Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Hello, new to this, needs some help.

Hello everyone

Currently I am running a 46 Sammy LCD and a Sammy surround system. I would like to upgrade so I can get the best sound out of my bluray movies.

My room is 20x14 and these are my options

Option 1
Fronts 2x50v2
Center VP100
Surround 2x50v2 or 2xQS8

Option 2
Fronts 2x60v2
Center VP100
Surround 2xQS8

Any input would be appreciated

thanks

Option 2, for sure. I think you'll find everyone else voting for that combination, too. The QS8s are an amazing surround speaker, and the M60s are tad more neutral than the M50s. And when it comes to audio reproduction, the more neutral, the better.

would it be ok to run this setup without a sub, my receiver is a Denon AVR 1909

thank you

one more thing, I don't listen much to music, its mostly for movies, would the 50s be enough. I am trying to save some money. Are the 60s worth the additional $210?

Hi Amel,

If you want to watch movies, you're going to want a sub. But nothing says you have to buy the sub at the same time as the rest of the speakers!

Also, if you want to watch movies, you're going to want QS8s--they're fantastic surrounds, often reported by reviewers to be the best surrounds they've ever heard, bar none.

As for 60s vs 50s... I own a pair of M50s and a pair of M80s. I'm sorry to say that the M80s are far superior to the M50s. Having heard the M60s, I'd say they're a lot closer to the M80s in sound and presence than the M50s.

Option 2, no doubt. When you can afford it a sub would be a good next investment, although with the M60's and the QS8's will start a great system.

Option #2
You will never regret purchasing M60s. I have 2 pairs.
To be fair, I've never heard the 50s though, just can speak ever so highly of the 60s.

you could hold off on the center if that will help save money and use phantom mode. Keep in mind if you order 5 or more items, and order from the factory outlet, you will get 10% in addition to the 5% off pricing.

I really would like to know how much difference there is between the 50s and 60s? any more input is appreciated

thanks guys

Hi Amel and welcome,

In years past, I was kind of cool towards the M50s (not "cool" in the current sense), but earlier this year I threw them into a blind listening comparison with some M60s and M80s and I was surprised how pleasant the M50s sounded. I even quizzed Ian Colquhoun, the designer, about whether he'd tweaked or upgraded the tonal balance of the M50s. They seemed more detailed than I remembered them being, perhaps not quite as detailed as the M60s, but really very good, much like the M3s.

Hope that helps.

Regards,

I'm guessing that does the opposite of helping, Alan...

I assume Ian said that he hadn't tweaked them?

Thanks Alan

what I'm afraid of is that I will be paying way too much for my room size

What if I step it down to 2xv50s and 2xQS4s?

would I loose much?

Amel welcome,I have never heard the M50's so I can't comment as to the difference. In your size room I would also suggest considering M22'S and a good sub. Go with QS8's for surrounds they are superb for that application. In any case you will want a good sub for home theater.

I started out (well, eventually) with M50s, QS4s, and a VP100. If you're trying to save, either go with M22s, QS8s, VP100 as suggested or M60s, QS4s, and a VP100. Either that or start out with stereo and go from there. But I suspect you don't really want to do that.

That's true. Ian denied doing anything to the M50s or the crossover. Which left me wondering about my listening tests years before when I first joined Axiom. If I have time this week, I may have the M50s put into the listening room in some of the other blind comparisons I'm doing this week.

Yesterday I did a session on a new speaker, and when all was revealed at the end of the session, the "A" position on the switcher was a pair of M2s, wall-mounted with the Full Metal Bracket, running with an EP400 subwoofer. The "B" position was the new speaker, also running with an EP400 sub. I can't tell you more about the new speaker yet, but it was very good, almost as good as the M2. Further tweaking is being done.

What a dynamite combo the M2 and the EP400 is! Lovely depth, spacious sound and deep extended bass. I had rated them 8 out of 10, ten being a theoretically perfect loudspeaker.

Regards,

Amel, you could certainly use the QS4s in that size of room; the sense of surround envelopment is excellent and similar to the QS8s. They just won't play quite as loud in rooms larger than yours.

As to "losing much", you have to put some of these comparisons I refer to into context, in that I'm concentrating on picking out subtle nuances and tonal colorations between two different speakers.

Heard by themselves, the M50s are very nice speakers, with lots of good bass (not as much as you'll get when you add a subwoofer) that's quite like the bass from the M60s. When not doing instantaneous A/B comparisons, we tend to accommodate and adjust to the sound of good speakers like the M50s, M60s, or the M22s (with a sub) very quickly. Maybe you should set up an audition at an Axiom owner's place. (Go to "Hearing Things" down below.)

Not even if we know the secret handshake?

Amel. We can do a lot to tell you the differences between different speakers, but its hard for us to decide what is best for your situation. Only you know the trade-off you are willing to make to fit a budget.

On an HT setup without a sub: I think that you would be missing out on much that a good HT has to offer if you don't get a sub. Such a setup would be a big step up from using the speakers in your TV, but far short of a system with a good sub.

As background, when I bought my system, it was for music and having good sound for movies was just an added bonus. Movies were not really a priority. I would never go back to watching movies without a sub now. If I were to have a movie only setup, I would give up my M80s before giving up the sub.

I would suggest you post in the hearing things forum to see if you can audition any systems locally. See if you can find an HT setup with M2/3/22s and a sub and see how they sound to you.

Good luck with the search and let us know how things progress.

If it comes down to buying the speakers in stages.....
Some might disagree as it will be personal preference, but for movies I would recommend buying a good sub and save the surrounds for later when you can save up more coin.

Why? The majority of movies out there don't put a lot of material in the surround channel. Even a lot of action movies under utilize them. It's a lot of fun when you get a well produced movie audio-wize and there are lots of surround effects but the sad part is that those movies are not as common as you might think.

On the other hand, LFE is the big thing now. Any action movie will benefit from a subwoofer, even though some will be, again, better than others. It seems that even the non action movies are putting in really low noises or deep effects to build tension. Also, the effect of a good sub on music, for me, is much stronger than the nice, but more subtle, effect of using surround speakers for music.

So personally, I get much more enjoyment and more fulfillment from my sub than I do my surrounds the large majority of the time.

If I had to do it again in stages, I'd definitely buy in this order.
Mains -> Sub -> Surrounds -> Center.

Murph - I agree with you. I would buy in exactly the order you mentioned, and recently advised a friend to do the same thing who was in the same situation.

It does come down to personal preference, but if movies are your main source and you like the effect of bass in your movies (as I do), a good sub will make a huge noticeable impact to your listening experience, in my opinion more so than the surrounds.

But that's just me... an audition would definitely help you to make the final decision!

Jason

Additionally, you can use your current speakers as surrounds for now to keep surround sound in the loop.

You may also find yourself listening to more music once you hear what it is actually supposed to sound like.

I too agree with Murph that for HT a good sub should be the first purchase.