Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater QS8 Surround Placement Options

I've been looking around for info on mounting options that would best suite my room. Because of the shape of my room I have only 2 options

1. ceiling mounting
or
2. rear wall mounting.

My problem is with the fact that my couch is only 5" away from the rear wall, so essentially I would be almost underneath the QS8's if wall mounted.

because of the nature of these speakers, would this be a placement problem or would ceiling mounting be a better option?

See my Illustration

thanks,

Steve

From the picture it appears you could go with the placements indicated in option one w/out having to ceiling mount. If that's a wall by the right surround, mount it there. For the left you could do some sort of twisted wall mount as afforded by a flexible mounting device like Axioms Full Metal Bracket. While you may not be able to get it fully sideways, it would be close.
In fact, I think I'm going to do something like that - looks be damned.

thanks for the opinion...

My system just arrived today (I'm still at work though)

I did buy the new brackets "just in case" this situation did happen. my most important concern is sound reflecting off walls or ceilings from too close of a placement.

To completley change the direction you're going, why don't you put your TV along the short wall in your room?

This would be amuch better setup than you have now in regards to seating distnce from TV and in speaker placement. It would probaly create a much wider, and possibly better soundstage than what you are going to experience in the current setup. You would also to be able to position your surrounds in a mcuh better spot, slighty behind and above your listening position.

Just something to think about for you.

It would be ideal placement situation in a perfect world w/o a wife and a solid oak entertainment center that costed me over $4k. I guess there are compromises in life and I am just gonna have to play the cards I was dealt..LOL!

Well, I guess I can understand that.

Just do it one day while she is out and see how she reacts!

Or are you saying that the entertainment center is built in at its current location? I can understand how that would be difficult to move then.

Well Now I have to get stands for the QS8's my wife quashed the idea of celing mounting. After she saw 8 HUGE boxes arrive at my house she freaked and told me the Axioms were an eyesore.

Like anyone in this situation I had to go into "justification mode" and tell her why the speakers are so big - ( we had a Bose AM15. Step 2, I had to use the guilt trip. Third I followed up with a promise of a 7-day cruise this summer! She said she was gonna put plants on top of the M60's to conceal them! She saw the surrounds and said that there was no way they would be in the ceiling.
Funny thing is last night she told me that she definitely noticed the difference in the center channel (vp150) she said she could actually hear the dialogue without straining her ears. So we'll see how everything goes this weekend

Yeah, I'm seriously giving thought to doing mock ups of the speakers so my wife can see how big they are... Even though I've got my own money, she has to live with the things in the living room.

see guys...
this is why i'm never getting married

But the give and give and give, then take it before she changes her mind, of a marriage can be so rewarding.

I've always bargained for the stuff I want - giving up something here to get something there. Gave up the motorcycles - bought SeaDoos. Gave up the SeaDoos - bought Axioms. Gonna give up cigars - gonna get something really cool and unnecessary like an SVS PC Plus 20-39.

If you're already living a clean and non-dangerous life point that out, "Hey, honey, it's not like I'm out getting drunk at the brewery and riding my bike through the canyons at 100 mph." Maybe she'll see your HT hobby as a pretty benign (if expensive) activity.

My wife objects to the "always talking about speakers" more than she objects to the money.

Yeah, my wife complains more about me talking about computers than me buying stuff for them. Once we get to buying the speakers, I have a feeling it will be the same thing.

are you kidding me!! she got a 4k piece of oak, and you're scrappling to ceiling mount a few speakers. I suggest you break out the hardware and get those things mounted quick. Please, restore some of my faith in the male gender. I cannot believe how bad and out of control the american male has got!!

Mount those GD things, sit down, and have her get you a beer. and it better be cold. and, after what you been through, a frosted mug wouldn't be out of the question. Sheeshh!!!

I'm with Bilbo. Purchase the hardware to mount the QS8s where they will work the best. Wait until she leaves the house to go shopping or something, and mount the speakers while she's out. Don't mention it at all from that point on. IF she complains about it, tell her that you didn't spend $470 on a set of speakers so that you could mount them under the couch where they are out of sight, but sound terrible. She'll get over it. As for "trading in" something that you like now to get something else that you like, forget about it. What's next? Trading dinner for sleep? Cutting the grass for sex? Ok... bad example... a few years ago I lived next to a little sweety that didn't own a lawnmower. I made that trade (quite a few times) and it was well worth it . But with a wife, that's a different story - you should get sex either way, tall grass or not. Ceiling mounted speakers or not.

