Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Advice from Axiom Owners First Home Theater Setup

I am new to Home theater and this forum - have probably read every post as well as all of the on-line Axiom reviews and am psyched about the product. Looking for your advice about best way to go with my budget.

My room is 13x20. I listen to mostly Jazz, vocals, Broadway music. I have never been into booming base - more drawn to the treble end of the sound spectrum.
My speaker budget is $1500 - $1800. I am thinking of the M22Ti for mains, VP150 center, QS8 for surrounds and SVC 25-31PC subwoofer. I will be using this setup for 50/50 movies/music and am going to purchase the Denon 3803.

Concerns: 1. Is the M22ti powerful enough to fill this room with sound or should I be saving for the M60 towers and holding off on the subwoofer? 2) What kind of performance can I expect in 2 channel stereo with just the M22 and the subwoofer for music listening?

Would appreciate any thoughts on this before I make the purchase. Thanks!

Mark, your proposed setup up should be excellent in a room of that size. If you've run into some of my replies you know that I prefer a vertical M2 as center rather than even as well-regarded a horizontal center as the VP150. M22s plus 25-31PC(ask Tom to tune it to 22hz)would be about as good as it gets for stereo music listening. Note of course that you can use DPLII on stereo recordings to see how you like the ambience effects.

Hi Mark T,

I just returned from several days of meetings and a day of listening comparisons at the Axiom plant.

Don't think of a floorstanding speaker as a "substitute" for a subwoofer. ALL speakers need subwoofer assistance, to extend and increase output of the bottom octave of music as well as movie effects.

If you are sitting at the other end of your 20-ft room, you'll experience a somewhat "fuller" sound with the M60s over the M22's (both used with a sub) without giving up any detail or clarity. The dynamic potential will also be greater with the M60s. If you sit closer (as I do, about 10 or 12 feet away) with the M22's, there's no need to get the M60s.

But whichever you choose, don't hold off on the subwoofer.

Regards,

You may want to consider a direct radiating speaker for the rears if your music is more important than HT. I think this way you will get more of what the engineers and artist intended it to sound like. The QS8 is an excellent speaker I hear, but excels at HT more than music. Only because of it's dispersion properties. Of course there are not many offerings in 5.1 or 6.1 music yet, but I believe it will become much more popular in the years to come. People who have heard re-mixed and mastered 5.1 recordings say they would never go back to 2 channel if they could. I don't think you'll miss as much on the HT side if your speakers are direct radiating type rather than a bi-pole design.

Thanks, guys, for your input. I am definitely going with the M22s and the VP150 - will think a bit more on the surrounds.