I finally got around to getting my living room system in order. The goals were to have a minimalist install, and to balance that with trying to hit a sweet spot between cost and performance.
The toughest part for me was deciding what to do about speakers. After months of debating with myself and adutioning almost everything I could afford (and a few things I couldn’t) I decided on the Martin Logan Motion Vision X. It’s the most expensive part of my little living room system but I’m really glad I got it. It sounds far better than any soundbar should and it let me get rid of the receiver. Now all video sources connect to the TV which outputs audio to the soundbar via toslink. I also connected a Sonos receiver as well as my old SVS sub.
First I built and stained the floating shelves above and below the TV. The initial plan was to use a wood slat wall treatment between the shelves but we changed our minds once they were in place. I had planned on building a rack for the components under the bottom shelf but decided I preferred the clean look of hiding all the components. I happened to have a cabinet in the kitchen that made running the wiring to the TV possible. I added a power outlet and an internet line so that I could hardwire everything that needs a connection. I have only two video sources at the moment but I ran three Blue Jeans HDMI cables for future proofing. All of the cables are completely hidden in the cabinet and walls.
Control via the Harmony Hub and remote has been almost flawless. The Hub sits on the top shelf and it’s IR blaster is strong enough to control both the TV and sound bar. I ran an IR extender from the Hub to the cabinet to control the Xbox which does double duty as 4K BluRay disc player.
All told I made several compromises to balance cost, performance and aesthetics but I’m pretty happy so far.
Display:
Vizio E-70
Sound:
Martin Logan Motion Vision X “sound-bar”
SVS 20-39 PC+
Video Sources:
Roku Premier Plus
Xbox One S
Audio Source:
Sonos Connect
Control:
Harmony Hub and Companion remote
The toughest part for me was deciding what to do about speakers. After months of debating with myself and adutioning almost everything I could afford (and a few things I couldn’t) I decided on the Martin Logan Motion Vision X. It’s the most expensive part of my little living room system but I’m really glad I got it. It sounds far better than any soundbar should and it let me get rid of the receiver. Now all video sources connect to the TV which outputs audio to the soundbar via toslink. I also connected a Sonos receiver as well as my old SVS sub.
First I built and stained the floating shelves above and below the TV. The initial plan was to use a wood slat wall treatment between the shelves but we changed our minds once they were in place. I had planned on building a rack for the components under the bottom shelf but decided I preferred the clean look of hiding all the components. I happened to have a cabinet in the kitchen that made running the wiring to the TV possible. I added a power outlet and an internet line so that I could hardwire everything that needs a connection. I have only two video sources at the moment but I ran three Blue Jeans HDMI cables for future proofing. All of the cables are completely hidden in the cabinet and walls.
Control via the Harmony Hub and remote has been almost flawless. The Hub sits on the top shelf and it’s IR blaster is strong enough to control both the TV and sound bar. I ran an IR extender from the Hub to the cabinet to control the Xbox which does double duty as 4K BluRay disc player.
All told I made several compromises to balance cost, performance and aesthetics but I’m pretty happy so far.
Display:
Vizio E-70
Sound:
Martin Logan Motion Vision X “sound-bar”
SVS 20-39 PC+
Video Sources:
Roku Premier Plus
Xbox One S
Audio Source:
Sonos Connect
Control:
Harmony Hub and Companion remote
