Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater M80 vs M60 choice - room size considerations

Nice pictures, Chess. However, Axiom specifically recommends that they not be placed on a bookshelf, so I don't think I want to go down that path. Besides, I have owned various dipoles, bipoles and tripoles (M&Ks) and always go back to preferring direct radiators for my surrounds. I find that in a 7 channel setup, the envelopment aspect of the various non-monopolar speakers is less important.

Chess, you can turn the QS8 90 degrees so it's sitting on the thin side. That way none of the drivers are blocked. It's not very stable in that position but you can secure it to the wall with a piece of velcro tape, etc. Not optimal but a lot better than sitting on one of the drivers.

chess,did you ever consider cutting a hole in the shelf for the bottom driver?...ron

I have the itch to upgrade my QS4's to QS8's, but I've been concerned about placement. Right now, my right surround is mounted above the door, giving 6" clearance for the top woofer to bounce off the ceiling. Both surrounds are even with my listening position - 90 degrees - and I'm really satisfied with how they perform in that position. If I upgrade to QS8's, there will be only about 4.25" clearance from the ceiling. Does anyone think that I have any cause for concern?

First off, I too admire that scotch collection. A bottle of Talisker sits a bit higher in our room -- hopefully it won't have to be hit too hard during the Patriots game today. (Family is from N.E., not Texas.)

Secondly, though perhaps not of as much importance as single malt scotch, I would think there's some ingenious way to attach the QS8s to the bookshelves. Assuming you have spans of 6' or more, there must be some kind of vertical trim between the bookshelf cabinets. If I were facing this dilemma, I'd attach the downward firing QS8s to the shelf/shelves in question on the vertical trim, flush with the front of the bookshelves, placed at the optimal height. I can't imagine there being an acoustical problem with this, and it might look pretty cool. Only dilemma I can see is banging into them with your head as you walk near the shelves, so just place them over 6'.

This seems preferable to trying VP-100s as side surrounds.

On the M80s -- I have M60s in a 14' x 18' room, standing about 1' out from the 14' wall. We sit 10'-12' back. If I were regularly sitting 11.5' back I'd try the M80s -- you can always send them back if they don't work. As others have advised, our 60s need the distance for a good soundstage. Walking within 8' of the M60s (which stand 8' apart) you lose something ... get nice sounds, of course, but for listening the distance is important. I bet the M80s would be fine at 10' -- kinda wish I could hear them, though we are 100% satisfied with the M60s.

Birdman

That's not my single malt scotch collection
My wife drinks it.

Tony,
Axiom also recommends generic wire for use with their speakers but not everyone follows that doctrine either. Recommendations are just that, recommendations, not be-all-end-all absolutes. I'm not the only one who has had good results in propping the QSx up with some little feet or puck blocks.
That being said, i do understand what you mean about the direct radiating vs dipole, etc. style of speaker.
I did a review a long time ago of the M22s vs. the QS8s in these positions and we preferred the QS8s. However for music, it COULD be a different story depending on one's preference.

Birdman:

I spoke with Joe today from Axiom and he's recommending the 80s. He said rather than room size in my situation ancillaries would be key. He said they typically recommend the 60s with a receiver and 80s with separates. I explained I've got a whomping 300 per into 4 ohms and he said to go with the 80s.

Regarding the surrounds, he recommend a different route: he said the put the 2's on their sides in the bookcase. He said it would be a less expensive route to go than 100s and should sound equally good. Since I've got the 2s, I'm going to move them back there (one vertically and one horizontally) to see if there's much of a difference with pink noise.

That is a good idea too joema.
I might give that a try.
Otherwise, my little rubber feet will have to do the job. A couple of pucks works very nicely too.

A whole in the shelf?
I don't think the wife would appreciate that one Ron.
SHe does have delicate items on that shelf. Heaven forbid if one of them were to fall down the hole during vacuuming...