Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater M22Ti's on shelves? (much more inside!)

Hello everyone,

I have a full complement of Axiom's and I'm very, very pleased with them. Music, movies, they are perfect to my ears.

M22Ti
VP150
QS8s

SCENARIO
OK, I am purchasing a projector and building a screen. Due to screen size, space taken up by equipment rack and the size of the wall, it doesn't look like I'll have room for the stands that my M22s sit on. (They'd be blocking the screen).

Here's what I'm considering:

Mounting the speakers on shelves, at the same height as my stands (22"). The shelves will be 12" deep, which means there will be approximately 3" of space b/t the rear-firing port and the wall.

Is this enough space? It's important to note that these are SHELVES and not an "entertainment center"; i.e. the speakers won't be "boxed in" like if I was putting them into a cubby? I hope I explained this adequately!

In theory, it would work just fine. However, real world and theory tend to not match up sometimes.

What do you guys think of this idea?

Michael, that should work well. A few inches of "breathing room" for the rear port is adequate. In general it's all right to have a speaker very close to one room surface as long as the distance of the woofer cones to the other two room surfaces(e.g. floor and side wall) differ from that and from each other. One point would be not to set the M22s at all back on the shelf but to instead have it slightly overlapping(maybe 1/2")the front edge, so as to minimize diffraction caused by the shelf.

Thanks, JohnK. RE: "overlapping the front of the shelf" That's exactly how I have them now on my stands. I designed the stands that way so that basically, the grill is hanging over the front. That would make the edges of the cones right at or slightly over the edge.

Good to hear a positive opinion on this idea; if the stupid wall was only 12" wider, it wouldn't have come to this!

There's so much involved; measuring, thinking, remeasuring....you know how it goes. I'm trying to keep the "front three" as close in-line w/each other as possible. The VP150 will be going on a shelf centered on and directly underneath the screen.

This would put the VP150 within 8 inches of the tweets on the M22's (assumming a shelf of 22"). Not bad if I say so myself. Thanks again.

Anyone else have any input? Anyone know the minimum mounting distance from a rear wall for the M22's?

Michael, it seems to me I've heard that at least 3" is necessary, but don't hold me to that.

Hi Jack,

Thanks for the input. I've emailed Axiom (thru the "contact" link) and asked what the minimum distance is. I'm hoping it's not any more than 3" b/c I don't want 18" deep shelves sticking out of the wall...that would defeat what I'm trying to achieve.

You know, it's amazing how when you start a project, it's SO simple. Just a little of this and a little of that.

But then you break out the tape measure and b/c you moved "this", now "that" wont' fit...but it MIGHT fit if you raise "this thing" by 3", but now "that thing over there" won't fit. :rolleyes: Know what I mean? Heh, I'm driving myself batty...I find myself standing in my living room, tape measure in hand mumbling incoherently.

Well, I think I answered my own question. I think 2 3/8" is the minimum distance. How did I come up with that?

Well, the wall mount that Axiom sells specifically says it works with the M22. The mount places the speaker 2 3/8" from the wall.

In reply to:

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Sold individually, in black or white. Bracket places speaker 2 and 3/8" from the wall, and measures 6 and 1/8" from top to bottom.

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Check it out. [l=Link]http://www.axiomaudio.com/FMB.html#[/l]

The FMB can angle the speaker out a bit and since the port is at the top you can probably get 3-ish inches from port to wall...

I bet Axiom says 3 inches

Wow, I got a response back from Axiom already! Got to love their customer service.

Here's what they said, verbatim.

In reply to:

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You will require a couple of inches from the back wall, the more the better. The open shelve should limit boundary effect that is caused by enclosures.

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The answer is kind of ambiguous IMO.

I stood in the front of my living room last night for about an hour with the tape measure. I might be able to get everything to fit across the front of the room as is. I.E. Keep the speakers on the stands. If I move the stands back as far as I can (i.e. the base of the stands touch the wall) I'll have roughly 2 1/2" from the wall to the speaker. How ironic.

It all depends on the size of the screen, really.

As it stands right now, the screen will be 48" x 81", borders/frame included. (45" x 78" viewing area)

Axiom's response is kind of confusing; they say "the more the better" yet they sell brackets that put the rear of the speaker 2 3/8" away from the wall. I wish I could get a definitive answer. Guess I'll email them back.

