Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Theater setup? What speaker? Is too Big, too bad?

Hello all,
Building a home theater system. Room is 18x23x9, or perhaps 8 foot ceiling if I create a box-in-box room. Dedicated HT. 90% movies, 10%music. The home theater wizard directs me to the m60/70 mainly. The more I look at speakers and talk to theater dudes, the more I tend to think that a good movie speaker is one in which the range is somewhere like 50hz and up, leaving the bass to a sub. I looked at some M & K speakers, the 750 series, TXH certified. Dealer told me that Lucas uses these speakers at the Lucas Ranch. I really don't care much for certifications, but they did sound good for the movies. SO, my question is, do I go for somethink along the lines of the M22i's, or go with bigguns, like the m60? One of the reviews on this site, Home Audio I believe, states that the M22's did just as good at movies if using a sub. Any thought? Any of you compared the 22's with the 60's on movies? Also, I like the look of the towers. It is that gut feeling that something small can't be that good. It is hard to think about spending thousands on a theater room, and then have these little bookshelves in the front. Hmm. What will my friends think. ha. Thanks for any reply.
Rolyasm

The M22s are that good, but why not go for the M60s? I would think that there's a little more low end on the M60s before that 50 Hz line (not that I know for a fact...). I would probably cross M22s at 80 Hz, but I'd use 60 Hz for the M60s. I've got M50s, which definitely have more bass than the M22s. That said, I don't watch many movies, so what the heck do I know?

Rolyasm
I've owned both the M22s and the M60s in a simular size room. I found that I prefer the 60s. They seemed to fill the room with sound mo betta. For your room size, if it were me, I'd go with the 60s

Was it music or movies you were listening to more? what is mo better? he

With both music and movies the sound stage was more enveloping.
Dont get me wrong I really really liked the 22s, but traded them in for 60s on recomendations from both people on this forum and Axiom.
Very glad I did.

Go with the M60's if your budget allows. By the time you pay for some nice (not econony) speaker stands, you will be within $250-275 of the M60's anyway.

Besides, in the size of a room you mentioned, I personally wouldn't even consider using a bookshelf speaker.

I love when I get a chance to tell this story...

A co-worker of mine and myself were both building our 5.1 systems at the same time. I bought the Rotel RSP-1066 processor and Rotel RMB-1075 5 channel amp. For speakers I've got the Axiom M60ti mains, VP150 center, QS8 surrounds, and a Hsu VTF-2 subwoofer. All told I spent about $3900.

He went with an Anthem processor and amp, and a full THX M&K speaker system. (He paid more for his Anthem gear than I did for my entire system - speakers included.)

He came to my house to hear what my system sounded like...and left feeling like an idiot. We played movie clips, music, and a little THX demo disc that contained 5 of those THX trailers.

He was blown away both literally and figuratively. He still has his gear...hell, he already paid for it all, might as well keep it. But he comes to me now for his audio advice.

M&K sounds nice, but no better than my Axioms.

Welcome dude,

If you can foot out the green, I would say go with the M60's. Not that the 22's are bad, they are not, but overall for music/HT needs you can't go wrong with the M60's. For home theatre and music I luuuuuv the bass the 60's puts out, nice/tight/accurate. I've got my crossover set to 80hz on my Denon. Also, that room is pretty good sized, so I would say the 60's would be a better overall choice. Below is my room currently being finished.





M60's
EP350
VP150
4 Qs8's
Denon AVR 2805
Sanyo Z2 WXGA Projector
Samsung OTA HD receiver
Toshiba Prog Scan DVD

In reply to:

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Room is 18x23x9...M22i's, or go with bigguns, like the m60? One of the reviews on this site, Home Audio I believe, states that the M22's did just as good at movies if using a sub

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My dedicated HT room is about 17x21x9.

I first had M22s, the added V100, QS8s and a Hsu STF-2. That sounded very good. The M22s and a good sub are impressive at both music and HT.

However -- I upgraded to M60/VP150/QS8 and a Hsu VTF-3R. It was definitely better. Just more power, more presence, a more expansive feel.

New action movie soundtracks have lots of bass content. E.g. Star Wars II Attack of the Clones, and Master and Commander (sea battle movie). A powerful sub adds much realism.

Given the investment in a typical mid-range HT room, plus your room size I'd definitely go with M60/VP150/QS8 and if possible an Axiom EP350 or EP500 or even EP600 (the bigger the better).

Even though the M60s have great bass, for HT IMO you really need a sub. In your big room you need a big sub and Axiom has some great new ones in the EP500 and 600. Hsu and SVS both make great products as well. Depending on your lighting, decor, and sub position, the Axiom subs finish matches the other speakers which can be nice.