Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Advice from Axiom Owners TV on VP160?

Whilst I am the new owner of a VP160, I have yet to hook it up. The reason being is that it doesn't fit in my current entertainment unit. As I am searching for one that fits my needs, I have a secondary unit...however, it would require the TV (with stand...56lbs) to sit on the VP160.

My question is this...would this be ok? I don't want to damage the TV, nor the VP160, but reaaaally wanna hear this puppy roar.

Thanks!

Sed, it would seem to be highly unlikely that the 56lb weight of the TV could harm the VP160 in any way.

Pict

Several species of small furry animals...

Funny, I read "picts" and immediately thought of the tribe of human sacrificing, wild men in Robert Howard stories.

I didn't know you were a Pink Floyd fan.

I'd like to see a side profile and on from the main listening position.
I'm curious to see how well it works.

I've got a 60" plasma sitting on top on my vp180. It's been there for about a year now.... I did have to get some 2 or 3" 1/4 20 bolts to level the 180. The bolts are used at the back to provide a level surface for the TV to sit on...

This is an idea I'm also interested in. My tv is also 56lbs and I wonder if the vp160 will be comfortable supporting that weight for a long period of time?

My guess is that there's enough internal cross-bracing to hold a small car (don't try this at home...), but the bigger concern might be making an imprint in the finish.

After much reading on the content mix of the center channel in movies, I found that the prevailing wisdom is that the center channel now handles 75% or so of the soundtrack vice just dialogue from a few years ago. Therefore, I just purchased a VP160 from the Refurb Store to get more performance there.

I intend to sit my Sony 55" LCD on top of it & use it as a pedestal for it. I see from a few pics that the top of the VP160 is slanted down slightly from front to back that might cause a problem as the TV does not tilt - only swivels. Therefore shimming the base of the TV may be required to make it vertical again.

If there are any 160 owners out there where it is out in the open, could you measure the difference of the height between the front & the back? It looks like about 3/4" to me in the pics.

Does anything ever go without a hitch? I could have sworn that the TV tilted but I guess that it doesn't.

Thanks...

TAM

I'd shim the back of the speaker rather than the back of the TV. Very eager to see how this works out for you.

I was considering this but I was wondering if the slight downward tilt of the speaker would be detrimental in any way.

Interestingly, the VP160 has kind of a built in shim system - the supplied rubber feet that screw into the threaded holes on the bottom. Just using 2 of them on the back with none on the front might work.

I really should break down & buy a new stand but my present Sony unit that came with my previous TV is built like a tank and weighs and costs about as much...

TAM

Well, isn't ONE of the VP160 sides at a 90 degree angle to the front? i.e. if you shim the top flat, won't the front be plumb? That's how my VP100 was.

I know, it would probably SOUND better with a bit of an upward tilt (as designed), but it might be an acceptable compromise to get all the pieces to fit together.

I was actually considering buying an in-cabinet VP180 so that the top and bottom would be square and make it easier to use as a stand. Axiom seems to finish the in-cabinet version box with some decent-looking black melamine (or such).

But I'm not spending money on that stuff right now.

Just to clarify, I believe all the center channel cabinets are asymmetrical, whereas the speakers designed to be placed vertically are not.

I have the VP100 sitting on its top & tilted upwards because it is down near the floor. The VP100 doesn't care because its driver complement is the same both ways.

The VP160 shouldn't be flipped over because of the orientation of the middle 2 drivers; however, one can special order it to do that - to be tilted upwards.

From the pics that I've seen, the normal VP160 is flat (horizontal) on the bottom but the top is sloped down slightly from the front baffle down to the back. I'd just like to know the angle of the slope so I can plan my shimming...

TAM

What is the depth of the base of the tv stand. You may be able to cut a piece of wood and stand it up behind the vp 160 to hold up the rear of the tv with the front edge of the stand resting on the vp 160.

I just recently purchased a vp160. I have my tv sitting on it.

Originally, I took the front feet off the vp160. This let the tv stand almost perfectly straight as needed...BUT...the trade off was now the center channel fired slight downwards. Hardly ideal. I want the tweeters to point to,the general height/area that my m80s tweeters point to.

I cut a piece of styrofoam from the top pack in the shipping box that was the length of my t.v., then trimmed its width to roughly about 3 inches. It sits concealed flush with the edge of the tv base and back of vp160. The TV is perfectlt aligned and the vp160 is in perfect placement.

And I'm loving it so much by the way!

OK. Sounds good. Thanks guys.

I didn't really think that I needed a 160, but at basically half price for a new, factory fresh unit with minor cosmetic issues, I couldn't resist, ha!!

