Hey, I just thought I start another topic instead posting in my existing topic, because some ppl might not be aware of this issue like me.


I posted about not enough adequate sound or even bass in my M80's. I cvhanged the settings to LFE+Main and set the speakers to large but that didn't change anything.

So I checked the back of the speakers, and I only have two binders connected from back of the speakers (there are 4 in the back). Would I have to connect the other two binding also to give me more sound? If so, do I just hook the extra speaker wire to the FL and FR connector on the receiver (so each connector has two speaker wires (red+black and red+black))?

I know this may be noobish, but please enlighten me.

Thanks.

OK, you should have gold straps between the posts. If you don't, there's your problem. You can also use very short lengths of wire between the two posts--more economical and easier than running it all the way from the receiver.

Paul, as Ken mentioned in the other and this thread, your speakers should have come with the gold straps that keep the tweeter, mids, woofer sections in tact. If you have removed these, this would explain possibly your lack of bass, if your speaker wires are only connected to the other terminals.

This is what it should look like, and they should be snugged down. If the straps are in place, then you only need to hook your speakers up to one of the pairs, as the straps will trasmit the signal to the other pair.

I have the gold straps on both the speakers.

I guess what I mean to say its there 4 connector in the back, do I have to connect all 4 to get all the sound coming from the speakers? If so, how do I go about to connect the extra two connector wires to the back of my receiver (the FL and FR port back of receiver)?

It just seems like all the sound is coming from the center speaker and I can barely hear any sound coming from the two M80 speakers.

**EDIT: I reread your post sirquack, and I think what you meant to say at the end of the post, is that you only need to connect only a pair of connectors with the speaker wire going to receiver, as the other pair would transmit the signals to the existing connected pair. Is that correct?

Paul, this is what some of us suspected and mentioned on the other thread. It's happened here at least three times in the past few years(three have admitted it)that they were either connected to just the upper terminals and got no bass or the lower terminals and got no highs. The connecting strips that Randy pictured have to be there and be tight so that both sections of the speaker are actually operating. Apparently you have your speaker wire connected to the upper terminals, so you can demonstrate the difference by connecting instead to the lower terminals, when you'll get bass but there'll be no highs.

If you didn't get those little metal strips with your M80s, contact Axiom. In their absence you can connect all the terminals by running a short piece of speaker wire through the holes from the top to bottom terminal(two pieces of wire per speaker)or stripping enough insulation off the end of your regular speaker wire(maybe 3")so that you can run it through both the top and bottom holes in the terminals. In either case be careful that there are no loose strands of wire touching metal.

Okay, I now see from your last post that you do have the metal strips and presumably they're tight. So, you just have to connect to either the top or bottom set of terminals and the strips should let the power also go to the other pair. You haven't said whether your speaker wire is directly connected to the top or bottom terminals, but if it's the top ones, switch to the bottom to see if there's a difference.

no, the straps connect the two pairs of terminals, all you have to do is hook your speaker wire to either the bottom OR the top pair.

When you say the sound is coming from the center only, are you talking about music or HT applications. For music you should be using one of the Stereo modes and there would be nothing coming from the center channel. What do you have the receiver set on? Unless your listening to multi channel music would you be using the center speaker.

For movies the center handles most of the voices or dialog, which is normal.

Aight, I made sure the gold straps were in place and they were snugly fit in, and no changes occurred in terms of bass on the speakers.

I am testing these speaker with HT usage.

I fiddled around the settings, and turn the subwoofer off. I only detected very little bass coming from the M80's.

I have only connected the bottom pair connectors with the speaker wires.

I'll test out with a music CD.

This may be more than what you want to do, but if you have a computer you can easily hook up to your receiver (for sound output), try downloading this test tone CD.

Select some of the tracks in the 20-80hz range and watch the woofers on the M80s. At the lowest frequencies, you should see quite a bit of movement. As you get higher, you'll see less movement but hear more sound. This will at least confirm they're functioning properly and playing all of the frequencies they should be.

Jason

Definitely try it in stereo; and do double check that each driver is producing sound by sticking your ear up against it.

Paul, how are you testing for HT and not music? It is possible your selecting something with little or no activity from the 80's. I'm just trying to understand, it is so unlikely that both 80's would have issues, so it has to be your setup, calibration, or something.

What receiver modes are you using when testing, what movie are you testing and what scene?

Do you have any music you can try with good bass? Do you have the 80's enough away from the walls so the ports can breath?

Paul, since the external connections seem to be correct, there's a possibility that one (or highly unlikely both)of the M80 woofers has one of the internal wires loose and it isn't working. Test the speakers one at a time on a piece of music that has good bass, and remove the connecting strips so that the speaker wire is connected only to the lower woofer terminals. See if bassy sound is heard from each M80.

