Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater My Dream system

Just wanted to post my dream system for fun.

Speakers:
Mains -> Axiom M60ti, Cherry finish
Center -> Axiom VP150, Cherry finish
Side Surrounds -> Axiom M2ti, Cherry finish
Rear Surrounds (2) -> Axiom M2ti, Cherry finish
Subwoofer -> ACI Titan II

Electronics:
Receiver -> Denon AVR-3802
TV -> Toshiba 50h82
Transport -> Toshiba SD5700 (progressive scan)
Speaker Cables -> Carol Command 14awg
Video cables -> BetterCables.com (Component)

Misc:
Axiom "Full Metal Bracket" (when it comes out)
Conduit for running speaker wire to the surrounds
Oh yah! And a Big ass enterainment center to boot

Estimated Cost: $8,000

Bestboy4
"Readum an weap boyz!"

Dream system?

Where are the Krell Reference Monoblocks?!?
(about $100,000 USD each)

I wish! LOL! That is some sweet gear!

I was kinda shooting for the obtainable.

Bestboy4

That sounds like an awesome system, however, since I am more into video, I would opt for the 5.1 audio setup with the Denon 1802 and use the difference to get the 61"+ TV!!!!!!

Are you going to slowly build this system? How big is your room? I would like to know who uses a 7.1 or 6.1 system in a small room.

I'll add in that IMHO 6.1 is way overrated. It's a cute effect, but 1) really only applies to a handful of movies in a meaningful way, 2) adds little to the enjoyment of the movie relative to the cost (pricier receiver, extra speakers), and 3) can sometimes be distracting from what's on the screen up front.

Like SECfootballFan says, unless your room is massive, save the 100s of dollars, and upgrade your display or take your partner out to dinner an extra night a month.

I would love a larger TV, but the wife won't allow it. She wants the big entertainment center to go around the TV, so if I do that I can only fit a 50 inch TV on that wall. Plus my seating distance calulations only allow for a 50 inch TV (16:9) comfortably.

The way in which my townhouse is set up the wall that the TV sits on is blocked off to only ten feet wide by a short divider wall that seperates the living room from the dining room. Since the whole right side of my living room opens up to the dining room I can't use dipole surrounds (nothing for the sound to reflect off of). This is why I opted for the 7.1 surround with monopoles for a more smooth transistion between the surround channels. My living room deminsions are 17.5 X 10 X 9, which opens up to my living room which is about 14 X 11 X 8.

Bestboy4

Respectfully disagree. I have an Onkyo THX 6.1 system with an outboard amp so I can drive 2 back surround speakers (3 front, 2 side, 2 back.) I use it for both music and HT. It is awesome! The difference is substantial and very noticeable. I grabbed a pair of Mission 77ds speakers from uBid for about $39 for the pair (diffuse field dipole speakers) and a Denon PMA500V 85 watt x 2 amp for $50 from my local recycler for the Mission back surrounds.

Of course, you could go first class and get a pair of QS* speakers and had I been feeling flusher, I would've because I love Axiom products. But 7 channels beats the stuffing out of 5.

I'm happy enough with my set up to list it in this dream system thread:

Receiver and amp:
Onkyo TSDX 797 THX receiver (6x130 watts)
Denon PMA 500V 2 channel amp 85 wpc (from preouts for channels 6 and 7)

Speakers
Merak MC6H center channel speaker (made by Axiom, 2 x 6.5" drivers and one great big 7" horn tweeter - musicality + slam)
Axiom built M60ti-type M665 tower speakers in front
Axiom built M22ti-type M55 bookshelf speakers on the sides
Mission 77ds diffuse field dipole effects speakers for back surrounds (driven by Denon amp)

twin subwoofers:
Klipsch LF10 1640 watt subwoofer and Velodyne CHT10 sub

TV
53" Sony HDTV

DVD-A player
Toshiba SD9200 DVD-A

This system gives me a lot of pleasure!! It is really great. Axiom makes some of the greatest speakers at any price, in the world.

In reply to:

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1) really only applies to a handful of movies in a meaningful way

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Current total of DD-EX, DTS-ES Matrix, and DTS-ES 6.1 discs is around 85 and growing.

