First of all I want to thank everyone here for all the insight and help during my short membership here in the Axiom speaker forums. I have learned a ton and have tried to apply that knowledge to my system which is mid-fi at best.
Onkyo HTIB receiver HT-R510, M22's of course an the room is approx. 15 ft. along the side with the TV and speakers and approx. 20 ft. deep. The big black box you see in front of the TV is the original subby that came with the Onkyo system. 8" downfiring, no adjustable crossover but managed pretty well from the receiver.
Never sounded REALLY bad but once and a while it would just drone and not play much real bass but this low rumble instead. As a matter of fact the whole Onkyo system has been pretty damn good and I would recommend them to anyone on a budget.
I never intentionally watch movies for the deep low bass, it's just not for me. I just wanted to fill in the bottom end of the M22's listening in stereo mode exclusively.
So I tossed around a couple of possibilities and settled on a Mirage Omni S8. Bought it from Vanns for $249.00 including shipping. I see they have them for $199.00 when they next arrive. It's really hard to choose such things as a subby for me because of all the variables and to me the cost of the larger subs just wasn't something I could justify.
I looked at Axiom first of course but I just couldn't find a fit budget and size wise.
Wanted to try an X-Sub but they're sold out till July. So pulled the trigger on the S-8.
Ordered on Thursday arrived today, Tuesday, in San Diego. No damage from shipping and looked just as advertised. Nice and compact which to me is a real bonus. Controls are easy to get to but not a lot of extra stuff as you can imagine.
If you look at the picture, the Onkyo sub lived behind the chair in the corner and performed just fine there, especially since I couldn't see it.
The first thing I did was pull out the chair and place the S-8 next to it and plugged them both in. Set up the S-8 to bypass its crossover and set the crossover in the receiver to 80Hz. Then I adjusted levels between the Onkyo and S-8 till they were similar and started switching the cable back and forth between them. I chose a cut from Fourplay called 101 Eastbound with a great kick drum in the intro.
At first I couldn't really tell much difference. That could be because there wasn't much difference, or because I couldn't tell, if you know what I mean.
I asked my wife to come join me and have a listen and we repeated the same kick over and over. Then I heard it. Not realy dramatic, but the kick drum started to sound like a kick drum through the S-8 and just a pleasant bass tone from the Onkyo. Again not really dramatic, but a noticable difference.
Then I started playing with position but pretty much stayed in the corner area. It was pretty boomy when moved out about 3 ft., better along the left wall and not much change out next to the M22. then I turned it around and faced it dead into the corner. See pic.
My wife and I both noticed it tighten up and quiet down a bit which is what were both looking for. So there it sits for now and am noticing a couple things. First thing is the recordings have SO much to do with the sound. I'm listening to a tune now that has this awful bass rumble even discernable through the M22's. Other tunes are realy just right for my listening tastes.
I'm also noticing the bass stack up in the corner farthest away from the subby. It's where I do my computer stuff and where I'm sitting now. Really quite noticable.
The thing I've noticed most though is how much better the M22's sound. There's like a layer of mud missing that hung around like a broke cousin. I'm listening longer and enjoying it more.
I would heartily recommend the Omni S-8 but I really have too much too learn to even say if it sounds good. It did however improve the sound of the M22's for our ears. Can't imagine it being any where near enough sub for HT and there is, I'm sure, no substitute for and Axiom EP 500 or 600.
Mostly just wanted to share some thoughts with all you folks and hope this helps someone decide on what's best for them.
Larry
