Hello folks...
I've been lurking here and there for the past few months jumping from forum to forum and site to site seeking out information for my latest quest of piecing together a complete Home Theater package including audio and video components. I'll post specs another time but for now I will tell you that I am an Axiom owner as of Aug 10, 2005 delivery date. I just wanted to say hi to all you guys and gals and say thanks for all the input and info I've been able absorb from the Axiom forum. It's been very helpful to me. So far nothing extra ordinary has happened in my quest, but the Axiom staff running the show has been prompt getting my order packed and shipped.
Anywho,,, Hello and thanks again to all of you. I'll be around as time permits...
Rick
Welcome to the club !
Have you booked time off work tomorrow, or are you just going to call in sick ?
And Pictures..... Don't forget pictures.......
Congrats and welcome!!
Looking foreward to hearing your first(and follow-up)impressions
Welcome! I am sure you will be very happy with your set up, regardless of what system you got.
oz
Congrats SirRick from SirQuack
Congrats, Rick. Please do post your impressions, and hang around to lend a hand where you can. The diversity of expertise around here is wonderful.
Welcome to the West Coast Axiom Caucus! I think there is a sometime board regular (Jag?) around Vancouver. Minirock and I are in Washington, and the boards are just crawling with Californians.
I'll second the motion to take the rest of the week off
Congrats.
Saw your name in the New Contest thread.
Look forward to your reviews and pics.
In reply to:
and the boards are just crawling with Californians.
We're like the plague, but with a good tan.
Thanks for the welcome. Cool to see there's atleast a few locals here in the Vancouver BC area...
-bridgman: Would be great to take a week off. But I need to pay for the new toys some how.
-wid: I'll add items to my bio or thread as they show up at the door. I can't say I have anything until it's in my hands. My bio has a little info so far.
-MarkSJohnson: GREAT! now I have to clean the house just for pictures? ugh... I'll take some pix and post them as things are coming along.
-F107plus5: I'll be offering my impressions. I know many others input here and in other forums helped me on my quest so it's the least I can do to help any new comers that may enter the realm after me.
-oz350z: I realy have no doubt that I'm gonna be happy with Axiom. That's only the beginning. I still need to make a couple more decisions to complete the HT system. So many products and companys to choose from. As I did with the speakers I'm gonna hang on til I KNOW what I want.
-SirQuack: Quack Quack. Quack QQQQuack Quack,,,, Quack.
-tomtuttle: see F107plus5 above.
-bugbitten: If I win I'm gonna have a great bedroom HT also! or,,, 14.2 system?
-St_PatGuy: Californians / Canadians... same ship different piles.
>>GREAT! now I have to clean the house just for pictures?
I think most of us just photoshop out the dust... and photoshop in a nice shine on the furniture. It's easy, we can show you how...
Ugh. Photoshop has been verbed
Photoshop done been verbed a long time ago...
--verbing weirds the language.
Its not a verb??????
Just Xerox when you Photoshop then Google for it.
Fedex showed up today @ 12:45pm and dropped off the Axiom items. My Daughter stayed home today for me to accept the delivery. It was a beautiful day, but she stayed home for me. What a great kid. Got everything unpacked and gave it all a once over. Everything looks fine. One of the QS3 boxes was damaged, but the unit inside is fine. The crunch/slice in the packaging was maybe 1/2 inch from damaging one of the grills that are packaged one on top and one on the bottom of the box. It was close. I can't test the speakers yet because I'm still in the process of receiver/amp shopping, but needless to say you can bet it's going to be a higher priority now that I have these speakers sitting here dorment. I'll keep you folks updated as things come together. For now I've updated my bio items list.
I was going to offer a little review of my first impression of the unpackaged items, but I think I'm going to wait until everything is up and running.
Alright!! Jumped right into the big leagues
Gonna take a bit to get it all hooked up and calibrated......guess we'll just have to wait a while----it'll be worth it
Looking forward to reading your impressions! Congratulations on your purchase!!
(info updated in bio)
I kind of cheaped out a lil' today. I feel I have let all of you down. My original goal was to pick up a Denon 4806 or Integra separates DTC-9.4 & DTA-9.4 or maybe even a Integra 10.5. After re-evaluating my budget I decided to slow down a little bit and settle for a cheaper unit. I'll work with it for a few months and then jump on something sturdier. I'm pretty sure I'll be happy enough for now with it knowing eventually I'll be swapping it out. But I know it's not going to be as strong as I want or need to power the Axioms. Maybe I'll concider an AMP to give me a lil' more juice until I upgrade. ((Lucky for me I'm a VERY patient man))... Still one more item on it's way. I'll let ya'll know when it's here.
