Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Epic Inwall speakers for my HT?

Hi, Newbie here....I am designing my HT and will be projecting on a 15' wide wall, 9' height. The theater will be 18' deep. I have a problem in using floor speakers (my preference) in that the entry door to the theater is right off the left corner of the projection wall. Given my plans to use a 106" fixed screen, this does not leave adequate room to the left of the screen for the floor speakers I want to use without it interfering somewhat with the pathway of the entry door.

I am considering using the Epic In-Wall HT package which consist of the W-22 for front L/R, the W150 for the center channel, QS8s for surround, and EP350 for the sub. This will keep the left front speaker off the floor and clear of the entry door. I like the onwall/inwall hybrid nature of the front three speakers and the fact that they have fully integrated enclosures.

Does anyone have experience ot thoughts regarding this Axiom package for a HT set-up? Will it be a major down grade in sound from floor speakers? Any other suggestions?

Your experience and feedback is GREATLY appreciated.

JJ, welcome. Unless it would be feasible to replace the door so that it swings the other way(if that would avoid contact)the W22s would appear to be ideal for the situation. Your room is about average in size and M22s/W22s should do very well when supported by the sub. I'd suggest that you consider uniformly using three W22s across the front, since there'll be room beneath the screen for that as a center.

Thanks John K. To clarify, you think a third W22 would serve better as a center channel than a W150? Also, if I have planned for two rows of seating, would a central channel be better below the screen (which will be about 3 feet of the ground) or above the screen?

Anybody else with experience using the W22/W150 combination for front speakers on a HT?

JJ, I think John is mentioning that you could use 3 identical speakers so they are matched perfectly. It is important that the left/right speakers have the same drivers and are tonely matched to the center. That is why it is not a good idea to use differant brand speakers in a HT setup. If you go with the Center W150, you would be fine as Axiom uses the same drivers.

It is important to try to get the tweeters of your left/right speakers as close as possible on the same horizontal line as the center. You also want them to be at ear level or close if possible. Below is a pic of my setup, you can see the center is mounted on the wall below the screen, close to my m60 tweeters. I have it angling up slightly, so the people in the back row also get a good experience.

I don’t suppose you could turn the room layout around so that the door is to your back could you? If not, I’d still go for some towers. You’ve got a nice sized room and I don’t think the 22’s will be enough for you. I’d build a stage that is either angled or with a radius. By doing this, the egress traffic will naturally walk to avoid tripping over it. I think you will be OK. Pencil it out and try to keep a 36” path from the door into the room.

Thanks for the feedback sirquack and mdrew. Unfortunately, I can't change the door location. The room is actually smaller than I thought as I was going on a contractor's proposal that had the room estimated at 18x15. I was measuring out the room last night and it is more like 18x13 which came as a surprise. Even still I was already seriously considering the idea of an angled stage so that I can still use towers....it would be a real tight fit in the left corner with the door.

Hey sirquack...looking at your photo...nice layout. two questions - 1) is the center channel wall mounted? 2)do you have anything in the interior structure of the stage to reduce vibration?

Thanks....

Yep,I used to have the center just sitting on the stage angled upward towards the listeners, but it works much better now mounted on the wall. Besides you want a slight arc shape anyway from your left to center to right, so having the center set back slightly from the front of my m60's works perfect, the distance to my primary listening position is the same for all three.

The stage, if I recall, was built out of 2x8's. It is actually two stages, one 7ft long and the other about 8ft long to fit the width of my 15ft screen wall. I also used some 2x4's as cross members about every few feet fore extra support. The top plywood just sits on top and is wrapped with the same padding and carpet as in the rest of the room. This way I can get to my wiring easily for future additions. I also filled the void with thick rolls of paper backed insulation.

Hey Randy are you sure you used 2x4's? It looks a little taller.

Hey Clarence, you may have missed it in my post above. The frame is out of 2 x 8's and the cross members are 2 x 4's...