Not sure if this is right topic to use. I have 800-1000 to spend on 5 surround speakers for my small bedroom. I want the fronts and center to be onwall/inwall. What is best set to get? Should fronts and surrounds be same size or larger fronts? Speakers will primarily be used for movies and video games. I aleady have 200watt sub and receiver. Thanks!

With a grand to spend you will be limited to the M2's and a vp100. I use the vp 100 in my bedroom and can say it is more than enough for a small room (12x10 ish ) . I think the M2's all the way around should be able to provide a great experience. I personally dont have matching surrounds in my bedroom setup,so you could substitute something else until more cash became available . I would say m22's and vp 100 to start with. Also watch the auctions as there are often some great deals. My first purchase from axiom was M2's and VP100, for my living room and they provided me alot of enjoyment.But upgradeitis set in lol. Still have them just repurposed. Very good speakers ,you will be happy im sure.

Jessica, in my bedroom i have speakers that are similar to the M2's and a center that is comparable to the VP-100. I also have an 8inch JBL sub. My bedroom is about 10X10. You did not mention what the size of your room is. For the size of my room this setup works wonderful for listening to stereo music while reading. the 8inch subwoofer is a good match for my size of room.


In all honestly. if your room is about the size of mine. I would just buy a pair of M22's and not worry about a center or surrounds.. I usually don't even use the center channel in my room, due to the relatively small size.

hope this helps

I'm with Alex (dakkon), Jessica. Get L & R mains first, then a add a center, then surrounds when you have the $$ or if you feel the need. Good mains will make a bigger difference, no matter what you're listening to, than a whole room full of surrounds of lesser quality.

Nice to have another chick around these parts. Now where is Sonicfox?

While I agree with Dakkon and Bob, if you're set on an LCR setup, I'd suggest 3 M2's across the front instead of the VP100 for center. It's cheaper and will sound as good if not better than a horizontal center channel. Good luck.

Jessica, welcome. My suggestion would also be that you use three vertical onwall/inwall M2s across the front for the best sound-stage, and excellent when supported by a good sub handling the bass below 100Hz or so.

Also, the relatively small size of the room doesn't reduce the need to enjoy surround effects, and the QS4s are suggested for that.

Maybe she was scared off by being referred to as a baby chicken.

If it were me, I'd start with m22s for FL and FR, and think about adding surround or center later.

I'm with all of the above but would personally follow David's path. The two main fronts will create the most impact and give you the biggest bang for your buck.

1. Spend the most money you can on them and build the rest as you go.

2. If you entertain others a lot or sit off center (outside of the sweet spot,) then get a center channel next. If it's just you, then I'd add a sub first instead of a center.

3. Add whichever you didn't get in step two.

4. Surrounds. It may surprise you that we all leave these until the relative end but the majority of movies are just starting to get produced with a lot of decent surround effects. Even with a big budget action movie where they get used a lot, I'd rather have great sound and clear dialog up front.

Another method to consider might be to still get a pair of really good mains but leave just a couple of hundred for a cheap HTIB speaker system to tide you over for the rest of the components until you replace each one over time as you have the money to upgrade them.

The nice mains will give you your bulk of quality sound and part of the fun as you progress will be hearing what a huge difference it makes as you swap out the cheap little satellite speakers with better ones.

I'd not go the M2 route. The M22's play lower than the M2's. Later, when you decide to add to your system, you stand a good chance of keeping the M22's, but replacing the M2's.

Just my opinion.

is "your opinion" worth $0.02 ?

Probably not in today's market.

Three M3s!

Not scared off. LOL. The only thing that scares me is what my bf will say when the speakers show up. Haha

The room is 10x13. I think i am sold on getting m22s for lr as those were what i wanted anyways. My only concern is can i pair those with 100 center and cheaper bookshelf as i want to minimize cost of system since it is only br? If the 22s cant pair well with 100 and m2 or m3 surrounds i think i would opt for lower end lr. I also dont want to spend $$$ on dipoles for this system. Would m22 lr, 100 center, and m2 surrounds work well?

