Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Speaker array for surrounds on a 5.1 setup

Agreed, I don't go to the movies too often, but I took the kids to see The Polar Express at the weekend. The whole time I was thinking wow, great movie, but it would be so much better at home!

rabrant,

One piece of advice that I like to give to friends/coworkers who are getting into HT for the first time is that you are better off getting a excellent 5.1 system rather than a mediocre 6.1 or 7.1 system.

Get the biggest, baddest receiver that you can afford...forego the 6th (and 7th) speaker in exchange for a better quality/more features. You can add the 6th and 7th speaker later.

Good luck.

very good advice alou...

i think 6.1, and 7.1 systems are over-rated. for those that have them, and love them, more power to ya.. i aint taking nothing away from you. but, in average environments, the additional rear channels that a 6.1 or 7.1 system provide, have been less than impressive to me.

i think alou's idea of using the surplus money and getting a great receiver/amp, and then worrying about the rears at a later date, is a very straight forward and logical idea.

no wonder why everyone is always asking us for our advice. its just soooo damn good.

bigjohn

In reply to:

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If you really want the TRUE theatre experience you can hire me to sit in your home and talk, cough and make cell phone calls during the movie. For an extra bonus I can also deliver the dialog 10 seconds before the actors do.

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Oh YOU'RE the guy that follows me around from theater to theater and sits just behind me. Hmmmm?

You know, I just realized something. A little background first. I got started in this whole home theater thing because of the great sound in theaters. I can remember sitting in the theater, watching the credits roll (all the way to the end) because of the fabulous sound of the music under the credits. Voices had an "in your face" presence that I had never experienced before, certainly not from my 30 year old stereo system. So I got me a Pro Logic receiver and a JBL HTIB (which was my first step down the path which eventually led to hanging out with bad company on the internet , and to financial ruin), and immediately realized "AH! Boy! Finally! Now this..........still doesn't sound like the theater.

So I made my first "upgrades" (the greatest mistake of my life, for it infected me with the dreaded disease.....upgraditis ) I got me a Cambridge Soundworks center channel, and (admitted with GREAT shame) Bose 301 fronts. I know! I know! I've now, forever, lost any admiration and respect I may have earned. But I just didn't know what I was doing. Sheesh! Anyway, believe it or not, that little center channel got me the results I'd wanted, and I was VERY pleased to hear what I thought, at the time, was an approximation of the theater experience. At the least, I achieved, to a satisfying degree, that vocal presence in the center channel. Well, needless to say, I've come a long way since those days, and the equipment I have today is a considerable improvement over what I had then.

BUT! (And here's the interesting revelation I had that prompted this dissertation.) Because of my particular circumstances, the last time I was in a theater was BEFORE I bought that Pro Logic receiver and the JBL HTIB; BEFORE I experienced the great sound I've achieved in my own home. So, I have no way of knowing how my setup compares to a theater's setup. I've been assuming, all along, that as good as my HT is, it would still never measure up to a theater's.

Could it be, based on what some of you have said above, that my system actually sounds BETTER than a theater's? HOLY CATS! What an epiphany! I'd never even considered that possibility. Only time will tell, of course. But I'm looking forward to that first trip to a theater to find out. VERY interesting!

I'll charge you $9.50 for each person who watches, and then pour syrup all over your floor. Unless it's before 2 PM (2 PM!!!), in which case I'll only charge you $7.

Damn, I wonder all the time why I don't see more movies in the theatre, then I go see one. And my wallet remembers...

Spiderman 2 at the IMAX is the only movie experience I have had that compares (not necessarily exceeds - that remains to be seen) to watching movies at home since I bought my home theater.

Polk RTi8 Fronts
CSi5 Center
Fxi 3 Surrounds
Velodyne CHT 12 sub
HK AVR 230

My wife just asked me today if I want to go to the movies this weekend and see "Ray".

But now that I got my Samsung DLP the day before yesterday and my newish Axiom setup, I think there's been a fundemental change: Now, with the "epics" or "great soundtrack" movies that I used to want to see in a theater, I'll specifically look to watch in DVD at home. I honestly feel that my sound system and my picture are above any theater I'v been in for the last 5 years or so!

My picture is kinda small but IMO the sound is quite a bit better than in even the fairly large theaters. And that's with M2s !!

Like everyone is saying, theaters have lots of speakers because they're really large, not because the speakers are required to get authentic sound. Go for a 5.1 system with a good sub and QS surrounds and I think you'll be REALLY happy.

Thanks for all of your insight!

I was looking around at subs... I liked what I saw at the SVS site the best. Does anybody know if there is a real big quality difference between these?

SVS Box Subs
PB10-ISD ($430)
PB12-ISD ($600)

I was also looking at the Dayton 10" 100 Watt Sub at partsexpress.com which is $220.

Which of these subs would be best for a 15x25ft room, value wise?

Rabrant, what size sub you should get depends on how big your room is. I have the PB12-ISD in a 12x13 room and it is far more than enough for my needs. The PB10 is pretty new. If it had been available at the time, I probably would have gone with it since it's significantly cheaper and my room isn't very large.

Regardless, you really can't go wrong with either SVS or Hsu subwoofers.