time I think I’m finished, I find myself up in the attic fishing more cables.

I also just bought a Denon AVR and recommend them highly for the price. They are also one of the few manufacturers who updated their AVR line last year. Many AVR manufacturers are only updating every two or three years, but Denon seems a little more active with updates.

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Unfortly the building outer walls, floor and ceiling is pre made concrete (Or what its called.)
So from what i can see, i have to have visible cables. But i might be able to hide in floorlists or something like that.

If i skip 7 channels i can hide good for rear surround. But i do want 7, then i have to be creative. But put two high up in the ceiling, and hide cable in a list might be possible. It also might be possible with a fake wooden beam for decoration on the ceiling. (But then the wife issue might nag on me)

But there is little i can do except colors before finished :frowning:

I have had Denon before, and i think too for the price is good. At Least the AVR’s

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Yes, one of our greatest hurdles. If only they knew how to operate a HT remote control. Good luck.

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True true.
But she love stereo and music.
She spends so much time with the two channel system i have now, even if its not high end, i managed to get it musical and dynamic. And she loves it :wink:

And that is much much more important than the HT remote and HT system

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Harmony hub-based remote goes a long way to using both separate HT and 2ch systems in the same space and martial bliss :wink:

I have two completely separate systems in the same space (subs are the only thing shared) but I have a closet on the other side of a wall that is filled with gear. Everything but the speakers and 2ch amp.

You’ll definitely will have to get creative but in the end I think it’s very much worth the effort. Enjoy the journey and avoid trying to solve all problems right out of the gate - of course choosing this path may be more expensive but hey it’s only money.

My HT is passable but not great but that’s ok the 2ch is fabulous!

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yeah budget thing gonna be a challenge, especially just after bought new apartment.
Good thing i see here is that it is possible, you guys have done it.

And i do have two working systems now. So when building is finished.
I can play around and test with what i have, then upgrade both system, probably one at time but … that is life.

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I sat down with my wife the other day, and talked about speakers and browsed online.

Apparently she approve of Elac Navis arf-51 and ELAC VELA FS-409
She say the Vela be nice, se really like them…

Then my wallet jump of the table an run away…

I’m not sure what level of “high end” Elac is considered, but what i heard before in showrooms and so (not heard in living room like room) It go good with my taste, but need propper sub…

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To me, when you find a pair of two channel speakers that deliver everything you could hope for, spend the money. Unless you are someone who likes to upgrade a lot, I suggest putting the majority of your funds into those speakers, then build everything else around that. Plenty of other people may prefer to take a different approach, but for me, you will rarely regret buying those speakers that “talk” to you (and it helps greatly when they are wife approved).

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And then if adventurous immediately upgrade the crossover components and internal wiring to get everything out of them. $ are saved here nearly always and it’s a shame as it really makes a difference in clarity. It won’t change the nature of the speaker of course just make it be the best it can be.

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I could not agree more. Get the L&R and subwoofer(s) right (including great stereo sound staging with music) and the rest will follow. My system does 2.1/7.1 double duty and its sounds terrific, if do say so myself.

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Yes i think you are right. Rather spend time saving for the right ones, than get something cheaper/other and regret.

This said, i cant buy it all at ones. And thinking to use what i have now, then ad speakers and perhaps even wait before sub’s.

I probably not be able to get this ready to when i move into this new place tho :frowning: but be a great goal

Biggest issue is that the elac dealer does not have the Stellars i like to get.
So i heard the Elacs (Not the exact model i kinda want) on different amp, and i heard the Stellar on different speakers.

So i hope to be able to find a way to get the speakers and amp i want in the same room :wink:

And yeas, helps when wife agree with how it looks, even tho for me. How its sounds are the most important…

Brett66 and Scotte1 (sry don’t know how to do multiple quotes)
Yes this is way to go i think, just have to get my funds up . Listen and see/hear
And catch my escaping wallet. :stuck_out_tongue:

How to place together with HT system, i just have to listen and try. Im sure i can start that with the two systems i have, even before the upgrades.

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Relatedly, keep in mind that the center channel for a double-duty HT/Hi-Fi system can wait, because a phantom center channel “projected” by your surround-sound processor and L&R channels can do a more than passable job until you are ready to buy a “proper” center channel speaker. (Another way to stretch your budget so that you can lay a good foundation with your L&R speaker.)

FWIW.

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Two separate systems in one room, that’s madness! Obsessing over one system is about all I can handle. Also I recently discovered that having a second pair of speakers in the same room as your main speakers, mucks up the sound. When I recently upgraded my speakers, I kept my previous speakers in the same room. It wasn’t until I sold them that I realized how much having those second pair of speakers in the room influenced the sound, and not in a good way.