Sunday...
I had a couple minor issues with the setup, but around 2am last night the system was setup and ready for testing. I'm still waiting for one more item to complete the project and it looks like it's going to be late in the week before it arrives. Until then all I can do play with settings and wait. I'll be auditioning a complete THX Select certified package of Mordaunt-Short speakers in my home later in the week. Only the sub in not certified... (504 Centre / 502 towers / 506 Dipole x4 / 909W sub). I'll be using the Integra DTR-8.4 for the audition so this should be a fair comparison between the Axioms and Mordaunt-Short. I've heard a Mordaunt-Short setup instore and thought it was pretty good. So by the end of the week or next weekend I should know if the Axioms are going to be a permanent fixture in my home. I have found a couple minor finish blemishes in the Axioms that I was kind of surprised to find. It's nothing to serious, but it is a little disappointing to me. I have more to say about Axiom quality but I'm going to wait till I'm ready to give you all the full report. I know the Mordaunt-Shorts I saw instore were very well built and seemingly flawless in finish. The finish issue could sway me if things get close and I have trouble deciding what I'm going to keep. So far the Axioms sound ok from what I've heard so far. I'll be back soon with more...
>>I have found a couple minor finish blemishes in the Axioms that I was kind of surprised to find. It's nothing to serious, but it is a little disappointing to me.
Surprises us too. My experience was "flawless" on A stock and "gee, that little scratch ?" on Factory Outlet stock. There was the time that I had a corner smashed in during shipping but that's different
Give Axiom a buzz and see what they say.
Bridgman...
I don't think it's anything that would be worthy of phone calls and shipping. I was just expecting maybe a little to much of Axiom. By that I mean I'm comparing the Axioms to other higher priced products I've seen first hand recently. For example the Mordaunt-Shorts I'm considering are clearly built to a very high standard externally. Every edge and corner was finsihed perfectly smooth and clean. Also a friend of mine has a pair of Rockets RS 850 towers and they are simply flawless from top to bottom. I can't say the same for the Axioms, but so far the Axioms sound quality is ok by me and the blemishes really are not serious. A little glue and black marker would fix a couple bad spots I found. I haven't yet really given the Axioms a detailed inspection. I find myself avoiding it because I don't want to find any more things to write home about. For the price I could maybe accept a little give and take from Axioms products.
note:
I was just watching a movie and noticed the VP150 center seemed to be cutting out. It even seemed to kind of pop/snap every few minutes. Like a lose wire maybe? Ofcourse I checked all connections and all are fine. It's late here now so I can't test anymore tonight, but I'll try again tomorrow evening. I think I should maybe test the center on one of the left or right front outputs to see if it reacts the same.
Please folks. I'm not here to dump on Axiom. I'm a VERY patient and understanding fellow, but I am also a very picky guy when it comes to my toys. My HT system is probably going to be a once in a life time thing for me so I want to make sure it's just right for me. I don't want any regrets, I just want a great performing and nice looking HT that will be with me for years to come.
Rick, in regards to the VP150, by all means do whatever tests you need to do to be sure the problem is with the speaker and not some other part of your system. On rare occasions a bad driver gets through, or a driver can be damaged in shipping without any external indication that damage was done. The experiences I've seen here on the forum have Axiom sending a new driver, if necessary, to the customer overnight. They walk you through the simple replacement themselves.
Nobody will think you're here to "dump on Axiom," Rick. We know what it's like to be disappointed. What we hope to get across is that Axiom does NOT want a disappointed customer. They would rather have you give them a call and explain your disappointment, than have you remain disappointed. All ya gotta do is be polite and courteous, and they will make every effort to resolve the situation to your complete satisfaction. If you're disappointed in the cosmetic flaws, they'll get deflawed. If there is a problem with your center, they'll fix it or provide a new one. You shouldn't hesitate to give them a call.
Obviously, should you prefer the sound of the Mordaunt-Shorts, and wish to return the Axioms, none of this applies. But should you prefer the sound of the Axioms, you need not settle for less than "just right for you." Give 'em a call, be nice, and they'll take care of you.
I know that this may cause some trouble here, but I really think that my M60 sounded much better after a few days. I don't know if it is my ears or speakers to break in, but that is my experience. Give them some time, and let them play a while before considering a serious listen.
Never heard of Mordaunt-Shorts, how much are they? Comparing both speakers at your home, with your own equipment is the right thing to do!!
And as everybody here says, give Axiom a call if you find any problem with yours. I am sure they will answer all questions and will do their best to solve any problems.
Finally, trust your ears and insticts, and do whatever is best for you. Good luck with your decision and building your home theater!!
