Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Need some advise on rear surrounds for my new HT

I can think of 3 positions to mount the QS4's:


Option 1



Option 2



Option 3



I think I'm favoring Option 2 and 3 right now. My worry about 3 would be one speaker not having a wall behind it to reinforce the sound, since it would be dangling from the ceiling. I'd also have to go take a look to see if I think it would be a headroom problem since that is sort of a traffic area. But it's the only option that helps get that rear sound over to the folks sitting on the left side of the room. I really appreciate the feedback from everyone on this.

Ben, I think you'll be totally fine with that scenario.

I'd agree that - with your asymmetrical layout and that little notch on the rear left - the QS4's might be even better than monopoles.

The location of the subs on the drawing might be ideal, but it also might not. While the walls are open, I'd be tempted to run some cable to the middle of the side walls and maybe the back right corner just in case.

I would consider combining options 2 and 3, with the left rear on the near wall, and the right rear on the farther wall. You can always turn the near one down and the far one up to balance the volume.

That's an interesting idea about combining option 2 and 3. I know AVRs can adjust for distance and volume but I always thought that would be best utilized for smaller differences.

As for the subs, I have the same concerns. Once I complete the framing I was going to do a bass test in the room (I did one before I started the project as well). I haven't done it with two subs thou, and thus I am concerned about cancellation. I also just want to see what rattles so I can attempt to tighten the room up. I've tried my best to not tie the side walls into the ceiling, thou the back wall is a load bearing wall for the house.

Ever the worrier I'm starting to second guess my idea for the cabinets on each side of the room (front). I had been considering building some bass traps on the sides of the cabinets, but I wonder if building the cabinets at an angle facing the center listening position would work... but I'm not sure how good that would look. I am addicted to looking at the display on my AVR since I do all my video switching on the TV (no OSD doing it that way). Oh and I was thinking about building a small stage between those cabinets as well.

I may just need to spend a day and setup a portion of the HT down there including surrounds to get an idea on how it would perform. I say a day because once I set it up I have a feeling that I won't be in a hurry to tear it back down.

Ben, my immediate thought was Option 2 with the left back a little farther to the left. After thinking about Brian's suggestion of the left back as in Option 3 and the right back as in Option 2, however, that looks good. The left back would be a bit close to the main listening spot(about 4' back), but should be okay with QS dispersion. Distance and level will be calibrated on the receiver, of course.

As Chris points out, stereo back surround fields are provided by DPLIIx, and if possible there should be a speaker to the back left and back right of the listening positions.

I think I've settled on this, unless anyone has concerns about the left rear being too close compared to the right rear. (Using QS4s)

As I said before, distance isn't really an issue with modern receivers. Angle is more important, and it looks like you've got that looking good.

Should work well, Ben.