Looking for advice: RBH vs Axiom

[Arjun]

Hi guys! My first post here. I've been lurking on this forum for a while and now need your advice.

I am about to set up a Stereo / Home Theater (when I add a TV - for now just the stereo components) for our living room. The room is 25ft by 20 ft and has a 25ft high ceiling. It opens to the entrance foyer on one side (the first pic below was taken from the foyer; you can see the entrance foyer opening on the left hand side of the second picture) and a kitchen / dining room on another side (visible on the right hand side of the first picture; the second picture was taken from the kitchen looking at the living room).

Pic 1:

Pic 2:

Now I'm a total NEWBIE when it comes to stereos/HT, but I did a bit of research and had a sound engineer come by and take a look at the place too. He has tentatively suggested a modified 5.1 HT set up as the open architecture of the living room coupled with windows etc prevent setting up a full 7.1 system. He suggested using the following:

RBH 1266-SE for Mains (L/R)
RBH 661-SE for Center
RBH 61-SE for Rear Surround (L/R)
Axiom EP 600 sub (optional if the 1266s didn't quite cut it)

While I like the set up he has suggested, I was wondering if it was really worth the price premium over the Axiom 80.600 HT system?

FYI: I primarily listen to a lot of heavy metal with electronica thrown in for good measure. I'll probably use an Iron Maiden and a Sepultura album to test the system.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Many thanks in advance!

 

[B5I8]

The RBH system your installer suggested would be one heck of a sound system. The price difference I'm pretty sure is a pretty big one between the RBH system Vs the Axiom. IMO the RBH setup would be in a whole different league of sound compared to the Axiom. If all you do is watch movies and listen to Heavy Metal and Electronica though, I don't really think it's worth the price difference. If you plan to do some critical listening or have some DVD-A or SACD's to listen to, then the RBH would be worth it. One suggestion I have to throw out there would be to swap out the the EP600 sub with either dual EP500's or a dual SVS sub.

 

[Arjun]

The RBH system your installer suggested would be one heck of a sound system. The price difference I'm pretty sure is a pretty big one between the RBH system Vs the Axiom. IMO the RBH setup would be in a whole different league of sound compared to the Axiom. If all you do is watch movies and listen to Heavy Metal and Electronica though, I don't really think it's worth the price difference. If you plan to do some critical listening or have some DVD-A or SACD's to listen to, then the RBH would be worth it. One suggestion I have to throw out there would be to swap out the the EP600 sub with either dual EP500's or a dual SVS sub.

Thanks for the insight!

Please keep your comments coming. Thanks!

 

[f0am]

I dont have any great suggestions for you... Listen to the speakers and compair different brands see what you like.
But what I really wanted to say is that house looks amazing, those windows up high give a nice compforting feeling. I like your taste = P.

 

[Dan]

Unfortunately those beautiful high ceilings are the pits for great sound. Any speakers will sound rather "echoic" in that large space and you will need a lot of power. You have 12,500 cu ft. vs 2400 for me. My speakers are much less efficient than your choices I think (87dB) but you have five times the volume. It may be hard to play heavy metal loud. Thus I would suggest saving money for amps.

 

[Arjun]

Unfortunately those beautiful high ceilings are the pits for great sound. Any speakers will sound rather "echoic" in that large space and you will need a lot of power. You have 12,500 cu ft. vs 2400 for me. My speakers are much less efficient than your choices I think (87dB) but you have five times the volume. It may be hard to play heavy metal loud. Thus I would suggest saving money for amps.

The large volume is my biggest concern. Do you think it makes more sense to go with the Axiom unit and spend the savings on an Emotiva MPS-1 and an additional EP600?

f0am: Thank you for the compliment

 

[jcPanny]

New HT setup

Arjun,
Sounds like you have the budget to put together a nice HT. The 4 ohm Axiom M80's could probably benefit from outboard amplication. Either a stereo amp for the mains or a 5-7 channel HT amp like the MPS-1. Budget at least $1k for a mid-fi Yamaha or Denon receiver. You might be able to get a 7.1 system if you are willing to put a couple speakers on stands behind the listening position.

The EP600 or two EP500s should privide a lots of bass. Just keep in mind that the EP600 is huge!

Also, checking out your pics, where do you plan to put all the HT gear? Hopefully you have a/v wiring that runs to a closet.

 

[Arjun]

Arjun,
Sounds like you have the budget to put together a nice HT. The 4 ohm Axiom M80's could probably benefit from outboard amplication. Either a stereo amp for the mains or a 5-7 channel HT amp like the MPS-1. Budget at least $1k for a mid-fi Yamaha or Denon receiver. You might be able to get a 7.1 system if you are willing to put a couple speakers on stands behind the listening position.

The EP600 or two EP500s should privide a lots of bass. Just keep in mind that the EP600 is huge!

Also, checking out your pics, where do you plan to put all the HT gear? Hopefully you have a/v wiring that runs to a closet.

After reading more about EP600 vs dual EP500s, I think I'm leaning towards dual EP500s.

As for the HT gear, I was planning on mounting the TV on the wall facing Pic 2 (left wall of Pic 1). The fire place is so high it makes putting a TV on top of it unfeasible for comfortable viewing (plus WAF dictates that she be able to watch TV while cooking hence mounting on the wall facing Pic 2). As for the gear, my wife has agreed to let me have vertical floor rack to the left of the wall (on Pic 2) as long as all the wires are hidden. Thankfully she'll let me keep all equipment exposed as long as she doesn't see the wires.

 

[Tomorrow]

After reading more about EP600 vs dual EP500s, I think I'm leaning towards dual EP500s.

