I've heard the VP150V2 doesn't match quite as well with the M-60's, that in some slow pans you can hear the tonal difference. Any truth in this? I like having seamless imaging across the front stage, and wonder if this setup can do this. Please let me know.
Do you have an example of something that does these slow pans (other than pink noise?) I am curious. I have a VP100 and M80s... probably not a great match.
The only time I notice an issue is with live broadcasts (auto racing) where they mysteriously place the commentator's voice on the left front for a second instead of the center. It's probably the decoding I'm using, though.
I don't have the VP150, but the VP100 with M60's and the tonal match it perfect. I have been thinking of upgrading to the 150 though, so I would like to know this as well. Reason for upgrade is my room is rather large and really need the 150 and QS8's over the 100 and QS4's I have now.
Bill3508
The only DVDs I've been watching lately are Battlestar Galactica. I have not noticed any panning issues with my oddly matched speakers (now that I'm thinking about it).
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Do you have an example of something that does these slow pans (other than pink noise?) I am curious. I have a VP100 and M80s... probably not a great match. The only time I notice an issue is with live broadcasts (auto racing) where they mysteriously place the commentator's voice on the left front for a second instead of the center. It's probably the decoding I'm using, though.
Sorry,I don't have an example. It's just somethig someone mentioned to me b/c its not an exact match. i want to be sure before i do though. im seriously thinking of getting axiom m60's vp150, with qs8's, but haven't pulled the trigger yet. just trying to get my questions answered first.
I'm not entirely sure what timbre matching is but I can tell you that I've noticed a serious difference in the sound of voices during some quick pans during some action scenes that have a lot of talking in them. It can be distracting but it is kinda rare. I know someone who actually replaced his 150 with a klipsch speaker(RC-64) and he claims that it sounds incredible and blends well with his M80's. Honestly, I've always been a little dissapointed with axioms centers. Just a little, though.
I've never had an issue with my VP150 and my M60s.
Keep in mind that even if you use 3 identical front speakers, they're likely to sound different on test material just because of different room reactions, proximity effect variables, etc. It's not something that you would normally hear with program material, however.
As the room and the placement of the center have such a large effect on the sound, I would just try a VP150 in your own room. That's why the 30-day trial exists...
I've owned M60's with a VP150 in the past and currently have m80v2's with vp150v2's and have never had any issue with timber matching or voice changes. Most of the dialog comes from the center channel, not the left/right, that is the point.
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I've heard the VP150V2 doesn't match quite as well with the M-60's, that in some slow pans you can hear the tonal difference. Any truth in this? I like having seamless imaging across the front stage, and wonder if this setup can do this. Please let me know.
There is no such thing as perfect timbre. 3 identical speakers across the same plane will give you the closest timbre match but that isn't a practical alternative for most so a horizontal speaker with similar drivers is the next best alternative. If you run sine waves through each of the 3 front speakers you will hear a slight change in tonality. Sometimes just moving the mains slightly or changing the height of the horizontal speaker will tighten up the timbre.
The VP100/150s timbre match up as much as possible with all the Axiom speakers given their shape, crossover networks and similar drivers. How those speakers interact acoustically in your room also affects timbre and that can be controlled somewhat with attention to placement and treatments.
I've got the VP150, with M60 fronts, and QS8 surrounds. I think that it is a pretty solid system. Keep in mind that many people (myself included) have the ability to adjust speaker settings quite a bit at the receiver or pre-amp area. That could be a reason for any perceived tonal differences. As an extreme example, you could not use a sub, and pump everything to the R/L fronts with a "boost" in dB on the receiver, and then set the center channel to be less "boosted" in volume, and be set to "small" or some other obviously non-matching setting.
Then it would sound pretty bad in regards to a smooth sound field.
I have heard from some who used the VP100 with M60 or M80 that the timbre match and overall sound quality were noticeably improved in going from VP100 to VP150. This was the basis that I decided to try the VP150 with the M80s. Unlike drew88, I have not been disappointed at all. In fact, I have been very satisfied with its performance, and my sense is that the vast majority of owners are very pleased with the VP150. I agree fully that there are many factors that influence a speaker's performance and that you should consider evaluating it first-hand in your sysytem.
John
I have not noticed any timbre-matching issues with my VP150 and M80s.
The only time I noticed a timbre mismatch between my VP150 an M80s during movies was when using my Denon’s Audyssey Room EQ. Turning Audyssey off cleared things up just fine for movies.
There is a noticeable mismatch between the VP150 and the left front M80 due to room effects when I listen to test tones but it’s not noticeable during movies, music or games.
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The only time I noticed a timbre mismatch between my VP150 an M80s during movies was when using my Denon’s Audyssey Room EQ. Turning Audyssey off cleared things up just fine for movies.
There is a noticeable mismatch between the VP150 and the left front M80 due to room effects when I listen to test tones but it’s not noticeable during movies, music or games.
Thanks for the feedback. This makes me feel better. Everyone's been helpful. I'll hopefully be pulling the trigger soon.
If anyone wants a great example of panning effect try the film MISSION TO MARS. There's a scene where the camera does a 360degree turn on a room while a man's voice is heard coming from a communication screen in a spaceship. As the camera pans (turns) around the room the voice moves from front center to front right, to surround right, to surround left, to front left and back to center. The film is in 5.1 but decodes well in 6/7.1 adding another placement for the voice to be heard as the camera pans.
And because it's the same sound/voice it is a good sample for testing volume levels as well.
BTW - I have M80 and 150 and 4 QS8s and timbre quality is excellent - with the only real difference heard is (as previously mentioned) probably the room and how how it affects the sound from each speaker location - which is normal with sound in general.
Thanks for posting this.
The only issue I've noticed is pans from the fronts to the rears or vice-versa. This is not a timbre issue but rather a location issue. The voice goes from low down to high up (or vice-versa). Practically it's really a non-issue unless you plan on listening to track 11 of Alan Parsons: On Air all day
.