Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Recommendations for a "newbie"

O.K., I finally registered after lurking here for about a year 'cause I think I'm ready to take the plunge.

I have a 55" Mitsubishi rear projection t.v. and a Marantz 7400(?) AV receiver without any sort of surround sound system, yet. Fortunately, I was able to pick up the receiver from my neighbor for $400 a year after he bought it and wanted to upgrade to a Denon. I also, conveniently, have $500 available to start up my system AND I have the Wife's approval which is sometimes more important.

Anyway, my room is a furnished basement measuring approximately 12' wide with the t.v centered on that wall by approximately 18' deep with the sofa (main seating) along that wall and an 8' ceiling.

As I said, I've been lurking here and at the 'Spot' for over a year now and I think Axiom is the place for me. My thoughts are a pair of M22's for mains and a VP100 center channel, all from the Factory Outlet. That totals to slightly more than my budget, but I can renegotiate with the Wife on that one. Later, I'll add in the Q8's and a sub.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I think you are on the right track. If I were you I would get a sub with the M22's. I keep telling people this but Outlaw Audio has a very nice one. For music the sub with the M22's and VP100 would be nice (I have not heard the VP100 but do have the M22's).

To make sure you are going with the right system you may want to call into Axiom and spend some time with the people there going over what you have, want and need.

Good luck.

Welcome aboard, raz_la.

Maybe you could give us a bit more info about your listening habits? Is this set-up going to be for two channel music and home theater? For some reason I can't get it out of my head the importance of a sub for HT, and your budget leaves little room for leeway. A possibility would be bookshelves run in phantom mode to make up for no center, and a sub. If action movies and big explosions aren't that important, maybe a sub is not a priority. Two channel listening may suffer on the low end with just the M22s. I haven't heard the M22s and can't comment on their bass extension. From what I've read here, they are a little thin in the bass.

Edit--lomb, you beat me to it. Gotta learn to type faster.

Yeah, good questions that I forgot to mention...

The system will be utilized 95% movies / DirectTV and 5% music. Action movies are a favorite in my household, so I can see that a sub is a necessity.

In my grand scheme I think the sub will be the next purchase followed by the surrounds, but that will be a little down the line.

Well, raz--you could stick with the M22s and VP100 and later add a solid sub. To go the M22 with sub route you may have to skimp on the sub due to budget restraints. The real question is--how long can you hold out watching all those action movies without a room shaker? Tough decision .

How far down the road do you envision adding the sub? Also, which one(s) are you looking at?

I think most would agree that a sub before a center channel is a wise purchase especially if you are going with a bookshelf speaker. No bookshelf has the cabinet volume for dramatic bass and thus you would benefit more with a sub filling in that much needed bass than you would from a center channel or surrounds for that matter.

Another option you might consider would be to invest just a bit more and go with just tower speakers like the M50 and no sub or center. (for about $630 from the factory outlet). This way you will have a nice full range sound to start with that will bring you much enjoyment and satisfaction with your system. Then you can start the process of filling in with sub then surrounds then center.

I think it is actually more fun and you will appreciate your system more getting it piece by piece, instead of all at once. You can listen for a few weeks with one setup or a few years, til you save up the dough for another piece in the puzzle. (Another reason to start with a nice pair of tower speakers, you might not be able to reinvest for a while but you will have enough satisfaction out of the sound of your mains because they can deliver such full range).

Anyway just one mans opinion. . .take it for what its worth

I've waited this long, so I think I may be able to hold out awhile for a sub (6 months?+/-)

I'm hoping that the M22's and VP100 will impress me so much over what I currently have, that it won't be a huge issue!

If you are 95% movies then the M22's with no sub will not make you 100% happy.

I've mentioned this to someone else but you may want to peak at www.audiogon.com to see if there is anything of interest there...

I have the M22's in a fairly large sized room and was impressed with 2 cha but I cannot imagine them with 95% HT. One mistake I made when I first started this hobby is that I jumped in and got a system because I wanted one NOW. Later I realized that I waisted a lot of $$ by not waiting for the right item(s).

From Alan's notes on Top 10 mistakes when buying speakers:

5. Don’t expect compact speakers to produce deep, resonant thrilling bass. You can get pleasant usable bass to about 50 or 40 Hz from a compact bookshelf speaker, but if you want the deep and powerful sounds from a rock band or symphony orchestra, or the deep rumbling of a movie blockbuster, get a subwoofer to use alongside your compact speakers. Alternatively, get larger tower speakers.

Good luck.

YOu have a PM

I think SSS has the right idea. On your budget. Start with M50tis. The 6.5s in the 50s will have good bass for a starting set-up. Add the sub later, then the center.

Not have a sub before my EP500, I was amazed at how different action dvds sounded.

You are fine starting with the M22, you just need a sub to go with them. The HSU STF-2 will work quite nicely.

Raz, I agree with Sean and others that you can at least temporarily do without a center speaker and let your M22s handle the center in "phantom" mode. I'd also agree that a sub would be desirable with the M22s, although when I use my M22s without a sub I get usable response down to about 40Hz with room reinforcement. My thought would be that because of your heavy movie emphasis, surround effects would be an even higher priority than the deeper bass added by a sub and that QS4s would be fine for your room.

Thanks to all that offered their advice. I am now leaning toward a pair of M60's to start with and I'll worry about the center, surrounds, and sub, later when budget allows. I've always felt that I wanted the 60's, but I also wanted the whole system RIGHT NOW! I'll confer with the Axiom folks prior to placing the order to get their opinion.

Question...A friend mentioned to me that I should place floor standing speakers on a stand because carpet flooring "deadens" the sound and doesn't give you the highest quality. True or False?

Axiom's come with spikes. I haven't had a problem.

Whether you use the rubber knobs or spikes (both included) or just have your speakers sitting on carpet will not change the sound. I believe Alan from Axiom, has mentioned this on past posts before.

You should be very pleased with the 60's.

As to your question about carpeting. Everything in your room effects the overall sound of your speakers. If you had nothing in the room your speakers would be overly bright and the sound would be so reflective that you wouldn't be able to stand it just like when you take everything out of a room to paint it and try to have a conversation with somebody in the room. It just echoes all over the place and is totally annoying. Anyway I would not put my floorstanders on a stand because they are their own stand. They are that height for a reason so that the tweeters are positioned at the same (approximately) level as your ears when you are seated on the average couch.

Does the carpet absorb sound? Yes. Will it absorb about the same amount of sound wether your tower speakers sit directly on it or two feet above it? Yes. Are the drivers on the M60 placed high enough so as not to be overly absorbed by the carpeting below? Yes. Do you need stands for your tower speakers? Nah. . . IMO