Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Advice from Axiom Owners Best Axiom Components for 7.1 HT System?

What would be the best setup for a 7.1 HT system:

A. 2 Towers (M60ti) + 2 BookShelves for Rear (M22ti or M3ti) + 2 QS8 for Sorround

OR

B. 2 Towers (M60ti) + 4 QS8 for Rear & Sorround

I am not sure if I would like the Dipoles that much for the Rears. I like to be able to pinpoint the sounds to a specific speaker and I am not sure if the Dipoles diffuse the sound too much and if they still have that capability to localize the sound. I am hoping that current owners can provide more information on this thing.

Thanks in advance.
Gary.

Welcome!

Your question is a good one (and therefore, not uncommon). I bet if you do a quick search, you might find some good advice on this topic.

That said, your concerns are as valid as your question. Having 4 diffuse Quadpolar speakers might make the rear sound too "unlocalized." That is why many of the members use 2 QS8s and 2 M2s (i.e. two quadpoles, two direct firers).

In my 7.1 set-up, which is far from perfect, having 4 Qs would be a waste. The two direct firing rear surrounds does help to define some of the sound in the back when appropriate.

Good luck!

Hi Gary, welcome.

This topic has been hashed through here a number of times. If you do a search for relevant terms, you'll probably find a number of people shooting off their mouths, er, offering opinions.

I run 5.1, so take this with a grain of salt. To answer your question directly, it depends somewhat upon your room configuration and size. Most people would probably assert that the M2 is plenty for the rear surrounds and also a better tonal match for the M60's than is the M3.

I think you'd probably want a fair amount of space behind the listening position in order to fully appreciate direct-radiating speakers as rear surrounds.

Welcome Gary,

First the QS series speakers are not dipoles. Dipoles have their drivers wired out of phase. The QS series drivers are wired IN phase, so they are really bipoles x 2 which = quardrapoles. They are the best surrounds I've ever heard.

If you are the least bit interested, now or in the future, in SACDs or DVD-As, then you should seriously consider going with the M2s as rear surrounds (The M3s are generally considered tonally similar to the M40s and M50s, and tonally different from the M2, M22, M60, M80 series). Direct radiating speakers, like the M2, are recommended in a 5.1 set up for listening to SACDs and DVD-As. For 7.1 movie watching they will serve admirably as rear surrounds, with the QS speakers, or 2 more M2s as side surrounds.

If you have no interest whatsoever in SACDs and DVD-As, and primarily watch movies, then 4 QS series speakers would be incredible as surrounds. They will diffuse the sound which, in my opinion, is the whole point of surround speakers: to surround you with sound. There are however, many who don't agree with me and prefer direct radiating speakers as surrounds.

You say you like to localize the sound. If that's what you prefer, you should consider going with direct radiating speakers (M2) as all 4 surrounds.

But I would state that, of the Axioms I own (M60s/VP150/QS8s), the QS8s do what they were designed to do the best.

I emailed Alan with the same question. Here is some of his response

I love the sound of QS8s for soundtracks as well as multichannel
music through DPLII or Logic 7. Some customers prefer adding direct-radiating
M2i's at the back. I prefer the QS8s but I acknowledge there is an argument for
direct-radiating surrounds if you listen to a lot of DVD-Audio or SACD.

I prefer the very generous ambient coverage of the QS8s, which seem to fill the
room with concert-like realism even when I lie on the floor doing my tedious
back exercises!

If you were going to listen to LOTS of multi-channel music, maybe M22s instead of M2s would be the way to go?

Good Point I left out that in my email to Alan,due to the wife having a very large cabinet, I don't have enough room on one side,Therefore, the 22's were not an option for me, but certainly would work well for everyone else.

I vote A. This would be ideal, as you could listen to 5.1 SACD or DVD-A material using your bookshelf rears instead of your QS surrounds. QS's are better for movies, direct radiators for music. If you were not anticipating listening to any multichannel music, then my vote is for (C): tower fronts, and 3 QS8's for a 6.1 system, since the rear information is mono anyway.

Mark