Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Advice on my setup.

Here is what I intend to get, please let me know if anyone has any advice.

Receiver: Dennon 3802
Center: VP150
Front: M80ti
Rear/Surround: QS4's

My room is 22x14 with 8 foot ceilings.

looks good EXCEPT get the QS8's.

is the Denon 3802 6.1 or 7.1?
in that case, get extra QS8's to use the receiver to its fullest.

It's 7.1! Thanks for the feedback!

WOW! 7.1!!!

I would buy M80 front
VP150 Center
and 4 QS8's (not QS4's. the QS8's have the better tweeter).

For sub, what are you thinking?
i suggest SVS 20-39 PCi (i think that's the model... it's the powered one with a BASH amp.)

I agree with Ravi, go for the QS8's for rear surronds you can also go with another pair of QS8's but I found that that 2 VP 150's worked better for the rear surronds then a second pair of QS8's

How do you mount the 150's as your rear?

Yes, I am going with the SVS but I am not sure, caught between the 25-31 pci and the 16-46 pci.

Red, we have just about the same set up, room, equipment, etc.. Go with QS8's, As you already have the best of the rest, why short change yourself on the surrounds ?
As for the rears, go with another set of QS8's.. Think about it.. If you were the one sitting in the back of your theater room (didn't arrive in time to score one of the sweet spot seats), would you want those rear effects coming right at the back of your head ? No way.. With the Eights, you get the same 'rear' effect, without the sound becoming too directional, eh..
Believe me, I went round and round on this one myself.. A pair of VP100's, or one VP150, etc.. Just too much trouble.. So much easier to hang a couple Eights and forgettaboutit :>
Besides, it's a win win dude.. You get really great speakers, for both music and movies, and in my opinon, they look much better on the side and back walls then than the VP series.. Blend with windows, pictures, etc.. Look more Movie Theater like, know what I mean ?

I made custom mounts for the VP that hang from the ceiling, if you would like to see a picture of the setup let me know I will send it to you.

John, post your pics anyway.
I would love to see them.

You can send them to Amie for posting on the Axiom wallofame if you're interested..

Thanks Mikey. Any recommendation on a sub?

get an SVS sub
I wish now that i had bought an SVS sub
the lord of the rings movie really killed my Ep125.. made it sound like a terrible sub.

I might move it to my bedroom since it is excellent for music when i get the cash to buy a SVS sub

their PCi series are the powered ones, i think.

check out their website

http://www.svsubwoofers.com/

Does it make sense to go with the 16-46 pci or the midget 25-31 pci? I'm leaning on the smaller one due to price but for the $100, should I just bite my lip and do it?

reddish

after checking their website again so I could go through the specs and prices one more time, it is clear that one should buy the best one they can afford. For $100 US, especially if you are paid in US currency, I would spend that extra $100 and get the higher model. It reaches down MUCH lower, into the subsonic. You will feel that bass, as it fully produces down to 16hz, and is down only a bit at 12hz.

I think I know what my next purchase will be if I move into a place more soundproof!!

The EP125 will either be sold if I find a buyer, or moved into the bedroom.

I keep hearing all this advice to buy SVS subwoofers.
Does no one else think they are butt ugly?

There ARE other companies out there that make subs in a range of prices and quality for the discerning consumer. Has anyone considered Velodyne lately?
Their high end HGS series have been known to be a part of some very pricey, audiophile systems.

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I keep hearing all this advice to buy SVS subwoofers.
Does no one else think they are butt ugly?

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They're not beautiful by any stretch of the imagination, but I wouldn't necessarily call them ugly. Yes, they're tall, but I actually prefer the cylinder look to a big cube. Consider that the HSU VTF-3 is 20"h 15"w 22"d, and even the Axiom EP350 is almost as large (same hight and width, but not as deep). To me, these would stick out even more in my living room because of how much floor space they would take up and how far they would stick out from the wall.

What it really boils down to is that if you don't want to spend a fortune on a smaller multi-megawatt sealed sub such as the Sunfire, the only way to get authoritative home theater bass is by purchasing a large ported sub such as the SVS, HSU, etc. None of these subs are pretty, but then again we buy these subs for performance.

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There ARE other companies out there that make subs in a range of prices and quality for the discerning consumer. Has anyone considered Velodyne lately?
Their high end HGS series have been known to be a part of some very pricey, audiophile systems.

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Pricey being the keword. The HGS Series II subs start at $1899 US SRP, that's not exactly a value-priced subwoofer. I would guess most people here are looking to get the most bang for the buck, and SVS fits that bill pretty well.

svs= butt ugly -i couldnt buy one because of the looks .
then one day i was lucky enough to hear a vmps large at a customers house- bought one the next day i was so impressed.
had a little get together with some friends and there subs at my house a while back-vmps -svs- hsu.
vmps won hands down.( with the smallest amp noless)
but dont take anyones oppinion too seriously, listen for yourself if you can first. what we like might not be what you like.
but not one person thats heard my vmps has said they heard anything any better.
matches flawlessly with my michaura m55s( like axiom m22)

svs= butt ugly

Mine get's better looking every time I listen to it.

