Hi everyone, I am looking into my first home theater setup, and have some questions. Any and all information is greatly appreciated.

First some information My room size is 21' x 10' by 8'

70% will be used to watch movies 10% will be watching TV, 5% music, 5% gaming

I am currently looking into speakers and a reciever to match them.

Question 1.) Being that I have a small room is putting in a 7.1 system wise? Meaning from my reading being that thier is limited movies that utilize 7.1 and because of my room size I won't notice any difference.

Question 2)Is thier a big difference between Axioms bookshelves vs thier surrounds for the surround speakers? Also for the QS4 and QS8 is speaker placement different than with regular bookshelves?

Question 3)I am looking into a new reciever as well, I am currently looking for one in the $800 to $1500 price range and have been recommended the Pioneer Elite VSX-84TXSi

Question 4)To be honest I am comparing the Axiom speakers and the HTD speaker primarily because I have had the opportunity to listen to thier fronts and loved them but disliked thier center and never heard thier rears.

So with the Axioms how would this system look for my space?

VP100 Center
M22 Bookshelves Pair
QS8 Surrounds Pair

Thanks
Chris

Chris, welcome. 1.) The question of 7.1 vs 5.1 doesn't depend only on room size but rather whether there's enough room behind the listening position for a back surround effect to develop. If there's at least 4', that should be adequate.

2.) The QSs are especially effective on movie effects because of their very wide dispersion and most users like them more than regular bookshelves for that. The placement is about the same but is a little more forgiving because of, again, the wide dispersion.

3.) The Pioneer is a fine unit, but you should consider spending less on a receiver and more on your speakers, since several fine receivers are available for around $400 or less, such as the Onkyo 604 or Yamaha 659.

The Axioms you've listed would be very good, but I'll suggest that you also consider using a vertical M22 or possibly M2 for the center. You haven't mentioned a sub, but should leave room in your budget(possibly by getting a less expensive receiver)for that.

Welcome Chris,

1) A lot depends on your seating distance. If your arrangement allows to have the rear surrounds back a bit from the seating position, things can be real cool. Even though there are not many movies done beyone 6.1 or 6.1, using Dolby PLIIx makes 5.1 movies or even 2-channel music wonderful in all 7 speakers.

2) To me, bookshelves can't compare to the quadpolar design of the Qs4's or Qs8's, especially for movie watching. They have 2 woofers firing up/down, and 2 tweeters firing left/right which totally envelopes you in sound. They even do great for music. When I used to use bookshelves the bullets in action movies flew by me, now they go right through me.

3) Most receiver brands in the same price range will be very similar. I would say get something that has the bells and whistles you want, which they all most likely will, and go for it...

4) I've never heard of HTD speakers, so I can't compare to Axiom. I compared Axiom to Paradigm, NHT, B&W, Klipsch, and a few others, and once I auditioned Axioms it was the end of the story. You could check the Audition thread in the "Hearing Things" threads to see if someone is in your area to let you audition Axioms.

I would highly recommend you add a SUB to the equation if your getting bookshelve speakers, which will give you a better experience in LFE.

good luck

ps: check out the Factory Outlet prices on the "Store" page, you save 10%, plus another 5% if you buy 5 of any items from Axiom, including accessories.

I have your setup and a sub and the sub for movies is a must have. And for movies it doesn't have to be all that accurate just adds some extra low end for the booms etc. so you can save some money here. Your receiver has already been covered by the other 2 posts. Good luck.

thanks for everyones advice.

I think I will go with the 7.1 setup I will be roughly 4-5 feet in front of them and since I am currently running the wiring I will just do it now and be done with it.

As for the reciever I actually have access to a Onkyo SR604 and decided to keep it and pass on getting a different reciever and put the money towards other items instead.

I didn't mention the sub yet as I was given a JBL 12" sub that I currently have hooked up and sounds great that I will eventually upgrade as well depending on how it sounds with the axiom speakers.

My curiosity was peaked a little on the reason of using the M22 instead of the center speaker is thier a particular reason other than the $30 cheaper?

Lastly if anyone has any other suggestion right now that would be great as I will be contacting axiom this week.

Chris

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My curiosity was peaked a little on the reason of using the M22 instead of the center speaker is thier a particular reason other than the $30 cheaper?

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Ala JohnK from a previous post.....

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Again, my preference is for the wider and smoother horizontal dispersion of a vertical center speaker, as compared with most(all?)horizontal configurations. I'd use M22s all across the front and put the rack wherever else was convenient.

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