Why did Axiom stop producing these? I've been VERY tempted to try and get some and use them as computer speakers for Roger. He as some cheap Cambridge Soundworks system now...it's a step up from the cheap stuff most computers have, but it's a far cry from Axioms. I have my M2ti's hooked up to my computer and the sound difference is night and day.

If I could get a heck of a deal on five M1's or MZero's, I may just do it. Just curious why they were discontinued.

craig- i have no 'official' reason, but it would appear they just wanted to make a little beefier bookshelf speaker. when looking at the specs, it seems as if they were just trying to go with a little bigger woofer. the MZero and M1's have 3.5" and 4.5" drivers.. while the M2 and M3 have 5.25" and 6.5" drivers. the tweeter has remained the same. they all have the axiom 'wedge' design, and all are ported. although, i did notice the ports on the M1 are smooth, and dont have the 'gorilla' grooves that we all love to touch and feel. anyway, i have ordered some M1's, and they should be here next week. i will be sure and let you know how they sound.

BTW- i managed to get them for $130 a pair at canadianhifi.com. i thought that was a great deal.

bigjohn

In this same line of idea...anybody know of an older (read: can be had on Ebay for under $100) receiver that is multi-room capable?

If I'm not mistaken, a receiver that is multi-room capable could power both Roger's computer and mine. He'd mostly use it for gaming (using the 5.1 setup), and I'd only use it for 2-channel only.

Wouldn't that work???

Hey bigjohn,

Thanks for the link and the discussion. I'm intrigued by those models as Zone-2, or rear surround or perhaps other applications. I am very interested to hear your report, especially relative to how well they match your M60's.

I'd love to have some confirmation from Axiom about whether the tweeters are the same or not.

Did you get a fair deal on shipping from that vendor?

Could you hook them up in parallel as a center channel while you're at it? Sure would save me some sleep and trouble

i ordered 2 pair of the M1ti's, and shipping was $42 bucks from canada to texas. not to bad i thought. i basically got 2 pairs of the M1ti's, delivered to my door for $300.. i was happy with that deal.

i will have the speakers for a week before my sister comes to get them, so i plan on running MANY tests with them. i want to place them on top of the 60's, and see how they sound. i will adjust the crossover from 80 to 100, and check that difference. i have a huge room, so it will be interesting to see how they perform.

i am not sure if i will be able to run them as centers in parallel.. first off, i am not completely sure how to run them in parallel.. plus, if it requires me to get to the back of my receiver, then heck no.. that would mean moving my entertasinment center out from the wall, and that is a job from hell.. i dont know if you remember, but my EC is MASSIVE.. but, if i can do it, i will.

maybe someone could send me a quick tutorial on how to hook them up in parallel? just PM me. if it is do-able, i will give it a shot.

i am rather excited to see what these little demons can do myself!! although i think it might be an unfair test in my expansive living room, i think they will just scream in my sisters living room that is about 1/3 the size of mine. i will surely tell all!!

bigjohn

BigJohn - Sorry I missed your PM about the M1s. I have been around, but haven't posted. So I haven't been logged in to see your PM. But, it appears that you found the contact info for the guy that I dealt with.

As far as the M1s go, I picked a pair of these up in order to use them for my rear surrounds. Since my theater is under construction, I had them upstairs in the living room for a while to hear how they sound. As with all my Axioms, the sound is clear and crisp. I have a big old pair of Yamahas from high school that I use in the living room. I was seriously pondering picking up a second pair of these to replace the Yammies. Unfortunately, no matter how clear the sound was, they still could not compete with the big speakers in filling up the room. My wife has always wanted to axe the Yamahas for something smaller, but she also was unable to say that these speakers could compete. So, we stuck w/ the single set which will be headed for the basement.

FYI....the living room is a large room, so I do not blame the M1s for their inability to carry the load. Even with a sub, they just can't move that much air.

However, if I had a smaller less demanding application, I wouldn't hesitate to pick these up.

Spiff - I'm not sure how much luck you are going to have finding a 5.1 receiver w/ zone 2 capabilities for under $100. I have an older Yamaha w/ that functionality that sold used for $300 on Ebay. However, you might want to scan around some of the Yamaha HTRs on Ebay. The HTR line is usually cheaper than the RXV line. The only significant difference is the quantity of inputs and some of the less necessary bells/whistles. If you do find a good deal like that, let us know.