Red, if you're going with SVS, get the 25-31, but ask Tom to tune it to 22hz rather than 25( no extra charge).

I assume you mean the VMPS Larger? How much did you pay? I"ve heard good things about the VMPS subs, however with dimensions of 23 x 32x 19" (HxWxD) there's no way I could have used the Larger in my living room, it's way too wide and a little too deep to fit where I have my SVS 20-39PCi. The VMPS subs look fairly nice in the pics though.

buy a kit w o cabinet and make a tall boy -saw pics of one they look nice( a larger stood up)
i paid 750 for my kit w cabinet and mega woofers-sound coat options
theres somthing about a stereo sub that seperates it from a single woofer sub its has more-
been using a h k pa2000 amp ( 100 watts a side)- but just grabbed a carver pm -350 off ebay on the advise of a friend , supposed to be a real beast-350 watts per side , should ship this week.
i see svs makes a wood coverd sub now- i could live with that, but the carpeted car trunk tubes no way.
svs does sound good i give them that- kinda like the singer benny mardonis from way back -sounded great but man was he ugly

I was looking at the HSU and VMPS to replace a Velodyne CHT100 (10" sub) but I ended up snagging a Klipsch LF10 1640 watt sub from uBid for about $400. Kept the Velodyne and now have 2 subs in my HT system. Sounds wonderful for HT and music.

I'm thinking of getting an Outlaw ICBM-1 bass management module which gives you stereo sub outs.

Goes well with my M60 clones up front, M22 clones on the side, Mission 77ds bipoles in the back and Axiom made Merak MC6H 2 x 6.5" and Horn tweeter center. Driven by the Toshiba SD9200 DVD-A (also from uBid for about $400) it sounds really good.

My favorite movies for enjoying this system? "Saving Private Ryan" and DreamWorks' "The Time Machine." Although TTM is not faithful to the book, the dynamic range of the music and effects is really astonishing.

I hate to say it, but you guys that think the SVS Subwoofers are "butt ugly" are dead wrong. Check out:
http://www.axiomaudio.com/wallofame.html

Steve C and I have displayed a pictures that include an SVS product. I have a PCi 25-31. It is a powered subwoofer tuned to 25 Mhz and is 31" tall. I won't even discuss how awesome the performance is. Depending on how visible you want your subwoofer to be (best performance usually occurs tucked away in a corner) may determine how important looks is anyway.

But, of course, you always want to display your Axioms in open view because they are great looking speakers!

Sorry SEC.
No one can tell me my opinion is wrong and my opinion is that the SVS are ugly.

I've seen the wall o fame pictures and that's what sparked my thought. As you can see, Steve Cs setup is all black in colour, if you can call black a colour at all, so the SVS looks like everything else around it, while your SVS is mostly hidden by your tv.
I would not buy SVS because i don't want, and try to avoid the black finish if at all possible (see my SPEAKER and FURNITURE pics on the wall o fame). Note that this will exclude more than just SVS from my selection of speakers. Secondly, i don't have a tv big enough to block its view.

There is no question SVS may be a good sub but i'm a huge fan of speakers that don't have a black finish. Unfortunately most a/v equipment is still stuck in the realm of colour blind creators such that black is often the only choice for anything (newer trends towards aluminum and steel is great but typically found in more expensive models...NOTE to self....i LOVE Ian and Amie's setup!! Looks and function are tops in that one!!).
Unlike some people's idea of home decor, black does NOT go with everything. Hence, I WILL trade off some small performance or i WILL pay another hundred bucks for a higher end item if i can find a piece of equipment that has better aesthetics. But realistically, there is always another piece of equipment that can be construed as 'better' so the SVS is not a godly, impossilbe to beat piece of equipment.

I'm simply saying that SVS keeps popping up on this forum like it's the trend equipment piece of the year (kind of like how Paradigm and Polk seems to show up alot on hometheatreforum).
There are tons of other companies out there...has no one discovered any other (better looking or at least colour option available) gems?
Sunfire was mentioned recently but few people here promote Sunfire subs.

Just out of curiousity, does anyone here have (or ever had) a Monitor Audio subwoofer?

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I'm simply saying that SVS keeps popping up on this forum like it's the trend equipment piece of the year (kind of like how Paradigm and Polk seems to show up alot on hometheatreforum).
There are tons of other companies out there...has no one discovered any other (better looking or at least colour option available) gems?

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When it comes to subwoofers, the reason that SVS, HSU and to some extent VMPS get mentioned on the various web forums more than any others is because they offer incredible performance at an affordable price. Keep in mind most of the people on these boards are not only tech-savvy but also value-conscious. If you were to walk into a local dealer and tell him you're looking to purchase a subwoofer that can play clean, powerful bass all the way down to 20hz, you'll be shown various options probably starting at around $1500 and going up from there. Some of those subs might be pretty, but when you consider the performance you can get from SVS for $500-600 it's no wonder that certain subs get recommended again and again in the forums. It has nothing to do with fads, and everything to do with price/performance ratios.

