Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Stereo A/B testing with a sub (NEW M60s !!)

Very interesting how close our findings were. Note to self... "spiffnme" is ONE person, should not be read as "spiff and chesseroo". I had to read that part of your post about 10 times, must be getting tired.

So, here's the bottom line :

Subwoofer - OFF

Input selector -- PHONO

Track -- Pyramid / Hyper-Gamma Spaces

Volume setting -- LOUD

Listening position -- FLAKED OUT IN ONE OF THOSE LAMINATED IKEA CHAIRS

Ahh. Perfect. Imaging seems to get better as the volume goes up. 5 years of fixing sound equipment for prog-rock bands + 10 years of concerts + 10 years of "stereo wars" + 10 years of target shooting just might have dulled the old high frequency nerves a bit.

OK, I'm happy. No settings, no crossover frequencies to set, no subwoofer level fiddling, crisp imaging, plays loud when I want it and still sounds clean. Sold !!

Noticed the bass still sounded a bit boomy at one or two points in the track so pulled the speakers out to ~15" from rear to wall which eliminated the boom completely. While I was at it I pointed the speakers straight ahead -- previously had them toed in a bit. Separation is about 8 feet with ears maybe 8 feet from the baseline between the speaker fronts. Imaging seems to be better with the speakers straight ahead, not what I would expect but very very good.

First time listening to "Mistral Wind" off "Heart's greatest hits" with the M60s. Again, perfect. The phasing near the start of the song gives a clear "swirling" effect localized *above* the guitars and stage noises. I haven't heard that swirl for at least 10 years.

Tomorrow I'll figure out what to do with all the "stuff". I was planning to do a music system with the M60s and keep M2s + sub for HT. I'm almost afraid to play a DVD through the M60s cause I know it's gonna screw up my plans and I'm going to have to start looking for a good 5.1 receiver. Bah. I should have just bought a Bose WaveRadio and lived happily ever after.

Thanks for all the advice, everyone. Very much appreciated !!

John

P.S. Going off to try a DVD. Gonna regret this.