Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Pics of the Boys and a question

Ray, i have my QS8s sitting on 1" rubber feet so yours have more clearance than mine. I have not noticed an overly large difference between my left surround which is wall mounted and the right surround which is on a shelf. Since the walls and rooms are shaped differently, i imagine some of the sound difference it also coming from different reflections.
The sound dispersion is still extraordinarily convincing.

We're looking at buying a condo/townhouse right now. (*fingers crossed*) That's got to be my priority for awhile. A new TV will sure look sweet in a new home though.

ray
i don't think the detrimental effect of the bass would be that noticeable, but you won't know unless you try it out. I used a ladder and a tall CD stand to "place" my rear QS8's on 2 opposite corner walls. When I felt that it was acceptable, I went ahead and wall mounted w/ the QS8 brackets. I also used those channel guides to hide one of the QS8 wires because I had to come down from the ceiling. I got them at home depot and the look is acceptable.

You can also try some B-Tech brackets. I got a pair of them to possibly use and never even mounted them. The nice thing about the brackets is that it allows an "opening" at the bottom for the QS8 woofer. Take a look at:

http://www.btech-usa.com/bt15.html

skool, thanks for the suggestion on the B-tech bracket. I had actually looked at that when I was mulling over my VP100/VP150 decision. I never thought about the bracket for the QS8s.

chess, after a few days of listening, I think they sound pretty good where they are. Your input seems to support the “very forgiving” placement comments I have seen. I also dropped an email to Alan with a link to this post, asking for input. I’ll see what that brings as well. I didn’t mention in my original post that I’m lazy enough to want to avoid drilling, filling, priming, painting etc.

Jack, the TV is a 50”Sony Grand Wega II (50XBR800) I picked up last March as the first piece of assembling the HT. It is a rear projection LCD. Once I eliminated the big, boxy rear projections (size, angle of view, burn-in) and plasma (way too expensive, burn-in and plasma gas dissipation over time), that left me with LCD and DLP.

More research led me to this Sony LCD and Samsung's DLP. Eliminated the Samsung DLP since I saw the rainbows and experienced the slight nausea that is sometimes mentioned. The Sony has been nothing less than wonderful. This whole HT thing has been driven because 1) my daughters are grown & gone and 2) my bride is a teacher and spends most evenings and weekends doing schoolwork. Add long cold winters to the equation and I log quite a bit of HT time. Now with the Axioms, my music % will increase .

The picture is stunning. There is a guy at the AVS Forum (umr) who tackled the TV and went into the Service Menu to tweak/adjust the TV to bring out it’s best. He created a 12 page .pdf; kind of a mini-manual. Makes a big difference. The PQ is fabulous. I can’t properly articulate what Hi Def looks like. I spend a lot of time watching things broadcast in HD just because it is HD. I also got the excellent Denon 1600 DVD player to complement the TV.

spiff, Sony has added a 42” version for this model year that looks excellent. With interest rates where they are, another $2500-$2800 in the financing on that condo would get lost in the rounding.

Hi Ray,

Good pics! Nice setup!

I'd echo the suggestion to "try" some other options.

The other thing is that "surround" speakers are really not designed (by Dolby) to be "rear" speakers. Optimal placement is slightly in front or slightly behind the listening position and on the *sides*.

The only reason why I bring this up is that I think you might be losing some of the beauty of the quadpolar design by having the speakers precisely in the corners. The design of the cabinet (orientation of the tweeters) is intended to bounce the sound around to the back and front of the room (in addition to directly), so you're not currently getting the reflected sound in that same way.

I know, WAF is a significant issue. I'm just riffing.

I've used those little plastic track things to good effect to hide surface mounted wires. Get them at HD or Blowes. They come in white and can be painted.

Hi Ray3,

All of the comments from Chesseroo, TomTuttle, and others are useful and I'd agree with all. Here, for the benefit of others on this thread, is what I sent you in the private email:

"With the qualifer that corners are not ideal for any speaker except a subwoofer (and even there, you can get exaggerated bass effects), then I'd say you are better off to leave the QS8s where they are. Dolby Digital movies are mixed with the surrounds at the side walls, not the rear, and that is where surrounds perform best and where Dolby Labs indicate they should go. As adaptable and forgiving as the QS8s are, I don't recommend owners mount them at the rear unless their room rules out a sidewall placement.

Ideally, you should move them forward a bit, out of the corner (to eliminate potential coloration from boundary effects of the corner) and mount them on the wall where the framed picture is (or above it). But if you don't hear any coloration of upper bass from the corner, then, as Chesseroo has pointed out, leave them there. I too find drilling etc a royal pain so I understand your sentiments."

The plumbing things would seem to give the woofer ample room to "breathe," but I've not heard QS8s raised above a flat surface this way.

Regards,

Thanks for the input guys (and the quick response Alan!)

I think I will 1) cut a 3"-4" hole in the shelf, 2) move them out from the corner as far as the shelves will permit (another inch or two) and 3) toe them into the room just a bit. That combination should let the bottom woofer fire more effectively and give the inside tweeter a little more flexibility.

These things produce sound that is geometrically better than what I had, so a little downside in placement is not going to be very detrimental.

Oh yeah, NICE TV! If I hadn't gotten the DLP, I would've considered the LCD. Unlike you, and fortunately, I don't see the rainbows much, and I certainly don't get nauseated.

My biggest beef with the Sammy is the black level in REALLY dark scenes leaves a lot to be desired. But, other than that, I'm very happy with it.

If it is in the budget, have you considered getting it ISF calibrated? I did it, and, though I hated spending the money, I'm glad I did. It really improved HDTV, and DVDs, too.

Can you get HDTV where you are?

Enjoy it. It's really a beauty.

Yeah, I have been extremely happy with this puppy. I actually did the ISF calibration myself using that "umr" thread and his .pdf at the AVS forum. Made a noticeable difference.

I get about 8 HD channels from DirecTv right now. I watch alot of shows just because it IS HD. The second day I had everything set up, I watched 2 hours of the Air Force Academy graduation ceremony, just because it was in HD. Spectacular viewing. I find myself looking at the details in the picture and losing track of what is going on.

Boy! Do I know what you mean. I've watched more fish swimming around in the ocean, and glass blowing exhibitions, in the last few months than I have my entire life.

I've got HBO, CBS, ABC, UPN (not much in HD), Bravo, ESPN, and INHD 1 & 2. My cable company (Cox) offers Dicovery HD, but they want another $5 a month for it. Nah! I'm hoping we'll get Fox when it offers HD later this year. And, I wish they'd offer NBC, PBS, and HDNet. Don't know why they don't.

I'm finally reaching the point where the HD doesn't detract from the movie/program/show. But, It's taken a long time (8 months) to reach that point.