TAM

Jeez, Tom, sorry. I'm a numbskull. I'm so used to the other center channel speakers that I totally overlooked the fact that you can't just flip the VP160 over. Good thing I'm not working with anything hazardous today.

Tom:

To tell you the truth, I wondered why on the VP160 page that option was there. I took me a while too before the light came on, ha!

TAM

Before my center channel arrived:





After center channel arrived and setup as described in my earlier post:

Mad:

Nice. That beast makes your TV appear like it shrunk, ha!

My present Sony stand is a low, wide one like yours. Since I hate visible wires in my system, I use this type of 'wire loom' to clean up the appearance behind my stuff - at least where it can been seen.

I get mine at Canadian Tire but this is a good example:

http://www.cableorganizer.com/hosa/

TAM

oooh, I like that idea Thanks.

I'm pretty ocd about normally too, but I know soon I'm going to be getting a whole new slew of equipment in that stand, so I kind of just said F it for now. I'll make it all pretty and proper at that point. And I think I'll look into your suggestion as well.

Yeah, that thing is a beast. When it arrived, I was just like, "damn! this shelving unit won't do!" and went to futureshop at 8pm and bought the new stand on a total impulse buy. lol

It's interesting ref the wire loom. I've been using this product since I first saw it in my car's engine compartment about 25 years ago when they first started using it in that application. At that time only black was available but now it comes in several colours.

My TV has 1 visible 'fat cable' that contains the power cord, a couple of HDMI cables & a grounding wire all in 1 clean package. Judging from the many pics I see of other people's systems, not many use it...

TAM

Mad:

FS is clearing out some nice TV stands so today I bought this one:

http://www.futureshop.ca/en-ca/product/z...449df92ede6en02

I was amazed on how much classier & nicer it looks in the store vs on their web page - even the missus was impressed. At $140 (supposedly $300 off both at FS & BB), they are giving them away.

So no shimming now but some assembly required, ha!...

TAM

Upgraditis is friggin brutal. Be sure to post a pic after you have it set up and no beer drinkin till after .

The 'Some Assembly Required' went OK but there were a few expletives thrown about as expected. Seems like a nice & very sturdy unit. The tempered smoked black glass shelves can hold up to 65 lbs so the 160 should not be a problem for the top shelf.

My 160 doesn't arrive until Tuesday, but I won't be able to get at it until Thursday or so. I think that there will be some trial & error to get the adjustable TV Mount at the right height to clear the 160 as I want it to be as low as possible.

Anyway, I dread having to disassemble the old system & fitting it into the new stand...

TAM

very nice stand! I was interested in that exact one actually, but the price was much higher when I was looking at it. That's a great deal that you picked that up for.

I like it

According to my neighbour, my 160 arrived this morning and is safely inside. They had a package on the same UPS truck so it worked out well.

Unfortunately I'm in Victoria till tomorrow helping my daughter do some remodeling while her hubby is on his way to 'The Gulf' aboard one our warships for 8 months...

TAM

Got home from Victoria after a marathon painting session at my daughter's house. One room down, a couple more to go in the next while, ha!.

I unpacked the VP160 carton. Like others have remarked 'This thing is frigging big'!! The 'scratch & dent' blemish on this brand new unit is hardly noticeable, certainly not visible where it sits on the stand & was well worth the money that I saved.

One minor concern - something small is loose inside & rattles around when the box is moved. I'm not worried as all the drivers look fine, so if it doesn't make any audible anomalies, I'm not going to pursue it.

The setting up fun starts tomorrow morning...

TAM

Its probably a brace they put in for the crossover for shipping. Where the hell are the pics.

I've only gotten as far as placing the 160 onto its shelf on the stand - perfect fit but it looks really huge!

Whoops -I just heard a clatter from my HT - the grill was laying on the floor. Seems that one of my cats was checking it out. That had better end right now!

Tomorrow morning the expletives begin, ha! If it all goes OK, then I'll get my camera out!!

TAM

You will get used to the size soon enough. Keep us posted.

I love this thing man. I've now had it for about a month...and wow.

Love a night with beer and very loud music with these axiom speakers

It's mid morning here & with some trepidation, I'm just about to start the expletives...

TAM

I know the reason. As I get older the floor seems to get further and further away and much harder than I remember it being.

Not a good start. Now I find that a box of stuff that I needed for this job - I left in Victoria.

What a mess of wires behind my stand - who did that?

Grrr...

TAM

That's the CORD SEX that happens after dark,

haha oh my god...i'm a little stoned and buzzed off a few beers right now and that made me laugh HARD.

lol well played my good sir

edit: I should add, listening to some very loud music on the system.