My girlfriend was laughing about all of the boxes, and the size of the speakers. I (jokingly - sort of) warned her that she either learn to like my new setup, or she could leave. She's still here. She even brought me a few beers while I was working on setting them up.

A lot of guys do it to themself. They play that mister sensitive, politically correct, in touch with their feelings crud to get the girl, then they have to spend their whole dang life living up to it so as not to get divorced. If a girl won't date you because you won't place that game then you are better off walking away from the get-go. (OR - at least only play it for as long as it takes to get a good one nighter out of her). It's funny. Both men and women get on "their best behavior" when they first start dating. Over time, bits and pieces of the "real them" show up as they get comfortable and start forgetting to keep up the act. Sooner or later, I am going to find that at the 2 year mark, I have the same exact woman that I started with on day 1. SHE will become the wife. Until then, the speakers stay, the girl is in the "evaluation period". See? Don't fret, Bilbo. We're still here, just not in the numbers we used to be. Put us on the endangered species list, though.

And always remember Michael's #1 piece of information that all electronically oriented males need to know:

"If it has tits or transistors, sooner or later there WILL be problems."

(If you are a mechanically oriented type of guy, change "transistors" to "tires" - the rule still applies.)

Fetch me a Bass, woman.
(the beer, not the frequency range)

Hehe... I just realized that any HT oriented women that may be reading this forum have most likely "black listed" me by now. I guess I will have to go to a different forum if I decide to go wife shopping online...

Interesting motto...probably would make a good tattoo or bumoer sticker as well...I wish I had adopted that attitude before my first marriage, but it's better late than never, I guess...

your slogan reminded me of an oldy but goody...
"if it F#cks, Floats, or Flys -- rent it"

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I just realized that any HT oriented women that may be reading this forum have most likely "black listed" me by now

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Not just the women, Michael...

From what I've seen, a woman whose top priority is to please her man ends up with a neanderthal type ("Woman! Fetch beer!") that gets bored with her and cheats. If there's no mutual respect or intellectual stimulation, there's nothing real.

My wife is too smart to allow me to bully, degrade or demean her, but she ain't so smart that I can't fool her. And from what I've seen of stupid women (while that quality is in many ways appealing) they are likely to get YOU into financial trouble.
The last two motorcycles both wound up with mechanical problems, as did one of the SeaDoos, so I was bargaining with stuff that I was going to sell anyway. I just didn't tell her that. Same with the cigars. I don't have an hour free to sit outside and smoke anymore. Cigars are over-rated anyway.

Interesting topic that spouted from speaker placement. I actually found some stands that work with the QS8's real well (no balance problems, height is good & the speaker's are allowed to down fire. My wife actually asked me why I didn't get white QS8's for ceiling mounting. I think she actually would be ok with the mounting situation but Black sticks out like a sore thumb.

As marriage is a give & take situation. I think it all evens out in the end. I get a great HT. She gets a vacation. I want a new stereo, she gets jewelry. If I have to kick down some extra $$$ to get my way, so be it. In the process both of us end up with what we want.

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a woman whose top priority is to please her man ends up with a neanderthal type ("Woman! Fetch beer!") that gets bored with her and cheats.

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Actually, I think you missed my poing in a major way. I guess you can boil it down to be honest with them up front, and you won't have to sacrifice who YOU are to please her later on.

#1 - I WILL NOT cheat. It's the #1 reason I'm not married. When I can honestly say to myself that I am ready to be with one woman forever, I will do so. Until then, I will continue to be 100% honest with the women in my life.

#2 - "Woman, fetch beer" - is not meant to be demeaning. When her car needs brakes, a tune up, ball joints, shocks, struts, etc. For her, it's "Man, fetch tools and fix my car", which I happily do because I care. I assume that is the same reason why I get a giggle, a hug, a kiss, AND a beer when I say that. Men and women are different. That being the case, we have different roles in the relationship. I do anything that requires blood, sweat, or tears, and she handles everything else that facilitates my being able to take care of her. It's a partnership.

I think Bilbo and I are talking about the same thing, which is men being afraid to take a stand on something that matters to them. Everyone makes compromises, but a lot of guys pretend to be someone that they are not to get the girl, and then have to spend their entire life trying to be the man that their woman thinks they are. It's just easier to be who you are, than it is to change into someone you are not.

