Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Stereo Best surround sound

I have a 7 channel receiver, but am wondering to spring for 2 extra QS8's or perhaps one extra QS8. My room size is 16x19x8 with additional listening area in adjoining dining and kitchen.

What do you want to use the 2 extra QS8s for .. music in the other room (Zone II setup) or as a 7.1. If its the latter, the QS8s will be an awesome choice. For a Zone II setup, probably you should try the bookshelves. The only thing I dont like about Zone II setups (esp HK receivers - dont know what you've got), is that they dont have separate bass/treble controls

Thanks for your input. Yes, I was thinking of the extra QS8's for additional surround sound. I have wondered about the center speaker and figured the VP150 would be better than the 100. One other question: Is 16 guage wire heavy enough for the speaker hook-up?

Hugh, if you have a fair amount of space behind your listening position for a back surround effect to develop(likely, since your room is 19' long), then two back speakers can be worthwhile, especially if your receiver has DPLIIx to steer ambient sounds contained in two or five channel material to the back speakers. Some prefer to use more direct radiating speakers, such as M2s, for back surrounds, rather than additional QSs.

16ga speaker wire is fine in most cases, except for very long runs. If you haven't already done so, this article on speaker wire by a well-respected veteran audio professional should be studied.

I had the QS8's in my house for 2 weeks and used 24' runs of Kimber Qwik-16. Everything was just fine and they sounded fantastic.

Certainly the Qs8s would work for rears, but most recommendations point towards the M2s. The other thing to consider is how much source materila is out there beyond 5.1. The 6/7 channel stuff hasn't really shown up in great quantity yet. Could be an oportunity to postpone expenditures a bit.

Your comments have been terrific. Since I don't have Bill Gates money I'm going to cut back a little on the QS8/s. Also many thanks for solving my wiring question.

You have a pretty good size room. If you don't have a really good sub, or a VP150, given a fixed budget I'd favor a powerful sub and a VP150 over 7.1 surround. E.g. EP500 for the sub.

If you have the money and space of course 7.1 plus an EP500 and VP150 is fine.

Qs8's for rears would be the norm as they also do a great job for music.