Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Maximum/Minimum Room Size?

After alot of reading, I hope to be able to make a purchase soon. Im still undecided about which speakers to get and thought Id ask a simple (hopefully) question. What is the maximum and minimum room size you would recommend for these speakers?

M22
VP100
VP150
QS4
QS8

I dont want to give away my room dimensions just yet as that would probably lead to biased results

One the surround speakers, how much difference would using 4 speakers vs 2 make? Basically are 4 QS4s a better choice than 2 QS8s? Does anyone use 4 QS8? If so what size room?


Thanks for any and all Help

Jon

LazyJ, this is a bit of a backwards question.
There is no exact cutoff for a room size before one goes to a tower specfically over a bookshelf or for the QS8 over a QS4 or the VP100 vs. the VP150.
The Axiom speaker/HT guide does however already provide recommendations based on room size, however this is not always the single driving criteria.
You need to factor in budget, preferred sound type, etc.
For us on the forums though, your room size and layout IS an important piece of info before attempting to give advice on speaker choices. It is not a 'bias' of data. It is REQUIRED data to make an informed opinion.

Since you are set on the M22s and not a larger tower, i'm assuming your room is not overly large, or at least your listening area is a reasonable size. In such case, any of those options you have will work.

Four QS4s will give you more speakers for a surround setup. The larger QS8s will provide cleaner sound at higher volumes in larger rooms but will give you 2 less speakers in which to create a sound field.
Which version would sound "better" is solely up to you.

Ok, I think I understand the reasoning there. My room is 17 by 25, with two rows of seating.

The first row will be about 15 feet wide and 10 feet back from the speakers, and the second row is about 8 feet wide about 15 feet back from the speakers.

What concerns me is using my money to its full advantage. Will the VP100 provide enough dispersion so that the front row listeners on the end get good sound? Are the 22s enough front speaker for a room that size?

Im full of questions

Thanks again
Jon

Jon,

What's the ceiling height? Your room is getting kinda big for M22s and a VP100. The seating distance from the speakers makes a large difference in how hard the woofers have to "work" to produce a particular volume level at the listening area. By the way, my response to your post on Reference Levels in Technical Questions includes comments on levels I use with M22s, QS8s, and a VP100 at a distance of about 10 feet in a room that's significantly smaller. (13 x 19 x 9).

I would nudge you up to floorstanding M60s, a VP150 and QS8s to achieve clean playback levels at a 15-ft listening distance with peaks in the 90- to 98 dB level (or more). M22s used in that application would be pushed beyond their capabilities, in my judgment.

Regards,

The ceiling height is just a tad under 8 feet. Its in the basement and with the drop ceiling it doesnt quite reach the regular ceiling height, but Im not sure on the exact measurement.

I love the look of the 60s, but the cost is twice the 22s, so I was hoping they would do. Thanks for your help. Does my relatively low ceiling height help me in this situation any?

Jon,

No, the ceiling height is normal or a bit less. I always ask because often there will be a cathedral ceiling, which makes the room much bigger.

If you were content with music playback peaking in the 90-dB range (that's almost "very loud"), the M22ti's would do nicely (assuming you are using a good, powerful subwoofer).

My concern is with movie soundtrack playback. With well-mixed Dolby Digital soundtracks and adventure-type movies, there's a tendency to "crank it up" (I do this with movies like "The Bourne Identity" and similar fare) because we're used to maximum involvement in large cinemas equipped with huge horn-loaded sound systems.

Cranking it up in a room as large as yours with M22ti's would be a mistake. If you could be happy with 90-dB peaks at your listening area with movie soundtracks, then the M22ti's will do a good job. The VP150 plays much cleaner at loud levels than the VP100, so using a 150 would also help.

Regards,

I agree with Alan. A room that big, which I'm assuming is being used primarily for movies, is a bit large to be using the M22ti as mains. If budget is a concern, buy your speakers a set at a time. I know it's hard, but it sounds like you've got a killer room set up, don't ruin it by purchasing the wrong speakers for it.

If it were me, in a room like that, specifically for HT, here's what I'd do:

M60ti mains
VP150 center
QS8 surrounds
QS8 rears
Hsu 1220HO sub

You've got a dedicated HT room...make the most of it! (It's a dream of mine that's YEARS away)

Get the mains, center and one set of surrounds first. Save up and grab the Hsu sub, and then finally add the last pair of QS8's to the rear.

Order everything from the outlet That'll save you a good chunk of coin alone.

And, if you order 5 speakers or more (a set of M60's counts as 2 speakers as does a set of QS8s, for example), you get an extra 5% discount added onto the 10% discount for ordering through the Factory Outlet. Total discount = 15%. Oh those wonderful Axiom people!

Well after much deliberation with the wife, and some serious measuring and planning, I think we decided to divide the room instead of increasing the speaker budget.

Any comments on the suitability of the M22/VP100/QS4 set for a room 12 by 18 by 8?

The smaller room also offers the advantage of complete light control for a front projector, but does mean we will have to sit closer to the screen/speakers. The front row will be about 9-10' and the second row about 13-14'.

That sound better?

I would still opt for the tower speakers LazyJ.
I think you can get away with the QS4s for sure.
Pluses/minuses on the centre channel but i think it would work fine.
As Alan said, we ppl often tend to turn up the volume for movies and that new dimension room is still medium sized volume to fill with sound. I certainly agree. I play movies alot louder than music (most of the time).