As for alternatives more attractive than SVS and HSU, I'd say stick with your cherry-finish Axiom sub if you're happy with the performance. Otherwise your best bet would probably be VMPS, since you could get an unfinished cabinet and finish it yourself to suit your own tastes and decor.

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Sunfire was mentioned recently but few people here promote Sunfire subs.

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Because they cost much more then the alternatives available over the internet.

Cheesero,

Wow! Black is NOT your color. I have read, I believe, in your previous posts about how much you like the Boston Cherry finish of the Axiom line.
Anyway, while still in the process of building my home theater system and with an impending move on the way, I am sticking with the black theme. I did not have any choice of color with my TV or my other non-speaker components.
I think the Nohr products are butt ugly and they have more color combinations than anyone!
BTW, you have really neat dogs.

Jkohn,

You are correct. As a matter of fact, I was going to build my own sub, but the Tempest driver that I wanted was 3 months back-ordered. Therefore, I bought the best subwoofer I could get delivered for less than $550. If I had a problem with the looks of a cylinder, I would have gotten an HSU VTF.

I still have to decide what mains to get, M22s, M40s, or M60s........

JKohn, i'm aware that many people consider the SVS to be a good price:performer but there ARE better subs out there that can be found even if they cost a bit more. To me that extra cost is worth it for the aesthetics alone.

However cheap or best price:performance does NOT have to = ugly as well. How hard would it be to use something other than a black finish?
Even as you say, an unfinished primer white would be better to allow the "tech savvy" home users to do with what they want.
In any event, the word SVS has been used in the past six months almost as much as the word terror in any US news broadcast or presidential speech. I have not heard or read about HSU or VMPS nearly half as much as SVS. I'm just getting tired of hearing nothing about subs except SVS.
Consider it my pet peeve when a single word gets used so many times it actually becomes annoying regardless of its meaning or intent.

SEC, you are right. I do like the Boston Cherry finish that Axiom has provided. We were interested in several other finishes by many companies, but as stated previously, we had to fork out some extra cash to get into the quality range where companies offer more than black (Axiom being the rare company that offers finishes right down to their lowest priced speaker).

Black will work for many people, especially those trying to create the darkest area for a HT (not that the Boston Cherry is all that bright a colour). Considering the limited options with tv colours and component colours you may as well match your speakers in black to the rest of the system.
But slowly and surely i'm going to buck that trend and begin searching for any and all components that are anything but black! The biggest challenge as you know will be a widescreen tv. I may have to go the route of LCD or plasma since the flat screens sometimes come in a silver finish.
Ya, the nOhr speakers look like vacuum cleaners and the B&W Nautilus Prestige looks like a big conch shell.

It's true my dogs are cute (and one is black...but with white chest patch and white little beard!). The big one weighs in at 130 lbs but her father was a champion male that weighed 220!!

Get the M60s.

A nice padded slipcover could turn a big black box into an attractive vibrating footstool. :-)

I have a Hsu VTF-2 and it sounds fantastic, but it's never going to be the prettiest thing in the room. I suspect the finish is pickup truck spray-on bedliner material. That's not all bad, though -- blood wipes right off.

Hi Jason G,
To use the jargon of the internet, LOL at your slipcover/vibrating footstool comment. Maybe there's a cottage industry opportunity here for old hippies: macrame covers for SVS and Hsu subwoofers. Perhaps something in a nice chintz for British customers....

Yep, I've seen that Hsu spray-on truck bedliner finish. Real perty! But they do plumb the depths of deep bass.

And yes, Chesseroo, I hate black as well, ever since the M80ti's and M22ti's arrived in the light maple. The cherry is nice, though. Oh, there are new Sony Wega, Toshiba, and Panasonic direct-view CRT sets in silver. Quite handsome.

Regards,

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JKohn, i'm aware that many people consider the SVS to be a good price:performer but there ARE better subs out there that can be found even if they cost a bit more. To me that extra cost is worth it for the aesthetics alone.

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I guess it boils down to how much "a bit more" actually amounts to. Maybe a $100-200 premium might be worth it, but what if you have to spend 2-3 times as much?

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However cheap or best price:performance does NOT have to = ugly as well. How hard would it be to use something other than a black finish?
Even as you say, an unfinished primer white would be better to allow the "tech savvy" home users to do with what they want.

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If your only objection is the black color, you could do something about that. The black slip-cover on the SVS subs is removeable, and you could either paint the cylinder or have a new slip-cover made in the color and fabric of your choice. Of course, if it's the cylinder shape you object to, modification isn't really an option.

The only other option I'm really aware of without breaking tha bank would be DIY, either building your own cabinet or buying a kit that allows you to do the finish yourself. (Hence the VMPS recommendation in my previous post).

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I still have to decide what mains to get, M22s, M40s, or M60s........

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Get the M60's, you won't be sorry.

get the M60's. They are second only to the M80's which are essentially just louder, apparently.

I think if you want cheaper than the M60's, you should get the M22's. They are so neutral and clean.

If you're willing to pay a little extra, you might want to look into the ACI subs.