Hi Folks,

I am considering an axiom purchase and I would like to hear opinions on the selection I have made.

Currently, I own a
Yamaha RX V1200 Receiver which has 6.1 channel capability.
Toshiba SD9200 DVD/DVD-A player
Sony SCD ce775 cd/sacd player

My room is 18'x11'. My TV screen is 4' from one of the 11' walls because I have two doors in that rear wall. My sitting (head) position is 10'-11' from the TV screen.
I currently have a combination of KLH speakers and feel the need to make some improvements.

I tend to use my system for 50% stereo music, 5% multi channel music and 45% movies.

OK, here are my thoughts,

m22s for main L/R
vp100 for center
qs4s for surround L/R
m2 rear center.

all factory outlet because I'm working to a budget.

I am going to hold on to my sub for the time being and purchase an axiom model as my budget allows.

Thanks for any feedback.

I have one other question.
I have read several e-mails where Ian suggests putting the surrounds on the side walls just ahead of the listening position. How sensitive is the positioning of the surrounds? Where will I get the best effect?

Once again, I appreciate your help,

Rob.
An Englishman in Tennessee.

Hi Rob

I'd consider M3's up front ($247), with a VP 100, or VP150 ($198 or $297.50), a pair of M3s for the side surrounds ($247), a VP 100 ($198)for the back surround and an EP 125 ($380 no F/O)or an EP 175 ($400) Total $1270 - 1389.50.

Here's an alternative:

FO M50s front $496, Merak MC6H center, Merak MT66 sides, another Merak MC6H back surround and a used subwoofer. Meraks (lower end Axiom line) can be found at really good prices. The Merak center speakers are great - the MT66 is above average for side surround duty.

M3s are a fine choice for music. QS4's work well for surround. VP150 is the way to go for heavy duty home theater. Definitely want to include a good subwoofer in the equation.

Rob B,

I would not even look at the EP125 for your size room. My EP125 is in a 18.5x15.5 room and I find it bottoms out real fast for movies. It sounds great for music but can't handle the low end on movie tracks. If you must go with axiom sub then go with the ep175. I would look around for a better sub made by someone else. I think the axiom speakers are great but the axiom line needs a better sub. Hope this helps.

LSUDAN

Don't own an Axiom sub, don't know their sound quality. The highly acclaimed Hsu, don't own one either, is the bench mark (by critics' opinion anyway)for Axiom to beat.

Here is a link to the evaluation of the new Hsu sub.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=ed8d5d898250c7ef037b7d3daa4a0db4&threadid=135098

Rob B

here's my suggestion:

M22 front with good stands or M60 if you can afford it. These are considered some of the best speakers Axiom has made according to quite a few people.

VP150 center (much worth the extra $$ than vp100). The VP150 will disperse so much more sound and be so much clearer. Don't worry about it being 6ohm, and not 8 like the others. Your amp will drive it well.

QS-4 for rears if you watch a lot of movies.. otherwise, M3 for rears. Remember, you might want to put the M3's on stands, unless you want to wall mount them. I hear that wall mounting QS is much easier, though, and is better for movies.

as far as sub goes, i have a ep125 and it's great for music and music DVD's, but i have yet to test it for regular movies becuase i don't own a TV. People seem to suggest getting other brands, but i don't know much about subs. Sorry!

i hope this helps!

Hi Rob,

You're going to hear a huge difference from your KLH's if you go with M22ti's up front. They're wonderfully linear, detailed and natural through the upper bass, midrange and highs. Poor old Henry Kloss (he died this year), the "K" of KLH. He designed some fine loudspeakers for KLH in the '60s and early '70s but then left the company and the brand bounced all over the place, as did the sound quality of various KLH models. Perhaps yours date back to the "great" era of KLH.

The M3ti is rather "laid-back" in the midrange compared to the M22ti; some prefer that mellow sound, but I love the detailed soundstage of the M22ti. And the VP150 is certainly preferred for the center.

I must hammer this home: "Surround" speakers are not, ideally, "rear" speakers. Dolby Labs intend them to be mounted at the sides of the listening area, not at the back. The QS4s are very flexible, of course. They work well in virtually any location to the sides or the rear, but the preferred position is at the sides even with, or slightly forward or slightly back (and above) your listening position.

The M2 would be fine for the rear center for the 6.1 system or you could use a third QS4.

Regards,

I have the M22's up front,and I love them.If your 50% 2 channel music,you would want nothing else but M22's, they sound great.I have VP150 center up front,which I would suggest to get as well.I tried both VP100 & VP150 at the retail store before I bought,their is a big differents.For size of room I would Get the VP150.
I also have the QS4's as rear surrounds ,on the back wall behind the lisener.Which sound great aswell.

Alan you state the preferred or proper position for the qs surrounds is on the side wall,but Ian post 09/30/01 7:54 A.M. states qs4's best position is behind the listener 7 feet high.Which is the correct placement? Yes I agree, they are flexible enough that could be on side or back wall and sound good.But which is the best based on testing.

Hi Paul,

It's so room-dependent that I can't make a hard and fast rule about this, nor do I want to. The "rear" designation was used incorrectly for years by retailers and consumers, from the earliest days of Dolby Surround in movie theaters and in home systems. In that era, before the appearance of Dolby Digital/dts and their variations, the bulk of surround speakers were along the side walls of movie theaters with perhaps two on the back wall. Dolby likewise recommended side-mounting of surrounds in consumer systems (not on the back wall) and that was good advice, especially for direct-radiating surrounds.

With the development of bipole/dipole and multipolar surrounds, like the QS models, the rules have softened, because the latter are so generous in terms of placement.

Ian and I don't absolutely agree on everything. In really large rooms, you can use direct radiators in a surround role and achieve much the same effect that QS surrounds provide in average-sized living rooms.

But Ian and I participated in tests in an Axiom listening room, which may be very different from your room--it's certainly different thann my room--comparing rear-mounted direct radiators with multipole QS surrounds and the differences (it was done blind) were not statistically significant. But I emphasize that all this is ROOM-DEPENDENT!

My view, and my own experience in several homes and apartments, is that it's much easier to achieve an enveloping soundfield using multipole surrounds like the QS series. And they can sound terrific mounted almost at the rear, high up. Mine are at the sides, at different heights because the room dictates that. This is why I almost always recommend QS surrounds over direct radiators.

Be prepared to EXPERIMENT!

I always correct consumers and dealers on the "rear" designation because I don't want this attitude of "Oh, these go at the back..." to become ingrained.

Regards,

How come you recommend QS4s for this setup and not QS8s? With M22s or M60s and a VP150 upfront, wouldn't QS8s be the way to go? I'm asking because I have the M60s, and plan to get the VP150 soon. The surrounds are going to be a bit later on, but I HAD been planning the QS8s. I was a bit concerned about the size of the QS8s and ease of placement around furniturea and stuff. Would the QS4s (IYHO) be a better choice?

ChrisR

yes, I suppose QS-8 will be better. I suppose I said QS 4 becuase i'm more of a budget kind of guy, and they are cheaper than the QS 8's. His system is half movies, half music as well, not mostly or exclusively movies. Personally, I really like my M3's in the back, even for movies. It also depends on room size, shape, and personal preference.

To conclude, go QS 8 if you have the space and budget, and enjoy how they will sound for multi channel audio.