Ok while we are still in construction we realized the layout of our living room does not work. We will now put the tv on a different wall with our sectional on the opposite wall. The room is 17' long, 14' wide and 9' high. One enitre length is open to the dining room which is open to the kitchen (42' wide in total). Here are my new questions:

1. I am now looking at the in-cabinent M80's. If the cabinent is 20" deep and I sit 12" from the opposite wall my listening distance is now about 11'. How far apart should these speakers be placed? right now I have them so they are 9'5" apart. I want them further however I am worried about having one to far in the corner.

2. My sectional will back straight onto the back wall. I think I've convinced my wife to go for the paintable qs8 vs. some type of in-ceiling speaker. Can I still mount these on the back wall even if my couch is placed against the wall? Are there better options?

3. In the cabinent I am looking to put a horizontal ep-600 below the in-cabinent vp-180 center. I don't think I have any questions about this - just thought I'd mention it.

4. Are these speakers too much for this room?

5. Any pointers on in-cabinent speakers?

Cheers!

Speedie, (1.) the general suggestion is to have the mains separated about as much as the distance of the listening position from them, so that 9'5" isn't bad. As far as going wider by being closer to a corner, if the centers of the woofer cones aren't at the same distance from the three nearest room surfaces(floor, side wall, front wall)it isn't harmful to be close to a corner. The purpose of having those distances different is so the reflections from the boundaries don't pile up at the same frequencies and cause a big peak and valley in the bass.

(2.)Good to hear that despite your doubts in your previous thread that you'll be able to use the QS8s. Since you're going to be very close to the back wall, the best location for the QS8 side surrounds is on the back wall about 2-3' above ear level and separated as widely as possible, almost to where they would be if on side walls.

JohnK, thank you for taking the time in responding. I will see if I can put them further apart but I first need to deal with some other logistical issues.

The height of the qs8's will be about the height of a window which is on the back wall so that seems ok. Of course one of them will start to encroach on the same side wall as the front so there will be some kind of balancing act I presume.

Again thank you.

On this topic, Steve and I are working on adding an option to "Customize Yours" so that you can send in a chip of your paint and we'll pre-paint the speakers for you. Technically we've always offered it but it isn't spelled out very clearly on the site, so we're trying to improve that. Just thought you might like to know!

Oh great, next you will offer camouflage speakers. Now where did I place my M80's?

If you mean that the QS8 and M80 would be about directly opposite each other near the side wall, there's nothing unusual about that. No more "balancing" than the usual calibration for equal levels at the listening position is needed.

Amie, thanks for responding. It has been about 6 years since we discussed how to send some speakers to the Cayman Islands. Unfortunately for me the US$ was a little stronger then.

Would the "Customize Yours" "paint chip" option be for all speakers?

Edited for bad spelling due to lack of coffee.

JohnK - OK that is good to know. That is roughly what I have in my temporary system now. Cheers.

After speaking with my friend (who is a cabinet maker and will be contracted to build the unit) we have worked out some specifics. If the total cabinet height is 42.5 inches would the t80's fit height wise?

I see from the installation guide the speaker itself is 38.5' and with the bezel it is 39.75". Therefore if the speaker sits in a box so that the opening is 1" above the floor (therefore the bezel would only be .5" above the floor) will this be enough clearance from the floor? If so then the top of the speaker box would be 39.75" and the bezel/trim would add another .5" for a total of 40.25" plus another 1" for the top of the box and another 1" for the top of the cabinet itself seems to add to 42.25. Does this sound about right as it seems it would work if the speaker can be 1" off the ground? I supposed I could trim the upper part of the trim/bezel if needed too.

Lastly would it be recommended to build the cabinet so that the box would toe-in the speakers? Because the speakers are on the end of the cabinent this might actually look cool as we could slope the side of the cabinent accordingly.

Sorry I can't work this out myself. My fall back option would be to shorten the cabinet and buy standalone m80's but the WAF is not as high though I might prefer it.

I will post pics when this is all done of course.

LOL Randy! Now, you know better than to tempt me like that!!

MrSpeeed, we'll be anxiously waiting for the pics! Sounds like a great installation. Yes, all of our speakers can be pre-painted for you to match your paint chip.

It is no problem to have the T80 1” off the floor. There is no need to toe the speakers in from a performance point of view but it would look cool!

Hi Mr Speeed,
Thought i'd chime in since I'm trying to work on a Saturday morning but am not focusing on work very well

For the in cabinet specifics (dimensions, toe in, recomended cabinet heights etc...)I'd check with Axiom directly (Brent/JC/Alan).

As has already been said, the QS8's will be fine separated on the back wall, they are very forgiving on placement and tend to sound great in most situations.

There's no such thing as too much speaker for the room. You control 'too much' with the volume and subwoofer gains! Go big and indulge whenever you want too.

Lastly on the built in sub placement - just be careful on committing to that. I know I had the same plan myself and built a spot for my EP500 at the bottom of my equipment rack. Unfortunately the bass was very 'lumpy' with the sub placed there and I had to move it. That space is now used for PS3 controller chargers, BRD storage etc... I would have planned differently if I'd known in advance. I also recall Micah (sort of ex forum member) had similar issue with built in placement of his sub - it looked great but was not good for sound. Try the sub crawl if you can before you commit to the placement of a built in horizontal sub - you might save yourself headaches in the future.

OK, back to drafting release notes (i.e. work) now! Thanks for the diversion.

Cheers,

Dan, I've been hesitant with building the sub in - just for the reasons you mentioned. I was hoping a front firing sub might help. Right now I have a down firing HSU something or other (in storage) which I could place somewhere else but it is not ideal since it is the typical big black box.

What are the chances Axiom comes out with an in-cabinent subwoofer in the next 6 months...?

Hi mrspeeed,

No problem for the sub you need in the next 6 months. The EP500 in-cabinet will be available later this year.

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Unless there's something I'm not understanding, I don't think these issues can be fully solved with an in-cabinet sub. Room placement will always be an issue with a sub, so i don't understand how an in cabinet designed sub can change this.

It'll always be luck of the draw if the built in position will work or not - unless your able to determine the optimal position in advance and then build the sub into that spot.

Edit - just saw Ian's post, replying at the same time. I wonder how an in cabinet design differs to manage placement issues with room modes? Very cool on the upcoming in cabinet design EP500 however!

Hi cb919,

The placement risk you mentioned is very real with an in-cabinet sub but since it will be up front with the front and centre channels it has a great chance of working out just fine. If it doesn't a second sub could be added elsewhere in the room and then you would have the added advantage of great bass in most room locations.

Ian - Holy %$#$%@! That is perfect! Now I just need to dust off my grade 8 drafting class skills and plan it all out. The only question is how many of these bad boys I can put it the room (lol)! HHhhhhmmmm just thinking of what and end table would look like with one in it....

Next time you guys come to the island I'll buy you a drink.

PS - Did I mention it was perfect?

Built into the end table it'll mix your drink for you!

I used to imagine a coffee table designed around two subs. Still do, sometimes.

Mark you are on to something. Especially since I have outlets on the floor......

Now that would mix a drink.

Most people just think I'm ON something....

Well it is all ordered today (along with the master bedroom system, and some speakers for the den and outdoors. I have a number of custom options so it will take some time before it gets down here and I can get it installed.

JC thanks for your help with the order.

It is always a pleasure and you are more than welcome !