Diffused L/C/R : Mirage Omnisat V2 or Axiom QS4/8

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Doing research for a friend putting together a plasma wall mount with 5.1 speakers all wall mounted. With the wife approved furniture layout, seating will not be directly in front of the plasma, so no seats will be in the sweet spot. I was thinking 3 Mirage Omnisat V2's for the L/C/R would put out the diffused sound he is looking for. But what about three Axiom surrounds mounted against the wall in a line under the plasma? I know they are supposed to be mounted high up on the wall but wondered if they have ever been used like this. Is this a bad idea?

Hi dermott5,

Even if your listening seats are not in the sweet spot, I'd still recommend you use three conventional forward-radiating speakers like the Axiom M2s or M22s with a VP100 or 150 center and QS8s as the surrounds. That way, you will still get some directional information from the left, center and right fronts, and the dialog will be anchored at the video screen, whereas using multi-directional speakers like the Mirage Omnisats or QS8s up front may just produce a big diffuse wash of undifferentiated sound, with dialog all over the place.

That said, I've never tried using QS8s as main speakers so maybe they'd work quite well. I generally do not approve of using omnidirectional speakers in the main channels of a 5.1-channel setup because you want imaging specificity at the front, with dialog firmly anchored at the video screen.

Quote:

Doing research for a friend putting together a plasma wall mount with 5.1 speakers all wall mounted. With the wife approved furniture layout, seating will not be directly in front of the plasma, so no seats will be in the sweet spot. I was thinking 3 Mirage Omnisat V2's for the L/C/R would put out the diffused sound he is looking for. But what about three Axiom surrounds mounted against the wall in a line under the plasma? I know they are supposed to be mounted high up on the wall but wondered if they have ever been used like this. Is this a bad idea?

You could go with the 2 x W22's for the Left and Right Fronts for front mounting:

Note: The Tweeters of these speakers should be at ear level when seated (usually around 40" or so depending on your couches/chairs)

and the W150 for a centre channel:

And the QS8s would make fine surrounds like Alan mentioned.

Your other option is to buy regular M22s and a VP150 and wall mount them with a bracket on your wall.

The options with axiom are endless!

I am sure JohnK will be in here pretty soon recommending a single vertical W2 or a W22 for a centre channel.

Also check out the Factory Outlet for cheaper prices on the "W" Series that axiom carries.

Sorry I'm late, but yes, I'd suggest three vertical W22s across the front, assuming that there's room beneath the plasma screen, or if wall mounting isn't absolutely essential, three M22s.

I guess I am asking if the sound that would be put out by the QS4/8 would be comparable to what gets put out by something like the Mirage Omnisat V2's? From what you say Alan, it sounds like you think that the Onmisat design is perhaps not the best approach. This entire line (Omnisat) all have the same tweeter/woofer dispersion pattern even for their center channel, and that they are looking to spread the sound around rather than firmly anchoring it. I'm not trying to get you say anything bad about Mirage's design, I am just wondering if Axiom surrounds will provide a similar effect as the Omnisat. I think 3 QS's lined up flush to the wall under a plasma display would look really cool as well as having many wood/grill color options.

The problem is, using 3 QS's for mains is a little illogical because for one, they will almost have NO direction to them. So, there is really no point to having 3, because if you use 3 speakers in the front you position them so you can get direction in the front.

The QS's are meant for one thing: diffuse surround sound. The sound is meant to be bounced off walls before it reaches your ear.

With the omnistats, they do something similar, but much of their sound is direct.

For front speakers, you are going to want direct radiating speakers. Even if your seating position is off to the side, that really won't affect how you hear the sound as long as you aren't at a very sharp angle.

Although, the best thing would be to recommend your friend to put some mood lighting and music on when his wife comes home, and give her a nice foot massage/back rub and tell her how much he wants the seating to be around the TV. I mean, can't a man have at least one room of the house?

I did hook up my QS4s briefly to the front channels when I got them, just to verify all of the drivers were working. It actually didn't sound all that weird; this might be worth a shot.