Yes!

I agree with Cat. I'll also add that unless you need a horizontal styled speaker, a third M22 would make a great center channel if you have room for it. Maybe 25 bucks cheaper too.

Having three identical speakers in the front is is a great way to go, but the horizontal speakers are usually easier to find a place for above or below your TV. Just a thought.

I'd also suggest checking out the Axiom auction sight.

The 100 should be fine. If you can possibly swing the QS4s (or do it at a later date), I'd go with those for the surrounds. http://deals.axiomaudio.com

Jessica, i would order your M22's get them set up. Then see if (you) think you need a center.. Like i said in my initial post, in my room which is almost the same size as yours i don't really feel the need for the center. When i bought the speakers for my room i bought the L/R/C all at one time. If i would have bought the left and right prior to buying the center, i never would have bought the center.


Where will you be putting these speakers? Is there room for them to go on a stand, or will they be on a bookshelf? Do you have any photos of the ara, or a schematic of the area? I wound up mounting my L/R speakers on shelves i made that are just below the celling, above my door and closet, and aimed down at the listening area.

Also, if want you can call Brent and order any of the speakers that are on the auction site being sold by Axiom, if you don't want to wait on an auction.


Good luck with your decision.

Placement wise I need a horizontal if getting longer 22s, so the 100 sounds like best option at this price point.

Also, I dont care that much for diffuse dipole sound to pay a substantial amount more to have it. Ill check the auction site as I may opt for dipoles if I got a really good deal.

I am so excited about finally finishing my system for my bedroom!

Thanks!

It is basic 10x13 room with bed and 2 nights stands on west side 13' wall and tv across on east side of 13' wall. There is window and closet doors on 10' walls as well as chest dressor. I dont have schematic electronic.

The lrc will need to be wall mounted with low profile/depth as the tv is on wall where there is walk way in front of bed. Axioms good options for inwall/ inwall type of setup is what drew them to me. Receiver and components are all hidden in ventilated closet. Surrounds could be stand or wall mounted, but cannot be in wall as one is exterior insulated wall.

Ah, but QS# speakers aren't dipoles!

Btw - without center, do you just use tv as center channel?

No, you just set the receiver to no center channel, and it'll get filled in by the fronts.

Obviously i have lots to learn. I have klipsch reference series dipoles and never was very happy with them. When I saw axioms surrounds, I quickly skipped over. After reading description maybe those would work better since the corners the surrounds will be in have a lower ceiling. Think 8' to 6' sloped ceiling with surrounds in 6' section. The description says more forgiving. Are they more forgiving of this placement?

Why can't I ever stay in budget? Hahaha

Never tried them like that, but my QS8s are mounted about 4 inches from the ceiling and seem to work pretty well.



You'll fit in fine here!

don't forget Jessica that if you will sit most of the time right in front of the L/R speakers,(not on the side), then you will not need a center speaker.

you can have a look at my room/equipment and you will see that i don't have a center speaker;
1: because i would have no place for one, and
2: because 98% of the time, i'm the only one sitting there; having one would not make any difference, except if someone were to sit on the side.

I never thought of it that way. Even when I am in bed alone, I always stay on my side, which will be right in front if right. Looks like I will try 2 m22s and 2 qs4s. Then, I am in budget and get the free brackets for surrounds.

What does minor blemish mean in auction site? For those who have purchased, did it really make a difference?

a lot of people who have bought on the auction site say they can't find any blemish or whatever.

Maybe Axiom uses Photoshop to retouch the blemishes... ;-)

Won't need the brackets for QS4's or QS8's. They come with their own brackets which mounts them flat on the wall. (Just need to make sure they are mounted properly. I've heard you need to bend the bracket out a bit so it's not flush with the wall at the top). They are meant for the bookshelf series M2, M3, M22. The on-wall series come with their own brackets also.

when i installed the brackets for my QS8's, i looked for the part that you affix to the wall but could not find it...
it took me about 30 mins to lighten up.

i used to be intelligent... :-S :-(

Honestly, i don't know.. When i bought my first EP-600 i bought it as a B stock unit.. When i got it to the house, all of my buddies new i have bought a B stock unit.. So there were 5 of us trying to find the "imperfection" after about 5 min all of us gave up and said to hell with it...