As for the HT gear, I was planning on mounting the TV on the wall facing Pic 2 (left wall of Pic 1). The fire place is so high it makes putting a TV on top of it unfeasible for comfortable viewing (plus WAF dictates that she be able to watch TV while cooking hence mounting on the wall facing Pic 2). As for the gear, my wife has agreed to let me have vertical floor rack to the left of the wall (on Pic 2) as long as all the wires are hidden. Thankfully she'll let me keep all equipment exposed as long as she doesn't see the wires.

Lucky guy. My wife won't let me expose my equipment anymore. (Married too long, I guess. LOL.)

Seriously, I think you're on the right track and have gotten some good advice here. Two subs are most definitely going to help improve your sound in that room. They may be a bit of a nag trying to integrate smoothly, but the extra tinkering will be worth the effort.

Some Axioms in real oak veneer would set off nicely with that bannister. Have fun setting up.

Call me envious.

 

[Nick250]

Lucky guy. My wife won't let me expose my equipment anymore. (Married too long, I guess. LOL.)

A little too much information here.

 

[WorldLeader]

*rimshot*

 

[HTHOLIC]

After reading more about EP600 vs dual EP500s, I think I'm leaning towards dual EP500s.

As for the HT gear, I was planning on mounting the TV on the wall facing Pic 2 (left wall of Pic 1). The fire place is so high it makes putting a TV on top of it unfeasible for comfortable viewing (plus WAF dictates that she be able to watch TV while cooking hence mounting on the wall facing Pic 2). As for the gear, my wife has agreed to let me have vertical floor rack to the left of the wall (on Pic 2) as long as all the wires are hidden. Thankfully she'll let me keep all equipment exposed as long as she doesn't see the wires.

Why not get an svs subwoofer or 2 of them for less than the price of the e500 and save money. Not only will you save money but you will get more controlled bass output. THey just came out with a new woofer also?

 

[edh]

My suggestion is that you let your wife decide what she is going to do with that room. Drapes,furniture etc etc all have an impact on sound. Does she go with furniture that has a lot of metal as opposed to wood and fabric or leather. Don't rush. Drapes rather than blinds on all those windows makes quite a difference.
Ed

 

[Arjun]

Updated quote from dealer; some more questions

Update:

The sound engineer (an RBH dealer) updated his quote. It's left me with a couple of choices to make:

Mains: RBH 1266SE/R speakers (pair, black) $3,599

Center: RBH 661 SE/R speakers (each, black) $1,008

Surround/Rears: RBH 44 SE (pair, on wall, black) $977

Subs: SVS PB12-Plus 2 $1,299
OR, Axiom EP 500 $1,200

Amp: Rotel RMB 1095 $1,999
OR, Emotiva MPS-1 $1,699

Pre-processor: Denon AVR 4306 (Price TBD)

The mains (RBH 1266 SE/R) require 2 channels of amplification for each speaker (1 for the main array, and 1 for the sub-woofer), which means that I will need a 7 channel amp.

I could use the 5 channel Rotel amp to power the mains and the center, while using the AVR 4306 to power the surround/rears or go with the Emotiva amp. Which one would you guys recommend?

Also, after reading all the debate between the EP 500 and the PB12 Plus 2, I'm a little confused as to which sub to go with - any suggestions?

Thanks for all your help so far!

 

[B5I8]

You don't need to have 2 channels of amplification going to each 1266, they are bi-wirable and bi-ampable but you could just run a single channel to them. My opinion is that you go with the Emotiva MPS-1 to mate with the Denon AVR-4306 and get either dual EP500's, dual PC-ULTRA's or dual PB12-ULTRA's. I honestly think you'll be much happier going with 2 sub's so that you get a much more even bass response and put less stress on the subs when you really crank them up. I like that you went with the SE/R version of the RBH speakers as they have much better drivers and crossovers (borrowed from Status Acoustics ). Also, with the MPS-1, you could bi-amp your mains for now and later on down the road you could buy another pair of RBH speakers to run a 7.2 setup.

 

[no. 5]

Also, after reading all the debate between the EP 500 and the PB12 Plus 2, I'm a little confused as to which sub to go with - any suggestions?

personaly, definitly I would go for the EP500 (there is a review of it on this site). but that's just me.

 

[mkv15]

B5I8,
"with the MPS-1, you could bi-amp your mains"

could you clarify what need to be done? wiring from AVR to MPS-1, etc..

thanks,
m

 

[B5I8]

B5I8,
"with the MPS-1, you could bi-amp your mains"

could you clarify what need to be done? wiring from AVR to MPS-1, etc..

thanks,
m

Since he would be running a 5.1 setup with a 7 channel amp (the MPS-1), you could use the other 2 unused channels on that amp and run them to your mains which need 2 sets of speaker input terminals. Then you'd need to go into your receiver or preamp setup so that it outputs the four channels and front left and right mains. So if you're amp is rated at 7x200W, your mains would have 2x200W going to the mids and tweets, and another 2x200W going to the bass drivers.

 

[Arjun]

Update: Pics

Just thought I'd post up a pic of the set up. Haven't bought the tv yet - I'll mount the center speaker on the wall above it.

Gear:
Mains: RBH 1266SE/R speakers
Center: RBH 661 SE/R speakers
Surround/Rears: RBH 44 SE
Subs: 2 x Axiom EP 500 v2
Amp: Parasound 5250
Pre-processor: Acurus ACT3
DVD: Denon 2910
Music Server: Sonos + NAS

 

[no. 5]

That looks very good, it sounds even better doesn't it?