Lastly, if it is neanderthal to assume the role of provider, protector, and repairer of all things broken for the woman that one cares for. Then color me guilty. I do a lot for her, and all I expect from her is to provide a warm, loving, supportive household for me to come home to. She LOVES filling that role, and I love having her fill that role. I take good care of her and she takes good care of me. It's not demeaning for us to understand each other's needs, and to make our best effort to make each other happy. I'm a guy. I do guy stuff. She's a traditional lady, and she does girl stuff. Neither one of us has a problem with that. In all honestly, that's why I care so much, and why she cares so much. I've been 100% straight up with her, and she with me. We don't have arguments about what speakers I buy, how I mount them, or what color they are. In return, I don't tell her what color draperies to hang, how much seasoning to put in dinner, or what style saddle to use on her horse. The remark about being black listed was simply realizing that without writing a 40 page novel to fully explain the situation, anyone reading the post would get the wrong idea. I'm not a scumbag... I'm just a regular guy who is waaaay to honest for his own good. I pull no punches. She knows exactly what I think and why I think it. That's why she's sitting on my lap at 2:30AM making me defend myself... hehe.. I love it when she sticks up for me even when I stick my foot in my mouth. Oh... and my "pet" name for her is wench. You should see the sweet little look she gives me when I call her that. She loves it... (and just made me type that in here, too)

That being said, the QS8s should be mounted on the wall, or on the ceiling simply because that's where they were designed to be... And at least there is 1 woman in the word that thinks they look "really nice and professional" mounted on the wall - mine.

Thanks for clarifying what you meant. Your original post was easy to misunderstand. I completely agree with you that it's very very important to be honest up front, as it will only lead to problems as you let "the real you" later on. It's also important not to bend over backwards every time your wife/girlfriend/significant other has an opinion that is incompatible with yours. That just leads to resentment.

My neanderthal comment was probably a little too strong. I'm the provider, protector, and repairer of all things broken in my house, too - and I definitely enjoy the role. But I also love cooking, hanging out with the baby (I'm not supposed to call it babysitting ), working in the yard, etc. Basically, the stereotypical gender roles around here aren't set in stone. That's just how we work things.

So, I apologize for jumping on you. Sounds like you've got a great relationship and you're lucky to have a woman who understands your obsessions.

hehe... Sorry to get so off track here. I have a buddy that did exactly that, pretended to be what he wasn't to get a girl he didn't belong with. Spent the last 8 years trying to live up to it to keep his marraige together. Compromised his life away, and it didn't help one bit. It's made a mess of his life, and she just recently left him despite all of the effort he put into it. It's 100% his fault for putting himself in that position. The whole thing makes me sick. I just spoke with him Friday, and I was pretty disgusted about it all after taking to him.

Then... Bilbo made that comment and it set me off. So... It's all Bilbo's fault - he made me do it.

Steveo and BigWill. My comments were not directed at either of you or your situations. They were only made in the general regard to Bilbo's statement, and a hanging bad feeling about my buddy's situation. This was the wrong place to vent about it. My apologies to both of you.

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you're lucky to have a woman who understands your obsessions.

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Hahahaha... You can't possily believe how big of an understatement that is. She's definitely 1 in a million. I favor John Wayne more than Alan Alda, so as you can imagine I'm quite a handful.

As to your neanderthal comment - that might just be an accurate description every once in a while . Us guys couldn't REALLY have been wrong for 400 million years in a row now, could we? Maybe twice in a row, but no way could we have a streak of being wrong that lasted THAT long. Maybe we've been wrong for the last 75? It's a much shorter time frame. Much more believeable. damn... there I go again. Somebody needs to hit me upside the head with a dinosaur bone...

If I ever get a divorce, I won't get married again. If I DO get the urge to get married again, I'll just find a woman I don't like and give her my house.

No offense taken regarding any of the comments. The weekend has passed and my wife really digs the system. She's been asking me questions about the speakers and she's been playing her music all weekend. I think they are growing on her. I think the initial shock of huge boxes of equipment made her have negative thoughts.

Fascinating thread digression. I enjoyed Michael and Ray's comments VERY much.

The phrase "kill something and drag it back to the cave" is pretty standard in our house. I am a cave man, and my wife is a cave woman.

I have a great marriage. We defer to each other's skills and judgement in the right areas.