Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Outlaw's SR5005 "Processor" Modification Offer

when i setup my new Marantz SR5005 in a few days (used as a pre-pro), i'm wondering what will be the best starting point at aiming my 2 surround speakers.
the surround system will be a Hafler DH500 amp and a pair of Energy 22 Ref speakers.

should they be looking at each other, or should they be facing the back wall (for a more diffused sound field)?

as they are large "bookshelf" speakers, i must put them on their stands on the floor (not up on the walls), and they'll be at about 110 degrees from my head position.

doesn't anyone have an idea whether the surround speakers should be aimed in a way that will give a diffuse sound field or a direct one? or maybe a mix of the two?

J.B.

It's not ideal using direct-radiating surround speakers in a domestic setup because the dimensions of the room are so relatively small, so you should experiment. The surround speakers should not be "heard" as point sources of sound if your goal is a diffuse sound field. The idea behind Axiom's QS8 multi-directional surrounds is to direct a mix of wide-dispersion reberant information at all angles into the room with some direct sound. The angle you're using for the surrounds is good.

Regards,
Alan

thanks a lot Alan for the info.

when my Energy's rot away for good (it's started), i will most probably buy the QS8, but for the moment the Energy's will do.

Jacques, I didn't see your surround placement question until now. Some years ago I experimented a fair amount with a similar placement. I wanted to have, as you suggest, a more diffuse surround sound field than aiming the direct radiating speakers at the listening position would provide. I got the best results by placing the speakers along the sidewalls and aimed toward the back wall. However, rather than the 110 degree position that you suggest, I found that having the front of the enclosure slightly farther forward than 90 degrees gave some direct(although well off-axis)sound that mixed well with the reflected sound.

This may vary with the amount of treble dispersion that the speaker provides, and of course calls for experimentation. Let us know what you find.

i installed the Marantz yesterday (using it as a pre-pro), then did the Audyssey calibration and had enough time to listen to a film for a short while and also some music on Galaxie.

the surround speakers (Energy's) were placed around 110 degrees from my head position, along the side walls and aimed at the back wall in such a way that from where i sit i can't see the drivers themselves, so i get only reflected sound. if i angle the back surrounds in such a way that i can see those drivers, even if only a little, some frequencies interact with those from the front speakers and the resulting sound is very annoying. it's a bit like slap echo, but worse because it happens at many different frequencies and when once i did have slap echo, it was only in one spot in the room and at only one frequency.
both phenomena seem to be a variation of one another.

by the way, i can't put the back speakers anywhere but at around 105-110 degrees, my room is not large enough to give me some leeway.

finally, listening for a while after installation was finished, i found that right from the start the sound was very good, and the big surprise for me was the fact that listening at 0dB was the exact same volume as i was using with the old equipment.
but then i did not know what "0dB" was...now i know. ;-)

now, my Energy's are getting old (rotting away glue and foam), and i'm thinking about eventually replacing them with other surround speakers.
my BIG question is: if i cannot aim my current surround speakers in order to get some direct sound, how could i get good sound with Asiom's QS8's, as they are direct/reflecting type speakers?

anyone can answer this?

Regarding the "Slap echo", have you set up the proper delay /distance settings in the receiver?

i had this problem a few years back; the delay was setup right.

i solved it by hanging something (to diffuse reflections) a few inches off one of the walls at the position where this was happening.

after that, i never got that problem anymore.

i know now how the QS8's work in a room and why they can give excellent surround sound.