Need some help choosing a HT speaker setup for a 14x17 family room with solid walls on 3 sides (2x14', 1x17'). The other 17' side is open to the kitchen. I've got a Yamaha RXV630 HT Receiver with 75W/channel. I've been looking at the Rockets, Axioms and B&Ws. The Rockets and Axioms are more in my price range. Currently the TV (55" LCD) sits against a 14' wall with the loveseat on the opposite wall. The couch sits between the kitchen and family room opposite the 17' hard wall. I really don't have room for speakers on the side so my surrounds will end up behind the love seat and I only have a foot or so from the wall to the loveseat. We probably run 80% HT and 20% music. We do like the music in 5 channel mode but may have run it that way based on the size of my previous room with the smaller satellites.

Questions:

1) Epic60 or Rockets ? (M60ti/VP150/QS8 vs 550mkII/200/300)

2) VP150 or VP100 ?

3) QS8 or QS4 ?

4) The M60's can be bi-amped... so I could run the A&B Main outs from my 630 to both posts on the Axioms... will it make that much of a difference?

5) Does the 630 (75W/channel) have enough to drive the 60/150/8 setup nicely?

Not sure about the sub. Seems like I can get an SVS or even a Rocket sub with more power, lower punch and smaller footprint for less money.

Thanks,
SharksFan

Walt, welcome. My thoughts would be that M60s would be ideal for that size room and that you consider a vertical M2 for a center(likely to result in wider and smoother horizontal dispersion) rather than any horizontally configured speaker. QS4s should be adequate for your room size and should be mounted about 6' up on the back wall and separated about 10'.

The A&B main outs on your 630 are simply a parallel connection to the same amp channel, so no biamping would result. Using two sets of wire from the A&B terminals would result in biwiring, which has no benefit. Unless you use extremely high volume levels the 630 should have adequate power for the M60s, which are slightly higher than average in sensitivity. Most of the time they'll be using about 1 watt, although brief peaks will use much more.

That Rocket RS550 MKII looks very nice, even though never heard one. However, I have noticed that they have a 6 ohm impedance vs. 8 Ohms for M60s that I have. I don't know whether your receiver can handle that. Also, considering its efficiency ( 88 dB) you would really need a powerful amp or receiver (let us say 100 wpc rms). Further, it is not possible to bi-amp or bi-wire with Rockets (only one pair of binding posts at the back). I have my M60s bi-wired.

BTW, I am very happy with my M60s in a stereo only setup.

John,
Thanks. My back wall has a window and door at opposite ends so I can only get about 6' of separation for the surrounds at that height. Is that enough, or do I need to move them to the top of the wall (8' high) to get the 10' of separation?

I hadn't heard the bookshelf/center config before... definitely worth a look see.

Are the M60's too sensitive... meaning do they get "out of control" easily at higher volume levels?

Thanks again,
Walter

thyname,
Thanks... the 630 can handle 6 ohms but not sure about the 4 ohms at center. Did the bi-wiring make a noticeable difference on the M60s?
Thanks,
Walter

Not a long time ago, before I even had my Axioms (still had JBL E60s that time) I replaced Monster Original Speaker Wire with SignalCable shot-gun 10 g bi-wire Cable . I noticed a very significant improvement in sound. Not sure that this came from upgrading to a better speaker cable in general, or from bi-wiring.

However, there are many people (in this forum as well) that believe that speaker wire does not make any difference, and bi-wiring is a nonsense. I hope this post does not turn into another debate. Let's put it like this: I bi-wired mine simply because I could...

I haven't heard the M60s or the 550s, but I have heard that they don't sound the same.

Which "sound" do you prefer?

A balanced sound... basically a good representation of the music or movie I'm listening to. My older polk satellites were a little bassy compared to some Acoustic Research and Bose at the time which I would describe as "bright" in terms of too much midrange and highs. Listened to some Paradigms and Klipsch floorstanders the other day and the Klipsch sounded more balanced than the Paradigms. Also listened to some Polk Monitor 50's 60's and 70's. The 60's sounded pretty good but the 70's were too bright - they really altered a male tenor voice almost making it sound like an alto. The 50's were too flat... not enough bass. I know sound is subjective... I hope that helps.

SharksFan, I believe NeverHappy posted he will be getting some Rocket 550s next week. You may want to wait and get his impressions. Buying new speakers is always tough. No need to rush.

Walter, the 6' up and 10' separation were just ball-park numbers. You should leave at least 6" of space below the ceiling for the top speaker on the QSs to work with. They should also be above ear level, and 3' is a commonly suggested figure. The reason for having a wide separation is that even if the speakers are mounted on the back wall, they're still side surrounds and should be separated enough to give more of a side effect than a back effect. You should try to balance those two requirements as best as possible within the limits of your room arrangement.

eh, they work ok ish with only 4" of top separation.

F107,

Have a better answer to what sound I prefer.. went out and listened to B&W 604 S3, Klipsch RF5 & RF35, Paradigm Monitor11 & Monitor7. Of them all, I prefered the B&W the best because of it's clarity, smoothness and accurate reproduction of sound (used a CD of some friends of ours so we know their voices quite well). What I thought was missing was some thump to the bass. I found that with the Monitor11's and they were a close 2nd to the B&Ws... not quite as smooth and accurate of musical reproduction, but still very good. The Monitor 7s were a little thin. The RF35 was our next choice after the Mon11 but sounded a little less controlled at higher volumes and the RF5s were muddier still. So... something close to the presence, soundstage and clarity of the B&Ws with the additional bass rumble and punch of the Monitor11's would be what I'm looking for.
Thanks,
Walter

Wow!! You have been busy, haven't you

Looks like you're getting a pretty good idea of what it is you're looking for!

Speaking candidly; I have heard absolutely none of the speakers you've auditioned, nor either of the Axioms(M60) or Rockets(550)you have questions about

I have read that the M60 sounds similar to one of the B&Ws you didn't review, so that dosen't help much

There are, of course, tons of posts that talk about the sound of the M60s as "We" hear it that you can look over while we all wait for a local review of the 550s.

The M60s are the floorstanders of choice for the majority of Axiom owners who opt for an eight ohm speaker, so it's a very well reguarded device!!

Happy Hunting!!
Rich.

You'd love the M80ti's. I auditioned the same speakers as you, then ordered M60ti's. The EPIC 60 500. I think the in-home trial has every other audition beat. I exchanged the 60s for 80s because I could. I may sell or exchange my EP500 for and EP600 for the same reason.