Hello to all,

A couple of people have sent me PM’s asking about the custom mounts I have made for my VP150’s and for the QS8 mounted on a partial beam. Here are some links to the brackets I made, and to the cabinet I just finished for my system. Please forgive the mess I am still building the HT area I just finished making the fireplace mantel and got it in the night before last. I still have a pile of cabinets to go before it is finished. will post more pics later when it is done.

http://www.djh.com/images/John/vp150_mount.jpg
http://www.djh.com/images/John/qs8_mount.jpg
http://www.djh.com/images/John/custom_cabinet.jpg

Best regards
John.

John,

You have a very nice set-up. Congratulations!

I just have a question. Based on reading several posts, I thought the floor standing speakers would require ample space to achieve optimum sounds. I noticed that you have them enclosed in your very nice entertainment center. Did it make any difference?

Thanks Pinoy,

Sometime last year before I started to build the HT area I spoke to Ian about my plans for building that system cabinet, and that I was going to put the 80's in it like I have done. I wanted to find out what problems if any I may run into by doing this. After building the cabinet and setting the speakers into it, the only difference I noticed was that if anything there was a bit more bass from the 80's. other then that it made no appreciable difference to them, which is basically what Ian told me to expect from this setup.

What you don't see is how the 80's fit in. While the speaker is surrounded by the cabinet in front they are not enclosed in the back, the whole back is open across the width of the cabinet, and is also open to the ceiling at the back. so while they look completely enclosed they are not really totally enclosed in a cubby hole so too speak.

I like the brackets you have made, they look very well done, did you do this yourself? how long did this take you to build?
I am not that handy with wood working. I think it would take me many years and a lot of wood to complete this project. Maybe you could build one for me too


I am very new to HT, I have heard very good things about the Axiom speakers and I am just in the process of deciding what to buy for my new house. I would like to make a good system so that I am not wishing to upgrade again in another months time thinking why did i not just buy that other model. I would like to know what equipment you have in your cabinet I cannot tell from the picture as it is not clear enough, and why you made those choices. could you also please tell me your speakers models and again why those choices. My room is about 20 feet long by 15 feet wide.

I would also like to hear from other members of this message boards as to what equipment and speaker combinations they have and why those choices, so that I can make a better educated purchase. I am hoping to begin buying my equipment around the middle of November.

Thank-you
Xilin Li

Xilin,

Welcome to the fold, and thank-you for your compliments.

From the bottom up;

Monster Power HTPS 7000 Reference Power Source, this unit provides a source of clean filtered power surge protection.
Denon AVR5800 which has now been upgraded to the 5803, I choose this unit based on reviews from other owners and from reviews in a number of HT magazines, the other considerations before buying this model was the Yamaha RXV1000 and the Marantz SR14EX.
Sony CDP-CX450 400 Disc CD Changer x 2, I purchased 2 of these units because I could daisy chain them together as a master and slave, This allows one to play a CD while the other selects the next track; they then cross fade from one player to the other with no delay or breaks in the music.
Denon DVD3800 this replaces the JVC 721 that is in that picture.
Pioneer PD-V10G, this unit I bought for my teenage daughter, she is a singer and has a number of CD karaoke discs that she uses for practice. (Grandma seems to like to get in on the act too. If they start line dancing out it goes! )
Motorola Digital Cable unit
JVC HRS4800, No particular reason for this unit, has all the features I need in a VCR that hardly get used.
Yamaha KXW421 Tape Deck, Again no particular reason for this unit, I bought it when I bought my first HT receiver a Yamaha 995 about 2 years ago.
PVR5100 Satellite Decoder; the PVR means Personal Video Recorder, it records digitally direct from the satellite.
Direct TV Satellite Decoder (this has now been removed to make room for a Marantz SA8260 SACD Player that I have ordered) the jury is still out on this one, I picked the Marantz based on reputation but I have not heard this unit other then in a dealers shop. The reviews look good so I hopeful it turns out to be a good purchase.

As for the speakers I am using all Axioms, M80 mains, VP150 center channel, QS8 surrounds, 2 VP150’s for rear effects, 2 EP175 subs and 1 EP350 sub. I choose Axiom based on several factors. I had heard that they were a great speaker and wonderful value for the money. I started looking in on the message boards and reading the posts of users like JohnK and Chesseroo, and many other's too numerous to name here. All seem to share a common thread. They all loved these speakers, I began to look around at different speakers, JM Labs, Boston Acoustics, Martin Logan’ NHT ….etc, etc. Then I came across a shop that had Axioms setup in a demo room. We sat down and began to play all kinds of movies and different music tracks. I was honestly blown away I kept looking at the price list because I could not believe that these sounded so good for the price that was being asked for. I was sold, I mean I how could I justify spending in some cases 2-3 times the price for speakers that did not to me sound any better then what I was listening too!

My advice is spend some time in the forums read, read, read all that you can, and ask questions. There are a lot of really good people on this site with a wealth of knowledge that would be more then happy to share their experiences with you, and answer any questions you have.

