Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion The Water Cooler Sure cure for the blues

Oz-
Rest easy. The 60's are incredible speakers. Don't let the "what-if's" get to you.... there comes a point of diminishing returns and I think you're already beyond it with the 60s so you're in the clear!

There will always be someone who says "bigger is better" and "more is more" but do you need Marshall-stack-type speakers in your room? Do you need 800-1200 wpc? Dual 15" subs in your room? After awhile, it all gets pointless and people forget about the music or movies that they're supposed to be enjoying.

This isn't a holier-than-others thread... I've thought about one step up in the sub department and replacing my cheap universal disc player with a nice Denon.... but my 60s in my 13' square room are more than enough in terms of power and delicacy!

You'll be happy when you squash that little nagging voice and I think you made an excellent decision!

Mark
I know your absolutely right about that. What is it that makes it so hard to quiet that little nagging voice anyway? I'm sure once I get them (Friday 4:30 ETA) and I start listening to my favorite CD's, all will be good.

It's funny I have three spots already set up to audition them in.
Bedroom (stereo)
Living room (stereo)
Family room (HT with the Polk center , surrounds and sub}

oz

another very happy m60 owner hear...i think i woulda went with the m80's but my current receiver cant handle 4ohms...and i dont have the $$$ to upgrade that for a while...qs8's first in september

Here's the link to 60 vs 80 - IMHO.

I am NOT knocking the 60's. Quite the contrary.

My listening area is 15 x 13.5 x 8. The 80s are on the 15 wall, 12 feet apart. My chair 10 feet in front.

The 60s were adequate for my room and they WILL be for yours. For the difference in the money, it was an easy choice to move up to their top of the line speaker.

I think you get more detail from the extra tweeter and mid-woofer. Normally I don't listen to the 80s any louder than I did the 60s. I can also crank them up and listen out in the sunroom or in the kitchen.

I listen to CDs on the 80s without the sub. Great speakers.

But you have to understand, I have the bug. My EP500 my turn into a EP600. I love the deep rumbles of the 500 and wonder about the 600. There's just the bigger dollar difference.

I've heard better speakers than Axioms, BUT none that I wanted to spend $10,000 on. I don't plan any other changes in my audio system other than maybe the 600.

I am a happy camper.

Now if they would just get the HD thing worked out!!!!

Your welcome Oz.I don't know how the 60s would compare to the 80s but knowing Axiom I'm sure you will be a happy camper.Enjoy

Well my M60's arrived yesterday afternoon. They arrived about 4 hours ahead of the estimated time.. That's pretty good considering I didn't place the order till after dinner on Tuesday evening. Of course when they arrived my grandson was in for his nap. His room is right above the room where I was setting them up. Once I got them out of the boxes and roughly in place I was ready to hear some music. He was still sleeping so I started with the volume very low. I played Lucinda Williams "Car Wheels" CD. It sounded pretty good at low levels. I say pretty good because it's hard to play L.W. and not turn up the volume so there was a bit of frustration. I took her off before the CD was over to opt for some soft jazz. I listened to Bill Evans "Live at the Village Vanguard" and some Cassandra Wilson "Blue light 'til Dawn. I like that the speakers deliver a full spectrum even a very low db's.

After my grandson awoke things started to get interesting. I raised the volume a good bit. It was still conversational level but enough for the speakers to bloom a little and attract a little attention. I played Madelyn Peroux, Bonnie Raitt, and
Jerry Garcia Acoustic Band. The speakers were clear and detailed. The voices sound amazingly clear and even Jerry sounded good. Later everyone had things to do and they left me alone. This was my chance. I dug out my re-mastered HDCD copy of King Crimson’s “In the court of the Crimson King”. I turned the volume up to about 50%. Holy canoli! when the band kicked in with 21st Century Schizoid Man I couldn’t believe how loud and clear the speakers were. Or so I thought.

It was during this CD that I started hearing a buzzing sound on certain low freq. notes. I mean the speakers seemed to be doing everything right but certain notes seemed to cause this buzzing sound. I decided I better take the grill covers off and check the drivers. While I was removing the grill covers my head was between the speaker and the armoire that holds my system and CD’s and the note hit and the buzzing it turns out was coming from the side panel of the armoire. I turned the speakers down to a more reasonable listening level and the cabinet still resonates on certain low notes. It’s not entirely based on volume although it is worse at loud volumes. It seems to be more about the resonant frequency of the cabinet panel. This kind of sucks but at least it is not coming directly from the speakers. I have experimented with moving the speaker further away to no avail. The speakers were in a room 12 x 14, on the short wall. Centered on that wall is the armoire with a speaker to each side. I decided to put the speakers on the long wall which would enable a little greater distance from the armoire. Same thing happens in this configuration. So I am going to have to devise some way to deaden that cabinet. It is not a loose panel in the frame. It’s tight but it is light weight so the whole panel vibrates. When I put my hand on it of course it stops. This is an antique piece so I have to take care in my approach.

Saturday morning I moved the speakers into the HT set up. This is an HK AVR310 rated at 50 watts X 5. Bigger room, sturdier cabinet and of course a sub. The receiver did a respectable job but I think in a room this size I could use a little more power. This is the 2 story 15 X 20 room opened on 2 sides. I listened to Annie Lennox live in Central Park. This is a very decent concert DVD for anyone that likes her sound. The speakers definitely benefit from a sub woofer. As most of you know I hopping to go to strictly a stereo set up no sub. Many advised to get the 80’s for that, which is still a possibility. I didn’t watch any films because that is not what I got these speakers for. I’ll probably do that today though just for grins since they are in the HT set up. After that I think I will bring the HK 665 into the mix in the larger room and see what the speakers sound like in a large room more power to them. I’ll keep you posted.

Other listening…
Pink Floyd “Dark Side of the Moon”
Richard Thompson “Rumor and Sigh”
Beethoven’s Symphony # 9
All I can say about these is WOW (just like the recent review of the 80’s)

Thanks for reading!
oz

Congrats on the new system... and a great "first light" report.

For the buzzing armoire, is it possible to stop the buzz by placing your hand on the panel from the inside ? If so, could you jimmy up something like a brick or dumbell weight wrapped in thin foam and put it on a shelf INSIDE the armoire as a short term fix ?

I deal with "the little voice" by turning the stereo up a little louder. That has allowed me to remain very happy with my system in its current form

John
Yeah... when Iput my hand on the panel from either side it stops the buzzing. I'll use your idea until I can figure out a more permanent fix. Any object pressed against it seems to work. While I was listening I just leaned a folding chair against it and that stopped it. Didn't look great but hey. I'll figure something out. Thanks for your idea for the short term fix.
oz

In reply to:

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This is the 2 story 15 X 20 room opened on 2 sides. {{SNIPPED}} The speakers definitely benefit from a sub woofer. As most of you know I hopping to go to strictly a stereo set up no sub. Many advised to get the 80’s for that, which is still a possibility.

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Oz:
If I'm understanding the situation correctly, I don't think going to the 80s would make much difference. They only go a bit deeper and a little louder. I think a room with as much cubic feet of volume as you have would not be filled with any full-range floorstander, and a sub will be necessary. It's simple physics of trying to move enough air for satisfying bass in an area with many cubic feet of air vs. a smaller amount of cubic feet in a more typical room.

Great review though!

With a room of 15x20,if he were to have 8' ceilings then he is getting into the area of a large room ( 2400 cubic ft. ).Seeing the the room is open on both sides I wouldn't discount the M80s being better suited for a 2 channel system.