Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater First Axiom speakers...first impressions

I finally received my first set of Axioms...my pair of M60s in Cherry Chestnut semi gloss came in after about a month of waiting.

I can't see how I've gone so long now just using my TV speaker...I've owned my Pioneer Kuro 8th gen 60" plasma for about 1.5 years now and have only used the TV speaker. Finally decided to invest in some good sound equipment and I'm realizing now what I've been missing out on.

WHAT A WASTE OF MOVIE/GAMING/MUSIC/TV TIME NOT USING THE PROPER SPEAKERS!

I do have to confess though that it seems that something's missing, though I realize without the center and surrounds yet that I can't really get amazing sound right now. I'm having trouble not understanding but properly hearing dialog in movies without turning the volume up really high (then turning it down quickly when an explosion or any loud bass occurs hehe.) I'll be ordering the QS8s and VP150 center within the next couple weeks and am looking forward to finally having a good 5.0 system-- can't get a sub in this apartment

Congrats, Crimson! That's a really nice finish on those M60s.

Congrats!

Does not sound like your ordering from the outlet? If so, you get 10% off, plus 5% if you order 5 items at once, better than ordering at seperate times with no discount.

Yes, using Phantom Center mode (simulaged by the mains) will not work as well as a independent center like the 100 or 150. The reason is when you calibrate your speakers, you adjust each speaker independently. Righ now your mains are playing double duty.

Dude, of course he didn't order from the outlet, he's got VaSSallos!

Yeah the absence of the center channel is bugging me so bad that I'm seriously contemplating which to get first, the surrounds or center. Most seem to say surrounds are the natural next step, but I dunno...I'm sure my music will sound much better and clearer with the center. I would just save for another 6 weeks or so and maybe get the rest all at once, but I'm too impatient Plus I need to find a better mounting alternative than the floor stands for the QS8s...I just can't see spending almost $300 for stands.

I just moved out of an apartment after 5 years so I feel your pain. Here’s a couple thoughts that might help out.

Not sure what receiver you have but it’s likely to have a “Night” mode or some other dynamic range control. While this is not ideal for sound reproduction it may help while you live in an apartment. With this engaged it compresses the dynamic range so that the lowest low and highest high are closer together in volume. It’s essentially doing what you are doing manually right now. As Randy said once you add a center you will have even more control over dialogue volume vs music/background volume. But you may still find in an apartment that dynamic range control is still necessary if you want to avoid bumping the volume up and down.

Not sure but it looks like you have some room to play around with placement. You will get a better soundstage by moving the M60s further out from the front wall. Even a little bit can help a lot. Also by getting them out in front of the screen it will also help the dialogue sound clearer especially while using a phantom center. The reason is you are getting boundary effects from both the wall and the screen which colour (proper spelling ) the sound you are hearing. Also getting the speakers further away from the wall should reduce some of the “boomyness” in the bass so that explosions sound clearer to you and wont carry through the walls as much.

Additionally if you can move them farther apart w/o something blocking them from your listening position it will likely improve your front soundstage and may even help you get a better “simulated” surround effect by getting more sound going around your and reflecting off the side and back walls.

Experimenting around with your speaker placement could pay huge dividends in sound quality. You may even decide it’s worth rearranging your room to accommodate it.

If you plan on being in the apartment for some time you might consider getting a tactile transducer. I got a Buttkicker and could never have lived in an apartment for that long w/o it. It’s will make up for not having a subwoofer and if you mount it directly to your seating will not project sound into adjacent apartments.

Cheers,
Dean

Those speakers look too good for low quality pics, you need to snap some higher rez ones!

It's been mentioned but ensure you've gone into your receiver settings and selected the Center channel as None or Phantom for now.

And better pics...

Yep. Redo the last shot with a little more light on the speakers so we can drool over (but not on) the finish.

I was impressed at how good the dialog was with just the M80s when I turned off the center for a test. Dean is probably onto something with positioning.

FWIW, the permagrin wears off at around 8 months, but the amazing sound just keeps impressing.

It sounds like you have your system setup for more speakers than you have. You need to go into your system setup in the receiver and turn off all the speakers you don't have. It sounds like your reciever thinks you have a center channel and surround speakers but you don't, so you are losing the sound it sends to those missing speakers.

You should be listening to everything in stereo mode. I use stereo mode all the time and don't have any issues hearing voices on m60s. You've got the speakers, now the other 90% of audio is proper setup. Read your manual or the internet for setup instructions.

You should be quite pleased with the bass from the m60s for movies in an apartment. It doesn't shake the walls, but you can definitely hear the bass.

Yeah sorry for the pics...my camera phone is all I have to take pics with and it can't take really good ones...also the lighting in that room is terrible even in the best conditions. I kind of regret not getting the high gloss now, but ah well...if I get it in the surrounds and center though it probably wouldn't match.

I have the Pioneer VSX-919AH, and yes it is set up properly for my speaker placement and for the absence of the center. Like I said, it's not a problem of clarity as they are very clear, but it's a problem of volume. On TV and music it doesn't seem to be a problem, but when I play a Blu-ray movie or game on PS3 it seems to be an issue, but not one that's too terrible really. Possibly a PS3 issue I'll have to look into. And I agree about the bass on these...it's perfect for my apartment (not too much but definitely there.)

As for placement, I really don't have much room to work with here. It's actually a small room at only 15x14x8, and what I have/will have be overkill even, though I plan on moving out of this place next year and hopefully into something bigger and more HT friendly. The very end of the right side of the first pic is where the wall and the front door is, so I really can't move them much further apart. I did move them further away from the back wall as they were less than an inch away. It does seem to help with the bass a bit as to not booming the walls as much (very paranoid about disturbing neighbors..will be a less paranoid when lease comes close to expiring hehe.)