Plus, most newer 6/7 channel receivers and pre-pros can derive a center back channel from 5.1 and even 2.0 source material. My pre/pro does a surpsingly good job of it. I was watching a show the other day where a character was waking in circles around a room while a TV playing static. As the camera panned, the static panned around the room in a 360 surround, even panning from the surround right to center back to surround left. It sounded totally natural and seamless, and this was 2-channel Dolby Surround material, not even 5.1. I was quite impressed.

In reply to:

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2) adds little to the enjoyment of the movie relative to the cost (pricier receiver, extra speakers)

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I disagree. The center back channel provides a fuller surround field, especially for those of use using monopolar surrounds. And the back channel can make a big difference in pans across the back soundstage.

In reply to:

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3) can sometimes be distracting from what's on the screen up front.

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How do you figure? It's certainly no more distracting than the side surround speakers. Maybe we should get rid of surround sound altogether if it's so distracting?

The cost isn't so bad if you're buying a new receiver today, because just about all the new models have at least a 6th channel. So the only thing you have to buy extra is the speaker(s). If you feel the cost is prohibitive, that's fine and I'm sure you'll be happy with your 5.1 setup, but your arguments against 6.1/7.1 seem to be a bit of a stretch.

Anywaym, since I recently made a huge investment (for me, anyway) in the audio portion of my setup, I guess it qualifies as my dream setup (for now, at least).

Rotel 1066 pre/pro
Outlaw 770 amplifier
Axiom M60ti mains
VP150 center
M3ti surrounds
QS8 center surround
SVS 20-39PCi subwoofer (with BFD eq)

Mitsubishi 55" HDTV (any bigger would be too big with my seating locations)
UltimateTV satellite receiver
Custom-built HTPC for DVD, HDTV, and music playback

Well, like I said, it was IMHO, but I'll answer back for the sake of continuing the debate.

When I say 6.1 only applies to a few movies in a meaningful way, I don't mean how many titles there are out there. There are quite a few excellent EX/ES titles. There are also many, though, in which the center back doesn't add much. With Gladiator, the ES DOES make a difference, as there are specific effects that are placed in that speaker. With most EX titles, however, or "forced" 6.1 processing via the Outlaw 1050 or Denon 2802, the 6.1 channel is just a center image ripped from the surrounds. My surrounds (M3s) make a GREAT center back image, and I've never noticed a "hole" in panning effects across the back.

As for my second comment, do this little experiment, bearing in mind that the cost of the upgrade to a 6.1 setup roughly equals the cost of your VP150. Pick any five movies in your collection, even the ones with the heaviest information in the surrounds (Gladiator, Saving Private Ryan, etc). Watch them first with 6.1 disabled, then watch them again with a disabled center speaker (dialogue in the mains). Which purchase gave you more bang for your buck? Did the 6.1 make your enjoyment of those movies "night and day" different? I know that when I upgraded a VP50 to a VP150, the difference was immense with over 90% of the movies in my collection. Would a surround back channel make that kind of impact?

My final comment about distraction was again, just an opinion. As more and more "noise" comes from surround speakers, I find that often I miss what's happening on the screen and important dialogue while "ooh"-ing and "aah"-ing effects that are intended for ambience. In some movies that are awful from a script point of view (Pearl Harbor, Star Wars), this is not necessarily a bad thing. And of course there are DVDs, such as the DTS mix of Diana Krall Live in Paris which make fantastic use of the surrounds, but these are exceptions rather than rules. However, the point of surrounds is to provide ambience, and there is a certain point (and it's different for everybody), when "too much ambience" detracts rather than adds.

I'll admit the cost thing is rapidly becoming less important, since I've just noticed that Panasonic and Onkyo have cheap 6.1 receivers.

I sort of agree on both fronts in this discussion.

6.1 systems right now may not add a huge change to a home theatre. However, there was also a day that surround speakers were thought of in the same way (why else would 'stereophiles' still exist out there).

As time goes on, i would place a solid bet on home theatre systems becoming even more and more immersive.
Today, 6.1 channel, next year, more 7.1 channel, 5 years, 12.1 channels?
20 years, holographic images instead of tvs, 50 years, multiple holographic interactive images...the star trekky holodecks?

It seems like a crazy leap but logically it is not unrealistic.Question is then, as you posed, what is the point at which a person believes their investment spent is worth the 'upgrade'?
Personally i just placed some good cash into my home theatre and i plan on keeping it just the same for at least the next 5-10 years, or until my student loans are finally paid off. Maybe by then i could afford myself a small holodeck (or even just a plain old wooden one for bbq'ing would be nice).