Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Small Room options

I'm looking for new HT 5.1 setup for an 11x13 room. The sofa is against the rear wall and the LCD will be on a wall mount arm. Neighbors are close so no EP500 for me. The M2s seem logical for fronts. Is there a big difference between the 2 center choices? Also, the surrounds seem pricey for what they need to do. Are they overkill for a room this small? Can anyone comment on the differences between the EP175 and the Rocket ULW-10 sub?
Thanks,
Mark

Mark,

For that size of room, you could go with the M2's all around and the VP100 for your center channel. Or the M2's for your mains, VP100 center, and a pair of QS4's for your surrounds. The Q's are somewhat on the pricey side, but worth every penny, imo.

As for the difference between the VP100 vs VP150. I've had them both, sonically they're the same. I didn't notice much of a difference anyways. Biggest difference is the VP150 will play a little louder and will provide a greater dispersion.

M2s will be just fine for that room size, as will the VP100. The QS surrounds are definitely expensive compared to more M2s, since they have 2x the number of drivers, but what they give you is a more seamless surround, and the illusion of a bigger room when compared to M2s or any other direct speaker.

I lent my QS8s out so a friend could try them for a while and am running M2 surrounds in the meantime. You do definitely notice the difference -- not in sound quality (M2s are extremely accurate) but in the effectiveness of the surround "illusion".

I have a small room, also. I sit about 11 feet from my TV and my couch is against the back wall.

I have M-22s, QS-8s, and a VP-150. I also own M2s for my computer. I switched between the M-22s and the M-2s, and the 22s sound better to me. I'm upgrading my HT, though, and have custom wood finish M-60s on the way, and I have an STF-2 subwoofer- all in an upstairs apartment. I don't shake the walls down when I watch movies because of the neighbors, but my system still sounds wonderful even at relatively low volumes.

If you get an all M-2 system- you will regret it and wish you had gotten M-22s instead. If you get M-22s, you'll stay happy longer, but will eventually wish you had a bigger sounding system.

The M-22s sound great, but they have no bass so you WILL need a subwoofer. Just because you have nice subwoofer, doesn't mean that you need to shake the house down. A nice sounding sub will sound nice no matter what volume. Don't downgrade and "settle" on something if there is even a remote chance that you'll want it to sound better some day.

Heck, I'm even upgrading my M-2 computer speakers with M-3s, which are on the way. If I had just bought the best ones the first time around, I would've been satisfied, but instead I settled on the lesser speakers and got the upgrade bug.

Mark, welcome. The M2s plus sub should be excellent in a room that size. You haven't described the exact positioning of the LCD, but if possible you should consider the use of a vertical M2 center which has wider and smoother horizontal dispersion, rather than any horizontally configured center.

QS4s should be used for surrounds, positioned about 6' up either on the side walls a few inches from the back wall, or the back wall a few inches from the side walls.

I started with a home theater "area" in our basement which was basically just a large open space, so I ended up with M60 fronts, VP150 center, QS8 surrounds, and a big sub. Now, I am moving it into a 9 foot x 15 foot dedicated room. I am sure it will sound awesome, but it will be somewhat "overkill" for the room size.

When I was first looking at Axioms, I was looking at M22 fronts, VP100 center, and QS4 surrounds. The Axiom "quad polar" design is amazing and worth the upgrade in my opinion.

Thanks for the feedback. The layout is not the greatest. 11x13 room with 2 large openings and a window. The sofa is a sectional on the window wall and the solid wall (only option). The LCD would go in the corner of the room diagonally opposite from the corner of the sectional. I'm planning on locating all the AV gear in a remote closet to save on space.