>>Please folks. I'm not here to dump on Axiom.
Don't worry, none of us are thinking that. Heck, some of the people on the board don't even OWN Axioms any more having traded up to even better (and more expensive) stuff. We're just wondering if your order was beaten up in shipment or something because what you are experiencing is not at all typical of purchases from Axiom. They don't have the white gloves or velvet bags in the order but the product is usually impeccable and build quality is universally regarded as being very high.
I do seriously suggest you give Axiom a call, particularly if one of the speakers is acting up. That does sound to me like it might be an abused shipment...
>>I'm a VERY patient and understanding fellow, but I am also a very picky guy when it comes to my toys.
Welcome to the club
I generally don't buy from the factory outlet because even the tiniest marks bother me in "the last system I plan to buy for a while". We're as surprised as you are by what you are seeing.
bridgman / Jack / thyname ...
After evaluating and auditioning the setups I'll take any necessary steps to get things up to par with the Axioms if it comes to that.
All in all I am pleased with the Axioms performance and I still plan on offering a review when the dust settles. For an added bonus I'll be able to offer some insight of the Mordaunt-Shorts I'll have here for a few days.
I got in a little to late tonight so I wasn't able to test the 150, but hopefully I'll get in earlier tomorrow to test.
For now it's time for sleep...
Thanks for the replies fellows...
Rick, at the risk of belaboring the obvious, if you are still having the VP150 problem, with the volume set at a level which will safely allow you to do so, put your ear right up to each driver to see if the "pop/snap" is in all the drivers, or just one specific driver. If it's in all, then the problem may lie elsewhere, like a speaker wire, or receiver channel (unlikely). If it's in only one, then you'll have the problem localized.
Sir Rick
I may have missed this but could you let us know which model of the Mordaunt-Shorts you are speaking of?
thanks,
oz
oz350z...
The Mordaunt Short package contains:
Fronts / 502
Center / 504
Rear / 506
Sides / 506
Sub / 909W <---pass
The package should be here tomorrow early evening. The fellow will be stopping by on his way home.
note:
I called the fellow earlier and told him he didn't need to bring the 909W because there is no chance I'll be sending the new sub back (see bio update). It only took 30 minutes of running through a few scenes of Starwars Phantom Menace (the pod race)-Gone In 60 Seconds (the Eleanor chase) - A couple Holly Cole, Led Zepllin and Yes tracks to know that this is one piece hardware that will be with me til the end...
Ajax...
I tried the 150 on both front channels and it perfomed with no problems. It sounded fine. I then hooked it back up to the center channel and it again performed with no problem. hmmm ok everything was fine except me because I was maybe hearing none existant pops/snaps? I was sitting back watching a couple scenes of movies testing out the new sub (see updated bio) and noticed the 150 was just a little bit off center sitting on top of the TV. While Starwars was still playing I was trying to slide the 150 over a little (it's kind of tacky from the weight) and it jerked a little. Yup,,, pop/snap. It must be a simple lose wire to speaker or some other lose connection inside.
Are these units plug type connectors or are they soldered?
I will send off an E-Mail to Axiom service. I wanted to open it up to see what's up, but I'll hang on til I hear back from Axiom...
I was curious because there is a very nice review of the M-S Performance 6 loudspeaker in the current issue(Sept) of Stereophile. It said the pair was $6500.00 a pair. I wondered if you were comparing the Axiom to a $6500.00 speaker. I tested Triangle Celius, Paradigm Studio 100v3, Sonus Faber Grand Piano and a few other higher end speaks before ordering my M60ti's. I'm still in the 30 testing phase but I believe I will be keeping these. Keep in mind none of those mentioned are in the price range of the M-S Performance 6. and I working off memory. None of the comparisons were side by side. Glad your happy with your new SVS sub.Keep posting you evaluations. We're interested in hearing the comparison.
oz
Atta boy, Rick.
Now you've got it narrowed down to the point where Axiom will know what action to take. I'm sure they'll fix you up just fine.
I checked M-S 502 online and they look very good indeed. Also considering that they are some British speakers. The price was 999 British Pounds (more than USD 1700) but not sure if that price was for the pair or for a single speaker. Rick, did you get them free shipping?
One thing I noticed, they have an integrated sub (in the speaker) similar to Aperion Powered Towers. I am not sure that this would be a perfect choice vs. two normal fronts with a sub combo. Also positioning in the room would be more difficult. Rick, please let us know your findings from the audition.
thyname...
The Mordaunt Shorts are from a local audio store...
502 $2700.00 +tax CAD
More than double the price of M60s it looks.... Please let us know what you think after you audition them side by side.