Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Newbie on HT

Hi All... I'm planning on buying some Axiom speakers after reading so much postive review on them. My room is about 1500cuft and one side open up to the kitchen and the other to a hallway. I'm ready to dump my so called ht system Bose 321(I know it sucks)and going with a 5.1 setup.
I want the M60 but I dont have enough room for it plus my wife thinks its too big. So I might go with M22, QS8, VP150 and EP350 sub.
My questions are:
1. Is the VP150 an overkill if my viewing distance is 10-12ft? Will it match the M22 nicely?
2. Is it ok to place my surrounds 4ft above ear level(sitting down)?
3. Since my couch is agaist the wall should I place the surrounds on the side or at the back wall?
4. I'ved listened to Deftech BP7006 bipolar speakers and they sounded real nice but too expensive. Compared to these speakers, what can I expect from the M22?

Thanks, All your input will help me very much.

Welcome, FearFX,

Before I do my best on your questions, something you might consider is that by the time you add stands for the M22s (much mo' betta than placing them on shelves or in entertainment centers), they will take up almost as much room as the M60s, though not seem as massive.

1. VP150 would NOT be overkill, and yes, it would match the M22s just fine.

2. Yes, The QS8s are very forgiving when it comes to placement. From the Axiom FAQ:

Ideally, surround speakers should be either wall-mounted or stand-mounted to either side of the couch or primary listening area, from one to six feet higher than seated listeners' ears, and slightly forward or rearwards of the listening area if you wish. Axiom's Quadpolar surrounds are especially versatile and can yield excellent performance with stand or wall-mounting to the rear as well as at side locations. (see our dedicated stands for the QS Surround speakers in the Store). Rear center speakers for 6.1 and 7.1 installations are intended to go on the rear wall at about the same height as the surround speakers..

3. Either the side wall or the back will work. If you can, experiment to see which placement you prefer.

4. I'm no help on this one. I've never heard the Deftechs.

Hi fearFX,

1. No, but you don't need a VP150 for that room size and listening distance unless you want extremely loud playback levels. The VP100 is just fine for an application like yours.

2. Perfect height.

3. On the side. Set up a good 5.1 system with the surrounds located where they're intended to go, just like in large cinemas. You can try a couple of extra surrounds on the back wall for 7.1 later on and see if there's any improvement.

4. It's very hard to make comparisons of bipolar front speakers with direct-radiating models. In the old days of 2-channel stereo, I used to love bipolar speakers because with large acoustical works (orchestral, choral, jazz, big band), bipolars gave a big, diffuse soundstage (with somewhat vague, murky imaging) that more closely approximated what I heard in real concert halls.

But bipolars, in my judgement, are inappropriate for the front channels in surround systems. You want precise imaging at the front so sounds move with screen action, and the M22s will deliver that as well as a nice sense of depth if it's in the original source recording. The surround speakers provide all the ambience and spatial properties, and the Axiom quadpolar QS4/QS8s are exceptional in this regard.

One of the virtues of compact speakers like the M22s in smaller rooms is the versatility of placement. Because they don't have deep bass output (the subwoofer supplies that), you can actually put them on an open bookshelf. Nor do they interact with nearby room boundaries as much as floorstanding speakers.

Regards,

Fear, another welcome. Besides the previous replies, I'll comment that your surrounds in a 5.1 setup would ideally be on the side walls and a couple of feet farther back than the sitting position. Because of being a little behind they can also give a little back surround effect(since there won't be back surround speakers to do it)by "phantom" imaging sounds that are about equal in level in both speakers. Since you're going to be sitting almost right up against the back wall, that arrangement can't be exactly followed, but the closest would be to put the QSs on the back wall and separated as widely as possible, to within a foot of the side walls.

Thanks Alan and Ajax for the quick reply, I will place the M22 in the entertainment center so it will not take more space. If I have the room I will really like the M60's.

I heard good things about the SVS sub's, any of you guys got this sub and how it mate with M22's. Is the PB10 comparable to EP350?

Thanks again and looking forward to join the family.

I've got the svs pb10 mated with M22, vp100 and pair of qs8's in a room your size, have had the system for nearly a year now and love it. SVS is an excellent sub manufacturer as is HSU and Axiom (particularly the 500 and 600 models IMO).