I'm not sure if Axiom intends the FMBs to be used with M22s in a main configuration or just as surrounds. Don't think there is as much bass content in the surround channels so maybe the port/wall effects don't matter so much ?

>>Due to screen size, space taken up by equipment rack and the size of the wall, it doesn't look like I'll have room for the stands that my M22s sit on. (They'd be blocking the screen).

Sorry if this is a dumb question, but the only way I can see the stands being a problem is if your mains have to be pushed right out to the side walls so there is no room for the bases.

Am I understanding this correctly ? Are you going to have the M22s butted up against the side walls ? If so, that's probably going to have as much effect on sound as being too close to the back wall...

Hi Bridgman,

I appreciate you helping me out.

Hopefully this picture clears things up.



You can see the sub in the right corner. I can slide the sub over about 2-3" to make a little room.

The entertainment center is going away completely and the screen will be on the wall. I have built a flexy rack for the gear, which will go where the DVD rack is on the left. The flexy rack is 23" wide; same size as the DVD rack, essentially. The DVD rack is 24" wide and though you cannot see the left edge of the wall in this pic, it's right at the "cutoff" of the photo. The wall ends there.

Due to the width of the PJ screen the speakers may not fit w/o blocking the screen.

From left to right, this is how the layout will be.

Flexy rack-->left speaker-->screen-->right speaker-->sub

Have you considered moving the sub behind the listening position? If it's out of the question then you are kind of in a bind.

Heh, I'm in a bind, indeed. That's the only place in the room the sub can go; there is no other corner for it.

I'll figure something out. Probably. I hope. Maybe. Definitely!!!

My first thought would be to have the equipment rack on the side wall, probably on the right (guessing there is no door there) so you could put the sub in the front left corner (sub looks a bit narrower than the dvd/flexy rack) and then leave the M22s on stands pretty much where they are, just separated a bit to clear the screen.

You have probably already looked at this layout, just checking...

Don't forget that subs make good end tables as long as you have sorbothane coasters. Might be a good excuse to get that second sub you always wanted

The sub does not "have to" be in a corner. In fact, there are many times that a corner is not the best place for it.

Hi guys,

Just got back from Home Depot/Joann's; bought the stuff to make the screen. I could easily spend the rent money at Home Depot, and still not have all the toys I want. Oh well.

Anyway, I actually never thought about putting the sub on the left where the DVD rack is/flexy will go. I always thought it had be in a corner. Hmm. You know, your suggestions got me to start thinking outside the box. I did some measuring. Check this pic out.



You can see the sub on the left. That bookcase on the right can be moved into the dining room and the equipment rack could go there. Of course you see the fireplace; that's the whole reason my living room is screwed up. I hate that thing. It ruins the room IMO. Takes up valuable equipment space!

If I put the equipment rack there, I wouldn't need to move anything else and the speakers could stay right where they are...moved back about 8 inches, but pretty much in the same spot.

It would involve running new wire to the front 3 speakers as well as a coax cable for the cable box. At least I have an option now should it not fit.

Thanks very much. Any further ideas, please post!

I don't know anything about FP, but couldn't you just shrink your picture size a little? It won't matter if your speakers block a little of the screen as long as they don't block any of the picture, right?

michaeld,

While I've been auditioning various combos of Axioms, I moved one of my M22ti's to an open shelf to the left of a RPTV I have on loan. The M22ti's rear baffle is 1 inch from the wall behind it and it sounds fine. I haven't noticed any timbral (tonal) differences with its mate, which remains on a 24-inch stand to the right of a large rear-projection TV. Its rear baffle is about 6 inches from the wall behind. I'm amazed that the left M22ti isn't affected by the proximity of the wall behind, but it isn't.

Regards,

Hello Alan,

Thanks very much for your reply. As you can imagine, I've been going nuts w/the tape measure as I "move things around in my head." Heh...that sounds rather dicey, doesn't it? I appreciate your input very much; I know that you know Axioms; if you say it does or doesn't, I will take your word for it.

I will be sure to post pics and thoughts on whatever setup I finally decide upon.