Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Stereo extreme newbie...hooked on M3tis....need advice

Hi folks! Thanks so much in advance for any help here.

Situation: I'm looking for a decent sound system (mainly for music) for our small house (12 x 20ft living room). I'm hoping to spend not more than $1000-1500. somehow i came across the Axiom M3ti's while looking through a truely vast choice of bookshelve speakers (I also want my system to be fairly low profile, we don't have alot of space), and they stuck with me. I think they're the ones I want.

Now I need to figure out what I need from there. I know, I'm hopeless! Anyone can give me suggestions on a reciever to match the speakers (with the possiblity of adding a sub in the future)? And do i need a separate amp?

I would also like to play stuff from my computer on the stereo at some point.

I'm willing to do some reading/research, if anyone has a good reference source for a newbie as well. Seems stereos have gotten a little more complicated than when i was a kid.

Thanks again!,
Mike.

Hey Mike, welcome...

That is a nice sized room you will have. When you say primarily music, are you thinking about just getting some left/right speakers and then eventually a sub. Or, are you thinking you would like to have a surround setup for some home theater experience? Many music DVD's come in 5.1 so that is pretty cool, but some people just like 2 channel left/right/sub setups.

If you want a surround setup, 5.1 or 7.1, you will have to route some speaker wires to the sides and rear of the room, not sure if that will be easy for you. The m50's, m60's, and 80 floorstanding speakers will give you better overall bass/punch without a sub. However, the smaller bookshelf speakers are no slouch. The m22's and m3's, and even the m2's are respectable. When you add a sub to the equation it will help balance out the overall sound in the room, but some don't use a sub for music listening. Also, if you do some home theater movie watching, you don't need a center right away. Your left/right speakers can simulate the center channel until your budget allows purchasing the center. Also, the Axiom surrounds can be wall mounted or sit on stands.

Keep in mind if you order from Axiom's Factory Outlet, you will save 10%, and if you buy 5 or more items you get another 5%. So maybe you can sweet talk your significant other.

You don't have to get really expensive receivers or amps to accomplish a great experience. There are lots of good receivers out there starting at $400 and up. I would say to stay with a reputible brand like Pioneer, Yamaha, Denon, Onkyo, HK, etc... The Axiom speakers are easy to drive, so I would say look for something that is within your budget, just don't go to cheap. We can help you with that if you do a little research locally or on the net.

talk to ya later

>>I'm hoping to spend not more than $1000-1500.

Its funny, the only number I saw when i read this statement was $1500...anyone else see the same?

hehe, in any case, Randy has some good advise and questions that should be answered prior to purchasing anything.

That room IS pretty big for the M3s, if you want a fuller sound I would suggest the M22 bookshelves and either the EP350 sub (if your going to be playing over 50% music) whereas if you are going to double this system up as a HT system in the future (50/50 music and theatre), I would suggest the EP500 sub.

If you're just going for 2 channel listening right now, and don't obsess over little tiny blemishes in your equipment, I would suggest ordering from the Factory Outlet to stay within your budget.

You get can 2 x M22s and an EP350 for $1017.00 USD from the factory outlet. If you order 2 more items such as 2 QS8s for your surrounds, you will be able to get a 4.1 system for $1418USD (with the 5% discount for ordering 5 items or more at once). Like Randy mentioned, you may not need a centre channel right now if that is not your main focus.

Did you want your Budget to include a reciever as well or is that just for the speakers?

Thanks for the replys, folks!

>> That room IS pretty big for the M3s,

Should fill the room better than our current $45.00 "boom box".

(Randy) >>Or, are you thinking you would like to have a surround setup for some home theater experience?

Right now, just looking for music, being that we don't even have a TV! Does having the rear speakers also enhance music listening?

Also, thanks so much for the warehouse tip. I just ordered the M3ti's, and the 10% brought the price back down closer to the $275/pair price mentioned in the older editorial reviews of these speakers.

I'm looking at a Pioneer VSX-1015TX reciever right now at around $400 that looks pretty good. (unfortunately, i'm trying to keep the total system to around $1500.) Not sure though, the 1015 sounds like its designed for home theater. Would it be better to get a reciever designed specifically for music?

Thanks again,
Mike.

That is a great receiver, and will be perfect for music listening as well as home theater down the road. Many new receivers have Dolby Pro Logic IIx and DTS Neo 6 which takes stereo and decodes it so all speakers are used, almost like your sitting on the stage with the performers. Sometimes I use that mode, other times I just like to crank up my m60's and 500 sub for music. Also, many Music DVDs now come decoded in Dolby or DTS 5.1, 6.1, etc.. Watching a concert in 5.1 that has been recorded nicely is unbelievable. If your into Jazz, Diana Kralls Live in Paris is a good example of a 5.1 setup, it will blow you away, however, you have to have at least a 5.1 setup to get the full experience. There are many music DVD's out there, some better than others.

Also, there are many CD's that are in SACD (super audio cd) and DVD-A (DVD Audio) which is even better...

Also, if you only purchased a "Stereo" receiver and later wanted to experience home theater, you would be screwed.

$1500??

EP 500
M22s
- 10% factory outlet

= $1494

My room is a tad bigger than that and my M3's do pretty well. I can get over 100db pretty easily with my HK 630. 99% of the time I prefer to use my other Axioms as well thou (VP150, QS4's). I live for multichannel music these days.

How high are your ceilings? This may be an issue for filling the room with bass.

Thanks again for all the replys, great board!

Finding a reciever has been an interesting quest. Now i'm considering spending $750 or so for Harmon Kardon AVR445 or 645 (65 vs 75 watts)----anybody familiar? Also, i could get the 2 year old AVR 635 for $599 (+ $118 shipping to Alaska, ouch), although it does not have HDMI and no usb.

I should order something soon to get it here in time for my M3s!

THanks,
Mike