Too everyone else my apologies for the long post.

Regards
John

Nice list John.
But i think you left out your tv in that list of components.

Hello John,

Your workmanship in the photos of your installation is excellent. (Ignore my post on the Port Chuff thread; I meant to post here.)

I note that you have two mega-CD changers. My CD collection is overflowing its racks so I'm contemplating a 400-disc changer. Have you found them reliable? Did you get one with a PC keyboard input so you can name the discs as you feed them into the beast? Do you find you can access a particular disc quickly enough? (Any comments from others who own mega-changers are welcome. . .)

Regards,

Hi Alan,

Thank-you, I have always enjoyed doing this type of work, and it is a welcome break from my normal business. The only problem is there just is not enough time to get everything done when I would like to.

The CD Changers have been very reliable other then one issue. When I first bought them I bought a CDP-CX450 and a CDP-CX400 (both are essentially the same unit other then the 450 has video out for onscreen menu’s), the reason being I did not need the video menu of the 450 on a unit that is the slave as all this is handled by the master unit. The 400 gave me some problems during the “MEGA” control function play. (this is where one unit will play while the other randomly selects another track then the unit fades from one to the other for un-interrupted play). The 400 would sometimes after playing for about 2 hours fail to un-load the current CD and you would have to reset the unit to clear it. Sony tried twice to fix this and always the problem came back. I then switched it for another 450 and have never had this problem again, I do use them a lot as we are always entertaining somebody, and the reliability has been great. They also have a number of features that I really like. The keyboard input of tittles is great I would never buy one without it. They do also read any CD’s with the CD Text feature so the album and track tittles are automatically entered by the unit. The video out is great; you get a nice on screen menu listing all your CD’s. Makes choosing the disk you want easy. The search features are very nice and work well. I also like the group feature. I can categorize the CD’s by genre so if I want pop or classical or rock I can select that group set random play and have music only from that group playing without interruption, one track nicely fading out into the next. You can also set a number of different favorites lists to play only your favorite tracks from any group or combination of groups. The unit is really packed with a lot of nice features.

For me the main reason I was looking for this type of unit was because I am really fussy about my CD’s I go ballistic if one of my kids both young teens uses a disk and leaves it out of the case or puts the wrong CD in the wrong case; that just drives me wild. So I thought why not use a multi disk unit. I can load up all my disks and there is no reason for them to ever have to put a hand on the CD itself. They don’t get damaged, don’t get lost, and are always there when I want to enjoy them. Now I see that Sony have just brought out a new DVD Changer, I currently have over a 170 DVD’s and I am finding them as I feared I would find my CD collection. So I think I am going to have to have a look at getting one of these if it is any good.


Regards
John

Hi John,

Thanks so much for your detailed review of the Sony mega-changers. And yes, the group random-play feature appeals to me because of my eclectic tastes in music. I also didn't know there's an on-screen display of all the discs.

Apologies to all for diverting this thread from the initial subject matter.

Regards,

Very nice setup John

Must be great for DVD movies!

What kind of banana plugs are you using?

Your mounts make the 10" X 2 1/2" X 1/2" pcs (just enough to mount the clips to) of unfinished oak I used, look like dog *&%# !!! I always knew there was a reason they offered wood shop in high school. Which reminds me, the QS8's should come with a disclaimer about the wall mounting specifications needed for the two clips provided with each speaker. BTW...I used AR banana plugs for my Axioms.

What kind of disclaimer do they need?

Michael

Ok, so disclaimer is a poor choice of words. How about better mounting ideas. I'll readily admit that I'm not the most mechanically inclined person around. I didn't realize right away, once the banana plugs were plugged in, I wouldn't be able to mount the speaker flush against the wall. It took me a bit of time to figure out what to do, because of my limited tool resources. I'm guessing that people like myself are the reason Axiom is developing an idiot proof mount for the QS8. I'm looking forward to seeing them and would be a great tester for the initial run. (hint..hint)

Good morning to Everyone,

Thank-you for all your kind compliments!

Steven for all the speakers other then the left side QS8, I used a high quality gold banana plug that I buy from one of our electronics suppliers RP Electronics (they are on the west coast in the Vancouver area). For the left QS8 I used a ring terminal to allow the speaker to be mounted flush on the wall. For the speaker wire coming in it is terminated into a recessed clock receptacle. If you have never seen these they are a recessed electrical receptacle used to allow to you mount an electric clock flush on the wall. The outlet sits in this recess so that the plug goes below the level of the wall. I just simply used the recessed shell without the socket and made a modified plate for the speaker termination in the receptacle. It worked very well, the speaker sits flat and, I could use the clips supplied by axiom to hang the speaker on the wall.

Now that's funny JBZ.
It hadn't occurred to me either about the flush mounting with banana plugs but i wasn't wall mounting my QS8s. I just had them sitting on a shelf for now and thought to myself, 'gee, that plug sticks out a fair bit, i wonder what their instructions for wall mounting this would be'.

And the answer is...don't ask me...ask the guy with the awesome mounts!!!