Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Surround back speakers

I am looking into a 7.1 system for my room....

Why is it that so many people get direct radiating speakers for their rears rather than the quadpolar ones? I would think they should all be the same...

Thanks

A lot of people use QS speakers for the side surround, direct for the rear. Apparently it sounds better to some people. I have not had the chance to experiment myself.

The other advantage to that is you can choose what rear speakers you want when running 5.1. Some prefer direct radiating speakers for music and QS for movies.

Actually you will find that there are just as many people using quadpolar Qs8's or Qs4's, or other mfg. dipole/bipole speakers as direct radiating for the rear channel. Many find that the quadpolars do a great job for sacd or dvd-a also. Personally, I've been down the direct radiating path for the left/right and rear channels, and prefer my current setup of 4 qs8's. For HT, you are totally enveloped in the sound, which is the purpose of the surround channels, and for 5 or 7 channel stereo, neo6, sacd, or dvd-a they work great also. Using this setup is more forgiving, and does not require one to sit near the sweet spot to get the full benefit.

I just went through this dilema. For about a year, I have had 5.1 using QS8s in the back (not on the side, as is spec). The system sounded great. The QS8s are definitely forgiving in regards to placement. I should say that my room is basically 24x13x7 (feet that is, to clarify for you Great White North people!). Anyway...when I went for 7.1, I decided on using M22s for the back and moving the QS8s to the sides. I wanted the direct speakers because of music and figured I could always use the M22s somewhere else in the house if they didn't work. Well, they work fine. In fact, I think four QS8s would be fine, too. I generally don't sit in any one spot, sweet or not when listening to music. Although, in my purist mood, my favorite spot to sit is lotus postion (at 49, with a beer gut...yeah right) directly between my M60s, 6 ft. back, mesmerized, staring at the sound in traditional stereo mode. But lately, I've gone to 7 channel stereo. I usually bring the center (VP150) down, just above inaudible and bring the M60s up. Since the M60s are lower (positionwise) than the QS8s and M22s, they need to be up a bit (volumewise). Although, I am thinking of making stands for the M60s to get the tweeters up to standing ear level. Depending on the mix, I bring the EP500 up or down as needed. Even though I play bass, I'm generally not into rattling the walls and foundation of my neighbors houses, so the newer music usually gets brought down sub-basswise and the older stuff up a bit.

Sorry...I was on a roll.

In truth, there is no right way, grasshopper...just like there is no darkside of the moon, really. So, go with your gut..it's only money. And hey...you can always find a place for an extra set of direct speakers. The hard part is hiding the boxes from your wife. "You bought MORE SPEAKERS???" They just don't get it. It's just my little bit at helping keep the Canadian economy strong, so when there's no jobs left in America, I can move north and get a job at Axiom.

I still need to figure out how to use the M22s for 5.1 music. Is there a switch that swaps between surround and surround back on receivers? I've got a 3805...I may have to resort to reading that damn manual, unless someone here can save me the trouble.

Hi Ravi,

How can the speakers be selected when using 5.1?
(FYI - I have a Denon 3805)

Thanks.

mullhead (a.k.a. tom)

In reply to:

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Even though I play bass, I'm generally not into rattling the walls(...)

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Well, if you want to keep supporting the Canadian economy and want a hell of a bass at the same time... lay your hands on a Dingwall. While I gave up seriously playing - let me rephrase that - while I gave up trying to be a serious player a long time ago, picking up a Celtic touring band's bassist's after a show made me almost want to take it up again.

Bren R.

wow! that z2 blue zebra thingy looks cool

although, too many strings for me...i like tony levin's view...3 strings is enough...even though he could play a 1000 string bass with ease

is it old age, musical maturity, laziness, lack of talent or a bit of all the above? i've got about 3 bands i could be in right now and i can't bring myself to unzipping the gig bag and sitting down to learn new stuff

it isn't the music as much as the musicans (mostly the drummers...hehe) and the getting home at 3:30 am

for me it's just too hard to be serious any more

i'd want to play too much living colour and king crimson...the bar owners wouldn't like only having four people in the bar...especially when we want to drink for free on top of it

thanks for the link and i hope you get inspired to play again...Celtic, eh? hum...sounds like a hoot...and easier on the ears

btw...i'm down to one bass...a 4 string G&L ASAT (Leo Fender) Signiture bass
after Leo died, the sh?thead lawyers at Fender threatened to sue G&L if they didn't take the signiture off the bass
i thought i might have a rare bird, but i guess there were over 1000 made with Leo's signiture

mullhead, you`d have to check your manual to see if it`s possible with your unit. sorry, i don`t know off hand!

I'm pretty sure it is possible... and the 2805 manual (which I happened to have) hints strongly at it but doesn't actually tell you how to DO it ;(

Denon owners please step up. If you have QS8 surrounds and direct rears, how do you get a 5.1 music playback to use the rears instead of the surrounds for the back channels ?

I have a Denon 1602 so it's only 5.1, I don't have that option.

Oh well....


Will a real denon owner please stand up?

we got a problem here

Tom, as you know, your 3805 has two separate sets of surround speaker terminals(cleverly named A and B). You can connect "A" to your QS8s and "B" to your M22s if you want to, then set the 3805 to use "A" in most cases(p.38) and "B" for multichannel DVD-As/SACDs.

Hey John,

Thanks for the info. I haven't had a chance to try it, yet.
The problem is, I'm pretty sure I won't be able to use 7 channel stereo that way?
Or maybe...if I just use "B" along with "A" in 5 channel, should do it...I'll try it and let you know.

Thanks to all for your help.

Tom