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Room advice (speaker type and placement) W / pics
#85227 03/14/05 07:10 PM
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sdmoel Offline OP
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I am looking for the right speakers to fit my surround sound needs. I have a pretty big room that has a high sloping ceiling. This room is 26'X 16'. This room is connected to two other rooms (very open house). The adjoining dining room/kitchen nooks are 10'X 13' and 10'X 11.5' with a wall separating them from each other, both fully open to the gathering room side (where the home theater is going). These speakers need to be hung at least 10 feet high above numerous Windows etc... The ceiling goes up another 10 to 15 feet above where I need to hang these speakers (at least on one side, like I said, it slopes up on one side). Since this is such a big and open area, what speakers would you recommend for a 7.1 set up? I was thinking about axiom speakers. I am getting a Harman Kardon AVR635 to run these speakers. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Like what type of speakers and how many of a certain type for a 7.1 experience for this room. Since the 60” TV will go on top of the fireplace (TV in cattycorner position) where would you recommend hanging the speakers? My speaker budget is around $1500 or so. Thank you for your time.

Front of room 1


Front of room 2


Back of room 1


Back of room 2


Re: Room advice (speaker type and placement) W / pics
#85228 03/14/05 07:48 PM
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Greetings, and welcome.

I've stared at your pictures for about five minutes now. While I'd like to tell you it's not hopeless, that is a very tough room, especially doing everything on the 45 degree angle with the TV in the corner.

Okay, that is a very large room acoustically. I am concerned about your budget, but I do think that the HK is an excellent choice. What percentage of your time will be spent listening to music? If you want satisfying music in that room, you may find that you need floorstanding speakers.

Likewise, to get satisfying home theatre, you WILL need a decent subwoofer, which will take up ~30-35% of your budget right off the top.

Placement is going to be really challenging. You may not wind up going with 7.1; 5.1 or 6.1 could be just as satisfying, not present the placement problems and help your budget. Moreover, I'm not sure how you could configure 7.1 in that room and get everything sounding great. All those angles are freaking me out.

I would strongly encourage you to put the front, main speakers (whether bookshelf or floorstanding) ON THE FLOOR rather than hung up above the windows. It's going to sound a lot better. Put them next to the fireplace. Just live with the idea of partially obstructing the windows.

What are you planning with the center channel?

The Axiom Full Metal Bracket (FMB) may really help you with the mounting. Do you have things wired already? i.e. are you stuck with some placement positions for the surround and rear speakers?

If your budget is pretty firm, I'd suggest the Epic Grand Master 175 package. Don't be afraid to order from the Factory Outlet if you can stand the wait. If you can spend a bit more, I encourage you to consider the M50's rather than the M22's. I don't think you should scrimp on this stuff; Axiom offers excellent value for the dollar, but even here, it will be practically impossible for you to get 7.1 for $1500.

I wish I could help more. I'm sure others will chime in.

You have a beautiful home. Thank you for sharing your project with us.

- Tom


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Re: Room advice (speaker type and placement) W / pics
#85229 03/14/05 08:05 PM
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sdmoel Offline OP
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Thanks so much for your response! Yes, these angles are truly scary for sound. I am actually helping a friend set up his new house (the house in the pics). I really don’t think he is firm on his budget. He just wants 7.1 What would you recommend to get this room as close to sounding as good as possible? I have heard nothing but good things about your products, this is why we are coming to you. I do think we need to go with the floor standing like you suggested. Would it be the Grand Master package with two extra speakers. If so, what should these extra speakers be? What would be the highest you would recomment for hanging these speakers? Again, thanks so much for your help!

Edit: Sorry, I forgot to answer some of your questions. We will put the center channel either on the bottom or top of the TV (most likely bottom, more on ear level). We are not fixed to a certain spot to when hanging speakers. They can go anywhere.

Last edited by sdmoel; 03/14/05 08:13 PM.
Re: Room advice (speaker type and placement) W / pics
#85230 03/14/05 08:12 PM
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Man, I CANNOT get this problem out of my head. Must be the pictures.

Okay, here's an idea.

M22 mains - $440
3 M2 (surround and one in the back for 6.1) - $420
VP100 center - $240
EP175 $530 (some people may suggest the Hsu STF-2 or SVS PB10, which would also be fine choices but would not match the other speakers)
Total $1630 - order all at once and save (5%? not sure) or through the factory outlet. You still need money for stands and/or mounts.

