Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Advice from Axiom Owners Bang for the Buck

Chuck,

Great choice! I have had my VTF-2 for a month now and it kicks butt with home theater as well as 2 channel listening.

Mark

I think most people set the VTF in extension mode and forget about it. That being said, I don't know that there is much in the way of comparison out there yet between the STF and VTF. Is the STF going to be a comparable sub to the VTF-2, or will the sound be not quite as good? Time will tell on that one I guess.

I was able to hear a prototype of an STF at CES 2003 in January. I asked Dr. Hsu (yup -- he was there in person) what the difference was between that sub and the VTF-2. He said the STF was not tuneable, but the VTF was. Other than that, he told me there wasn't a real difference. (This is referring to the STF model that uses the same woofer size as the VTF-2.)

Just set the HSU up and from the initial listenings everything sounds great just to need the wife to go shopping or something if you know what I mean.

Now does it make any sense or is there an added benefit to purchasing a separate amplifier for my front speakers. Onkyo has an amplifier M-282 which I am assuming matches or at least closely matches the current amplifiers in the receiver. So I shut off the A speakers from the receiver and leave it to power the center, the rears and the sub. Or will I only get an improvement if I purchase a "nicer" amplifier.

I picked up 3 Onkyo M282s and use a Sony STRDB1070 as a front end on my office HT system. System is much 'punchier,' handles demanding music and HT much better than when I used only the Sony.

Below are the specs for the Rotel RB-1050 will this amp be sufficient to power my m22TI's it is only rated at 70w x 2 but my listening area does not allow for extreme volume

Thanks again,

Model RB-1050
Continuous Power Output
Power Configurations
Watts/Channel
all channels driven, 70w x 2
unbridged, 8 ohm load,
20 to 20k Hz, 0.06% THD
70w x 2
Total Harmonic Distortion
(20 Hz - 20 kHz)
cont. rated power 0.03%, maximum
one-half rated power 0.03%, maximum
one watt per channel 0.03%, maximum

Input Overload Level 1.0V / 33 kOhms
Frequency Response

Signal to Noise Ratio (IHF A) 116 dB

Chuck,

I've got a 4 year-old Onkyo 70 wpc receiver that drives my M22ti's cleanly and clearly with plenty of room to spare.

You've got nothing to worry about with that Rotel.

Chuck, the Rotel is conservatively rated and would have plenty of power for your M22s, but so does your THX certified 777. The separate amp is highly unlikely to make a significant improvement; save your money. Although the power is fine, the features on the 777 are getting a bit dated(e.g. no DPLII, etc.) and if you want to get something, a new receiver with up to date features would be one way to make a better use of the money.

Thanks Johnk for the suggestion. I never actually considered upgrading the whole receiver but since it is a couple years old it might be worth looking into. Which receiver(Brand) should I consider for all the latest features. I am picking up the Rotel locally Tuesday so I will audition it and if it doesn't make any improvements I might just upgrade the whole receiver.

Thanks,

Chuck, I wasn't really recommending that you get a new receiver, but rather that it might be a better use of your money instead of getting a two-channel amp that essentially would only partially duplicate what your 777 already does well. A new receiver coming out in about two weeks with a bunch of new features, including automatic speaker calibration and equalization, is the Yamaha 1400.