Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Bright Fears!

ok. Here's the situation. I've pretty much narrowed down my choices for setting up some HT. I've decided on Axiom or Ascend, but am leaning towards Axiom b/c everyone talks about how great their sound is for HT. This setup will be primarily for HT. I do have some fears however. I know Axioms are a bit forward sounding, but this may be the reason they sound great for HT. But my listening area may be a little lively and I'm afraid that it may sound a little bright, so maybe a more laid back speaker would be better? My listening area is 16x16, but it has a vaulted ceiling that goes up to 12 ft or so. This will probably cause more reflections in the sound. The room also opens up into the kitchen which is a pretty large space as well, 20x14. It also vaults, but only to about 10 ft in one spot. Before I go to the trouble of auditioning, I was wondering if anyone has used Axioms in a similar room. I hate to go to all the trouble of demoing and have to pay shipping charges back from the States. I've been looking at the m60's, vp150, and QS8'S for surrounds. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

A little more info on the rooms interior would be helpfull, ie. hardwood flooring etc. but I think the Axiom brightness stems from their clarity but it can usually be dulled by a treble adjustment if needed. I personally don't find them bright at all when I had them(M22s) in a room with laminate flooring and a huge 8'x5' window right beside them.

Have you tried PMing Aime or Andrea. They can usually find someone close by that might not be on the board.

But your house doesn't sound much different than most around here and as you can see we all like the Axiom sound.

What you could do is try the M60's and if you like them order the rest and if it is within the 30 days I believe they still honor the 5% HT discount, if you end up not liking them, the shipping charge would be alot less. Some have bought M3s or 22's just to hear the Axiom sound and then ordered up the full system after. Once again if you really don't like the sound then the shipping is less and if you do then you have a really nice set of bookshelves for another room.

With the exception of carpets vs. hardwood, my room is about as bright as it gets. And I love my Axioms in this room. If I turn it up too loud, the sound gets very messy but this is of no consequence in practice because I only need half watt or less nominal per channel in this room for 85dB.

Nice room! I actually wish I had that kind of room to work with. Mine's in my living room and can't be closed off. I'll try PMing and see if there is someone in my area. If not, I guess I can try ordering a pair. The vaulted ceiling's are what concern me. A lot of reflections.

Hi SoundMan;

We actually have an a-frame house and we've never had a problem with too many reflections, for what it's worth. By the way, just to clarify, our return shipping depot is in Michigan, and then we collect things from there - no need for you to return things to Canada.

Soundman, I have M22's and QS8's in my approx 12x20' living room setup (also have a HSU sub and planning on VP150) which is hardwood floor next to a 4'x10' picture window.

Bright is not a word I would use to describe it. Clean, clear, detailed are more accurate words to use. Everybody has different tastes, so an audition is probably the best, but go listen to some Klipsch and you will probably hear bright or shrill speakers...the M22's are much easier on the ears than those.

Good luck with your quest.

SM, this is really a function of room and personal preference unfortunately.
I have a large family room (approx. 18x 16) with raised ceilings (10'), hardwood floors, no soft or heavy window coverings and the remaining walls are bare or wood panel covered (near the fireplace).
It opens off the side into the large kitchen and eating area (approx. 18x18), again with all hard surfaces.
EVERY speaker i've had in this area sounds unflattering though it has been awhile since i had my Axioms up in this room. I presently use Tannoy Definition D700s for this area which are larger than my M60s.