Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Advice from Axiom Owners System upgrade

This is a copy/paste from another forum, I figured I would paste here to see what owners of the speakers I am thinking about purchasing think....

I am trying to decide what to upgrade when I actually can afford it.


My current system is:
Receiver - Onkyo TX-SR602 - http://www.us.onkyo.com/model.cfm?m=TX-SR602&p=i&class=Receiver

L/R - Pioneer S-H253B-K - http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/S...K.Support?tab=F

Center, Surround L/R, Rear Center - Polk Audio R15 - http://www.polkaudio.com/homeaudio/products/individual/bookshelf/r15/

Subwoofer - SVS PB10-ISD - basically... http://www.svsound.com/products-sub-box-10nsd.cfm

DVD/BR Player - Playstation 3
Game System - Wii
Game System - Xbox

Junk cable box

TV - Pitiful 19" CRT


Of course if I could afford to, as many of us here probably would, I would end up getting a full set of RBH speakers and the separates to power them.... but since that isn't an option.... I am considering getting either the VP150 center from axiom ( http://www.axiomaudio.com/vp150.html ) or the M80's. I am guessing one of those two upgrades would be the most beneficial.

I could get the center channel much sooner than the floorstanding ones. Right now I am in an apartment so the subwoofer is already more than enough. No one is in the next apartment so I was able to go over into there with my PS3 remote.... I could hear all the lyrics from music in 2.1 mode perfectly clearly with the receiver at -20dB to -15dB (calibrated approximate reference)

The room is L shaped, about 2200 cubic feet, but I hope to be able to use it if I move into a larger place.

I think the answer to your question depends mostly on your listening habits, your music preferences and whether you do more movie/tv watching or music listening.

I don't own the VP150. I have the VP100. I wish I went for the beast when I had the chance. But that's a different story. If you do a lot of movie watching, etc., then the Center might be the best place to upgrade first. A ton of sound information comes out of that speaker when watching TV, from dialogue to on screen effects. You probably already know this, though.

Note that the M80s are pretty power hungry, and take a 4 ohm load. You Pios probably take an 8 ohm load. Basically, check your receiver before you upgrade to M80s. Or check out the M60s (which I have and love).

I guess my advice is to upgrade the center first, then follow it with the M80s, then consider the QS8s - the QS8's totally rock, by the way. The best surround speakers I have ever heard.

Then again, perhaps I would buy a new TV first... That popped out at me as a more apparent weak link in your system than anything else (your lack of any Axiom products aside).

Good Call Capn.

Improving the rest would be nice to do but upgrading the TV will produce the most instant gratification.

Yeah, I had considered the same on the TV, but considering 1) The TV options I would pick would take quite some time to save up for and 2) I don't have the credit rating to just finance it.... was thinking maybe going ahead with a cheaper purchase such as the center channel... (Would also maybe give me a chance to see the quality of the axiom speakers without risking having to spend a ton to ship them back)....

For movies the TV doesn't bother me too much, but when I have to read something designed for large HD screens (most modern games) it drives me insane.

I mostly use the system for movies and TV anymore, if I do listen to music in front of all the speakers it is typically in a DSP mode like all channel output so I would still see a benefit from the center.

Just thought to note.... I am a little concerned about the 4 ohm but I am almost positive the 602 is rated for it.... Either way it has handled a LOT more than it will have to here. The SVS sub (sorry guys) seems to of taken a ton of the load off the main speakers/receiver (and when I was still living with my parents it also caused the siding to rattle a few times...)

Not to dissuade you in any way, but have considered saving up and enjoying a little delayed gratification. I cringe when I hear you talking about financing consumer electronics.

I meant I do not want to finance it as well as I couldn't even if I wanted to LOL

I agree on the TV first. Have you considered something like RP? You get a lot of bang for the buck there so a 50" tv would not set you back much more than M80s. This is what I did. I upgraded the TV first because my son and I like to watch movies on the weekend. Mind you, I was using a 19" CRT so that was more of an upgrade.

I don't know what those Pioneer speakers sound like, but if you are 50/50 music/TV or more, I would go with the M80s first. They will have by far the biggest impact on music.

If the focus is more on movies and there are lots of people watching (bodies outside the sweet spot) then I would go for the center channel first.

If there are just two of you watching movies most of the time, I think you could get away with using your receiver and the M80s to create a phantom center.

Edit: Oh wait, you are using a 19" TV. TV first!! I picked up my Sony 50A2020 for $1,400 as they were being discontinued. Coulda picked it up for 1100 if I was willing to wait past Christmas.

Sorry, should have asked about the budget. buying one or two pieces at a time is a great option and extends the fun and excitement for a while.