Speaker choice help (1 Viewer)

[lenny0612]

Wife and i have just broke ground on our new home. Before I go further we have gone with prewire for the home theater, 7.1, and 2 speakers in the master bedroom. That choice cant be changed, so i want the best speakers i can get. Right now I am looking into the Axiom M22 in wall for the front L,R but I am not sure what to use for the center chanel and rear 3 chanels or what sub to use. Am also not sure in the rear should be mounted in ceiling or in wall? and what are the best in ceiling to use in the bedroom? The system will be used 60% HD movies and 40% music, mostly hip hop r&b. Any advice on speakers would be great thank you

 

[gene c]

Since you've decided on Axiom's for the fronts you really should use their matching center, the VP-100. All three front speakers should be from the same brand so the sound wil be consistant as it pans across the front of room. It's not as critical for the surrounds but if you're going to do it right then they should also be from Axiom like the M2's or M3's. That way as sound circles around the room or front to back, like a plane, it will sound more cohesive. Mixing and matching different brands of speakers just doesn't work with surround sound. In a stereo setup you wouldn't have one brand of speaker on the left and another on the right. Same principle with surround sound. I would always go for in-walls over in-ceilings for movies, tv and gaming. It's much more realistic for sound to come from beside you and behind you then from above you. For music in the bedroom in-celings are fine. I'm not familiar with in-ceiling speakers but the major brands are Speakercraft, Niles, Polk and Parasound. But most speaker brands also carry in-wall and in-celing speakers now days so the choices are wide open. Two websites, PartsExpress.com and Monoprice.com have good quality in-expensive in-celing speakers if you'ld like to save a little money. They're also great places for wires, cables and a bunch of other stuff.

 

[lenny0612]

I have come up with 2 systems and would like some input.first would be pioneer elite VSX-52, axiom m22 in wall front L,R, vp100 center, axiom m22 inwall rear L,R, vp100 rear center, lavasubs lsp12, and HTD HD-R80 for the master bedroom. second option is pioneer elite VSX-52, axiom M22 in wall L,R front, VP100 center, HTD HD-R80 LCR rear in ceiling, lavasubs lsp12, and HTD HD-R80 in the master.

 

[Al.Anderson]

Given the the choice between the two, it seems like a pretty easy decision to me - keep the speakers all the same and go on-wall. However, I'm curious why you're going with rear speakersas opposed to the preferred side surround. And if you did go with the side surround, the QS4 or QS8 would be the better choice for movies, and not much of a loss for music. Although you would lose the audio symmetry which might be nice if you tend to have parties and use the whole room. (Personally, I'd opt for movie bliss over the occasional party.)

 

[lenny0612]

The room that there are going into is a larger shared livingroom/dining room so I have the use of a front,side,rear walls only

 

[gene c]

I agree with keeping them all the same so option number one. We pretty much always recommend stand-alone speakers first, then on-walls, in-walls and in-ceiling. The reasons are better cabinets/enclosures and placement flexebility. A few inches this way or that way can make a big difference. If you're going to go with in-walls triple-check their placement. You only get one chance to cut holes in the walls .