Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Finally upgrading from stereo to HT

About two years ago I purchased a pair of m60's and a nice stereo receiver and then later added a HSU Sub. I've been really happy with the sound, and I even watch movies with this setup -- I call it my 2.1 home theater.

Anyway, I finally took the plunge and this year, I'm upgrading to a full 5.1 setup and I couldn't be more excited. A few days ago, I ordered an Onkyo TX-SR805 and it should be here soon. At 130wpc, it's far more than I need (by Mojo's calulations it's 260 times more more than I need!). I also want to get the Toshiba HD-A3 DVD player, but I'm going to wait a few days since I've heard they're going on sale again after Thanksgiving.

Of course, I'm sticking with Axiom and getting a VP150, QS8's with stands, and maybe a FMB to mount the center. I'll order the speakers one of these days.

Between the receiver, extra speakers, and HD DVD, it should be a *huge* improvement!

I do have one question though. I'm still trying to determine how I'll mount the VP150. Here's a pic of the entertainment center for reference.



There's just barely enough height between the top of the TV and the bottom of the shelf over the entertainment center for the center channel speaker, so that's not a problem. The issue is how to mount it. The top of the TV is only about 2 inches deep, and the center channel shelves that I've seen all have little fingers that protrude over the front of the TV to help hold it in place -- a no-no as far as WAF is concerned. My thought is to use a FMB mounted to the underside of the shelf that's over the TV. I might have to build some sort of strut or brace to mount it to though. Any creative ideas out there? I'm hoping for a clean and fairly simple approach.

How about placing the VP150 on top of the entertainment center with some rubber stoppers in the back to angle it down?

Very good, Frank. My "creative"? idea is to simply place it at the bottom, rather than top edge of the TV. If enough space(say at least 4")can be made on the entertainment center to support it in front of the TV, and the bottom of the screen would be high enough not to be obstructed by the VP150, that should work well.

the bottom of the screen placement bit might not be ideal... i'm guessing the remote sensor for the TV would be located there. i'd placed my speaker in front of my TV and after 20 minutes of swearing and wondering why my remote wasn't working a light clicked on.

BTW! going from 2.1 to 5.1. it's wooonderful i don't know how anyone can live without surround sound.

Yeah, if that would be obstructed, the TV would have to be raised maybe 4-5" on a platform to create room.

I second the idea of the VP150 on top of the shelf. I have mine way up on a shelf and it works great.

I thought about that one, but that also met with negative wife acceptance. Thanks though.

That's a good idea. The TV is already a little on the high side though, so I'm not sure that I'd want to raise it another 8 or 9 inches to make room for the VP150.

There's someone on the forum who used the Axiom FMB mounted to the underside of the top of the Entertainment Unit so the VP150 hung nicely above the TV. Unfortunately with the "search" function on the fritz I wasn't able to find the post and pic...

You could remove the drawers from the bottom and after a little rework(removal) of the center support/drawer stop, you could then slide the center in the newly made hole

I don't know if this will work, but I built a support for my center that's working great...outlined in part IV of my Mother of All Posts.

Thanks, Mark. I remember reading the "Mother of All Posts", but somehow missed the part about the center channel. Perhaps I missed part IV. You seem to be quite an accomplished woodworked, btw (at least as compared to me). I might have to give that solution a try, I've already had my DLP pulled out, and it looks to be shaped very much like yours, so that just might work. The rubber bumpers are a good idea too.

One more question, it looks to me like the center channel sits above your ears when you're sitting on the couch. Have you considered using the hockey puck trick to angle them down slightly? I was thinking that I could just customize the stand to allow for that.

I never felt the need to tilt it down. It probably isn't clear from the post, but the VP150's centerline is only a little more than a foot above ear height when I'm sitting. From a 9' viewing/listening distance, it's reasonaly level with ear height.

If you wanted to get the center even lower, you could forego the 1/4" "shelf" sitting on top of the DLP and instead just let it remain behind, and level with, the top of the DLP. You're still taking almost all the weight off the DLP...

Ahh, my entertainment center must be taller than yours then (or my couch is lower). For me, the center channel will be almost three feet higher than my ears.

Not sure from your description or picture but couldn’t you add another shelf above the TV. Just drill a few small holes for the dowels on each side wall inside the enclosure above the TV. Then make a shelf and use wood or metal dowels to hold the shelf in place.

One other thought. I’m not sure of the actual space you have above the TV but it looks from the picture like the VP150 drivers might be partially covered by top front piece. Not sure but that might cause some sound quality issues if you put it inside the enclosure above the TV.

Nice, Frank. Congrats on the upgrade.

So, I guess a new TV is out of the question, then?

How about M2's on the side bookshelves?

Perhaps an Omnimount CCH1 would do the trick? Although you would be supporting the weight of the VP150 on the TV.

I might try a mount (FMB or other) to hang it from the inside of the entertainment center - but only if you really do have room above the TV.

Here's the post thanks to Peter's search engine, FMB in EU