Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Questions and some pictures from my Home Theater

I'm in the process of creating a new HT room in our house. Right now we are finished with the floor(cork) and are getting ready to trim, hang the projector and screen, and start purchasing the speakers. Our Google Blog shows some actual pictures of the room.



I have listened to a setup of a member here in Omaha, NE and have decided on sticking with Axioms. I'm thinking M22's front, VP100 center, QS8's side, M2's rear. I have a SVS PC-Ultra12 cylinder sub .

It's going into a room of about 12'x24' with 8' ceiling. If you have Google SketchUp(free) you can see a model here .

I'm basically looking for any suggestions/hints/anything about the room. Specifically, are my surrounds a good choice for the room size? I'm going to be using a PS3 for Blu-Ray and a HD-DVR for TV. I'm looking to spend less than $500 for a receiver. I'm thinking of just picking up a Panasonic XR55 which I know will work for now and wait to get something later. Any alternatives?

Your M22s look like they will be spaced about 10 feet apart. If you plan on listening in stereo, you should strive to place your seating location 8.5 feet away from the centre speaker to create an equilateral triangle. That may put you too close to the screen though. So you may want to place your seating area further away and move your M22s closer to you when you listen to music in stereo.

Also make sure that your M22s are not placed equidistant from the sides and front wall. And experiment with toe-in to get the optimum imaging for stereo listening.

It looks like a nice room. Great job by the way!

I used to have a Panasonic XR55 and replaced it with a Pioneer VSX-817. The Panny was a great unit but it had limited control over frequency response. It only has treble and bass. The Pioneer on the other hand has MCACC which in my opinion works great. Plus, if you want to you can make manual adjustments using the built in EQ. Plus the Pioneer has a little more power and cost nearly the same.

Personally, I would go with M60's for the fronts.

Thanks for the response guys.

Mojo- I haven't finalized the position of the speakers yet, I'll remember to take into consideration your comments. The screen is a 4x8' sheet of MDF painted with a DIY mix, so I should be able to have some play with speaker placement along the front wall.

Joey- I'd love to have the M60's but it's quite the step up in price over the M22's. We don't listen extremely loud, so I don't think the price step is worth it for me in this room. The Pioneer at $275 might be a worthwhile upgrade to the XR55 at $165.

I think what I'd really like would be a HDMI-Harmon Kardon amp, but that would probably run me a little more than what I want to spend.

Make sure that your sub extends to 150Hz. You may need that much range with the M22s. I've heard the M22s and they lack "bottom end warmth". If your sub doesn't extend that far, the M22s may sound thin to you.

Mojo- So you are saying that my sub should have a 3db point up to around 150Hz? I am looking at the response graphs here at Axiom and it doesn't look like there is any roll-off until right under 100Hz on the 22's. I know the Ultra12 is pretty flat, but I don't think it is out to 150Hz.

I think crossing the M22s over at 150hz is ridiculous. No need to exaggerate your preferred listening sound mo. I have mine crossed at 80hz and it sounds amazing.

pgans, another thing you may want to consider is dual centre channels, instead of a VP100, you can have a pair of M2s wired in parallel (one above the screen one below) for an amazing sound. (better than the VP series IMHO) and two M2s cost about the same as a VP100 (but you have to buy mounts too).

After thinking about it, I am not sure that a 150Hz cross-over would make the M22s sound any fuller. And another problem with crossing over so high is that you run the risk of vocals coming from the sub and that's not great for imaging either.

I have heard the 22s, 60s and 80s. The 22s sounded too thin to me (relative to the 60s and 80s) but more detailed and transparent than the 60s. The 60s sounded fuller than the 22s but more laid back than the 80s. The 80s sounded like the perfect blend amongst the three. And then there is a set we call the M82 as well. If you are interested in reading more about this, see this post.

If you heard the 22s and you like them, you should just go for them. Budget, space and aesthetic considerations always come into play so when you factor those in as well, you may not be in a position get the top-rated speaker in a family.

Robb, you are more than welcome to bring the 22s to my place and hear the difference between them and the 80s if you like.

I was thinking of crossing over around 80-100(this is just theoretical) but time will tell. I would love to get a pair of M80s but like usual you have to balance the cost/satisfaction and with a new house there is plenty of places to spend the money. I already spent a little more than I wanted with the sub, but I couldn't pass up getting an Ultra at a pretty reasonable price.