Paul, also make sure your receiver is in 'stereo' or 'direct' mode when you test your music cd!

If some of the drivers in the cabinet aren't working you could likely have a crossover problem. The capacitors on the crossover are very large and have to bent inwards in order to fit in the cabinet. In my M80's the soldering was broken and so the tweeters weren't working in 1 of them.

To check them, remove the plate where the speaker terminals are, pull it straight out and you'll see how the crossover is built on to that plate. Very lightly try to wiggle the capicators (big brown things)... if they wiggle a bunch then the soldering is broken. You'll need a new crossover or resolder them yourself like I did.

Don't be afraid to open up your speakers... they aren't exactly rocket science. Jut be careful not to scratch your very expensive speakers.

Yep, as the other said, it is possible you have a bad connection on the driver or whatever. After you decide if there are woofers not active, you can easily remove the screws and check the wires on the woofers in questions.

The thing that puzzles me though is that something like this would affect both speakers... I can see if one was broken, but 2 would be the epitome of bad luck.

Jason

The Crossover in his receiver has gone wonky?? Not likely but just putting it out there.

Painstakingly, isolate and replace everything and every scenario one at a time, even if you have to borrow some gear. Eventually, there has to be an Aha! moment.

Aight, I follow your guys advice.

Sirquack, I was testing my HT bass usage by checking out U-571 'Depth Charge' scene. The sub was really getting a workout, but seems like the woofers on the M80's weren't producing much output.

So, I tested out a music CD with lots of bass. I put the receiver to stereo and direct mode. This time, the sound on the midranges and tweeters were much more pronounced and I can hear sound coming from both the FL and FR speakers. But then again, not much bass was coming from the woofers. It seems like every receiver mode I put it to (including DTS, DD, stero, direct, etc), that is little bass output coming from the M80's.

So I disabled the subwoofer from the receiver so I can hear only the speakers and I heard very little bass coming from them (little, if not, none).

I had the speaker setup to large in the fronts and LFE+Main, and crossover to 80 hz.

The possibility that the speakers maybe damage or loose connections are very slim, since it not affecting one M80, but both.

I am not trying to bash Axiom, I think they make wonderful speakers, and are very good for the price. But it seems like something it wrong with my configuration.

In case you have not done it yet (and if you did, dismiss this post), you may want to contact Axiom. Their technicians are excellent and will guide you through all the steps in order to determine what the next step should be.

sounds look receiver setup voodoo to me now... got an old stereo receiver you can drive them with as a test?

what receiver do you have?

One idea would be to reset the receiver back to factory defaults. It is strange it is happening to both 80's. I assume you ordered from Axiom? It is unlikely, however, not impossible that the woofer section is not connected, you might unscrew the drivers and check the connections. One of my 350s was not working, and upon review didn't get hooked up at the factory.

Amie addressed the issue with the production quality control line. Those woofers should be pumping.

Where are the speakers positioned in the room?

They are hooked up to a DENON 2307CI receiver.

I ordered them from Axiom.

Here are pics of my HT setup.

http://www.axiomaudio.com/boards/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=171737&fpart=2

Paul, have you tried the suggestion to take off the connecting strips and just have the speaker wire connected to the lower(woofer)terminals to see what if any sound is heard?

Thanks for the picture thread. One thing I noticed is you have the 80's right up against the wall, maybe an inch or two of breathing room. I don't think this is your entire problem, however, your not allowing enough room for the bass to filter out the rear ports into the room.

I would try 6-8" or more out from that front wall to see if that helps at all. Have you verified the polarity of the speaker wire hookups, plus to plus, minus to minus? Have you tried resetting the receiver to defaults? Have you removed the woofers to see if the wires are hooked up?

Paul,

Connect only one of your front speakers to the receiver. Leave the other front disconnected and see how it sounds. Put the receiver in either direct or stereo mode. Also just for testing set your crossover to the lowest level on your receiver and turn off the LFE channel. Then play a cd from a different source this time and see if it makes a diff. Keep the speaker itself setup normal with the connecting strips in. Let us know what happens now. I am trying to eliminate polarity problems, crossover problems, and source problems. If the speaker sounds much better then we can solve this issue.

Paul, if you would like some help, I am more than willing to drop by sometime, just send me a PM.

I was going to say on page one there has to be someone in the area, or call Axiom.

I sent Paul a PM yesterday, I guess I should have mentioned that in that last post as well, D'oh!

That's what I was just thinking he should do..... Man you're a sharp fella Jonny!