First, I want to thank everybody in advance for their help.

I am new to the whole home theater deal. I recently bought a new AVR...the Pioneer Elite vsx94. IF am am watching movies 80% of the time and listening to music 20% of the time...what should I purchase.

I want the best SQ that I cna get.

WELCOME Rug! I think I invited you here from another forum. You'll find lots of help here.

Jimmy, another welcome. You now have a fine receiver which can easily power any of the Axiom speakers which you might be interested in. You haven't given any details about the size of your listening room or the distance from you to the speakers, and you haven't mentioned your budget for speakers, but unless your room is very large and you sit quite a distance away, the M22s supported by a good sub such as the EP350 or EP500 would give you excellent sound. The surrounds should be QS4s or QS8s, again depending on room factors. You might consider a vertical center speaker such as the M2 or M22 if you can place it properly in your setup.

Jimmy, if you give us a little more info we'd be more than happy to help you spend your money! What size room are you putting the system in? What's your budget?

Jimmy, "best that you can get"....does that mean money's no object ? or "the best you can get for XX $$" ?

I am sorry I should have put more detail and thank you for all of your replies.

Bob, yes you did..and thank you! Axioms have peaked my interest.

The room is about 25 x 20, but the HT portion only takes up half. If I am facing the television, the right side is open wiht a wall directly to my left. The television is on one wall and there it is about 18 to 20 feet to the opposite wall.

Budget has increased to about 2500. I really want good sound quality, want to hear the little nuances in the movies.

http://www.axiomaudio.com/epic60_350.html


http://www.axiomaudio.com/epic80_350.html

I was looking at the 80/350 system..

However, it says in the booklet that came with the Pioneer that it recommends a 8ohm speaker...it looks the M80's are 4ohm. Is this going to be a problem?

No, Jimmy, there should be no problem with running the M80s with the Pioneer in the vast majority of applications. Both amplifier and speaker manufacturers tend to be excessively cautious about this and fear, among other things, getting trashed in internet discussions if a rare problem develops. The M80s require less power and current than some smaller and less sensitive speakers which carry an 8 ohm rating. The only way to verify that certain equipment works well in your particular application is to try; problems which won't likely develop shouldn't be assumed.

I don't recall Pioneer being mentioned along with some others as NOT having a problem with a 4ohm load.

Here is a review and in it they state the VSX 94 was happy driving a 4 ohm load

http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/receivers/2635/pioneer-elite-vsx-94txh-av-receiver.html

If I am not mistaken, it is THX select 2 certified, which means it can handle a 3 ohm load to get a THX certification.

Although the excellent systems Bob quoted are just slightly over your budget (in Canadian dollars), consider that if you were to purchase from the Factory Outlet, the savings on the M60 system would squeak you in at $2,479.50 CAD and even less American. I can guarantee you that the mains in this package can produce every nuance of a movie (from big to subtle) in stunning clarity. I own two sets of them.

If you follow JohnK's good advice and use M22s as mains, the same system gets a little cheaper yet again. From the Factory Outlet, you would be looking at 2,121.35 CAD. Leaving room for goodies. The M22s, although I don't own them myself, are continuously praised for their clarity and the EP350 sub will round out any tiny bit of bass that you might lose by not going with a big floor stander like the M60s or M80s. No guilt to reserve those for when you get a much bigger room or more free cash.

If you want to end up never having deal with the often unnecessary but always present upgraditis, you could consider doing it in pieces.

-Purchase the M80s with an EP500 to start with. I personally get more fun out of my sub than my surround speakers because very few movies utilize them to their full potential. If you sit close to the center, you will get a good 'ghost center' from the stereo effect of the pristine M80.

-When the budget allows, add some QS8 surrounds.

-Finally top it of with an EP150 Center.

I'm exited just talking about it. I wish I could buy more myself just to relive the rush of getting new gear.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Murph has left the building.

Was that an Exit Stage Left or stage right?

Who is Snagglepuss.

It "should". However, my Onkyo is THX Select 2 certified as well and it does not like 4 ohm speakers at all. That's the main reason I chose the M60's over the M80's. Of course the Pioneer may perform well with the 80's.

The M60's are great, btw...

Correct, for $400. We also would have accepted "Who is Rush?".

You have the board.

I beleive it was a secret trap door exit... with lots of smoke.

I WAS going to go piecemeal>

Well done my young Padawan!

Another welcome Rug. I would think that the M60 will deliver all the sound quality you are looking for for HT and will handle that size room no problem.

The M80 on the other hand will deliver every little detail on the best mastered music of any genre.

Thank you all for the help.

I know I am going to give the M80's a try. Thinking if waiting for the factory outlet deal is worth it both for cost and for quality.

Now...to decide if I am going to go for the whole thing at the same time or add bit by bit. Would a subwoofer or center channel be more important.

I say subwoofer. Adds a whole new dimension to movies.

the Factory Outlet in my opinion is worth it for the extra 10% plus the quality you'll be hard pressed to find any cosmetic problems.

The Center can be simulated by the left/right speakers, so I'd say subwoofer, woof woof.

Hey Jimmy,

Like you, I was wondering the same thing. I decided to go for the M80's and the sub. Thought I'd add the QS8's next and the center channel for last.
Many here have told me that they couldn't even find the blems in the FINISH of the Factory Outlet. The inner contents is said to be as perfect and brand new as "A" stock. The blems are strickly in the finish. I had placed my order from the Factory Outlet.

Someone mentioned on Tuesday that there was a further discount when buying 5 or more pieces. I found it hard to believe that it would apply to the Factory Outlet already discounted prices. I called Axiom. Noreen explained that their shipping carrier extended a shipping discount for 5 or more items. CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT THEY PASS THAT SAVINGS ON TO THE CUSTOMER!!!!!

Me, being the sucker I am for a good deal, slightly modified my order. (Slightly?) I added the QS8's and the VP-150 center channel. Basically I am getting an entire Epic 80-350 for $2596. So sit down and do the math.

Of course it's great that you have a 30 day in home trial period. Although I did do some speaker auditioning and have a good idea where these speakers stand in the spectrum, I feel a bit stupid for buying an entire system without first hearing it. I can be a fanatic when it comes to what I call a fairly major purchase. (Actually I'm a fanatic with any purchase. No one ever wants to come to any stote with me!)

So there you have it! There is a guy named Adrian on this site in the same position as both of us. He seems just as bad if not worse than me. I believe he intends to actually get to Axiom in person to audition the speakers. He has already auditioned many more speakers than I did. It will be great and interesting to finally hear his review of Axiom in comparison to all the others. (Hey Adrian, let's get with the program! )

Expected delivery date Feb. 2 total of 3 weeks to save some money. (At least I can try to explain to my wife what a great deal I got)

BoB

With people 'exiting' left and right these days at work, I'm thinking that was a subliminal error.