Just got of a 12 hour shift not to long ago...was working outside in -37. brrrr. A few beers should warm me up nicely. hehe

God, I can't give these speakers enough praise.

And I like that they are a "party" speaker. They like to play loud with the right amplification!

The vp160 gets a lot of "oohs" and "ahhs" from company. And it sure adds to the system

Well, it was a helluva day & not all that enjoyable. I like the watching & listening part of this pastime rather than manhandling gear.

I had to do a lot of tweeking of my system stand by loosening the machine screws & adjusting things to square. The weight of 160 tilted its shelf downward slightly so I had to get some lock washers to tighten them enough that they would hold without sagging downwards. Same with the TV mount - the right side was slightly lower than the left but there is no real adjustment there except for the slop in the screw holes. Then there was a balky HDMI cable that would not pass signals from my BDP & PS3 through my Denon AVR to the TV until I found the sweet spot. I was ready to get out the baseball bat by this time.

Anyway, it's all up & running. Initial impressions of the 160 on Clapton's Crossroads Concert BD in Surround in NY are excellent. Pretty cool considering that it is still set on VP100 Audyssey settings.

Tomorrow will see me hiding cables with wire loom, running Audyssey & will take & post some pics. My butt is draggin so it's time to relax...

TAM

Im exhausted after reading all you went through. Glad it all worked out in the end. Looking forward to impressions and pics once you run audyssey.

Pretty well complete except for the Audyssey calibration.

Hiding the myriad of wires was a bit of a PITA but the worst part was attaching speaker wires to the back panel of my Denon AVR - uncomfortable, awkward in a extremely confined space. Three hands would be nice but there is no room, ha!

The 160's colour doesn't really match the system but it looks nice & does draw attention to itself.

Interesting pattern that the flash made on my 55" Sony LCD screen:



TAM

Very clean look TAM. How about a pic with your speakers naked?

Yup, it's a modest, kinda minimalist system although it is quite potent.

I ran a successful Audyssey calibration using the HTS mic placement that we discussed a little while ago. It saw the VP160 at -3.0 Db Level with a Xover at 40Hz. This is contrasted to my previous VP100 that it had set at -0.5 Db & saw it as 90 Hz. Quite a difference in performance & perhaps because of a more ideal placement up off of the floor.

I just ran 'War of the Worlds' BD at -10 Db Level - quite overwhelming at times even at that level. Right from the start where the voice of Morgan Freeman narrates the background to the story, I knew immediately that the 160 was a different animal. His unique voice was deeper & richer without being chesty. The rest of this dynamic soundtrack was phenomenal with the CC being fuller, better anchored & more articulate.

I agree with others on the net that modern soundtrack mixes now heavily favour the CC than had been done in the past. More robust & capable CC Speakers certainly excel here & add a whole new dimension to the HT experience.

I think that I'll leave my speakers dressed as that is how I use them. Besides, I believe that the Velo Subs' grills are very difficult to remove.

Based on what I just experienced, the VP160 proved itself to be a wonderful addition to my HT...

TAM

Looks great Tam , nice job of hiding the wires.

Saw this over at AVS. Nothing against the poster; however, this is exactly what I always try to avoid, ha!:



TAM

PS4 for the win!!

That's a nasty mess, I couldn't have that in my house. I got my kid the ps4 , he still plays the ps3 , total waste of money at this point.

I have a PS3 as well but I don't use it much unless my daughter is visiting - Frisbie Golf & Archery are our favourite games that are good for a laugh.

I previously used it for Blu Rays but I added a Sony BDP for that role to save wear & tear on the PS3 that is 3X the price...

TAM

My sons Ps3 is the slim model , bought in 2009 and I have changed the BD drive 3times and today will be the fourth. I cant play games with them , were all too competitive. LOL I had bought one for myself but I sold it since I had no real use for it. I use Xbox 360's around the house to stream movies to.

I've now run about 5 movies through the VP160 at -10 DB Level. I'm most impressed with its performance & am more than happy with my purchase..

There is still one like mine (gold grill) on page 2 in the 'Refurb Store' that is brand new with only a minor veneer blemish that probably will not be visible. From the pics, like mine, it has not been damaged in any way.

Great deal with tremendous savings. Get it while you can, ha!

TAM

I see that the VP160 mentioned above is sold. Excellent deal for the purchaser...

TAM

Whoops - sold tag not there now...

TAM

That must have been me thinking so hard about it.

Stop thinking & just do it, ha!

TAM