Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion The Water Cooler What system?

I am looking to purchase an axiom system. I will be using it in a 21x12x8 room. It will be mostly for HT, but will be used for music as well. I am leaning towards the epic 80. My questions are: is the system to much for a room that size(2000cu sq ft), should I upgrade the sub to the 500, what is a good reciever match for the system (I'm leaning towards the Denon 3805).
Thanks

I dont think the 80 system will be too much. Id say it will be just right for your needs. If you are willing to spend the extra money for the 500 i would certainly consider it over the 350 but im sure the 350 is perfectly capable of meeting your needs. Personally i would go with the 500 though simply because its a beast.

i think you would be perfectly happy with some M60's, the EP500, QS8's, and a VP150 center.. that will be absolutely fabulous in that room. and the 3805 is a plenty good receiver to use.

bigjohn

At the time that I am posting this, you have gotten 2 responses. One saying "Go for the Epic 80, but get the 500 sub" and the other saying "A setup with 60s, VP150, and QS8s with the 500 sub."

Two diferent points of view. If you look at what each of them own, you will see that they recommended basically the speakers that they own. (I would do the same as I love my M60s and have even larger room air volume than you do.)

Anyway, since this was your first post here, I just wanted to let you know that we all love our Axioms, but sometimes are prone to bias in our comments.

Personally, from a total "geek" point of view, if you can afford the M80s, then why not get them. For me, I went from looking at M22 fronts to M60s which doubled the price for front speakers for me. Since these will be my first "real" speakers, I went with the M60s since they were better for my needs, but even the M22s would have sounded better than what I used to have (Hey Haoleb, I had big ol' KLH speakers back in the day too. Glad that they are gone.)
When I asked Axiom support for their ideas, they never tried to get me to jump up to the M80s or even say that the M60s wouldn't be enough for my approx 3300cu sq ft area. At the time, there were no "big, bad Axiom subs" so I ended up with an SVS, but I would agree with the others that it would be good to jump up to the 500. The sub needs to be able to push the most air volume, and you have a good amount to push around. The 350 was never regarded as being as good of a subwoofer as you could get (tried to word that negative as a positive). It isn't bad, but better bang for the buck was out there. The 500 would do you well.

Anyway, my point is that you should be sure to wait until you get several responses, and then run it past Axiom's advice group. As you will find out, Axiom's customer service and support is fast and friendly. They will give you an honest answer as well.

Good luck.

Just think about placement, maybe draw it out or simulate it with some boxes on the floor. The 80s are big speakers and usually don't like to be stuck right against the back wall -- plan to have the fronts at least 3 feet away from the wall and sometimes 4 feet away.

If you can't get a good layout with the fronts of the 80s 3-4 feet from the back wall you might want to think about 60s... they're a bit smaller and don't seem to need quite as much space, maybe 3 feet from the wall to the front of the speakers vs. 4 feet for the 80s.

This is all just based on anecdotal feedback from owners and probably depends a lot on the room. Just saying this because the only unhappy 80 owners I have heard about are ones who needed to stuff them real close to the back wall. Everyone else raves about the sound.

I'm partially with Nick - if you want the M80s, they will be OK for your room. However, when most folks recommend what they have, there is also another consideration that comes into play - the equipment was chosen in large part based on the size of the room they bought it for.

That is the reason that I would tell you that the M60/VP100/QS8 combo driven by a 3803 (the 3805 is Denon's replacement) would work very well for you. I use the set up in a 16x22x10 room and it is wonderful. Delivers all of the audio I ask for.

The M80s sound pretty much like the M60s, but they provide the ability to play louder. You decision there will be based on preference, decor, size, decibel requirements, price and the always popular - bragging rights, testosterone and "what if" avoidance.

I use an SVS 20-39 PCi sub ( and it's plenty in that room), so I can't really give you good insight into Axiom subs other than to comment that there is no such thing as too much LFE. If you can afford the EP500, knock yourself out.

Sift throught the various ideas you get, you really can't make a mistake with the choices you are considering.

Ray

My room is 30' x 30' x 9' minus the AV closet I just installed, no problems, except I may add another EP350 or try moving up to a bigger sub.


m60's VP150 EP350 4-Qs8's
Denon 2805
Sanyo PLV Z2 projector

For perspective, I have a room that is 18'x27'x8' w/ hardwood floors. I have M22's, VP150, 2xQS8's and a Hsu VTF2. It is more than enough for the room. M60's would probably be better, but I don't regret my purchase at all.

I agree, many users will give a thumbs up on their own systems. Don't we all? But don't discount the value of the smaller systems.