Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater advice needed for HT design

Hello, I am new to the forum and seeking advice on my 1st HT system. I found Axiom through extensive research on HT electronics and design. Sound and Vision, The Speaker Issue got me to this site and I am ready to build this project. I will be purchasing the Epic 60.500 complete. I need to purchase a reciever and I'm 90% sold on Denon AVR-3808CI. This system will be incorporated into my living room which is 1800cu.ft. I do currently have a Sony Bravia KDL-40XBR4 LCD television.

I do have a strong background in mobile audio installation and design. I would like to carefully plan and execute this 5.1 surround system with some expert advice from this forum. I can see a lot of passionate owners of Axiom products. I would like to get set on the power source, then cables and wiring, power conditioning/surge protection etc. Well I guess 1 step at a time is the most efficient way to a well planned system. What are your opinions on the Epic 60.500 powered by Denon 3808? I am totally open to suggestions. Thanks and many more questions to follow.

demetman

Demet, welcome. The Epic 60/500 would give you excellent sound and if the features of the 3808 are attractive to you it certainly has all the power capability that should be needed. As you may be aware, it's readily available(sometimes by calling for the price)for around $1,100 from authorized dealers such as J&R and 6th Ave.

As to speaker wiring, considering shipping costs, the most cost-effective source may be to simply get the wire cut at a local hardware or electrical supplier such as Home Depot or Lowes. Connecting cables are available at low cost from a variety of online sources, with MonoPrice having an especially attractive offering.

Audio equipment that inputs power from the wall outlet(certainly including the 3808 and similar receivers)already has a power supply section that "conditions" the incoming AC into clean DC for use. No separate conditioning should be needed.

Demet, another welcome, you have picked out a great system and the Denon is a wonderful receiver.

I have your exact system, minus the EP500 and it has all the power I need and sounds excellent, very clear, concise and whole. I can not think of any other system I would want that I could actually afford and even then I am not so sure I would trade in the Axioms.

John pretty much covered everything else I would say except I can recommend Axiom's speaker wire. It is a very nice fine strand cable that is very pliable, looks nice and the best part is it is stamped with Axiom down the length. It doesn't even cost much comparatively speaking.

I do own a Belkin PF60 Power conditioner but I certainly didn't buy based on the ability to cut out noise etc. alot of people buy them for, I did it just to see if I could in fact notice any difference(I didn't) and as a convenient spot to plug all the gear into and I must confess for eye candy. I love the blue screen showing the voltage fluctuations in my house, it's just cool.

Hi Demet,

Welcome! I have the 60.500 system and I know it will prove to be AMAZING for you. Prepare to re-listen to every CD in your collection and replay every DVD you own because it will be like watching them for the first time again.

There is always that piece of gear you wish you waited for and the 3808 is the one I wished I waited for. But I am very happy with my 3806. It does everything I need and plays the Axioms effortlessly so I must assume the 3808 will do just as well.

Depending where you live, compare even the speaker wire pricing to online sources. In my spot here in Atlantic Canada, very nice 12 gage speaker wire (covered for in-wall use) from Monoprice was WAY cheaper than the 12 gage bulk wire at my local Home Depot (not in-wall and frustratingly hard to bend) . Delivery was swift too for a cross border purchase.

Sounds like you have already done lots of research but just in case, the Axiom Articles section off the main page has some excellent guides on designing and setting up a home theater. The article on speaker placement for 5.1 and 7.1 has some excellent diagrams that I refer my friends to a lot because they are so visually simple to understand.

Have fun, enjoy and tell us about your first impressions once they arrive.

Thanks everyone for the warm welcome and blessing with the Epic 60.500. I have a concern with the layout of the speakers and centering the listening area(my couch). I will not be ablt to follow the dolby law and I am a little aprehensive fearing poor results. My TV (Bravia xbr4) is on a stand that is 20" high in front of a partician wall. The M60's will go on each side of stand with little space from the tv and the end of the wall. My couch will be off-center from TV and M60's by about 3 feet. Distance from TV to couch is about 6.5ft. Will being off-center yeild poor imaging from front channels? I was thinking of doing QS8's on stands on each side of the couch. I have pictures of my living room in picture project but can't seem to get them on this post. Anyone know how I can post pics? Please let me know what you think. Thank You.

demetman

I don't think so. My setup is a 92" diagonal screen and I sit about 9' from the screen. Right now my main seat (the recliner) is about 4' offset from center and I don't notice any problems. My wife sits in the sweet spot on the couch dead center (I know guys.... don't ask) and from time to time I test for differences during movies and notice very little difference.

For music, I prefer to sit dead center because I think there is a very slight edge to sitting right in the middle of the stage... however, this is very slight and definitely nothing to stress overly about.

On a side note, how big is the TV? I think you might notice the 'off center factor' more visibly than audibly. i.e. if the TV is 30" wide and it's 36" offset from where you sit, you'll really have to crank your neck to one side to stay focused on the picture. If it's a 60" wide TV then a 36" offset should be less noticeable because the center of the image isn't as far to the side as it would be with a smaller TV.


Yes, pictures would help.

When entering your post, make sure you use the "full reply screen" and click on the button third from the left above the text entry box. It shows "enter an image" when you hover the mouse over the button. From there, you have to link to an image that is available elsewhere online. May folks use Google images or other free sites to post their image and then link back to it from here.

In short, Your new speakers are going to sound so good, you won't care where you sit for a quiet a time. You can play and tweak things later as you go along. That's part of the fun.

Thanks guys, I feel relieved that an offcenter 5.1 set will not greatly degregate sound quality. When I first started looking at Axiom products I emailed Alan Loft with this concern and he directed me to the Dolby 5.1 HT guide and of course this forum. Thanks for your input.

demetman

I have an epic 80/500 5.1 setup and a denon 3808. The denon drives all of my speakers with ease.

Even the M80's? I was under the impression that the M80's needed much more power to get the most out of that speaker. Aside from space accomodations, the lack of available power was a main reason for me moving to a M60. After reading Sound & Vision's review on Axiom's 80/500 system I was convinced that very careful amp selection was needed to properly run those beasts. 200Wx5 was used to test the system which was noted as plenty of power. Maybe I should reconsider the M80's as you know first hand that the Denon 3808 can deliver.

Home audio all together confuses me in regards to speaker and power matching and getting the most from your speakers. My audio background is in car audio where a simple rule of thumb is to match speakers with the specified RMS power. A subwoofer loves up to 30% more power than it's RMS power capabilities. Proper gain settings or input sensitivity adjustments are crucial for delivering maximum unclipped signal to a speaker. Also an amplifier will double it's power output when stable operation of a lower ohmic load. Is this the same with A/V recievers that are stable at lower ohmic loads!

So now I'm here for home audio school I suppose. I look foreward to learning a lot at this forum(and building a sick system)!

demetman