Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater need some expert advise with layout

"Very soon to be Axiom owner". first would like to thank all of your for your posts and threads. i am a newbie and have been reading through the threads for the last 3 weeks and am blown away by the awesome advise the experts offer to new guys like me. i am in the process of gathering information to put together a home theater system. (30%-tv,30-movies, 40-music) TV is a 61" HD Panny LCD and I just ordered the Oppo DVD player today. I am leaning towards Denon 3805 or 3806. Space is limited to a great room set-up shared with kitchen. Size of overall space is 20'W x 35'D x 10' Ceilings. The actual size of the area I will be using is 20'W x 17'D with carpet installed in the center of the area (14' x 14') Seating is 2 sofas facing front, diagonal towards TV. I was looking at 2-M60 towers, 4-QS8, 1-VP150, 1-EP500.

1) Do you think the 60's will work ok, or should I look at using the M80's? If 80's, will the Denon 3805/3806 work or should i look at something else?

2) Comments on other speakers selected above.

3) Need help on speaker layout and positioning. I am very new to this and i really value your input and experience.

4) TV has HDMI input. Is the extra money for the 3806 worth it?

Thanks for all your help. I can see how this gets addicting and I'm trying to buy some good stuff (within budget) so i don't get upgraditus too soon.

Hey Sand dude, welcome and can't wait for you to get your gear, you will be one happy camper. I'm no expert, but I'll try to help..

1) My basement recroom/HT area started as 30ft x 30ft x 9ft ceilings. I have added an AV closet which knocked off about 50 Sq Ft., but I'm still looking at 850+ Sq Ft, it is a huge room. My 60's do a wonderful job and play plenty loud. The sound of the 60's and 80's are very similar, the 80's just go to more insane volumes. Any Denon will drive the 4 ohm 80's with no problem, but I think you'll like the 60's, hint hint...

2) Make sure you have enough room/space for 4 Qs8's. To get the best experience, you want your rear channels to be behind you a bit and your left/right to be besides the listening area. How do you plan to mount the Q's?

3) This will be tuff without a drawing or pictures. Do you have any you can share. We can help show you how to post them if you need guidance. You want your mains to be spaced out, I would say at least 8ft or more if possible. The center you don't want to low, it is best if the center is as close as possible to the height of the tweeters on the mains. The Qs8's are very forgiving in regards to placement.

4) Unless you have a bunch of equipment that have HDMI output (satellite, dvd, cable, etc...) you can just run the HDMI connection from your dvd player to the tv, you don't have to go through the receiver. Hope I understand this question.

Make sure you order form the factory outlet if your not in a big hurry. You get 10% off regular prices, and if you buy 5 or more items, you get another 5%. Best thing, it is still new product, same warranty, same performance. You can read about it here http://www.axiomaudio.com/factoryoutlet.html

Most of us take this route, and I'm still looking for minor blemishes.

Randy

My website

Sandy, welcome. In that size listening area the M60s should be plenty, although if you're subject to upgraditis the M80s cerainly wouldn't be overkill and would work fine with many receivers, including those Denons. The rest of the speakers are fine as well.

Maybe you could explain a bit more about what specific positioning questions that you have.

HDMI offers single cable convenience, plus copy protection which the industry loves. The all digital nature may or may not result in a better picture than a component connection, since DA and AD conversions are handled pretty well by most players and TVs these days. Note that the 3806 also has the MultEq room equalization feature which may be significantly better.

Thanks for the advise and comments sirquack. Good news to hear that you think the 60's will sound awesome. I can't wait. I believe I'll have plenty of room to put the QS8's behind me but I am concerned about the side speaker on left side. Might have to keep it tight to a sofa to keep it out of the walkway towards the bedroom. I do have a sketch in MS Paint if you could help me post it.
Thanks,
Kim

I use http://www.photobucket.com which is a free service online to post all my pics. A lot of us use photobucket. It works with image files (jpg, tif, gif, etc...) I would think you could upload the image to photobucket once you sign up and then post it to this forum.

Once posted on photobucket, just copy and past the IMG tag for your image into your axiom post and it will show the picture in your post.

Here is a link to my layout...at least an attempt.

http://photobucket.com/albums/f305/sandbagginaz/?action=view&current=HomeTheaterLayout.jpg

Need some help from link police.

Thanks

link

Thanks a lot, Randy. You made my link obsolete.

If you past the IMG tag in your post it will look like this?

Thanks guys, I really appreciate both your help with the image posting.

Also- I was planning on mounting the QS8's on the Axiom stands on both sides and rear.

You do have an interesting situation though for the font mains? You could get a different TV. My folks just bought a nice Hitachi Plasma that mounts on the wall above their fireplace mantel. That way there would be plenty room for the mains and sub up front.

OK gang of wizards, I received my new Oppo DVD today and was going to order a Denon 3805 tonight. Looked through some additional threads to confirm my decision and now am totally confused and, once again, am in your hands to help me finalize my decision.

1) 3805, 10 devices, 100 watt, 0.50 thd @ $725
2106, 8 devices, 100 watt, 0.08 thd @ $500
2805, 14 devices, 100 watt, 0.05 thd @ $ 650

2) Please tell me what the 3805 will do that the 2805 won't. Price is only $75 difference, but the 2805 appears to have better clarity if I understand correctly.

I need to meet with the tax man at the end of the month. If all goes as planned, I'll pull the trigger on the M60-500 package as soon as I get home. I would like to have a receiver sitting here waiting to hear how awesome the Axiom speakers sound. I really appreciate all of your comments and suggestions.

Kim, what did you mean by "devices"? The 3805 has slightly(insignificant)more power and the Denon link for connection with a single cable in DVD-A/SACD with certain of their high-priced players. No, there's nothing indicated about "clarity".

The devices were listed in the description at the Denon site. I assumed that was how many components you could link together????

Will the single link work with the Oppo DVD player I just purchased?

Regarding the clarity, I thought you wanted the lowest total harmonic distortion for better sound. Am I wrong on this?

Thanks,
Kim

Okay, Kim, I haven't looked, but maybe that's what they mean by devices; if so it doesn't have much meaning.

No, the Denon Link is proprietary and, as noted, works only with a couple of their most expensive players.

That difference in THD is far below audibility. Results vary slightly, but blind listening tests indicate that when using music(not test tones)THD doesn't become audible until it exceeds about 1.0%.

I just received my new speakers from Axiom. I went with the 60's, 4 of the QS8's, 150 and EP500. Can't wait to get some wires run and hear first hand what I've been reading about the last 8 weeks. Thank you to all for your input and suggestions!
Kim

WOW! A very nice system. Enjoy!

Crank 'er up! Pics and reviews - please!