Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater They're heeeeeerree!

The speaks arrived yesterday in a mountain of boxes. My wife was at home at the time. I of course got a call: "Nine boxes? NINE BOXES?" I couldn't figure out why it would be 9 (turns out the 9th box had the grilles for the QS8's), but that wasn't the point. Anyway, by the time I got home, she had actually assembled the QSS speaker stands. She was slowly getting into the whole thing. Anyhoo, I had been waiting for the speakers to set up the new system in general
since I also purchased a Denon AVR-2805 and a new A/V stand.
So I got to work. Cables Cables Cables. Why can't they make SACD digital? 6 analog cables for 5.1. Geesh. OK. Setup complete at 10PM (we had pressing engagements in between. BTW, I don't get it: I ordered all FO products. I scoured every inch of every speaker and could NOT find a single blemish. If these didn't pass Axiom's QA, I can only imagine
what "A-stock" looks like!

So, fire up some music. Sub needs more placement work. Still does. First impressions are that the M22's disappear and leave you with sound hanging in thin air. Wonderful! EP350 has serious testicularity; just need to place it correctly. My wife came by and stated "I hear instruments I didn't know were part of that song."

Next, LOTR-FOTR. And I quote: "But, MAMMA, the QS8's are astonishing." Wow. I got paranoid and had to open the eyes in back of my head to watch for the creatures coming to get me. Stupid Orcses. VP150 is clear and colorless and so far I have no off-axis problems. And at low after-1 AM volumes, everything was clear as a bell. And the 350 still caused the floor to move.

So after a sort of fire it up and quickly Auto-Setup process, the system already impresses. I will spend most of
today moving speaks and subs, running through Avia, and listening, listening, listening. A true "audition" and pictures will be forthcoming after everything is set and broken in.

Well done Axiom!

Mark,

The golden email is followed shortly by the Golden Stun you just experienced. Sit back & enjoy and kudos to your bride. Nice to see her get into this with you. Sharing it like that only makes it better.

In reply to:

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My wife came by and stated "I hear instruments I didn't know were part of that song."

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NOTHING gives me more gratification than to hear a comment like that. Enjoy!

totally awesome dude!

I've also got the Denon 2805 and Mansfield Beech Axiom's M60ti's, EP350, VP150, and 4 Qs8's. I haven't purchased a DVD setup disk yet or a SPL meter, but my 2805 Auto Setup and Room EQ did such an awesome job, I can't imagine it better..

Enjoy Enjoy Enjoy

ps: once you get that EP350 calibrated (volume, phase, ext...) you'll be amazed.

OK, after a whole day of repositioning speakers, crawling around with the subwoofer, and listening to everything from Mozart to Miles to Metallica, I think I'm just about there.
I put on my FAOAT (favorite ablbum of all time), Pink Floyds' Dark Side of the Moon. Set it at about 95 spl, and YE FLIPPIN' GODS!!!!!!! So good you'll plotz! I was a puddle of grinning goo! Sibilance? What sibilance? I heard EVERYTHING, but even at loud volumes nothing grated, distorted, or rasped. I've heard that album ?'s of times on many different systems, but NOTHING like that. Even at 95 spl, the M22's just disappeared. Those little things are near miraculous at $400. A steal at twice the price, an excellent value at 3 times the price. And they get "smoother" after breaking in? That's just crazy talk. Now, back to a little more Sub shifting. I might wait a day though, my ears may be playing anal-retentive tricks on me.

Mark

M22
VP150
EP350
QS8

PS: Quack

Quack,

I thought the Auto-Setup did a reasonable job, but just running the 2805's test tones with the SPL meter was ear-opening. Even without the Avia disc. But that disc especially helped in getting my TV calibrated.

thanks man, one of these days I'll run to the nearest Radio Shack and pick up an SPL unit, and figure out how to use one. Ajax on this sight pointed me to some great websites to get me started...

If you ever decide to step up to the M22's big brothers, you'll have grinning goo gushing out faster than you can whipe it on your sleeve, that is what happened to me when I listened to the Dark Side (Floyd and Star Wars)

I just got my meter yesterday. It seems like it's a good buy, although I haven't had a chance to use it yet.

Ken, what type did you get, I've heard there is analog and digital? I'm anxious to hear your feedback, once you find time to mess around with it...You an HK correct, doesn't it have an auto setup of some sort?

Randy, the basic calibration techniques for balancing the speakers in your system is not very complicated. If you want to get into measuring the in room frequency response of the entire system, it can get a little more complicated. But the basic stuff is relatively easy.

I got the analog... I figure a little meter is a lot easier to get accurate readings off of than a constantly changing digital display. The H/K built in calibration is a crock. Plus it doesn't do subs. And you have to turn it up to reference level to do it, which means at normal listening levels, it isn't right.