Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Advice from Axiom Owners 7 New speakers, reviews, and questions...

So, I finally have my speakers hooked up and calibrated. My setup is as follows.

VP-150, M22's fronts, QS8's sides, QS4's rears, 12" Klipsch sub, Pioneer Elite 94txh, PS3...

The first thing I listened to was Cold. If you're not familiar with them, they are best described as soft metal. The first thing I noticed were the vocals, very open and 'in your room' clear. But I noticed also that as soon as some heavier guitar came in the M22's 'wussed out.' They suddenly sounded recessed and flat. I messed around with some stuff (processing modes, x-over frequencies, even receiver calibrated speaker sizes) but I couldn't help it. I played several cd's and all suffered the same problem.

I, not to beat the 22's too much, noticed that at higher volumes the tweeter sounded very harsh and the speakers sounded generally distorted. I knew what I was compromising when I chose smaller speakers but the volume was hardly what I would consider 'too much.' The speakers perform fantastic on movies, the QS surrounds especially sound really great with an enveloping sound, but I expected as much. Two channel music is what I was worried about.

My questions, are do the speakers open up with time? I have 10 hours on them now, will they get better from here? I suspect these are speakers less suited to heavier music, but damn, I don't want to send them back after waiting so long. The things that are great about them truly are amazing, vocals are just incredible. But the inability to sound dynamic during the heavier parts and the strained sound at higher volumes are intolerable for me. I know speakers this small can sound 'big' (sonus faber), so would it be better to just accept these speakers aren't my cup'o'tea?

Anyone else feel/felt/know/understand my dilemma?

max

You need to assume that "break-in" is completed during the ten hours that you listened to the speakers. I am somewhat surprised that the M22s sounded distorted at higher volumes with your Pioneer (7x140W) despite their small size. I suspect that you will prefer the M60s or the M80s' performance at the higher volumes. Don't "just accept" what you are hearing, you should have tears in your eyes (from joy) with your Axioms.

John

The only "break in" is your brain getting used to the new speakers.

I can't comment on the 22's as I've never owned them, however, many on this website do and I'm sure will chime in...

Do you have your speakers set to small in the receiver with an 80hz crossover setting? Do you have all the EQ crap turned off? Have you calibrated the delay (distance), dB levels for each speaker from the listening position to the same SPL levels?
Do you have the speaker wires hooked up correctly with the righ +- polarity?

Just keep in mind that music that is not engineered to the highest standards will show their flaws, this is a problem with the CD not the Axioms. I would suggest playing other music from various CD's to see if you get the same results.

I concur with SirQ about sound quality off of certain CDs. Check out some Tool CDs, they're pretty well mastered (if intentionally distorted), possibly the gold remaster of Master of Puppets (although it's be aeons since I've heard it on Axioms, so don't take that as gospel), any Opeth, later U2 albums, later Sting albums other than the latest couple, or Buena Vista Social Club. If you've got Raphael y Gabriela (I think that's it), definitely check out that disc.

I will browse my musical library some more, and see if there are any differences? It seems as though 'break-in' time is more or less considered a faux science here? I was under the impression it was somewhat substantiated? That makes me a little bit sad, I was really hoping they were going to get better as I've read a few professional reviews citing the '30 hour mark' as the point when these speakers 'open up.'

I have done all of the above, (delay, x-over, dB levels, etc) however, the receiver set the 22's as LARGE which is weird...I thought it was just a silly mistake so I switched it over to small and they instantly sounded smaller, more confined, and even dare I say.......tinny?? Weird as hell.....anyways...I'll probably make my final decision in 48hrs from now, and if I end up sending them back I may look else where b/c the m80's are about....my entire budget...

max3

Does that receiver have automatic equalizers? If so, turn those off. Leave it set to small. Break in is bogus--the designer of the speakers has said that break in occurs within the first few seconds of playing, and that happens at the factory when they test them.

When you say higher volumes, do you have the decibel levels?

Are you describing sound of the speakers alone or blended with the subwoofer? By setting them "small" you're cutting out low frequencies, so your description makes sense; but not if they're blended with the sub.

Max, I've owned my M22s a little over six years now and I'm still delighted with their performance even on the most dynamic classical recordings that I have. No, there's no break-in involved, or if there is it must take more than six years, since they sound the same now as when I first fired them up(with The Planets). So, I'm puzzled by what you report. All speakers distort audibly at extremely high sound levels, but I've had no problems in this area either with the M22s or the receivers which I've used.

Tower speakers such as the M60 and M80 are able to play at somewhat louder levels before distortion becomes bothersome, but these are levels that I don't attempt, out of consideration for my hearing. You've said that the level that you're using isn't what you "consider too much", but the question would be what the level in fact is, as measured by an SPL meter. When I listen "loud", the average level is about 80-85dB, and more typically I'd use about 10dB lower than that. Even at the louder level my experience has been that the M22s handle even the peaks that some highly dynamic classical compositions contain very well. I'm not familiar with "Cold", but I doubt that it's any "heavier" than some of the stuff that I listen to.

I listened to the M22s with a sub at fairly loud levels at Axiom and the never got harsh. I would look for some material that you can verify is a little better recorded.

Darned shame you can't step up to the M60s They sound really good.

Well said, Fred.