Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Help me build a system

Wecome to the board.

That is a pretty big room you'll be using. For main speakers of the Axiom variety I'd recommend floor standers like the M50 or M60 (could go M80 if you are looking for high volume levels). For surrounds I'd recommend at least 2 QS8's (3 if you want 6.1 sound or 4 for 7.1 sound, but 2 would be good to start) and the VP150 for a centre channel (the VP100 will probably be small for that size and wide a room). For good movie watching you'll want to get a good subwoofer that can put out. I'd suggest nothing small er than a 12"er for that size room (e.g. SVS PB12 - ISD, SVS 20-39 pci, HSU STF-3 or VTF-3, or Axiom ep350 or ep500 are all good picks).

For reasonably priced receivers, Denon, Harman Kardon, Marantz, Yamaha, Pionerr Elite series and Onkyo are popular with members on this board. Of course there are higher end ones like NAD and Rotel to consider if you want to spend more money.

Hope this helps and have fun shopping.

Paul

Yes! Welcome to the world of Axiom!!

Seeing the M50s mentioned a couple of times in this thread makes me want to add my $.04 worth(devalued dollar)

I'm currently using M50s on either side of MY 65" mits, and couldn't be happier! I'm also using M3s as center And surrounds due to the fact that they are all full-range speakers and are a perfect match to the M50s due to the fact that all these speakers use the same complement of tweeters and mid-woofers(6.5")using the same internal crossover from woof to tweet, so with only the littlest bit of tweeking in my receiver, I can get seamless panning from each speaker to any other speaker in the system!

I'm using a 7.1 receiver and may well add two more M3s in back later. But the crossover point I'm using is 60hz on all speakers; to keep center channel voices out of the sub, and to take advantage of the fact that I'm using full range speakers in all locations. Most folks here aren't using full-range in all positions and are using the sub to take care of everything below about 80hz. Axiom center and surround speakers aren't designed to be full-range and need to be crossed at a higher frequency, in addition they also use only the 5.25" mid-woofer and have varying cross over points as relates to any speaker larger than the M22.

But, alas, the M50s are not for everybody! They are part of the group of Axiom speakers(M3 M40 and M50s)that are not as detailed and accurate as the remainder of the line. They seem to be designed more for the casual, but attentive, listener, than for the "Audiophiles" amongst us!!

The M60 owner can excitedly hear the tape splice pass over the heads!! The M50 owner would more often be annoyed by it!!!

Thanks for all the advice everyone. It is greatly appreciated. In my current set up my rear speakers are mounted from the ceiling directly behind the seating area. So, what I am getting from you guys is that the 2 rear speakers should be mounted on the wall to the right and to the left of the seating area. And if I go with 6.1 (3 rear speakers) than that one will have to be mounted from the ceiling almost directly over the seating area?

If this is set up this way, than the wire for the 2 rear speakers will be running through an exterior wall that will be insulated. Do you guy's use any kind of conduit in the walls for your wiring?

normally you want the rear speakers to be behind the listening area and not directly over head. Is your back couch/chairs right up against the back wall? The left/right surrounds will be great to the left/right of the listening area, especially if you can space them out somewhat. The quadpolar design will bounce sound all around you, unlike your normal 2-way bookshelf direct radiating speaker.

They will be spaced apart about 21'. The width of the room will be 22'. As far as the center rear speaker, I can move it behind the seating area but it will still be mounted from the ceiling. The back wall will contain a bar area. There will be about 8' between the front of the bar area and the back of the seating area.

I see you refer to the quadpolar design. Being a novice, I really do not know what you mean. I am guessing (from looking at the pictures) that you are refering to the souround speakers. They appear to have sound that comes from the top, bottom, and sides.

Sounds like you would be good to go then, when mounting from the ceiling, try to allow room for the top driver to breath. I found some black metal shelf brackets at Menards that I will be using, this will give my qs8's about 10-12" of room between the ceiling. Yes, your right about the surrounds, because of the design you get wrapped in sound. Two tweeters firing to the left and right, and two woofers firing up/down. In my setup, my left/right surrounds are about 20' apart and to the left/right of the listening area. The rear surrounds are about 6-8 ft behind the listeners. What some people do is before permately placing your speakers, use a couple of step ladders to experiment with placement.

Receiver question. Lets say for point of reference that this is the system I go with:

2 - M50 main speakers
1 - VP150 center channel
3 - QS8's surround speakers
1 - EP350 sub

When looking at recievers, how many watts per channel should I be looking at?

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When looking at recievers, how many watts per channel should I be looking at?

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As many as you want or can comfortably afford.
I recommend reviewing your personal requirements/preferences for hookups, features and options to search for a receiver. If you are a real power user and want beyond deafening sound levels at close range or in a huge room, then invest in a separate amp altogether. The receiver can still act as the preamp-processor and at that point, its wattage count is even less of a concern.

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how many watts per channel should I be looking at

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that can vary depending on what make of receiver it is. H/K's are commonly believed to underrate their receivers.. so, an H/K rated at 60-70 wpc, will most likely be as powerful as one rated a little higher by another maker. a good general rule of thumb would be to try and get anything rated at or higher than 80wpc. i have an onkyo 701 rated at 100wpc, and i have NEVER turned it all the way up, its just too loud.

i would reckon anything in that range (80-100wpc), will work just fine. and, in case you think you might want to add more power at a later date, make sure and try and get a receiver that has pre/pro capabilities.. that way, in a few years if the upgrade bug bites you, just go get yourself a rotel or outlaw amp, and you can hook it directly to the receiver, and have all the watts you could possibly want!!

bigjohn

I'm sure others will chime in with their input, but personally, I don't think that should be your biggest question. I would try to stay with reputible names: Onkyo, Denon, HK, Yamaha, Pioneer Elite, etc.... I would stay away from Sony, JVC, Panasonic, etc... just my 2 cents There really isn't much difference when looking at a 80 watt/channel versus say 100 watts. The main thing to me was that the receiver is a High Current design, and the wattage is Full-Bandwidth rated, it should say that in the description of the receiver. There really is a lot of choices for you out there, depending on your price range.