Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Advice from Axiom Owners Ok, what is the best speaker layout for 7ch

is it as I have read alot of forums ...... seven identical speakers ei. seven M22's for all speakers.
or as some others post, the L/C/R should be M22's and the QS8's for side rears and two M22's for back rears?
Then, I read three M22's up front and four QS8's for surround duty.

Room is dedicated movie/music room. But, there are two different sound systems, one for music and one for movies.
The music system is 2ch M80's, still trying to figure out if I want a sub and am not sure what I want maybe a Martin Logan Decent i or Depth i. I don't want a 12 " blooted sub for music. If it is a sub for music it has to have quick, tight bass.

I am going with Emotiva XPA2 and probably the USP1.

for the Movie side I am all up in arms, however I am pretty well sold on Bookshelf's and duo subs. I have my fronts in MK750's for a L/C/R They only go down to 80hz, but that's what a sub is for below 80hz and that means I have 300watts for a 200w speaker I am going with Emotiva XPA3 for the fronts. I will use the pre-outs on the Denon 3805 for now, until I can decide on a processor, then my daughter will inherit the denon for her tv room lol.

Where I am at odds is the four or three rear channels and what power amps to use. Not sure, if I should go with a UPA1 for each rear or two UPA2's.

The room size will be 15.5ft wide x 21ft L and 7.5ft H = 2400 sqft. However, if that it too big for the MK750 and I think it maybe about 500sqft too much then I will cut it back to 19 ft Long. I am wanting the total movie screen effect too but, may settle for a 60" plasma and therefore I can go down to 13ft wide which puts me under 2000 sqft. It is still on the drawing board, first trees are being cut next week off the lot

7 identical speakers is not required for movies but it certainly doesn't cause any problems either. 3 identical across the front is best followed by 3 speakers from the same family across the front for a near perfect tonal match. The surrounds and rears can be mixed for movie use, but some people are more susceptible to the tonal mismatch, so YMMV.

For surrounds you can't beat the enveloping sound the QS series offers and depending on the distance to the rear channels you can go with either direct radiating, like the M22 or if the speaker is close, say under 6 ft, the QS8 again. The idea for the surround/rear channels is to put you 'in' the movie not throw the movie at you like a direct firing speaker does if it is too close, no chance for diffusion.

For that 2 channel setup unless you are into pipe organ music the M80s will play as low as you need to go, especially with a strong amp to feed the power required for good bass.

Troy, bass is inherently slow. Any "quick, tight" character existing in a sound from a bass instrument is due to the higher overtones which aren't played by the sub.

Also, bass frequencies require no more power than any other frequencies at the same sound level; power requirements vary with sound pressure level and are unrelated to frequency. An 80dB level requires the same power at 40Hz, 400Hz and 4000Hz. An 80dB 4000Hz sound requires 10 times the power that a 70dB 40Hz sound does.

Thanks,
wasn't quite sure .... I am going to be 6 - 8 ft away from the rear walls. Not quite sure if I am building it 19ft or 21 ft long yet. and either 13.5ft or 15.5 ft wide. Really going to depend if I go with the 60 plasma or 120" Front projection.

Currently ,I have three MK 750's across the front. I was wondering "if" I should go with 7 MK 750's or three up front and two in the rears and two QS8's for the sides. or if I should go with three MK up front and four qs8's.
I was back to my brothers tonight and he has direct for the rears and in music they were nice, but not for movies. They were 3 ft behind.