Put the M22's on stands next to the fireplace. Put one M2 in the corner over by the french door, pointing at the side of the couch. Put another M2 in the corner opposite that one, also pointing at the side of the couch. Put the final M2 in the back, by the butler's pantry pointing at the back of the couch.

You will need a Radio Shack SPL meter and a calibration disk (Avia, Home Video Essentials, Sound and Vision, etc.) to balance everything.

This is one of the few cases where I would advocate for "directional" (monopole) surrounds like the M2 instead of the quadpolar QS series. I love my QS8's, but in your room, I think the quadpolar design might not help because of the diamond-shaped viewing area. You could save some money there, too.

Just one Axiomite's opinion. Good luck.

- Tom B.



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Re: Room advice (speaker type and placement) W / pics
#85231 03/14/05 08:15 PM
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sdmoel Offline OP
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Thank you very much! I really appreciate your time and expertise! Your suggestions sound like a winner.

All other opinions are welcome as well.

Re: Room advice (speaker type and placement) W / p
#85232 03/14/05 08:27 PM
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I will definetly be following this thread with interest. My living room has very similar dimensions but I don't have the long wall, it's pretty square. But I have the same issue having the tv in the corner, so I understand the diamond shape problem. I have the sloped ceiling as well. At first I thought monopole surrounds would be good. Then I thought maybe I would still notice an improvement with the QS series. Now I am thinking monopoles again. Yowsers!

Re: Room advice (speaker type and placement) W / p
#85233 03/14/05 08:38 PM
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axiomite
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Wow.
Tough room sd.

Offhand, M22s up front on the mantle and QS8s all around. Not sure about a centre channel unless you can dangle it from the ceiling or actually manage to sit it atop the tv. You could try going with M60s since the room is so large but you would have to put up with placing them very near or possibly slightly in front of some of the windows to get spacing right.
Budget is an issue for sure. Nail down an exact value and assume that 7.1 for $1500 is either going to be small speakers or one those (eech) home theatre in a box things.

Last edited by chesseroo; 03/14/05 08:40 PM.

"Those who preach the myths of audio are ignorant of truth."
Re: Room advice (speaker type and placement) W / p
#85234 03/14/05 09:16 PM
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Seems like some people like using a "phantom" center channel - that might be a good option, too, considering how high the TV is. The performance might be just as good as an oddly mounted center, and save some money. It would depend upon how many viewing seats you have and how far apart the mains are. You could try that first (only the front L/R, phantom center) and if it didn't perform as hoped, you could add a dedicated center later.

I'm really thinking that some M50's or M60's would be much better in that room if the budget allows.


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Re: Room advice (speaker type and placement) W / p
#85235 03/14/05 10:39 PM
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Tough but not impossible. I had a similarly sized room. I ended up w/ m22's, VP150, QS8's, and VTF2. Total cost was close to your budget. I saved on the sub by buying bstock. I think I got it for $399 shipped. Also consider that you can subtract the cost from all the referrals you get. Half serious, because I've already received 2 referral checks from my "weirdly" configured system.

I've added some pics so you can see the progression. The center channel will be challenge, so you'll have to compromise on looks.

Fortunately, I've decided to wall mount my plasma. Picked up some FMS16's and a Salamander twin. Hope to be done in the next 2 weeks, have to run cables and repaint to make everything nice. I'll post when I'm done.

I'd stick w/ 5.1 and put your money there first. Worry about 6.1/7/1 when you've got the main section of the system dialed in.

Room Layout
With CRT
With plasma


Last edited by oldskoolboarder; 03/14/05 10:40 PM.
Re: Room advice (speaker type and placement) W / p
#85236 03/15/05 12:14 AM
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sdmoel Offline OP
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I believe the 7.1 is a go. I guess we will adjust the budget accordingly. What do you think about the side speakers? Did you mean that all the surround sound speakers should be M2's or would the QS8's work better for the sides (not the rear), or not a big difference? Please feel free to tell me what you think will work best for the room (I know you only have the pictures to go on). Budget is a concern, but over all performance will be first in thought. I figured it would be best to start there. It is all sounding great though. I can't wait to post pics of the final setup along with review (if you all are interested). Axiom is a great company. Thanks for all the assistants! I haven't even purchased anything yet and the customer service has been excellent.

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