Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Advice from Axiom Owners In-wall speaker placement

I am wondering will having a 7.1 configuration sound any better than a 5.1 system?

I ask this with this motive. I am getting the Epic 50 or the Epic 60. THose are all 5.1. I am allowed 4 speaker prewires in my new home by the builder. I am not going to prewire the fronts because the wires will be behind the entertainment center. The rears will be wired to the wall. That leaves me two speaker wires left to place.

Should i use those two speakers for 7.1 or should i have them wire those two speakers on the second floor for all around sound in the home? Thanks yall.

How about run the second zone out under the eaves of the back porch (provided you have one)...? Great for entertaining or just working in the yard...

It's what I'm doing...

Just a thought.

Live from Austin, Texas.

WhatFurrer

aside from the speakers you mentioned, you also might wanna think about where your sub might go. if it will need to be placed down a long wall, or in the corner from your entertainment center, then it might be a good idea to have them install it. the sub cable will be as thick, or thicker than most 14g speaker wire.

just something else to think about..

bigjohn

I'm guessing that extra wires wouldn't cost much if you arranged them now. Definitely wire the surrounds (at the sides, right ?) as top priority.

Note that on a 7.1 receiver you can use the last two channels for 7.1 or for remote speakers but not both, which I guess is why you're asking good questions now

I would have to vote for wiring 7.1 and picking up a cheap used receiver to drive speakers upstairs... unless you're also willing to wire the IR extender you need to let you control the downstairs receiver from upstairs. It's just too much of a pain running up and down stairs to change volume or switch stations/CDs IMO.

Wire for 7.1. Do think hard about where the sub is going to go... if you're pretty sure it can go up front then side surrounds and rears is all you need.

EDIT -- you're not actually going to use in-wall speakers for surrounds or rears are you ? If so, may we have a chance to talk you out of it ?

Hi nautec,

Whether or not a 7.1 system sounds better than a 5.1 system is quite room-dependent. In larger rooms, the additional rear channels definitely supply a greater sense of immersion and better coverage over a wider area, particularly for listeners who may be seated at locations off-axis from the main surrounds.

The surrounds in a 5.1 system should ideally be on the side walls, roughly even with or slightly behind the main seating area, and from 2 to 5 feet above ear level when you are seated. The additional two channels for 7.1 are intended to be placed on the wall behind the listening area at the same height as the main surrounds.

Regards,

Well here is what i was thinking. With the Epic 50 system, the QS4 would be mounted on wall in the rear about 5 feet above ground. My builder lets me have 4 wires to be run around the house. 2 of those wires will be coming out of the wall on the rear wall 2 feet behind the couch at the above mentioned location. That leaves me with two wires.

I originally was going to have them wire the front speaker but i think that is a waste because the wires can be hidded behind the entertainment center of some sort. So what to do with the two remaining wires. Yes the sub is a dificult choice. But I might have to run the sub wire myself right before they drywall the house because it would cost me $250 every extra wire.

So i thought instead of wiring the front speaker, just wire a 7.1 with in-ceiling spekers around the midddle to the side for 7.1. Then i thought, it would be cool to have one sound source and have music playing upstairs too. Not sure if they are willing to wire to the outside since i won't be outside much because i live in the desert of arizona. So there is my dilema. What to do with the last two wires. Most receivers have and A, B, AB setting for main speak

Oh and my room is 18x10x8 and open to the kitchen

I have never heard a 7.1 system with the rears ahead of the surrounds, but I have to think that would be a little odd.

If you are running a 5.1 system you can get pretty good results with the surrounds behind you, but as Alan says they really are supposed to go on the side walls. The extra speakers for 7.1 (rears) would go at the back.

Does your room layout allow you to put the surrounds at the sides ? I think it would help, and if you want to run 7.1 then you DEFINITELY want to have the surrounds at the sides.

BTW, most AV receivers I have seen do not support A, B, AB for the mains... that caused me some grief because all my stereo systems DID support A and B mains.

For all of you, here is the layout of how I plan on installing the EPIC50-350 system, subwoofer not listed because i'll deal with that later. I can't mount the rears on the side because the side facing the kitchen has no wall, just the separation from carpet to tile.

http://www.briantluong.com/images/houseplan.jpg

For the lazy among us...

Here is a drawing of what I think my 7.1 would look like if i choose that route