Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Surround speakers QS10 or M5HPOW

Need to make decision about replacing my surround speakers. The room has no right side wall so the surrounds are mounted on the back wall. Unfortunately the couch is also against the rear wall. I'm thinking of going with the QS10's but Atmos I believe suggests monopoles for the rear. Currently the rears are mounted a bit high and I feel that you can't really feel their effect, probably more to do with the seating position though.

1, How hard of a rule are monopoles for the surrounds with Atmos? It seems all new receivers are designed with Atmos. My current receiver has it and offers 7.1 or 5.1.2.

2. Would the quint poles compensate for the poor seating position?

3. What is the suggested mounting height for QS10's

3. Possibly in the future there will be a right side wall. Are Atmos side surrounds to be monopole as well?

I'm hoping to visit Axiom in two weeks time when on vacation, in their area. Hopefully they will let me in for a listen, unfortunately the fourth wave is starting to climb here in Ontario.

Thank you in advance for any input !!!

Some rooms just do not lend themselves to ATMOS. If you can not get your rear/side speakers far enough away from the listening area ATMOS my not work for you. You might be better off going 5.1 or 7.1. It’s far more forgiving on placement. In that case QS10s are the way to go.

It's really rough on the mind to not do Atmos when your receiver is capable of it. In this case however, placing Atmos-recommended speakers like M2s or M3s behind you, so close to the audience, buys you nothing. QS10s on the other hand will be heard without a problem and they will sound diffuse even when listeners are that close.

Also consider this. Pin-point localization of Atmos sounds may be undesirable unless you have many point sources throughout your space.

Considering the above, going with QS10s gives you more options. You can use them for 5.1 or 7.1 and also try them with Atmos. BTW, you can hang them off the ceiling with a bracket.

In my case, I run 4.9 with my actives and non-Atmos Onk in my 4200 cu ft space. My QS10s are side-mounted. I can't ever see trying Atmos until my Onk dies. Even then, I will be in no rush. It is that good.

I should also add that a well done 5.1 or 7.1 system will blow away your average ATMOS setup. This is because most ATMOS setups are poorly done. If your not getting decent object placement at at least the MLP then ATMOS is more likely working against the surround experience than for it.

I run 5.1 in my family room … I’ve gotten a few “wow”s on the surround sound. I purposely didn’t put in ATMOS since aesthetic and physical trade offs were not ideal. 5.1 surround also had a few advantages I wanted … in this case … a much wider surround experience covering more of the room making the surround viable even outside the listening area.

1, How hard of a rule are monopoles for the surrounds with Atmos? Hard.

2. Would the quint poles compensate for the poor seating position? Yes.

3. What is the suggested mounting height for QS10's? 5’ above finished floor in your case.

3. Possibly in the future there will be a right side wall. Are Atmos side surrounds to be monopole as well? Yes.

Well Trevor, good call as we were not answering the questions asked … were we …

Ok, sounds like QS10 is the way to go.

I did not realize that a ceiling mount hanging bracket was available for the QS10. i thought it was for the 8 and 4 only. How far out from the rear wall should it hang?

Trevor, is that 5' to the centre, bottom or top?

Does Atmos have to be turned off in the receiver or does it only work if you install program high ceiling effect speakers? How does it know your not using monopoles?

The closer to the back wall, the closer the rear sound field will be to your MLP. I suggest you experiment.

Trevor, is that 5' to the centre, bottom or top? Tweeter Axis. 2’ above seated ear height in 5.1

Does Atmos have to be turned off in the receiver or does it only work if you install program high ceiling effect speakers? No.

How does it know your not using monopoles? No.

Processor maps the sound objects to as many speakers configured during setup. More speakers means more seamless and 3dimensional sound bubble. Atmos is a codec only. In an atmos processor height objects are rendered with height speakers if enabled, but atmos is still compatible with a legacy system like 5.1 etc if not.