Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Currently shopping fro home theater, what receiver

I love hardwood floors and I have them throughout my home except in my listening room. I'm of the opinion that speakers are only going to sound as good as the room acoustics will let them. Lots of highly reflective surfaces can be a recipe for a fatiguing listening experience. If your heart is set on hardwood floors you can always put thick decorative rugs (padding under the rugs can't hurt either) and add lots of soft, plushy items to the room. But when considering how to get the best sound out of your system, the room shouldn't be ignored.

Oh I agree (and indeed, padding and plush pillows, etc.) are part of the picture. There's a delicate balance to be struck, I'd say, since many (most?) of us cannot simply dedicate a room to nothing else but HT. Mine is, essentially, the living room, and while it is largely turned over to a/v, it does need to have a modicum of sociability in it, and the aesthetics that go along with that. How much one way or another you handle things is a tricky balance (or, alternately, how cleverly you can make the room more and more a/v primed while not making it LOOK that way. i.e. rugs and plush).

Keeping in mind my own personal preference for hardwood, I'll suggest that maybe it would be a good idea to leave the carpeting until you have the speakers setup. Decide if you like the sound. If the high end is a little strong, I'm sure you wouldn't enjoy it without the carpet. If you feel that there's room to move - go for it.

Allison, welcome. Of the receivers that you listed, yes ,go with the 3805. You might also consider the new HK635, with a different type of automatic calibration and equalization developed by Dr. Toole's team. I agree with previous comments about getting an even more powerful sub. Also, don't worry about spending much on wire; there's no need to do so.

If you do go with the "hardwood floor with a carpet" look, see if it'll work to put the carpet at the place on the floor where you're liable to get a direct "reflection" of the sound. If you have a hard time locating that area for each speaker, sit in the "primo" position and have someone move a mirror along the floor till you see a reflection of the speaker.

This primary, direct reflection is likely to be the most notable one if the hardwood DOES cause a problem. I have the same issue here with hardwood floors throughout the whole house and will replace my current living room rug with one just a tad bigger to cover that point!

Well, since we're on the subject. There are some recommendations to be made about cables and speaker wire. Axiom offers both and they are good products.

My choices and usual recommendations are Blue jeans Cables interconnects using 1694 Belden wire with Canare connectors. Good price, good parts and excellent build quality. Nothing additional need be spent here. Be sure to get them long enough to allow you move around freely when working with the equipment.

Speaker wire can be had from the bulk wire department at Home Depot for about $.25/ft. They'll cut it to the length(s) you want. 14 ga should do fine. Again - more money isn't necessary.

i've got laminate floors with an area rug on it in the middle and my m60s (with the denon 3805) sound absolutely fantastic. especially with the Cars greatest hits i've got playing now! OH-ohOH!

Don't do what I did :

- hardwood floors
- big cushy rug in the center to control direct reflections
- highly reflective glass topped coffee table in the middle of the rug to undo all the good the rug does

that gives me a pretty good chuckle! isnt that always the way though, you do something like that and when you fire up the speakers youre like "SONUVA..."