Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Need some advice, soon to make some big purchases!

sirquack, that looks fine to me. I didn't realize you will be using a FP. Why not go with 3 M60s or 3 M80s across the front? One M60 would only cost you $50 more than the VP150 and would give you a perfectly matched front in every respect.

Thanks BigWill for the idea, I guess I've never really given it any thought of using another floorstanding speaker for the center channel? I didn't really draw it in the picture but I'm going to build a small stage in front of the wall and below the screen to place the speakers. I've also considered mounting the vp150 from the ceiling and pointing slighly downward towards the listening area?

The most frustrating part about all of this is deciding what is the best way to go, I get frustrated when i go back and forth from AVS to this forum, as one guy will tell you Axioms are harsh and bright and sound to loud at all volumes. One guy told me if i want to crank up my old metal music from the 80's, Axiom's are great, but for HT they lack much detail. I know most of you own Axiom's so your not going to bash them, I am very impressed with all the positive threads and reviews I've read, I guess my own ears will have to be the judge.

I feel my speakers are going to be around a lot longer then the receiver, as technology advances, so I want to make the right choice, and then find a receiver that matches good to the speakers I select. I was planning on the Denon 2805, but know have read many threads regarding that the Elite 54tx would have a much warmer sound and the Denon is to bright for Axioms. Another guy on AVS from the UK, had some testing specs from various receivers, showing that the continuous power of the Denon when driving 5 channels falls way down, whereas the Yamahas, and Elites held true to their specifications. The Denon does not have enough power? My original choice was the Elite, so maybe I need to give it a second look, now that the 54tx is coming out with newer features, including 100mhz componant bandwidth...what is a guy to do, this is worse than computers...at least that is my profession...:)

So it sounds from a few posters above that I should consider a direct radiating design for the rears instead of using Qs8's or 4's?

Randy

Great! Do you have back speakers as well? If so which ones? thanks

Hi Izub, no actually I am trying to decide which way to go on a new speaker package purchase and a new AV receiver. It seems the more I read the more confusing it gets.

In regards to a receiver, I've narrowed down to the Denon 2805 or Pioneer Elite 54tx. I almost bought the Denon the other day, but now I reading posts about the lack of continuous power when driving all chanels. And comments like the Denon is bright or electronic sounding versus the warm, detailed sound of the Elite? I know a lot depends on what speakers you match with what receiver.

For speakers, I am about ready to cut loose on an Axiom purchase like the Epic 60 or 80 system, possibly with an extra set of Qs8's or 4's for the rears. But then other forums I see people saying Axiom's are to bright, harsh, and may be good for heavy metal music, but not HT. On the other hand, you fine folks on this site, say the opposite. I realize many of you may be biased as Axiom owners, but many of you have tested against other speakers and I think your sincere...

I'm still trying to decide if another pair of Qs8's would be needed for the rears, or if smaller direct radiating speakers would work better for the rears. Also, mounting the Qs8's down from the ceiling, low enough not to disrupt the top driver is a concern. I wonder if an extension can be used with the FMB so they can hang lower, I've heard some people use that bracket to mount from the ceiling and aim the speakers slighly down.

www.freewebs.com/dkma/pics/htroom3.jpg

Randy

Alright, sirquack, I've been cleaning the garage and slamming beers so you'll get it unfiltered here.
All that stuff at AVS is BS. The Denon, Elite, Sony ES, etc... all will sound about the same. Any way you cut it, driving 7 channel with a single receiver (for HT purposes) is a difficult proposition. You can supplement whatever receiver you choose with a modest amp and be sitting pretty.

The Axioms you're looking at will be awesome for HT. Period. M2s, M3s or M22s as the rear surrounds in 7.1 seems to be accepted around here as the best way to go. Qs8s on the sides.

You may not like the imperfections that the Axioms reveal in some recordings (like '80s metal). You would do well to either audition some Axioms or just order the fronts only and see what you think. 5% discount will still apply should you decide you like 'em.
Good Luck.

