I e-mailed Axiom a few days ago to get an answer to this question, and I have not gotten an answer so I was wondering if anyone has experience on some of these issues.

On one wall I have a problem in that the top 13" of the wall juts out from the wall about a foot, so I don't think I should mount below this. So my question is if I put the bottom of the mounting bracket at a point 13" below the ceiling, where will the top of the speaker sit for the QS-4 and QS-8?

How much clearance above the speaker is needed or should I stand mount to overcome these issues?

If I get the QS-4, does anyone notice any issues since its tweeter is different than the other speakers (I was thinking about M40 and VP100)?

Thanks for the help,
Paul

Hi Paul,
You should look around the forum here, there were some recent posts addressing the same concerns.

CAV104

I saw the thread just before I asked my question, but it doesn't exactly answer my question.

I saw in a post from January or so that they posted a drawing of the mounting bracket, but the pictures at the link were all dead, so I could not figure out my problem.

If the bottom of the mounting bracket is 13" from the ceiling, how far above this will the top of the speaker be? I am not sure how the person in the thread below knwe where his speaker would sit w/o a drawing of the bracket.

I am not sure I am explaining this well, since most of you all have the speakers so it probablly seems obvious the answer, but I can't visualize where the speaker will be relative to the mounting bracket.

Paul

Hi,

I have the Q4s.
When mounted, the BOTTOM of the speakers is exactly 3 inches below the bottom of the mount.
This should allow you to measure the the distance from the ceiling to the top of the speaker.
Mine are 63 inches floor to speaker bottom and 21 inches speaker top to ceiling.
Hope this helps. (I'm assuming Axiom is using the same mounts for the Q4 / Q8s).

That is exactly the info I was looking for.

So for the QS4, if the bottom of the mount is 13" from the ceiling, and the bottom of the speaker is 3" below that, then the top of the 6.5" speaker will be at 13+3-6.5 = 10.5" inches from the ceiling.

If the QS8 is mounted similarly (probably bad assumption), the top of the speaker will be 13+3-8.25 = 7.75" from the ceiling.

So I think in all liklihood I can use the QS8's b/c I will have about 7" of clearance. That seems like enough, doesn't it???

The top of the QS8 (similar for the QS4) will be 2 1/2 inches above the bottom of the bracket. Since the bottom of the speaker will not have a wall behind it in your mounting situation, there will be nothing for the 2 bottom rubber bumpers to sit against. To overcome this you could add a couple of wood strips behind the speaker, mounted beside the hanger brackets, to give support to the bottom. I would be curious to know the e-mail address to which you did not receive a response to this inquiry. If you are installing your Home Theater system in a medium or large sized room, I would suggest going with the QS8s.

Thanks for the info. So if I am reading this correctly, if the bottom of the bracket is 13" from the ceiling, the top of the QS8 runs 2.5" above this? If so that will put the top of the speaker 10.5" from the ceiling (if the bottom of the bracket is 13" from the ceiling).

So on the QS8, it seems as if the mounting bracket is located a little higher on the speaker than the QS4. Did I calculate the proper clearance on the QS4 on the post below?

I feel confidant that 10.5" of clearance for the top woofer will be fine.

BTW - I sent those e-mails on Monday to support@axiomaudio.com, I re sent them to advice@axiomaudio.com yesterday.

Hello,

I didn't see your post but got your email query this a.m., and answered it. Then I saw your message board posting. Ian has already covered some of the info, but there are other issues I address, so I thought an edited version of the email to you might be of general interest.

A few inches of clearance is all you really need between the woofer and the ceiling, but it's better if you keep any speakers further away from the junction of any room boundaries (wall to ceiling, corners, etc.). You will have enough clearance if you put the bracket at the bottom of the 13-inch board. You can also mount the QS4s directly to the wall, using plastic inserts (hardware store) in a hole drilled in the plaster drywall. The instructions and bracket are supplied with the speakers. Just call Joe Vassallo, our service manager, toll-free at 1-866-294-6688 for more information on mounting if you run into problems.

Please ignore the "different tweeter" issue. The tonal signature of a speaker is mainly determined by the woofer/midrange drivers, the crossover point, and overall balancing of the drivers, not by the specific tweeter type. So don't worry about that. QS4s would be quite adequate for your room and would blend nicely with M22ti's, which I would recommend. The QS8s are better for larger rooms.

