Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater What have I done?

Is anyone else like me in that when you run out of projects, you look to create more?

My current HT room is in a finished basement with some of the basement left unfinished. Luckily, the wall that my TV and audio equipment reside in front of, backs up to the unfinished section. So, I've decided to flush mount the TV into the wall. Basically, I'm going to cut a hole in the wall with the support/cabinet protruding into the unfinished area. If I do that, then it only makes sense to do the same for an audio cabinet. I ran this by the wife and got approval. That was my first shock. There must be a catch and there was. If the TV and audio equipment were to be removed from the floor, then everything must go. Huh?

I'm running a Epic 80/500 setup and the 80s and 150 just became a problem. (For my wife) I can move the 500 so it can't be seen, but that's a little more difficult for the other three. So, I showed her pics of the architectural series and she loves them. That was my second shock. So now I'm looking at replacing the 80s with w22s and the 150 for a w150. I can then use the 80s in a zone II stereo setup. Sweet!

Will I "miss" anything going from 80s to W22s? The 150s should be a wash. I've read that others on here love the M22s and 500 setup, but I haven't seen that much on W22s and the 500. Does anyone have the combo or has anyone heard the W22s vs the M22s? I've read the reviews on the architectural series from Audioholics, but was hoping someone on here had first hand experience.

I'll be able to power the LCR and zone II (80s) with five Outlaw m2200s and the Q's powered by the receiver. So, pushing them won't be an issue.

Stymie

If you're not going to be using it for any 2 channel sources, I think the W22s paired with the EP500 will give you an AWSOME movie experience (if your room is medium sized)

What are your room dimensions?

The setup resides in a nook that is ~11'Wx8'H*20'L to the end of the nook. The back of the nook opens up into a larger area that is another 30' long x 25' wide. Think of the big dipper with the HT in the handle.

Unless you have started construction, I would first order the W22s and trial them. You may be dissapointed going from the M80s to the 22s in that large of a space.

I can't comment on it furthur as my room is only 16x14x8.

Alan Lofft would be a good guy to PM or to email and get his advice, here is some advice he gave me on a similar question:

"Alan, in my 14 x 16 x 8 room, will I notice a difference between a pair of M22s and an EP500 sub and a pair of M60s and the EP500 sub in my room size?" -Robb

"Hi Robb,

As to the comparison you cited: you might notice a little more upper bass "warmth" with the M60s and the EP500 vs. the M22s and EP500, simply because the M60s have two woofers that aren't far from the floor and you'll benefit from some upper bass enhancement, even if you set the M60s to Small with the EP500. Other than that, they are extremely close to the M22s, as are the M80s, so much so that in many comparisons I forget which combo I'm listening to. I have to look at my A/B switcher to remind me. These comments assume I'm listening in 5.1 with the EP500 always on. If I switch to stereo only, with the EP500 running, the differences are a bit more detectable but still subtle.

One advantage that I like about using the M22s over the much larger M60s or M80s is that because the M22s front baffle and overall dimensions are smaller, the M22 soundstage seems to have just a bit greater spaciousness and depth. It's quite subtle but it's there, and I believe it's simply because the overall dispersion of the M22s may be a little better." -Alan

It looks like I may lose a little bass warmth, which isn't too bad. My stereo listening will move with the 80s to their new home on the other side of the room, so I can live with that kind of trade off.