Actually, right now the only speaker i own that isn't a B stock unit is my center channel... I could never find any blemish on any of them... Even for the B stock units there guide lines for what is allowed, they wouldn't sell something that had obvious damage. I personally would not hesitate to buy other B stock products in the future.

With regards to the Vp100 matching the M22, it matches up very well,after all it is virtually the same speaker, same drivers,a touch smaller, missing the port and some slight crossover adjustments.

Still, I think that the VP150 matched a tad bit better, sonically. It played just a tad bit lower.

(Not sure what a tad bit is, though).

I just recently ordered several "blemished" speakers (a pair of QS8s and M22s) and was unable to find any visible defect on the speakers when they came in. If there are scratches and dents, they're hard to see on the B-stock stuff.

I've purchased most of my Axioms this way over the years. Most of them I couldn't find much wrong thou one of my QS8's has a small scratch on one side of it. It's only noticeable when you walk right up to it thou.

Jess, glad you came back, I want to appologize if I offended you by calling you a "chick".... I received a PM from another sensitive member.

We don't get to many females around these parts. Your BF is one lucky guy, my wife would never even consider joining a speaker forum to seek advise from some of these old timers. Well, I'm in my 40's if you call that old. lol

ps: now where the hell is sonic fox...or the other hot chick Amie, ok now I've done it....ban SirQuack!!!!

If any lady is offended by being called a "chick", then some introspection is in order. I'm not condoning the use of the term, but it's far from nefarious.

Peter, you could've chosen your words a little more wisely (or better yet, let it go entirely), as I think you were rather hard on Randy.

We have bullies and sanctimonious users on the forum. We certainly don't need sensitive feminist opines.

I practiced restraint of tongue and pen when sir quack used the "C" word, but seriously do we need to label people. All we are on here are audio enthusiasts. Fortunately good advice was given and all is well.

Hey, you just labeled us!

SEe restraint of tongue and pen. shoulda kept my mouth shut.

It's SirQuack, not sir quack.

Sure, it was good advice, but as I said, the wording was harsh; yeah, Mary isn't around as much because of Randy. That's appeal to emotion, ergo not education IMO.

Peter graciously and kindly reminded me of the proper use of "whom". He could have informed Randy in the same matter i.e. Randy, some ladies are offended when called a "chick".....

Um, "Mary is not around because of Randy"? Not sure what that is supposed to refer to, Mary actualy lives here in Iowa with me and Nick, and I don't recall that I've ever said anything to her that would result in her going Awall.

People get bent out of shape a little to easy these days, oh well. Also, it was not Peter that talked to me off channel using IM, it was another member whom I value his opinion and still enjoy a CD he sent me. I think we are getting off topic, sorry Jessica.

ha ha i love this place, every topic gets side tracked lol.

Randy ,no one is bent out of shape here , just an observation . please dont mistake me as being PC

At the risk of straying on topic (hey, it is page 5), I'll add my observations on the M2.

I use them as dual centers for my M80s, but have listed to them in stereo a couple of times. They are impressively clear and sound every bit as good as other Axioms in the line. What they lack is bass, but a sub will take care of that.

I will agree with Johnk, 3 M2s across the front will work well in that room. Since you are using these mainly for movies and gaming, where surround sound is critical, don't cheap out here. Go with the QS4.

Cam's just making mountains out of star-nosed molehills. Maybe his olive oil is rancid? I dunno.

I insist that everyone not take me too seriously around here. I believe I've earned that.

Cam is not around (because of Peter).
He has moved to the middle east to take up arms for the Palestinian Feminist movement.

Seriously Peter, i know a guy that studies them.
I'll see if they can actually build mountains as you say.