Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Will the M2i's be sufficient?

I have a living room that is 15x17 with 9' ceilings. (Rear wall has a 9' opening, as does one of the side walls.) I am trying to put together a good sounding speaker system for near $1000. I will mainly use it for home theater and occasionally to listen to music.

I don't understand enough of the difference between the m3ti's and the m2i's to know which to pick.

My thought is to get the vp100 center and 4xM2i's for the front and rear speakers. I am not overly impressed with the Axiom sub's, what would people recommend for this system?

My current receiver is a Pioneer vsx-108, which I plan to replace with a denon receiver later on. (Will the Pioneer even power these? http://www.epinions.com/elec_Home_Receivers-Surround_PioneerVSXX-Pioneer_VSX-108/display_~full_specs)

Any help would be greatly appreciated! I am very new to this.

EP, welcome. The M2s would work well in your room if you don't need extremely high sound levels. Likewise, the 50 watts of your 108 would be fine unless the levels got really high. For $1,000 I'd suggest 2 M2s up front and since you're thinking mostly HT, use the wide dispersion QS4s for surrounds. A sub would be essential and for around the remaining $300 in your budget consider the Hsu STF-1 or the similar Outlaw LFM-2. You can temporarily do without a center speaker and use the M2s to create a "phantom" center. When your budget permits you could consider a vertical M2 or a VP100 for a center.

Thank you for the reply. Can you explain why the dispersion speakers are a better choice? What benefit do they offer over a standard bookshelf speaker?

I recommend you read this link regarding surround speakers.

http://www.axiomaudio.com/archives/surroundsexplained.html

One thing to point out is when you mention rear speakers, I'm sure your referring to the left/right surround, there is a difference. Unless your talking 7.1, then you have the left/right surround, and the left/right rear speakers. A direct radiating (bookshelf) speaker will not envelope you in the surround sound like a quadpolar design speaker like Axiom Qs4's or Qs8's. With direct radiating you have to almost be in the sweet spot. The reason why theaters are lined with direct radiating speakers along the walls, is to surround you with the experience. The Q's have 4 drivers firing all in phase to give you an experience you will never forget

Okay.. I only plan to have a 5.1 system in my living room. I wish I could think of a good way to diagram my living room.. to help with speaker placement. From what I gather, however, is I am supposed to use these "quadpole" speakers in the back. How high should they be mounted on the wall? Also.. that brings up another question.. How should I place the front speakers? I have an entertainment center that has speaker cubbies at about 5' in height only seperated by 4'6" in horizontal space. Is that enough, or should they be spread apart more?

I am also nervous about not getting a center channel speaker. They sound so good in the systems I have heard. In a store I heard the B&W 602 s3 speakers in action and was very impressed.

From the Axiom FAQ:

Where should I place my surround speakers?
Ideally, surround speakers should be either wall-mounted or stand-mounted to either side of the couch or primary listening area, from one to six feet higher than seated listeners' ears, and slightly forward or rearwards of the listening area if you wish. Axiom's Quadpolar surrounds are especially versatile and can yield excellent performance with stand or wall-mounting to the rear as well as at side locations. (see our dedicated stands for the QS Surround speakers in the Store). Rear center speakers for 6.1 and 7.1 installations are intended to go on the rear wall at about the same height as the surround speakers.



Keep in mind that this is only a guideline. Most of us, in the real world, have to adjust placement to fit our rooms. The closer to this you can get, the better, but don't agonize over it if you can't get exactly these angles.

okay.. what height should the front speakers be? And with those quadpole speakers, which direction should they face?

EP, the front speakers should have their tweeters close to ear level(or at least pointed toward ear level). The side surrounds should be about 6' up on the side walls and slightly behind the listening position, facing straight out into the room.

I have had some stereo guys tell me to point the rear speakers at each other in the back of the room. Is the way I show the living room the correct way to set up the room? (subwoofer in the corner, front speakers on stands at ear level, rear speakers up high directed into the room.)

With the walls the way they are, should I still be considering quadpole speakers? Do I center the speaker into the room?

No, in a 5.1 setup these are side, not rear, speakers. I don't see your diagram.