I have been contemplating a purchase of a “good” home theater system for quite a while, and am finally on the verge of taking the plunge and dropping $2000-$3000 on a 5.1 speaker setup. I have done EXTENSIVE research online, read far too many articles, and devoted far too much mental energy on the planning… I am looking forward now to ending the planning and making the purchase. (It will be nice to have my 2+ hours a day of daydreaming about HT back…)

I have decided that for my particular circumstances, a 5.1 setup is the way to go. The setup will go in the main room, (approx 17’6”w x 16’d x 8h) and the sectional couch is on the back/side wall, providing no good placement options for the back surrounds of a 7.1 system. I have 90% decided on the Axiom Epic 60 / 500 system… and was closer to 98% before doing some “in home” testing using some borrowed (non-Axiom) speakers.

Recently, I was able to borrow an older set of Klipsch speakers (3.1 setup… no surrounds) from a friend to use, and I discovered a significant issue that I need to figure out prior to the purchase of the Axiom system... with respect to determining the proper subwoofer approach.

The sub I borrowed is large… a big cabinet (somewhere in the neighborhood of 19” x19” x 21”) has a 12” driver, and I assume a large amp (I gotta think 200+). It plays pretty darn loud, and seems to have some fairly decent extension. I don’t have the specs (and am currently without the model number as I type), but I consider it “big”, and assume it was one of their premier subs 10 years ago. It plays plenty loud and deep and pretty accurately… and I’m sure the EP500 is more capable, even though around the same size, but the Klipsch ain't bad. The borrowed fronts are Klipsch’s large bookshelf speakers from 10-12 years ago (KG 2.2, I think?), and the center channel is pretty standard in size, and does pretty well (again, no model no.).

The main problem I’m having is that the sub is fairly localizable in the area that is my ONLY placement option, the rear corner, in the “cave” created by the sectional couch. The couch is in the corner of the room along the back and side wall… the back corner of the couch curves rather than forming a 90 deg corner, leaving a nice space to hold a sub between the back of the couch and the corner of the walls. (The couch is huge, and the available space for a sub is huge… a SVS PB12/Plus 2 would actually fit if I wanted one.) The listeners (unless the couch is full) aren't sitting "on top" of the sub... but in fact are probably 6 feet away from it, on the sectional couch, generally in the middle of the back wall.

The significant other will not allow a sub of the girth I would like to purchase to be placed in the front of the room, primarily because the TV (Mits WS-65819) and speakers will fit nicely into an alcove… but there will be no space for a sub, meaning the sub would just be on the wall, essentially sticking out in the middle of the room with nothing else near it. (Even I agree it would look ridiculous.)

I am using borrowed gear currently, and haven’t spent much time “calibrating” any of it. It is currently running through a cheap receiver (my Pioneer Elite VSX-72TXVS is in the mail!), and hasn’t been set up correctly. However, with the crossover as low as 60hz, and the mains set to "large" (they have decent extension for bookshelves), the sub is still fairly localizable.

HERE’S THE QUESTION: Is it likely that I will be unable to correct the sub localization problem when using “full range” fronts like the Axiom m60s (that should have better bass extension than the bookshelf Klipsch speakers currently in place)? Or is it more likely that a big giant sub in the back will be hard to hide?

I am currently still set on the Axiom Epic 60 / 500 system… but I am also wondering if I should be considering a “two small sub” setup instead. I am intrigued by the Rocket ULW-10, which seems to be a great small sub. I “may” be able to get away with one of these in the front, as they are 12.25” x 11.75” x 13” and wouldn’t stick too far off the wall. Two of these can be had for $800. With a sub in the front, I could theoretically step back to the M22 bookshelves for mains rather than the M60s.

I would rather go with what I think is the “better” system… the Epic 60 / 500, but if I can’t “un-localize” the bass, I wonder if I’d be better served with the Epic Grand Master system, using twin Rocket ULW-10s rather than an Axiom sub.

Please give me opinions if you have any. Should I be able to set up the EP500 in the back and M60s in the front such that I “hide” the EP500 a bit better than I am currently able to hide the Klipsch sub?

Thanks in advance for your help.