I probably get a little better sub response than you would because my room doesn't open up to adjacent space like yours. This wouldn't be an issue for you during music play, but if you like major low frequency effects during movies you might want to consider a larger sub. The room volume versus sub size (amount of air it can push and thus pressurize your room) is what creates the chest pounding effect.

good luck.

"I will place the M22 in the entertainment center so it will not take more space."

Oh, no! If you can help it, don't put the M22's in the entertainment center. Here's a good explantion from MIKEY in a recent thread that basically eplains why not to do so. Yes, in this case, you will probably need stands. Therefore, you might as well get the M60's, huh? Regardless, you've got a nice system coming your way. We just want you to enjoy it to it's fullest!

EDIT: In Alan's reply, he said it's OK to place them in an "open bookshelf", whatever that is. Hmmm...he's the expert, but I still feel that *something* besides bass will be compromised putting them in an enclosure.

Sonicfox... my E.center is not an enclosure, it opens up to all 4 sides something similar to this http://www.furniture.com/common/product/ProductInfo.aspx?itemid=0&ChildId=118472&xs=687155efbfb-0fd6-41f4-8630-c06bc10ff4ea , so I wont be hurting the speakers.

PaulM... I'm thinking of getting the vp100 instead on the 150 and use the money saved to get a bigger subwoofer. But I read somewhere in this forum that the 150 is more forgiving in sound relative to sitting postion than the 100. In your set-up, how true is this?

I have noticed that the center does a lot of "work" in my HT setup. I would suggest that you get the 150 over the 100. You can always get the sub later.

Just a thought.

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http://www.furniture.com/common/product/ProductInfo.aspx?itemid=0&ChildId=118472&xs=687155efbfb-0fd6-41f4-8630-c06bc10ff4ea

I've only listenned to the vp100 so can't copmment from experience on the differenmce between it and the vp150. But from what folks on this forum have reported, the vp150 excels in situations where there is seating a fair bit off axis or in larger rooms where the seats are a ways away. From the dimensions you have mentioned, these don't seem an issue. Alan is Axioms resident expert so his recommendations are usually pretty spot on.

In that size room you could also probably save a few bucks and get the qs4' (as apposed to qs8's) with no noticable loss in performance. In hindsight, the qs4's would have done just as good a job in my setting as the qs8's (I've since had the opportuntity to listen to both). If you're not sure, give Axiom and call and ask their advice. They have terrific customer service and won't recommend more than you need to achieve excellent sound.

Hi Sonicfox,

Note exactly what I said: "you can actually put them ON an open bookshelf." I did not say "in" as you stated. An "open bookshelf" is just that, one that isn't encumbered by nearby shelving above and beside the speaker.

I do not advocate burying bookshelf speakers in an entertainment center where nearby boundaries will likely degrade and color the speaker's output. See my article on "Why Wall Units Are the Enemy of Good Sound" here:

http://www.axiomaudio.com/speakers_in_wall_units.html

Regards,

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Thanks to every one for their input.

After much debate with my wife, she finally agreed to my inital set-up - 2 M60, 2QS8, 1 VP150. Now I wont be a victim of the "what if" virus. Actually she was against me putting the speakers on the E.Unit since I will have to move her figurins = ).

I know this set-up is an over kill but what the heck... I like to play loud sometimes.

I dont want a big footprint sub and I was looking at Velondyne DPS10. Any of you guys got this sub? Based on the specs paired w/ the M60, will that be enough to get that "earthquake" feel on movies?

Thanks again.

I can't help you on the sub advice, but I think you and your wife made a great choice on the 60's, you won't be disappointed. Happy listening

Hsu Research STF-1 and Outlaw Audio LFM-2 are two small footprint 8 inch subs that you can test in home for 30 days. The forums on thoses sites give various opinions.

You have to consider that with too much earthquake (no such thing) the figurines will fall and break.

Just an uodate... Just ordered my speakers today, it will take almost a month since I ordered through outlet.

I posted a question on the "technical question" section http://www.axiomaudio.com/boards/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=tech&Number=131711&page=0&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=0&fpart=all (2nd to the last post). Anyone can help me answer these.
Thanks
p.s still deciding on the sub and reciever.

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