Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Advice from Axiom Owners A/V Receiver Upgrade?

I doubt that even if receivers do change the sound that they're going to make a "significant" change. You could try a tube amp, though.

So you're saying its a different sound, not necessarily better? I thought that better components can give the speakers more transparency, image, and open up the soundstage. I mean, why is there such a big difference in price between receivers. Their prices can go upwards of $3000. Is my $200 receiver missing something compared to these?

I feel that with my system the M3Ti is not playing to its full potential. From all the rave reviews, I was expecting to be blown away by the sound. I have been very pleased with the speakers no doubt, but it falls short of phenomenal sound. Maybe I am expecting too much, or perhaps, I am too caught up in upgratitis mode. I do know that the M3Ti is limited in the lower range, so it doesn't sound "full".

Space is limited in the bedroom, its 10x10ft, so there is not much room for different placements. Currently the speakers are about 5ft apart. I had the system out in the living room for a while, and the sound did seem a bit better out there.

Is my money better spent on a subwoofer, or center perhaps than on the receiver? If so, can you give me some recommendations? Thanks for the replies.


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Axiom M3Ti (fronts)
Athena ASB2 (surrounds)
Sony STR-DE485
Panasonic DVD-RV32
QED Silver Anniversary Cable
Radioshack Evolution II Toslink Cable

If it were me I would spend the $$ on a sub or center.
Also try playing with the toe-in angles of your speakers.
Are your M3s on stands, wall mounts, or on a shelf?

They are on makeshift stands (i.e. plastic stools). Sometimes I put them on top of the Athena speakers when I am only listening to 2 channel stereo .

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Axiom M3Ti (fronts)
Athena ASB2 (surrounds)
Sony STR-DE485
Panasonic DVD-RV32
QED Silver Anniversary Cable
Radioshack Evolution II Toslink Cable

LK, as long as a receiver has adequate channel separation(i.e. all of them), there's no improvement in "image" or "soundstage" to be gained from a more expensive one. We read about these mysterious benefits on some audio boards, but there's no factual basis for this which holds up under blind listening tests.

In audio even where there are in fact audible differences, i.e. speakers, it apparently isn't enough to say that one is significantly better or is somewhat preferred, instead the difference has to be "huge", "night and day", "blows away" etc. So yes, possibly your expectations were too high, even for excellent speakers such as the M3s.

From what you describe, it may be that a small sub might be the wisest use of that money(besides more CDs and DVDs). One possible choice within your budget is the Outlaw LFM-2.

Well, with your guys advice, I have just tried playing around with the placement. I seem to have settled on putting the speakers as far apart as possible in the tight space, about 8 feet part as apposed to 5 feet before. Wow! From first impressions the sound is not only slightly better, it is a quite a bit better! The sound is suddenly wide, encompassing, more separated, and the image is sharper. I hope I am describing this correctly and making sense. Boy do I feel foolish now . I've had these setup for two years now, and didn't really bother too much with placement. I think I will play around with the placement a bit more and see if there is an even better one for my room. Thanks for the advice!

By the way, what is toe-in? I'm not familiar with that term.

I will look into adding a sub to my system. The Axiom subs are quite pricy, are they worth it?

LK, a common suggestion for speaker placement is to have them separated by about as much as your distance from them and to point them slightly inward("toe-in")so that the tweeters point at your ears.

The Outlaw LFM-2 is priced about right for me. How well does it match with the Axiom M3Tis?

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Axiom M3Ti (fronts)
Athena ASB2 (surrounds)
Sony STR-DE485
Panasonic DVD-RV32
QED Silver Anniversary Cable
Radioshack Evolution II Toslink Cable

Congrats on discovering the upgrade that's included with practically every speaker: repositionability. Changing a speaker's position in a room will change its sound much more significantly than powering it with a different amp or receiver.

Excellent news on the placement! Toe-in means aiming each speaker slightly towards the center of the room, as opposed to having both speakers aiming directly forward. Worth a try. (We're talking slight adjustments. An inch or two can make a significant difference in some rooms.

With a room your size I'd look real hard at a Hsu STF-1 or STF-2. I don't think you'll find a better sub deal in that price range. (The outlaw was designed by Dr. Hsu, why not buy the real deal?)