I've attached (I think) a blueprint of my great/theater room, and wanted to know if the 7.1 speaker location woudl work. I know it's not perfect, but would it suffice?

Thanks

http://www.axiomaudio.com/boards/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showpic&id=1235

Hi shoeless,

Yes, it should work out very well if you use QS8 surrounds. You might try moving the left rear surround even farther back if that's possible. But the QS8 surrounds don't have to be symmetrically positioned--one can be higher up than the other and one closer if your room setup dictates that arrangement. You can take care of the differing distances in the setup of your AV receiver.

Regards,
Alan

Also, if you just can't get it to work (or don't hear a noticeable improvement) you could always return the 2 QS8's and stick with 5.1

Thanks for the responses. Unfortunately, the QS8's are not happening. Im going to angle a pair of M0's from small cavities in between the studs.

Why are the Q's not happening, you won't even come close to the same experience with M0's, or even larger bookshelfs for that matter. You would be better off just going 5.1 with Q's and forget about rears in my opinion.

For whatever reason the Q's are a no go, at least go larger on your inwalls, versus 3" woofers.

Shoeless, as Randy said go with the QS8's - you will not be disappointed! Keep in mind you do not have to angle the Q's towards the listening position as you mentioned and have shown in your diagram. Just flush mount them to the wall in the best position your room will allow - generally speaking they do not need to be pointed at the listening position.

At least the Qs4's if budget is an issue, there is always the auction site for additional savings.

I'm with the others. If it's to put M0s in the back, I would just go with 5.1 with QS8s.

If the plan is to go with m0's all the way around the space seems a little large for that IMO. If budget is a major issue I would consider Building incrementally (start with fronts, add surrounds, add sub, add center) or something along those lines.

M0's on 5.1 and 7.1 (all built into the walls) and in wall m2's up front. If the speakers are too small, then so be it. Maybe i will change it sometime down the road. I can calibrate the smaller speakers to push more relative to the m2's

Back to the original question. Does the proposed location of the 7.1's fall too far outside the "ideal" location for them to be of any use?

Thanks in advance.

Edit: these are 4 original m0's, not on-walls. That is why they are being hidden in between the studs.

The back surround location shown will work, but it'd be better to increase the separation between the side and back surrounds by moving the sides up a foot or two and rears back to the extent possible.

The speakers that you'll use are a bit smaller than usually suggested, but with a good sub handling the bass, should give an enjoyable effect. Keep in mind that your room doesn't have to be "filled" with sound at a high level. The requirement is just to have an adequate level at your listening position.

Thanks john.

I do have the flexibilty of moving the 5.1's up about 1.5'

I'm just afraid they would be ahead of my listening area at that point. Perhaps i could toe them in modestly?

If possible I would still consider spending the extra $160 per pair and get QS 4's for the side surrounds. If you went with this pair from the outlet you could possible get them even cheaper with a successful bid:

https://deals.axiomaudio.com/browse.php?id=332

At worst, the buy it now price is only $116 over the price of two M0's. The QS speakers are truly great speakers and should be considered as an alternative if at all possible as they are definitely worth the extra coin.

Your diagram presently shows them about at the back edge of the couch. Moving them about 1.5' forward would only be at most a foot in front of your ears, and wouldn't require any toe-in. Furthermore, the couch itself could presumably also be moved about a foot forward.

Edit: I should add that I do agree with David and others that if at all possible you should make use of the QSs.

I'm really confused.

Do you already own the speakers (and you're just looking for comment on placement) or are you still in the purchase process for any of them?

I really wouldn't consider putting "on wall" speakers "between the studs" or "angling" them. It's not going to look good, and you might actually make them sound worse.

If you're really set on 7.1 in that room, I'd put the rear speakers actually BEHIND the couch and firing forward. I don't know what is off the chart on the upper left. I'd definitely put one of them in that 42" high wall to the left of the stairs - maybe just do 6.1 with that position.

I think you're going to get truly nasty early reflections from both the left front and right rear speakers as drawn.

I'd very strongly urge you to just do 5.1 with the QS surrounds in that room.

Personally I do not think there is enough seperation from side surrounds to the rear channels even if the sides are pushed ahead a foot or so. The effects with direct radiating speakers are still going to feel like they are coming from the sides and not from behind as intended, not much added to the experience for the cost of 2 more speakers and wiring, IMO. I would do away with 7.1 and stick with 5.1 with the side surrounds in the present location.


Pushing smaller speakers to equal the output of larger speakers could strain them and make them sound bad as they are not designed to push loudness levels, not the I think there will be a problem with M2/M0 scenario, just pointing out that pushing a smaller speaker to levels it can't reach due to physical constraints causes bad things to happen. I have not heard the M0's so I can not really say what the marriage of M2/M0 will sound like.

I suspect we have WAF involved in this situation.

WAF does play a part, but these are older "bookshelf" type M0's which i've owned for a while, which is why i was really looking for input on placement rather than equipment suggestions. The wiring for 7.1 is not a problem as the house is currently under construction, but it sounds like i may not get any real benefit from 7.1 with the constraints I have.

Maybe i will use the second set of m0's as rears for the kids' set up in the basement

Thanks for all your suggestions. With the 5.1 and 7.1 speakers so close together, tomtuttle's suggestion of a 6.1 using the 42" high rear wall seems to be the best bet. It will provide enough seperation to feel more "surroundy" than trying to jam two speakers into sub optimal locations.

Thanks again to everyone.

Can't ssem to edit my posts for some reason. Decided that I could still do 7.1 if I chnage to location of rear speakers. There is a stair railing between the right rear and the couch, but shoudl not inhibit the sound too much.

http://www.axiomaudio.com/boards/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showgallery&Number=351704

The ability to edit a post only lasts for 15~20 minutes.

Ahhhh, I guess I missed that you already own the speakers. Yeah, make do with what you have. You can always upgrade later if budget allows.

If you are planning to upgrade down the road, I would leave out the "nooks" for the M0's and mount them on the wall with a bracket instead of in the wall. They are rear ported and not designed for in wall installation. Also, you won't have to fill any holes in later.

I was using M1 ti's in a smaller room than yours and found they were struggling.

I kind of thought that was a railing and that new farther back location should work well. The RR channel might be covered up a little as I will guess the railing gives way to an actual wall just before the corner, but I doubt it would be that detrimental to the sound.

I completely agree regarding use of brackets for mounting.

sweetspot,

The M0's are not ported, and if I deci to switch down the road, the patch job should be pretty easy. I'll report back in a few months and let you know how it worked out.

Thanks

or do it right the first time. just kidding

Yes, your revised diagram is about like one of the things I had in mind when I suggested that the back surrounds could be moved back "to the extent possible".