Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Do *GOOD* "Lifestyle" speakers even exist?

Unfortunatly, I may have to resort to a Phantom Center. The problem is worse that I thought...

I did an experiment this morning. I sent a test signal (pink noise?) to my speakers one at a time, and walked around the room and evaluated each speakers "tonal qualities" at various points in the room.

What I found was, all the main/surround speakers did change in tonal qualities, but nothing major. I really had to get way off axis to notice any real dramatic change. Fortunately, the off-axis point at which the sound quality changed detrimentally was out of the normal seating positions.

The opposite was true of the center channel. I notice that it had a very narrow axis of good response. Get out of it, and all high end energy just dissapeared as if the tweeter had quit working. Unfortunately for me, although all my speakers are toed/aimed at ear level at the sweet spot, there isn't actually a seat in that position (remember, this is a living room setup). Seating positions are slightly left and right of center, with some being outside this small "sweet area" of the center's radiation pattern.

Remember, i am still new at this, but am learning alot. maybe I have just realized what most folks have known all along-horizontal MTM center channel speakers have some major drawbacks?

I am still researching, but either I am doing something radically wrong, or I find it very ironic that a center channel speakers sole function is to anchor dialog to the screen, which is only really necessariy if you are off-axis of the screen, yet MTM designs (or maybe just my speaker) seems to only work best if you perfectly in front of it and NOT off axis...

-Alan

Hi FirebirdTN,

Rick ("Wid") has nailed part of the problem. When I looked at the photo, it was clear that the boundary effects from ceiling reflections would seriously degrade clarity and sound quality, although expecting any kind of dynamics from tiny drivers in a room this size is unrealistic.

Think of drivers as air pumps. The smaller the driver, the harder it has to work to fill a big space with louder levels. To do that, the driver has greater excursion--it moves back and forth over a longer distance, and as it does that, distortion rises. This includes speakers like the little Gallos, which I've liked in the past. But in a hotel-room demo, as soon as things got loud, you could hear the drivers starting to get a bit muddy.

Your Klipsch speakers sounded good with your computer because that's "near-field" listening. You are up close, at your computer, and the drivers don't have to do much to create ample loudness because you are only a few feet away from them.

There are no magic miniature speakers that will do what you want. You've experienced great sound with your M60s, which are placed properly. If you want similar quality, then consider the in-wall W22s or w2s and don't jam them up near the ceiling.

Regards,

Thanks Alan for chiming in. I do appreciate the fact that you guys are willing to help out, even if my questions aren't regarding any of Axiom's specifc products.

I have no doubt that ceiling reflections are playing a part in the coloration of dialog from my center channel. In the future when I get a larger home (or if I turn my upstairs unfinished bonus space into a dedicated HT)I will definately ditch those small speakers, and make sure they aren't so high up! In my current setup though I can't lower that center speaker, unless I am willing to block the remote sensor of the TV (I am giving it thought-I am exploring all possibilites at this point, including in-walls).

It is kind of frustrating for me, as I still consider myself quite the newbie at this stuff, but have learned alot.

And I could be wrong, but after my experiment this morning, I am convinced the MAJOR issue I am having is with the MTM design of my center channel. Maybe its just my particular center, but from what I have found so far, I am experiencing the exact disadvantages of the typical MTM design-poor horizontal response.

I noticed that if I remin perfectly in front of the center and move toward, and further away from it, the tonal qualities does change some (probably due to ceiling reflections and/or screen reflections), however, moving side to side causes a much more DRAMATIC change in tonal qualties. When out of the narrow horizontal sweet spot (which is the case of my seating positions) all high end energy just dissapears as if the tweeter quit working.

Not sure what direction I will go in, but am exploring possibilities. I suspect, this is probably one reason Axiom's VP-150 deviates from the typical MTM design so prevalent today: better off-axis response? (a guess on my part).

-Alan