Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Upgrading from Atlantic Tech 250.1, what to buy?

I am going to start an upgrade from my Atlantic Technology System 250.1 but don't know how far I need to go to get the sound improvement I want. That system includes a 12" sub that puts out plenty of base so I'll likely leave it in place. The same goes for the rears. They are either di-poles of bi-poles and though they only have two 4" woofers and one .75 inch tweeter, they sound pretty good for the time being. That leaves me wanting to replace the center channel and two front speakers. All three have two 4" woofers and one .75" tweeter. With speaker size set to small I get really good highs out of these three speakers, but mid-bass is a little lacking. I am looking for more punch from the two front speakers and improved dialog from the center.

If I could, I would go with the M60Ti's and the VP 150 center. That may stretch my budget a little too much so I have thought about going down to the VP100 and possibly the M50Ti's or M22 bookshelf speakers. The bookshelves still have 5.25" woofers which should be a big improvement over what I have, but I don't want to have to upgrade for several years. The M50's are $200 cheaper than the M60's but if I am going to spend $700, why not just spend $900 and be done with it.

If anyone has moved from speakers with drivers similar to what I have now, what did you go with? Are you pleased with the difference? My biggest nightmare is that I cough up $1,100 for two M60's and a VP100 and don't see a big improvement. BTW, my room is about 10 feet by 16 feet with seven and a half foot ceilings. Receiver is an HK AVR65.

Any help is appreciated.

Greg

I have M60s and a VP100. Very happy with both. People seem to find VP150 is better when the room is big enough that you are sitting a fair distance from the center channel, maybe 9-10 feet being the point where you should start thinking about VP150 (this is very approximate).

Between M50 and M60 that is tougher... the M50 seems to be a bit more recessed in the midrange so will probably sound better in a "bright" room, while the M60 is flat enough that it will sound extraordinarily good in a room with a good mix of reflective and absorbent surfaces but might sound a bit bright in a room that is all reflective. My feeling was "go with the M60 and fix the room" but most speaker mfgs seem to dull down the midrange to suit the typical unprepped room.

Are you sitting facing the 10 foot wall or the 16 foot wall ? If facing the 16 foot wall then the M60s and VP100 are a no-brainer choice... if you are facing the 10 foot wall and sitting way back from the speakers then you might want to think about VP150. I think you would be happy with M50 or M60 in that room... and if you are facing the 16 foot wall (ie not sitting too far from the mains) then IMO M22s would be fine as well.

If you are going to listen to a lot of music and prefer jazz, acoustic etc... then go with the 60s or 22s. If mostly rock or your room is fairly bright then I would go with the 50s.

Don't read too much into all of this. I A/B'ed M3s and M60s and was surprised how small the difference was between them... and they are about as different as any two Axiom speakers you can buy

My parents have an Atlantic Tech 250 system with the 262PBM--bought in 1996. A great little system for < $1000 years ago. The m22ti's and m60's sound much more natural and detailed than the atlantics, especially for music. I thought the 250 was good for movies, but for music, the midrange was not there. The highs and lows were good, but the mids were blah. Thats where the m22ti's shine the the most and the m60's are good enough where that sub can crossed over at 60hz just to fill in the extreme lows. If you are in a major city, ask in th eother forum to see if another member will let you listen to their speakers first before ordering. Good luck!

Thanks for the replies.

1) I sit facing the ten foot wall about twelve feet behind the screen and about 10.5 feet from the center speaker. The other two are about one foot in front of and away from each wall so I would say about eight feet apart.

2) I agree that this is a great little system for < $1,000 and many times I am still blown away by how good it sounds. However I still want more punch in the midrange. Maybe I'll spring for M22Ti's and a VP100? I could always use the M22's for surrounds in the future if I upgrade to M60's? I know they aren't designed as such but it will save me some money.

I had originally considered JBL Northridge E80's which are seen at Best Buy for $340 each but can be bought online for close to half that. Does anyone know if the M22Ti will sound superior to these JBL's? The JBL's have bigger drivers but that doesn't necessarily mean much. Here is a link to the JBL's.

http://www.jbl.com/home/products/product_detail.aspx?prod=E80&cat=NRE&ser=NRE

Thanks again.

Greg

Link

Given that room layout (which is real good, by the way) I would think about M22 with VP150. There is a lot of content going through the center channel so having a center which is a bit heftier than the mains isn't a bad thing.

I do remember at least one person talking about upgrading from (I think) E80s to (I think) M22s and being real happy; ahh yes; "richeydog". You might want to PM him. He has a really cute avatar

You might consider the M22s and the VP150. I agree that the center gets a real workout and the 150 can go there. If the 22s aren't enogh, then upgrade to 60s. Factory outlet would be $743 USD.