Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater stereo vs surround

So now that I am picking everyone's brain, does anyone have any experience with the Epic Grand Master series? If I can't convince the Boss (my wife) to move the tv elsewhere, The m60s or m80s might be blocked by the fireplace as they sit on the floor. The Grand Master has the m22s and the qs8s. The m22s by the tv or on stands may compensate for sound being blocked. I just wonder how this system handles music. Quality sound for music is very important to me. I know this will be a bad question but would I be better served to look at a similar system by another manufacturer for music reproduction? There are so many good sytems but I've made up my mind that I really like the Axioms.

Also with the door problems at the back of the room, how would the surround sound be if the Qs8s were mounted above the door height on the back wall?

Mathew, I think your seating position and TV height when mounted above the mantle would not be comfortable. Definitely have yourself a tough room for surrounds; even if you are able to mount Q's on the back wall the couch is not positioned well for the back channels. It sounds like you may be more interested in music listening at this point, and i would agree with others and suggest M22's, vp150, and a sub to get the best you can in that room

I would most definitely recommend M22s, they are very musical and with a good sub are even better. I would even run QS8s in that room, one above the door and one above the wreath, not optimal but better than nothing. I would run the m22's on the stand right beside the TV and use a phantom center to start and see how that works for you, if you find it odd or dialogue not centered to the screen you could then move a full 5.1 system by adding a center, an M2 as a fair bit of the listening is off axis or even the VP100 would be great for that room.

Mathew, you made a comment earlier about the concern with the M22's not being as "good as" the M60s or M80s... Even those with M80s (if they are being honest) get a little more low end than the M60s, but even that gets to be somewhat minimal if using a subwoofer.

Again, these are all designed very well and like I said, I almost went M22s for fronts but when talking to Alan at Axiom years ago, I was putting my setup in a much larger space, and the fear was that the speakers wouldn't be able to move enough of the air to be enveloping for movies (although they would sounds great for music), so I got the M60s and a big sub (again because I had a lot of air to move). Your space isn't very big and the M22s would provide you with great clarity for music and still plenty of "umph" for movies. Plus they will be an easier sell, I would think, with your wife due to their smaller size.

You may find that not only would the M22s sound great on their own, but possibly even better than the tower speakers due to the shape of the room and such blocking some of the sounds and creating strange reflection points with the bigger speakers.

The QS surrounds are very forgiving in their placement. I used to have them on my back wall and they were really, really good. When I put them to the side walls they were just a little better, that is all. I've seen pictures of people having one on a back wall, and one on a side wall due to odd available mounting locations. I believe that they just calibrated their systems to compensate in volume and tonal adjustment.

Good luck. And just remember who mentioned the M22s to you first... (Oh wait, that was CatBrat...)

Matthew, carefully studying your pictures, it appears that there'd be no problem with the left side-surround by mounting it about 5-6' up at the front edge of the outside door. The right side-surround could be placed either on top of the bookcase or on an upper shelf. It could be placed on any sort of support(our Canadian members strongly recommend hockey pucks for the best sound quality)to give the bottom driver of the QS at least 2" of space for the sound to radiate into the room.

I've used the M22s for eight years now for listening to almost entirely classical music, and can assure you that, especially when supported by a good sub, the musical reproduction is superb.

I am in complete agreement with JC on this one. Where is he going to put the wires for the surrounds?

I would get a pair of 80's that matched the room's decor and be done with it.

whatever you decide....you need a rug.

Wires can be fished to pretty much any location with some patience and ingenuity.

But that in itself is another problem. Where would you put them? You would need to slide the TV and stand to the right so that the one M80 isn't in front of the door, and then you have an even worse issue with the one on the right being blocked by the fireplace. Plus there is a bookcase there with doors that would get blocked.

As for the wires, they can be hidden in many ways. Maybe the white trim boards along the floor could be removed or the brown trim along the ceiling, which ever has more space behind it...

I agree that a run would help. There is a log of diffusion in the room, but possibly not enough absorption.

Aw, heck. Just put on a home addition where your patio is with no fireplace, no bookcases, hide the wires in the walls, and get the M80 fronts, VP180 center, QS8 surrounds, and a big ol' EP800 sub... only $4786.10 for the speakers... Or spend about $1800 - $2600 on one of the Epic Grand Master systems in the current room and be blown away!

I would empty that closet and pretend it didn't exist.

Thank you all for the information and suggestions. I would love to add a room to the back of the house where the patio is to house my home theater. But realistically I can't afford to buy the system, buy a receiver for $500-$1000 and then add a $10,000-$20,000 addition on the back of the house (LMAO).

I can't empty or block that closet because that is where my computer lives.

I do have a great option for the wiring. My wife's first cousin is an electrician so he will run the wiring for free with jacks at each location. I just have to buy the supplies.

As far as a sub for this system what do you guys think? EP 175, EP 350 or EP 500? Never having owned a home theater system, I have to ask the question of how much bass is enough and how much is to much? I have a friend who has a Polk & Onkyo system (I'm not impressed by it) and his sub isn't large enough for his man cave which is over 1/3 of his basement. On the other hand I don't want enough bass that it sets off a seismograph anywhere in the state.