Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater New axioms arrived!...sort of

Well, I got confirmation from Noreen that my axioms were shipped Friday and was surprised to see they were ready for delivery today. I raced home only to find I'd missed DHL. After calling to see when they'd be back at the hub so I could pick them up we discovered a second truck was out to deliver 3 of the boxes.

Sure enough 3 boxes showed up about an hour ago. And sure enough it was the VP150, one of the 60's and a QS8. Of course...

So now I'm sitting here looking at three shiny speakers waiting for a callback to say I can come pick up the last 2 and get rolling. I have to pick up speaker wire as well since I planned to do it on the way home tonight.

Initial impressions (so that this post isn't completely useless ): The high gloss cherry finish axiom was offering for free upgrade is really nice. I don't have a point of reference I guess, but it's definately glossy without being obnoxious. It compliments the glossy cabinet on my new samsung .

For whatever reason when I look at the finish I'm left thinking "retro" which I'm a fan of, but I suppose other more futuristic types might enjoy something a bit more modern.

The VP150 is a monster of a speaker. I'd processed how ever big it says it is with a measuring tape, but seeing it is another thing. It dwarfs my old HTIB onkyo speaker and it's very heavy.

Of course the same could be said for the M60 sitting here. Great box design. Putting the feet on and flipping (and having it come right out) was excellent. The speaker feels a little wobbly on the rubber feet - I've got wood floors which are uneven and I'm sure I'm just paranoid.

The QS8 is a beauty. The design just screams "surround sound" and I have high hopes it lives up to it's rave reviews. It's also heavier and larger than it looks.

Just got a call back from DHL and they only tried to deliver one box this morning leaving one remaining in transit somewhere. However the lady on the phone was great about it all and offered to have them (assuming 2nd box makes it to Richmond overnight) delivered "sometime" after 3pm tomorrow so I woudln't have to spend all day waiting instead of going to work. Hmm..maybe that's not a plus!

I don't know if there are specific reasons (cost) etc for the carrier Axiom has chosen, but customer service is at the very least an added bonus. I can't imagine UPS offering a window for my delivery.

Anyway...hopefully some impressions tomorrow when stuff actually gets here. It's a shame the 2 60's didn't make it here today. I can't even face the idea of listening to my HTIB onkyo speakers tonight!

Congrats (sort-of) on the partial arrivals. I guess you can either listen to HTIB tonight, or just the left and center channels of your new Axiom system. Half the Axioms would probably still win out, but wait until you have them all- so you can get the complete audio experience.

In the meantime, do you have an SPL meter to do the levels calibration?

Welcome!

For side placement of the QS8's, are their recommendations for placement from the back wall? My couch is right up against the this wall and my ears are typically about 10-15 inches forward from there (yes I'm anal retentive and measured).

If I center the QS8 to my ears that'll put the speaker closest to the back pretty close to the wall. I see mention of a foot clearance for the top speaker, is that recommended for all 4?

I realize I'm probably being stupid, but since I'm lucky enough to have a room (tiny) perfect for side mounting I'd like to maximize it's potential.

I promise to stop gushing and blathering away now. Perhaps I'll go pick up that speaker wire!

Nick

I would put them directly at the sides of the listeners, as you described this would be about 10-15 inches from the back wall. This gives them some room for the tweeters to reflect off of the back wall, to give the additional diffused/spacious effect that they are famous for. Just as long as they aren't "in front" of the listeners.

As far as height, I think about 18 to 24 inches above the listening ear positions is good.

It's great to get into using the SPL meter, but you can always try your receivers setup and see how happy you are with it.

As far as the sub, I'm sure it would be best to upgrade down the road- but for now, try it both ways (M60s at small/80Hz xover, or full) and see which you prefer.

What Dave said

Okay, got the speaker wire. No one seemed to want to help at HD, but Lowe's cut me some. 12GA wasn't available at HD and it was $.95 a foot at Lowe's! I wasn't going to give them that price when I could have offered Axiom the business and saved .05 a foot. So I ended up with 14GA at $.47 per which still seemed a little high.

Guess I can spend the rest of the night running wire and get prepared for tomorrow afternoon.

I looked at the instructions again and realized that the surrounds should start at the edge of 90 degrees. I was thinking the speaker should be centered at 90 degrees so I guess I'll just have to trust they're not "too close" to the back wall. I appreciate your time providing input.

I realize I'm being a kid about all this by the way. I can't seem to help myself.

Nick

Nick:
My situation seems similar to yours and I've had good luck with my QS-8 positioning:

Yup..that looks familiar. It looks like you have yours mounted quite a bit higher than I was planning. Any particular reason? I suppose if you think about where surround speakers are in a movie theater, they're quite elevated.

I'm single and live in a (relative to my HT) gear crappy apt. Maybe you're doing it for asthetics since it seems like you have a very nice home!

Nick