Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater I'm SOMEWHAT impressed, need help tuning

I've lived w/ my Axiom setup for about 1 1/2 weeks now. Here's my full setup:

Front: M22's
Center: VP150
Surrounds: QS8's
Sub: VTF-2
DVD: Apex Digital 600A, analog and co-ax digital
DirecTV: Sony SAT-T60, analog and optical
Pioneer 45TX

After spending time w/ the M22's, I'm appreciating them more. Sound is becoming fuller the more I listen. I also prefer it more in 2 channel stereo for straight music. The sub is seems to be doing it's job, did the sub crawl last nite but the most optimal place is pretty right in the middle of the hallway. VP150 impresses me more and more, even just watching DirecTV, the dialogue is quite strong and clear, glad I "upgraded" from the VP100. I have yet to find a digital directv channel though to test the optical connection...

DVD digital connection is verified, the DVD's play in Dolby Digital and the 45TX senses the digital feed.

Now, my issue is w/ the QS8's. I've no doubt that they can be good, if not great, speakers. However, I've not been able to get them placed/calibrated to get the really impressive surround sound effect. I've tried my LOTR and Clone War DVDs and wasn't impressed. I've raised the QS8's to about 3' above ear level, about 1' back. This is better than ear level at 1' back. I still think there's room for improvement.

1) Any suggestions for DVDs that would tax the surrounds? Someone suggested Gladiator.
2) I ran MCACC, but would it better to turn up the level on the surrounds above the current level?
3) I have the AVIA disc and can hear the surrounds fine. But w/ an actual movie, nothing spectacular. Any other suggestions or tests?

Here are a couple of thoughts.

If you have calibrated your system, and the QS8's are set to the same SPL as your other speakers, you should technically leave them there rather than bumping up the level on the surrounds. However, having said that, this is your system, and if you want to bump up the surround level, you are obviously free to do so. Some people like more of an emphasis on surround sound.

Keep in mind that in general, you should not "notice" the surrounds. The surround sound is there to encapsulate you, not to overpower you. Also keep in mind that the QS8's are designed to disperse sound, so you may be used to (or prefer) direct surrounds (like the M3) that would direct sound directly at you, rather than dispersing sound throughout the room. There's no right answer in that regard, just personal preference. However, for most of us, we wouldn't trade the QS8's for anything.

One test I have performed is turning my surrounds off using my receiver's remote during a movie, and it is amazing how much different it sounds and how you don't even notice how much impact the QS8's add. You might not even notice them during a movie, but again, that's not a bad thing, and you almost certainly will notice if you shut them off during a movie.

As far as demos go, I love the surround effects in Signs, especially when Mel Gibson is in the corn fields. If your QS8's don't shine during those scenes, then there might be a problem somewhere in the chain. Good luck.

There are some cool scenes in Saving Private Ryan as well. In particular when it begins raining, and also during the big battle on the bridge at the end of the movie. Though I've not scene it on DVD, I've also heard the Black Hawk Down really uses the surround speakers a lot.

Good luck!

Black Hawk Down was probably the most exhausting movie i had ever seen. I really felt like i had battle fatigue after watching 2 hours of constant gun shots.
The surround effects are really quite amazing for this movie.

Hi,

My 2 cents - it could be a cable issue !

I noticed a little improvement in my Right surround speaker when I upgraded from 18-gauge cable (12 years in use and just lying around) to a new 14-gauge regular speaker cable.

Basically the cable run to the Right Surround was over 40 feet and I wasn't getting enough level as compared to the Left surround which had a cable run of only 12 feet. When I upgraded both to 14-gauge, they sounded so much better.

My personal favourite is still the Gladiator (DTS) DVD.

The battle scenes - the arrows whizzing back and forth across the room - even the horses - it is really impressive. Also the overall soundtrack is just amazing. You just get totally immersed and I definitely can sense the surround speakers playing a major part in this.

Also Signs too is great for testing surrounds. And so is the latest Bond movie - Die Another Day !

Good luck !

oldskoolboarder,

Here are my additional $0.02...

1) I second the suggestion of Black Hawk Down. Also, Air Force One is a good demo.

2) In the past I tried to further tweak what MCACC had given me. But I quickly gave up. It is darn hard to beat the MCACC. I would leave the surround parameters as it is. Others are right in saying that you should rarely be "aware of" the surround speakers in most movies. The movie makers certainly don't want to detract your attention from the screen during the movie.

3) Have you tried the "5-channel pink noise panning" test on the AVIA DVD (I think it is under the audio verification section)? If the "sound image" of pink noise slowly and seamlessly moves around you on this test, you can rest assured that your surrounds are setup correctly.

Incidentally, where exactly are your surrounds placed/mounted? Side walls/back wall/on stands? Height? Distances and direction from the listening position?