Well I finally took the plunge and purchased M22,VP100,QS8.
Hope to start setting them up later this week but am looking for some advice. The wife did not want floor speakers (I wanted the m60's) so I got the m22. Now I have the task of finding space on the entertainment center for the 20" tall speaker. Can I set them on the side? How much will this effect the performance? How far apart should I place them?

Congratulations on taking the plunge and "welcome to the club".

Placing the speakers on their side tends to mess up the imaging because it spreads the sound out from left-to-right in the crossover region (a couple of very important octaves). Frequency response and other characteristics should be unchanged. Don't put the speakers on their side or recessed into the entertainment center if there's any way to avoid it, the impact on the sound is pretty dramatic.

If you have to put the speakers on top of the entertainment center try them vertical but inverted and make sure the front of the speaker sticks out an inch or two from the shelf and surrounding cabinet. Something like that should sound pretty good.

If there's any way to keep the speakers vertical that would be much better. I assume you have already been given the "stands are better than shelves" lecture

re: how far apart to place them, the normal rule of thumb is that the separation should be about 2/3 of the distance from the listening position to a line drawn between the speakers, ie if you're sitting 9 feet away then put the speakers 6 feet apart.

If you could supply a bit of info about the entertainment center (or a picture) we could probably offer some very specific advice.

Thanks for the input. The camera is currently charging will post picture tomorrow. Basically it is an entertainment center that surround the big screen. It has corner units with shelves that I plan on placing the speakers. The unit is 18" deep and the shelves are 20" wide. I am trying to convince my wife that stands will be better for the performance. I will have to prove my point once I recieve the speakers and set them up. I plan on running all new speaker cable (14 awg).

Sounds good. If you want the demonstration to go smoothly just push the speakers a couple of inches back into the entertainment center recesses -- they'll sound like boxy little horrors. Do the demo with music your wife likes

Hint -- M22 speaker boxes are about the right size to be M22 speaker stands; they're just not real "decorator chic".

Bridgman,

That's evil and underhanded advice...can I use it?

Welcome to the Club! I ordered mine last Wednesday and they got to me in Houston by friday afternoon. They are Amazing!

Well the speakers came yesterday but neither my wife or I were home to receive them. The good news is my wife was home today and they are there. Can't wait to hook them up!!

So how late are we gonna have to stay up to hear your first listening report ?

Well just finished installing the M22's and the vp100. What a huge difference between these speakers and the Bose I had. My wife even could tell the differance. Still requires some tweaking. It sounds terrific!!!! Been enjoying some Pink Floyd. Unfortunately it is late and I must retire. Can't wait until tomorrow evening to install the qs8's and listen/watch some movies!!!

Bigjim,

You will love the whole setup. I think the QS8s are the stars and they will knock your socks off. Make sure you peform the calibration after all is set up.

welcome aboard bigjim, oh my gosh, now we have bigjohn and bigjim


Randy
m60's vp150 ep350 4-qs8's
denon 2805

and bigwill..

i think there is a trend here...?

bigjohn

I wonder if I could change my screen name to bigsirquack or bigrandy, hmmmm My wife did comment last night that I appear to be eating to much, maybe that is a sign...

Wow, Randy...
that's really not what I thought you were going to write...!

bigMarkS,

I had the same reaction to bigrandy's comment. Let's not go there.

Have a great day.

- TomGrande

If eating too much results in that, ummm, result, then pass me another cup cake!

In reply to:

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TomGrande

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ha, now that is funny. all of my mexican friends call me juan grande. my good buddy jose, who i work with, actually made me a 'Juan Grande' name plate for my desk.

bigjohn

Well I calibrated the system with the spl meter and now I don't hear enough base. I also had problems setting the sub woofer settings. (Looking for advice). When I tried the "white noise"(radio station out of tune) approach on my sub I could not hhear anything.

I think there are requirements to be called "big" . I believe I fit 6'2" 300lbs.

Yes, Jim, you qualify. On the sub point, maybe you can describe in more detail what you're wondering about. Just throwing out some general points: maybe the calibration was about right, but you were expecting to "hear" more from the sub. Many set their sub level too high; the general idea is that the sub shouldn't be apparent as a separate source, rather that the impression should be that it isn't working, but the other speakers are putting out more bass. Other thoughts are that an 80Hz crossover is generally considered a good compromise and a corner is often the best location for the sub. Glad you're enjoying your Axioms.

Bigjim - not only do you qualify, but you are perilously close to having your own zip code!

I'm not sure how you performed the calibration, but let's assume it was correct. (My first 3 atttmepts were mixed ).

John is correct in that the sub should be somewhat transparent until it is supposed to show up. Spend some time watching several movies and see what knid of bass you get. There is nothing wrong with adding a few db to have the sub run a little hotter. Kind of a "season to taste" thing. If you still aren't satisfied, try to calibrate again .

Thanks for the advice. I did have the sub turned very high when I had the Bose. I really like the big "BOOM" with explosions that it shakes the room. I will slightly adjust the sub volume and listen to a few movies where I enjoy the big base sound.