Advice on 6.1 speaker locations for room

Hi all,

I love this forum! Everyone has been very helpful and it is much appreciated. My last question dealt with trying to decide between the M60's and M22's. I haD decided on the M60's but since this will be 90% movies I am still considering the M22s to keep the budget down.

Anyway, I was hoping that some of you would take a look at this drawing of my room set up and give suggestions on placement. I am particularly interested in where to place the surrounds. I haven't decided between the QS8's or QS4's so feel free to chime in on that too. I realize that this is subjective but having opinions of others who have done this certainly helps. I'm sure I will play around with the positioning to suit my ears but I wanted to make sure I didn't make any major mistakes.

I think I would like to do 6.1. I'm still open to 5.1 but I'm afraid I will have the "what if" haunt me at night so buying one more speaker won't kill me.

If it matters, my receiver choices have been narrowed down to HK AVR430/630 or Denon 2805 but I'm not stuck on them.

I've also been reading the thread about using 2 M2's as the center. Interesting.

Thanks!

i am sure there are plenty of people that will disagree with me, but i think the 6.1 surround is over-rated. there are very few dvd tracks that even offer the true 6.1 soundtrack, so 98% of the time, it will just have 'simulated' surround. save the $$$ you would have spent on it, and go ahead and get the QS8's. then, move the placement of the QS8's to be a little behind the back of the sectional(or even with the back), and i bet you would never even miss the rear speaker.

if you do go with the 22's, make sure to get a sub that is big and powerful enough to fill the low end void.. that looks like a pretty good sized room(20x12 w/vaulted ceilings), so you dont wanna skimp there.. look into a good SVS or HSU sub. more bang for your buck there.

bigjohn

moostic - a caution borne of experience by numerous newcomers to Axiom speakers.

I also had a 90/10 split with movies/music, but I wanted the HT audio to be excellent so I grabbed the M60s. After hooking everything up, my CDs came alive - it was like a whole new collection. Sounded so good, I was overwhelmed by the "gotta have more CD" twitch and started grabbing more of them to supplement what I had.

My mix is now 60/40 and we pretty much have music on when we are awake and not watching movies. The difference in the quality of the music was/is startling. I mention this not uncommon phenomenon so you can reconsider your choice. BTW, along with the additional CDs, I also got a big honkin' Denon DVM-4800 5 disc player (it does progressive scan DVDs as well) to facilitate the music. If the room is big enough (looks like it is) and you can squeeze out the extra $$ (don't forget the added expense for the M22 stands), think longer term. I believe you will be happier with the M60s. This is an evil, expensive hobby

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Ok, call me stupid...........hello stupid, but have you thought about 7.1? From your drawing I am not exactly sure where you have the sixth speaker? Seems to me with that rear wall like it is 2 speakers on the angled walls would be perfect for 7.1. Of course I may be wrong..and often am!!
Mike

Thanks for the replies.

The sixth speaker in the rear would somehow be hanging from the ceiling. I may put it all the way back against the wall. I thought about 7.1 but from what I have read there isn't much difference between 5.1 and 7.1. I thought about 6.1 for because of price but mainly to keep upgraditus away as long as possible.

bigjohn - So is simulated sound pretty lame? If so you make a good case for 5.1 especially for budget. Is there any word on 6.1 and 7.1 tracks being made for the future?

Ray3 - You are right. I was only thinking of M22s because of money but from what I have read on this forum I would be much happier with M60s. I will either wait on the sub or save awhile longer and spring for the 60s. Speaking of DVD players I have to say that I am enjoying my Zenith DVB318. Just this week my new and first RPTV came and it is great! (Panny PT53x54) The DVB318 upconverts dvds to 480p/720p or 1080i. It does a fantastic job too. So far the first 5 dvds that I have tried have looked like high def to me or very close. I was never a fan of RPTV's and swore I would never own one. I just thought I would let others know about this player. Anyway I will look into that Denon when my ratio changes from 90/10!:)

In reply to:
So is simulated sound pretty lame?

Speaking as a guy who has done 6.1, 7.1, and 9.1 and went back to good old 5.1, I would say yes it is. When and if you are lucky enough to get a DVD that is recorded in EX, it gets better but there are so few discs being done this way. I also don't think that will change anytime soon. Stick with what the engineers made the sound for, 5.1.

As for your room, I like it! One thing to note. If you can swing the Denon 3805 do it! I would also agree on the 60's vs the 22's......or do what I did and get the 50's.

7.1 is an extension on 6.1 because sometimes the single rear speaker causes an effect where the sound apears to come from the front. Basically 7.1 splits that single channel into two.

I have experienced 6.1 at my parents home, donno if it was anything special or not. I have a 7.1 capable AVR but currently am planning on just 5.1

Thanks all.

Based on the feedback it seems 5.1 is the way to go considering I want to save some $$$. Now as far as the receivers go, is there any advantage to choosing one because it has DLPIIx? Isn't this just simulating 7 channels? If I am only running 5 then all I would need is DLPII, right?

In reply to:
If I am only running 5 then all I would need is DLPII, right

precisely.. dont get caught up in the trap of buying a receiver with features that you will never use..

with that said, if you EVER plan on upgrading to a 7.1 in the future(2 years, 5 years, 10 years), then you might want to consider the DLPIIx. if not, then i wouldnt even worry about it.

my receiver doesnt have the DLPIIx(i have the onkyo 701), and to be honest, i dont miss it. i have no plans at this time to go any bigger than my 5.1, and if i did, then i could still set up the receiver for a phantom 6.1 or simulated 7.1.

also, when getting a receiver, dont buy into the whole THX.. it is highly over-rated. thats just my opinion.

bigjohn