With your sub, I believe the M22ti's would present the smoothest and most neutral soundstage, as well as 3D-like imaging. The M3ti's have a rather laid-back, mellow midrange that, in my listening tests, is not as detailed as the M22ti's. I prefer the M22ti's, but many Axiom customers love the laid-back quality of the M3ti's. The M22's have wonderful power handling, even without a sub. But your sub will supply strong support below 40 Hz.

Placement a few inches out from the wall is fine, to let the port vent low frequencies. All walls and boundaries influence a speaker's sound, so you have to experiment a bit. If they sound better out from the wall a foot or so, use them that way.

Quadpolar surrounds are easier to place than direct-radiating surrounds, especially when different distances and heights are involved. They work best elevated 1 to 5 feet above ear level for seated listeners, to the sides of the listening areas, either slightly forward or to the rear. Experiment with placement before you choose a permanent location. Every room is different.

Wall mounting is always superior to shelf mounting of a speaker, unless it's an open shelf. Again, some elevation usually works better, roughly the same height as your surrounds. My multipole surrounds are at quite different heights, and produce a wonderful sense of envelopment.

Regards,

Thanks Alan and Ian for your info. I'm not sure where I got the other e-mail address, but it was not correct.

So based on the recs I got today and the last week's worth of reading I have changed what I am doing.

I decided to not have any regrets and wondering what if (my theory is bigger is better, right??). Since Ian cleared up the clearance issue (I should have about 10" from the ceiling), I ordered three QS-8's for a 6.1 setup.

Also in the category of not wanting to wonder what if, I ordered the 150 center speaker as well. I figured these speakers are going to last a long long time so I should buy the 'best'.

So now for the L/R, originally I was considering the M40, M3, or M22. I have always had towers so I was partial to the M40, but Alan spoke glowingly about the M22. So I have not yet ordered my fronts.

Again my thought pattern, is long term so I have added the M60 to the thought process since it is a 3 way that I think will work in 2 channel mode very well for music.

I am still deciding, so I should get four speakers next week, and I will wait and decide on the other two shortly, any suggestions?

Alan,

Quick question. I have QS-4's and in my new room, I have to mount the surrounds on the back wall. I have two options available: a) mount them 6 inches from the corner on the back wall, or b) mount them directly in the corner.

Wondering if either of the senarios will provide decent sound evelopement?

Thx.......

Hi Robhow,

Corners are seldom kind to the sound of any speaker, except one that is really bass-deficient and you want to use the natural but uneven bass boost that results from corner placement.

So if you keep the QS-4s six inches away from the corner, it should be okay. How about 12 inches from the corner? Possible or not?

Can you check out the sound quality and envelopment in the soundfield first before you do any drilling and permanent mounting?

Regards,

I can experiment with speaker placement, but the wiring has already been run to the corners of the room with speaker terminals and coverplate. If I move the speakers 12 inches from the wall, there would be too much exposed wire. Should I purchase another type of speaker that would work better in the corners. Given you new mounting brackets, should I place bookshelf speakers in the corners

Hi,

No, bookshelf speakers woudn't work better in the corner. If anything, the QS's quadpolar radiation should average out some of the corner's boundary effects better than a direct radiator. It's the intersection of two (or three) boundaries--two walls (and a ceiling)--that change the tonal character of any speaker placed in a corner.

Regards,

Hi Alan,

I am using QS8's on the side wall about 6 inches away from the back wall. I have them set to small, so nothing under 80hz is fed to them, with my home theater sub behind the couch being fed everything under 80hz. Is the bass boost as much of an issue if you are not running the surrounds full range?

I mounted the QS8's that close to the wall because my seated position is only 2 feet from the back wall, and mounting them in front of me is not an option.

Thanks,
PatrickS

Hi Patrick,
You're right, or at least partly so, about running your QS8's set to "Small", so the back wall shoudn't be as significant a factor. But corners in some rooms (mine) seem to supply a horn-loading effect. It was very obvious when I used the pink noise test signal, so I moved my surround out about 2 feet from the corner and the sound improved markedly.

If you're getting a good sense of envelopment in the soundfield and you don't notice any significant tonal differences between the two surrounds playing movies or music, then it's okay. Don't worry about it.

Regards,