Finally, I cannot address the parallel issue with any expertise, but I always thought that you get into ohm/resistance issues when you try to do that.....sort of why you can't daisy-chain speakers off of a volume control. Guess I'm as lost on that issue as everyone else.

spiffnme, to simultaneously power a 5.1 setup and your 2-channel only setup -- without adding a second amp -- would (obviously) require a 7.1 receiver with multi-room AND multi-source capability. I don't think you'll find that for less than $100.

This link to onecall.com shows current products they sell that support the feature, though not all are 7.1.

PM - Good point. If he gets a 5.1 w/ multi-zone, the output is RCA (un-amplified). He'd then have to hook it to some other amplifier. I forgot about that....shows how much I use the zone2 on my existing Yamaha. Getting a 7.1 w/ this functionality is going to cost you at least $300.

As to why they were discontinued, I believe it had something to do with the hybrid tweeter driver they used. The QS4s shed that driver in favor of the standard Axiom tweeter. Axiom was probably streamlining their supply requirements and felt it was time to let the a couple products go.

Good point. I was just looking for a way to keep from having two receivers in the game room. It'll likely be a much better idea for me to just get another cheap 5.1 receiver.

spiffnme

I used to have the M1's, and although they sounded nice and precise, they weren't great for bass. Some computer games with explosions would sound very flat, indeed

Sounds like you need TWO subs, Spiff!

I'm hoping to get a good deal on 5 M1ti's, and then find an inexpensive sub as well.

Bigjohn,
Maybe this will help.
On the menu to the right, go to chapter 58

by looking at those diagrams, it would actually be easier to hook them up in series, than it would be to do it in parallel. would that make a difference on how they sound?

bigjohn

I believe it would probably decrease the output some.

OK...I must be slow or something. How the heck do you get 5.1 sound out of your damn computer without using one of those "made for computers" el crapola speaker systems that have mini-plug connections for each channel?

I've been scouring sound cards, and I can't seem to find a single card that has a simple digital output that I could then connect to a receiver.

What am I not understanding?

For example...check out this very large image...

http://www.4gamer.net/news/image/2004.03/20040310170027_2big.jpg

Looking at the "digital out" jack, that sure looks like a mini-plug to me. How the heck do you hook that up to the digital input of a receiver?

AFAIK, all you need to do is get a miniplug to RCA adapter, and you've got a standard coax digital port. But I could be horribly, horribly wrong.

Just curious, but why would they make the digital out a mini-plug? That's just strange. What device has a digital audio input that's mini-plug? I thought mini-plugs were by design 2 channel stereo. ????

Durned if I know. Probably fits on the card better. I'm pretty sure that those silly little 4.1/5.1 speaker systems for computers have miniplug digital ins. There are stereo and mono miniplugs, and the only thing you'd need for digital would be a mono one. Again, this is mostly conjecture.

Do a search for a chaintech AV-710. I think that's the model number, it has an optical out on it.

Spiff...how about this?

So you can get an optical output on a $24 card, but not on a $200 sound blaster. That's just wrong.

I have a feeling they didn't have enough room on the PCB (printed circuit board) to mount a standard RCA jack.

Anyone able to confirm that a mini-to-RCA adapter is all I'd need to use the Soundblaster digital output with my reciever?

Spiff - Did a search on google and there were a few people on a forum that stated that they had successfully done this using the mini-to-coax adapter. However, depending on your budget, don't be in a rush to buy the more expensive card. I cannot speak to quality differences between the two cards, but I can tell you that I am presently using an 4.1 card w/ a toslink connection that was not a high-end card when I bought it. This card passes a Dolby Digital signal just fine. Bear in mind, when you use the digital out and have the card set to output SPDIF, it's passing the digital audio stream straight out to the receiver. I'm not saying that you should find a 4.1 card. I'm just letting you know that the sound card isn't doing much of anything when you're dealing with digital output.

Caveat: There are arguments over at the AVS forums about this very issue. Many invest big bucks in sweet cards and swear that the sound is superior. Others believe that it is a simple pass-through.

Good Luck

Thanks for the tips guys.

I have the cheap chaintech card and I can tell you that it works very well.

Craig, or instead consider using this for a direct connection out the USB port.