Thanks, BigWill
Ditto that on slamming beers, gulp, and I should be cleaning my garage !!! but talking to you guys is more fun and educational. I know some of the posts I read I take with a grain of salt, and I know some of them are very accurate and factual.

I'll just trust my judgement and run with it man. I think choice of speakers is probably more important than receiver choice. The speakers will probably last longer as the AV receivers features change. With that said, I'll probably end up going with an Epic 80 or 60 based setup, and will have to decide on the rears before I order. I'm thinking of taking advantage of the factory outlet for additional savings.

One thing I'm still debating is why it sounds like Denon's or HK's are the best choice for the M80's. Those Elites feel like boat anchors as beefy as they are, so I'm suprised they would not be able to drive the 80's 4ohm load? Aren't they considered a high current type of design? I know Sushi was a former poster on this forum, and I thought he and a few others around here really have been positive about the Elites and there combination of warm sound are a great match for Axioms?

Randy

Randy, there's a lot of pure hogwash I run into when scanning other audio forums that I don't participate in. Get a receiver with the features that you want at the best price you can find. The Pioneer Elites should be just fine with the M80s. There was a brief period a couple of years ago when they they were shutting down all over the place, but the problem apparently had to do with the adjustment of the protective circuit, rather than some basic design problem, and was corrected. Yes, you recall correctly; sushi was among those who had a 45TX and had no trouble with his 4 ohm speakers(he certainly found no "warm sound" silliness to exist, however).

Just to comment on the receiver sound part..

Yes, the Denon should sound electronic. Any receiver not electronic would not be able to make noise above 0 Hz, and that is no good. When tested, even companies like Denon overrated their power output, and honest power ratings are hard to find in mass market receivers these days.

The Pioneer Elite is warm and detailed? In audiophileville, warm = rolled off highs/bloated midbass, detailed = clear, neutral and revealing highs. That's like saying it's hugely small. The AVS people are contradicting themselves already. If an amp was that horrible that it was 3-4 dB 'brighter' or 'warmer' on any part of the frequency range, then it should not have even left testing stages. 99% of the solid state amps out there have ruler flat frequency responses. I'd say the only differences are how they sound when pushed hard, and how they sound when a loud bass transient comes along. Both dependent on watts. I was able to compare a NAD C372 to a boombox amp - there was no discernable difference in sound, unless I put the volume up, of course. No brightness, no warmth, no difference. And if there was some sort of difference outside of watts taking place there, even without a blind test - it definately wouldn't be worth the headache to find out what they were and purchase based on it.

I'd recommend the HK receivers - just for the(usually by 20-30 watts) conservative power ratings, and for the manually adjustable crossover. You may want 80 Hz for the whole system, but 60 Hz for the M60s, and the HK can do that.

and if I may suggest.. instead of an epic system, I'd buy all of the components except for the Axiom sub - and get a HSU or SVS instead. They're renowned as basically two of the best sub companies, and have been said by many people and reviewers to be substantially better than Axiom subs of the same price. an STF-3 or an PCi 20-39 would easily outperform the Axiom sub line, for a lower price.

just wanted to update you all on my decisions:

Aug 27th, ordered from the F.O. 2 M60's, 1 VP150, 1 EP350, 2 qs8's (plan to order 2 more qs8's in the near future). Lead time on the Mansfield Beach was 4 weeks. Amie emailed me recently and said I'll have them by Sept 15th, next week, , ok I'm a little excited.

Purchase a Denon 2805 locally for around $700 smackers new, not bad for a local retail store...

Wanted to thank you all for the many valuable posts and suggestions! Looking forward to providing updates and pics of my HT that is currently under construction. Yeah, I guess I jumped the gun and got my toys before it was all finished, oh well, a guy has to have his toys...

Randy

Nope... I'm 5.1 only, and I have no intentions of going 6.1 or 7.1 based on the hundreds of "ho hum" posts that I've read about them. My room just isn't large enough to support the use of back channels.