I have a personal preference of something with a pretty forward feel. A friend and I demo'd someones M3's against Ascend 340s(classics) and thought the M3's had a much more detailed sound than the Ascends. The Ascends, albeit with dual drivers, did have a fuller sound than the M3.

Hutzal- Your room(and website) looks great. I had not even given thought to a dual center channel setup. Depending on where I place my components, this may be something I could work with.

This forum is great. I've spent a good amount of time digging around here, and the quality of posts is always good.

Apparently the M22s have a much more detailed and forward sound than the M3s.

I have no doubt the M80s would sound better than the M22s, but suggesting to cross them over at 150hz is absurd when M22 owners have been crossing the M22s over at 80hz since the speakers have come into existence, and even when Axiom suggests an 80hz crossover (as well as all the M22 gurus on this board).

pgans,

if you can swing the dual M2s, you will NOT be disappointed...they are an AWESOME centre channel (as well, you will be getting one more mid woofer than the VP100 with dual M2s). Dialog seems to come right from the middle of the screen, straight from the actors mouths.

Robb,

It may very well be against common sense to do this which is why I backed off of that suggestion. I reasoned with myself that crossing over at a higher setting may make them fuller and more mellow. After reflecting for a few hours, I realized that this may not solve the problem.

I suggested you compare the 22s side-by-side with the 80s so that you may determine for yourself how amazing they sound. The invitation is still open.

Mo,

I won't be auditioning any M80s anytime soon, I may get an extreme case of upgraditus if I did!!

And my wife is immune to this disease, so she will not share the same views as I!

Maybe be you could swing the M60s, they are a little cheaper and then you will have it all, the detail of the M80s/M22s and the rich, smoothness of the M60s.

Anytime you want to hear it let me know, as I am still wanting to hear the vaunted M3s. Maybe Mojo and I need to invade your house for an afternoon Mojo with his EP600 and I with the M60s and VP100/VP150, a full comparison of all Axiom.

Yeah, and maybe Ian can send us a few A1400s and EP600s so that we can have ourselves a real party.

I have to say, I find it amusing when folks want to compare M60/80's to the bookshelfs like M22's or even M3's. Of course there is going to be a difference! Compare a Camero to a Corvette, they are both fast, pretty Chevy's but one IS better. =)

You can always do better, Axiom's are not the very very very best out there, but we all here love them for their value and in many of our opinions the amount better that can be had is not worth the money.

So I say if the M22's fit the budget, and you pair them with a fine sub like a SVS you are very likely to have a very fine setup.

I'm glad you were able to hear my M3's in person pgans, it was a pleasure to share the Axiom love.

Hear, hear.

Camero? I always spelled mine Camaro. Besides my next Camaro will have the Z06 Vette engine in it, so bring it on Nebraska.

well, if someone in calgary REALLY wanted to bring out their M50s, we could have the whole axiom family at a shootout...

I can bring my EP500, M22s, M3s and M2s, jason can bring the M60s and VP100, Mojo HAS M80s and an EP600, all we need is M50s...

Man that would be a freaking crazy listening session!

It sounds like I should get rid of my couch and ping pong table to make room for all the gear.

Your place is the only one big enough for all that gear! Once you have it moved let us know, err, I mean when you want it moved, let me know I will be glad to help.

How's the imaging for the front if you use the 2 M2s as center? I'm talking about around a 6' wide listening range as there is usually 2 of us sitting there on the couch. I didn't know if the M2s and the VP100 use the exact same tweeter setup. I don't want something where I have to be sitting dead center to sound correctly for the center channel.

The imaging is awesome, in respect to the design of the M2 bookshelf, it is designed to have a wide angle of dispersion (if vertically orientated). My room is 14' wide and I have sat on the very sides of the room (about 6' off from centre) and I thought it sounded great! Your room is a bit big, I actually would recommend M2s simply because you are getting one more woofer than a VP100.

Are you using the FMB to mount the M2? Do the M2s have a mounting provision on the back?

I am using two FMBs to mount the M2s to the wall, and yes, they have a mounting hole (easy there peter) in the back for easy mounting.