Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Stereo Help me make this work

I got spousal permission to purchase a pair of m3s for my living/dining room, but the layout is less than ideal. I have a TV in the corner with a VP100 on it, but based on the location of a wall of windows and a piano, the temporary speakers I have hooked up are wall-mounted WAY too far apart.

http://home.mn.rr.com/parovens

Can someone take a look at these photos and make a recommendation? My wife doesn't want "obtrusive" speakers, so I can't go larger than the m3s, and she won't accept speakers on stands in front of the windows. I am willing to wall or ceiling mount to solve this.

The primary watching/listening position is a chair about 8 feet in front of the TV. Use is 50% TV/50% music. I have a HT setup in the basement, so I'm not looking to create a killer 5.1 system, just to improve the sound.

Low end is currently supplied by a passive 15" dbx sub that will be moved between the piano and TV. Marantz SR 780 and dbx sub amp pushing the power from beneath/behind the TV.

Piano has to go. Sorry. If you put the M3s near the piano they will excite the strings for sure.

stewboy,

You've got a tough situation there. The good news is that your M3s will sound much better than what you currently have, even if you have to mount them in the exact same location as your current speakers. Is there any possible way that you can rearrange the room? I realize that you have a corner unit for the TV, so that's probably out of the question.

Given what you've got to work with, you can probably get a pretty good stereo image from some ceiling mounted M3s as long as you point them down toward your listening area. You might be able to use Axiom's Full Metal Brackets to wall mount the M3s, but I'm not sure if they would clear the valance for the vertical blinds.

2x6 commented about vibrations coming form the piano strings being an issue. That's likely to be true if you place an M3 on the piano or if you like your music loud. At everyday "wife-friendly" volumes, it shouldn't be an issue.

That is a tuffy!

How about attaching them to the outer most sides of the corner cabinet, or ceiling area above and to each side of the cabinet.
They are obviously waaaaaay far apart now......Maybe one just above and to the right of the piano and the other same height between the first and second pane of glass, using those nice mounting brackets.
I wouldn't give up......there must be the right spot somewhere.......................Pat

stewboy

you are NOT screwed!

M3's are quite small. One time I was living in a VERY crowded space and fit plenty of speakers in. Just purchase a pair of stands and place the M3's NEXT to the TV, and pull the TV out from the wall a little. Aim the M3's with no toe-in. I have done it and it sounded surprisingly well, even at decent volumes.

Try as best as you can to space them out without crowding the piano. If you can move the piano AWAY from the TV at all, even a foot or two, that's a good improvement.

good luck!
show us pics when it's done!