Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Advice from Axiom Owners QS4's or QS8's

Hey Guys,

First post here and I need some advice. I'm about to purchase some new surround speakers to complete my 5.1 system.

My room size is apporx 13 L x 9.5 W x 8 H

I'm putting in my order with Axiom tonight but I was wondering if there was a big tonal difference between the 4's and 8's ?

If anyone can shine a little info on this i'd really appreciate it! Also, the rest of my speakers are 6ohm, if I go with the QS4's, with it cause an issue becaus these are 8Ohm's?

thanks.

I've never heard the Qs4's, but it is my understanding they sound similar. For surround purposes, it really is about effects you hear during movies, although the Q's are good for music as well. The Qs8's have bigger drivers, and can play louder, which might give you a better experience.

It is not a problem to have a combination of speakers in the mix of 4, 6, or 8 ohm.

Are you looking at the Qs4's because of budget? Are you ordering from the factory outlet, which will save you 10%? This might help your decision.

I haven't heard both, so I cannot comment on the difference between Q4 and Q8. But as for your other question, there is no need to match impedence between speakers so 6 or 8 would not matter in your context.

Honestly, I wonder why Axiom builds the QS4. They obviously sell enough of them to make it worthwhile, but it seems to me for the 20% more most people would upgrade unless you had a very small room.

Thanks for the input guys... I was a little worried about mixing different Ohm's in the setup.

As for the Factory Outlet, thats what I planned on doing. I called JC at Axiom this afternoon and asked what was wrong with the 2nd's and after he confirmed that it was esthetic only, ill be going that route. It wasn't really a budget issue but since I dished out a decent amount upgrading my system these last few months that if I can save a little something somewhere, its more than welcomed!! =)

Ill be placing my order tonight for the QS8's

Yeah, the majority of us use the outlet, they are new speakers with the same warranty. Cosmetics is not an issue...

Thats what I figured... I think its cool that Axiom offers this
kinda option. A 15% or 20% discont would also be really cool

I was supposed to swing by Iowa this summer but couldn't make it. I order most of my guitars from a little shop in Perry called BRG. Great guys!

BTW SQ, your setup kicks serious ass!

Ahhh Perry, Iowa very familiar with that city. That is where my dad grew up. Grandma still lived there until a few years back when she passed away. It is about a 45min drive from Des Moines.

In addition to the 10%, if you buy a total of 5 items (speakers or accessories) you get another 5%.

So... trying to make me spend more money are ya!

I just revamped by front end last week. My choices came down to Axioms M60 & VP150 or MA's RS6 with RSLCR. I went the MA route only because I got the chance to play them for a good hour or two.

Some MA's, nice choice and if my memory serves, a similar sound to the M60's, but that was a while ago when I heard a set of RS6's.

More often than not they don’t even have cosmetic problems none of my 10 factory outlet speakers have. And like Randy said they have a full warranty.

Cheers,
Dean

Personnaly, I suggest you to go with QS8 ( that's what i will do)
for two reasons:
1st there is only a slight price difference between qs4 & 8.
2nd: if you mowe it to a larger room of get a more powerful receiver, you will avoid an upgrade.

Anaways, QS 8 with factory outlet discount are not very much expensive. ( only a slight price difference of brand new QS4).

I

One more for you guys...

I read somewhere online (forgot the link) that it doesnt really matter to have mixed speakers as long as they match in specs... same power handling and they have similar efficiencies... is that true ?

This make me wonder if I dont have the same drivers from the same speaker line (or manufacturer). Could I lose tone or not get the same kind of a "fuller" more enveloping sound ? If properly setup, should I need to worry about not having an even sound as it travels around the room ???

It is important for the front left/center/right to be matching drivers, you don't want to mix stuff up, if the best soundstage/sound is important to you. The surrounds are not as picky, however, it is nice to have an all matching system.

Some speakers do have similar sound signatures, some here have integrated Axioms and Paradigms in their HT's as well as Monitor Audio and B&W's. All of these companies more-or-less have a similar design philosophy and that would be to reproduce music accurately without any colouration. It's usually easier to integrate a different manufacturer's surrounds into the equation because they are more for ambiance than to have ,say, a different centre up front.

What your really referring to is "timbre matching" which has to do with the tonal quality of the speakers...you want all your speakers to be timbre matched so that they all work together and reproduce the sound the same way. You don't want to be watching a movie, let's say, where a train passes across from left to right and you here a different tone or pitch as it passes across your centre speaker then back to the same on the front right.

There are some audio engineers that frequent this sight who can explain and elaborate on this far better than I can, hopefully they'll chime in.

Adrian,

Should I even be worried about this issue by having RS6's, RSCLCR's and QS8's in the back ?

I think they'd work fine, I've heard the RS6's BTW, and enjoyed them very much, they sounded very detailed like the Axioms. Remember that timber matching is much easier where surrounds are concerned. I would be willing to bet there are quite a few speakers out there that would work well with the Q series.

I wouldn't worry about having the QS8's with the MA's, as Adrian said, the MA's are quite detailed and the mix should sound pretty good, maybe not as good as if you had bought a full Axiom setup

lol

I aint regreting my purchase... but the more I look at the Axiom's and the more I wonder if I made the right choice. I was worried about buying something this big (M60's/VP150) and not being able to listen to them first. I spent a good 2 maybe 3 hours listening to the MA's and I really liked what I heard so I went with it.

But, I'm thinking of getting a music setup only within the next year and its almost 100% certain Axiom's will be getting my money.

Thanks for all the input dudes... ill be doing my homework the rest of the week and decide what route ill go... QS8's or BRFX.

Joe

Hey Joe, You have a great set of speakers and as long as you are satisfied with the sound that is all that matters. Now that you have a very good set of speakers to compare with, you can order some M60s or M80s and listen in A/B mode for the differences between your MA's and the Axiom's, who knows you may find that you still prefer the MA's over Axiom, it's all good.

Once the comparison is complete it costs about $50 to send the Axiom's back. I equate this with the amount of fuel I would have burned up demoing speakers in different showrooms and still wouldn't have the knowledge of what the other speakers would sound like in my own listening environment or in a true A/B mode. For me it was worth the money to order Axioms.