Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Media/game room in my basement

I'm designing a media/pool room in my basement.

Here's the mock up (sorry for the crudeness): The checkerboard is the AVrack, the fence is the screen and the black boxes are the speakers. My Basement

Some dimensions:
North wall to south wall (on HT side 18.5 feet)
North wall to south wall (on pool table side 23.5 feet)
West wall to pole (red dot) 13.75 feet
East wall to pole (red dot) 12 feet
Ceilings vary between 7 and 8 feet (some tracts for ducts)
Room volume: about 1800 for the HT side and 4900 for the whole basement.

Gear (not purchased yet):
Pre/pro: Integra 9.8
Amp: Outlaw 7200
DVD: Oppo 1080p upconverting model (am waiting on blueray/hd for now)
Speakers: Axiom Audio Epic 80 - 600 7.1 (maybe)
Video: Sony Pearl 1080p projector
Music source: Squeezebox

Plans for use:
Movies: A lot of action adventure stuff, but also some drama from time to time.
Music: Pretty varied. I mostly like hard/classic rock with some rap. Wife's more into pop.

My questions:

1. Any comments/concerns about the non-Axiom gear? I think it's a pretty solid combination.

2. Given my dimensions and needs, would I lose out on anything by dropping to the 80 500 or even the 60 500 combination? If it will produce better sound I'm willing to spend the money, but if it's overkill and I can save a few bucks for furnishing the rest of the house I'll do it.

3. The right side of the home theater portion of the room is open. Is this going to cause significant issues? I was thinking about putting a sliding curtain to separate the 2 halves of the room, but asthetically I'd rather not if I can avoid it. Also I'm trying to keep that side clear to allow room around the pool table.

4. The door at the bottom of the picture opens into a small unfinished room with the boiler and circulator pump. These get a little noisy in the winter. What would be the best way to sound proof that so it doesn't affect the home theater.

Thanks in advance for your help.

UNCMo96. Go tarheels!

My HT/Rec room is 31ft x 30ft x 9ft ceilings and I owned 60's and a 500 for years with no problems. I currently have 80's and a 600, but I think you would be fine if you decide to go cheaper. The 500 and 600 are very close in performance, as are the 60's and 80's. For the difference in cost between 60's and 80's, you might want to go with 80's. They will give you a little lower bass performance and with dual midrange and tweeters are a little more detailed. But the 60's are fabulous speakers as well.

Keep in mind if you order form Axioms Factory Outlet you save 10% plus another 5% if you buy 5 or more items.

Don't worry about the open areas to the right. In my situation my right qs8 is open to the pool/bar area, and the rear Qs8's are open to the walkout area, no problem.

One concern is it appears you might want to move your left/right surrounds further forward a bit if possible.