Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Initial Impressions with Upgrade

Hi All

I replace my M22 fronts with M60s and my VP100 with VP150 a few days ago. Axiom's paying return shipping, god love em.

I must say I liked the M22s but I LOVE the M60s. And I think it's not just the low end either, though the difference there is night and day. The mids and highs seem clearer, better defined without being harsh(er). Everything seems "smoother" (sorry - not sure how to describe what I'm hearing). Of course I wonder if this has something to do with the better low end extension, some sort of psycho-acoustics. I'm reminded of the visual illusion where 2 identically colored gray blocks appear completely different because of the difference in the colors of their surrounding blocks. Does anyone know if there is something similar acoustically? I understand that it would make sense that the M60s would sound better in the midrange due to the dedicated driver; I'm just surprised at how MUCH better they sound overall. Of course I only had the M22s a month and the M60s for one week (first week = 100 hours of lilstening LOL). I had originally gotten the VP100 because of a number of posts saying there wasn't much of a difference between it and the VP150 in smaller rooms. I upgraded to the VP150 mostly because I was worried about the 100 being "overpowered" by the M60s, but I think there is a significant (read: noticible by a newbie) improvement in sound. The VP100 sounded a little constrained, "small" (?) maybe, and there's none of that with the VP150. That best I can think of to describe the difference is, to me, the 150 sounds fuller.

One thing: the tweeter on the M60s is about level with my sternum when I'm sitting on the couch. That's fine. But when I stand (small room here) I really lose the highs in the front half of the room (near the speakers). The speakers are on a wood floor so I got a couple of rubber door stops (wedges) to prop up the front of the M60s to angle the drivers up a little. I'm experimenting with them under the cabinet and under the feet (more angle under the feet) to find the optimum amount of elevation. I'm just trying to extend the sweet spot vertically while keeping what I have for seated listening (oops, I better test it laying down on the couch - that's a few hours a week for sure!). Anyone else angling their towers? I'm using the same stops to angle the VP150 (on top of the TV) down which was a suggestion I read elsewhere.

Wow, that's a lot of nothing. Sorry. I'll save my question about upgrading to Denon's 3805 and dual surrounds for another post. But let me thank everyone that contributes to these forums for all the grade information I was able to find before making the plunge (errr, initial foray?). Thanks.

-dale


M60s, QS8s, M3s, VP150, VTF-2 MK2, AVR 2105

Dale, I just want to say Thank You. I think your comments will be very helpful to others.

congrats!! i agree with you there is absolutely no comaprison between the 22's and the 60's (i always laugh when i see posts comparing the 2)

the 60's are an incredible speaker....enjoy!!

Thanks Tom, Jeff. I had initially been interested in putting together a system to enjoy the movie surround sound experience, thinking I could use it for music too. But so far I have been listening to a lot more music, re-discovering my music collection that had been languishing (last stereo system is 20 years old now). This means, for me, a lot of listening in direct mode (am I in the wrong forum? LOL). I get a nice smooth stage now using the LFE + main setting. One of the reasons I wanted to try the M60s after living with the M22s was that most Jazz and Classical sounded great, Blues were ok, but they weren't getting it done for Rock. I thought a lot of it was the recordings themselves. You know - the M22s were "exposing" bad CDs. I am much happier with more of my collection after running them through the M60s. Granted, there are some bad recordings in there. And now that I've modernized the hardware, I get hear DVD audio, like Diana Krall''s "The Girl in the Other Room" - MAN-OH-MAN!!!

-dale


M60s, QS8s, M3s, VP150, VTF-2 MK2, AVR 2105

congrats and keep on a rockin

I have to say I went from M22's to M80's and found the difference to be very noticeable. I was very happy listening to m80's compared to M22's.

that being said, the M22's are some of the finest bookshelves I have heard that won't break the bank

I know what you mean; I always laugh when I hear someone claim that the Paradigm CC-370 sounds better than the Axiom VP-150.

I agree, heck everyone knows the paradigm is a superior speaker……..

Have you taken the time to actually listen to the 2 side by side, I didn’t think so but that’s ok bury your head in the sand and keep that horrible imaging and fake sounding vp150. It will most likely serve "your" needs.