Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Couple Speaker Related Questions

Hello all, I have some questions regarding my upcoming Home Theater purchase, I was hoping to get a bit of advice, as I'm pretty new to the Home Theater scene.

I currently have an H/K AVR320, and a HSU VFT-2 sub, both of which I plan to keep. The system will be going into my living room which is about 15'x20' with usual couch, coffee-table, etc. I'm going to be going strictly with a 5.1 system, as there's no way to accomodate a 7.1 system. Usage will be 80% HT, 20% music.

I've finally convinced the better half that we should get a decent, unobtrusive system. Big floor-standing speakers are out, it will have to be bookshelves. I'm looking to spend around $1000 or less for the fronts, center and rears.

The speakers must be available via mail order due to my location.

The speakers I'm considering are:

Axiom M3ti - fronts
Axiom QS4 - rears
Axiom VP100 - center

Couple of questions: (finally)

1) Will the AVR320 will be sufficient to power speakers in HT? I'm not looking for reference levels, just good clean sound. I'm thinking I can always add an external amp later, if I really need it. Just want to make sure I'm going to be able to get decent sound in the meanwhile.

2) I've also read here ( or somewhere ) that the VP150 sounds better. Is it really that noticable? I'm worried that the larger 150 may overpower the M3's. I'm also worried that the VP150 is pretty large, almost 10" longer than the VP100.

Thanks a bunch.

Just out of curiosity, since you are using a subwoofer, why don't you go with either the M2i or the M22ti instead of te M3ti? They are both much more linear than the M3 (as the M3ti has a large midbass hump followed by a recessed midrange and an over-emphasized treble response). If you go with the M2i and subwoofer, you won't be missing any bass. Look at these frequency response graphs:




Axiom M3ti


Axiom M2i


Axiom M22ti

The center looks good, but if I was you, I'd look to see if I could spring up to the QS8's. The reason being that the QS8's use the same drivers found in the M2i and M22ti and VP100.

This is also another reason to go with the M2i and M22ti, instead of the M3ti (because they match the center channel). I believe that most everyone on this forum agrees that the M2i sounds much more like the M22ti than the M3ti. Reviewers often place it as being 'better' than the M3ti with the exception of the bass response (which is a non issue to you.)

In reply to:

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I was stunned the first time I played Bruce Springsteen’s The Ghost of Tom Joad [Columbia 67484] over the M2is. These speakers are clean and precise without chestiness or boxy colorations. Bass is obviously lacking, something I’ll expand on later, but the image hovered in space solidly, and the level of detail was inspiring. Audiophiles pay big bucks for this type of sound, and this speaker was delivering it at a fraction of the price. What’s more, except for the bass, the M2i sounds even better than the M3Ti SE to my ears.

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In reply to:

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The M2i doesn’t hold back -- it presents a collage of sound that is vivid and exciting, and its level of neutrality is astounding at the price. The M3Ti sounded great, but it never sounded this exact, and that’s why I think the M2i sounds better. In my experience, the entry point to this type of refined performance recently dropped with the introduction of the $500-per-pair Energy Connoisseur C-3. The M2i can’t match the bigger C-3’s bass extension or overall output, but its sound is similar and, of course, almost half the price.

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In reply to:

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All the Axiom bookshelf speakers can benefit from subwoofer reinforcement; it’s the M2i that begs to be mated with one -- and not just because it has the least extension. The way it rolls off in the bass seems to make it the easiest to match to a sub, and this highlights its prime advantage over the other two Axiom speakers if you choose to go that route.

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The above quotations are taken from the Soundstage review of Axiom M2i.

Responding to your first question, I believe that the AVR320 should be able to provide more than sufficient power for decent volume levls in your room size, cleanly.

About the second question, I think that the VP100 would be a better match for your system personally. It would look rather odd to have a center channel much bigger than your main speakers. (How big is the TV by the way? That can make a big difference.) Also, for the question about sound quality; I wouldn't think it would be too much different, as they are using the same exact drivers (just 3 midranges instead of 2 and 2 tweeters instead of one). Of course, the dispersion pattern will be much different because the array is TMMMT instead of MTM like in the 100. I would still, however, go with the 100 center (and if you really want to spend the extra money, spend it on the M22ti's so you don't have to use a sub with certain music).

I agree.

Your receiver is plenty powerful enough for the Axioms.

I'd also suggest this setup:

M2i mains
VP100 center
QS8 surrounds

The M2i's are going to be clearer, and more detailed than the M3ti's. Since you're 80% HT, that's more important than the smoother/fuller sound of the M3ti. With your sub, the M2i's would be a better HT match.

Most people use the M3ti's in a small room for mostly music. It's kind of considered the "bedroom" speaker.

I have the M22s, VP150 and QS4s and I must say that people here seem to always give the bigger is better speech and say toss the QS4s and go with QS8s. Bottom line is if you are looking to upgrade from the M2/M22, VP100, QS4 combo I would look first at the center, not the surrounds as you are getting much more "use" out of the center than the surrounds in even the most demanding movies (Saving Private Ryan, LOTR). The price difference in the surrounds is $160 US and the difference in the centers is only $130 yet I think the value of the center upgrade far outweighs the value of the surrounds.

Many people have upgraded from the VP100 to the VP150 but I bet not many who started with the QS4s felt the need to upgrade to the QS8s.

Frank

First off, thanks for the replies and input, they're greatly appreciated.

In response to the TV question, I have a 55" RP HDTV, recently aquired, and that's what's really kicked off this entire mess.

I hadn't considered the M2i's as an viable alternative with a sub, mostly due to ignorance. Guess that's why I came here and asked some questions! I'll certainly give them some thought now. You raised some valid points about the M2i's and VP100's matching better, hadn't thought of/known about that either.

The big advantage I can see with the M3Ti's is being able to use them somewhere else as standalones sometime in the future.

Although I would like nothing better than to get the QS8's for the reasons you mentioned, they are substantially larger, and then I run into spousal unit approval issues.

I think I'm pretty much committed to the QS4's. I like the idea of a dipole, quadpole or whatever they're called, and since room constraints will require the rears to be with 3-4 feet of the couch, I think the more diffuse sound the offer over convential speakers would be a plus in my case.

I'm afraid the M22i's are out, again, size being an issue. It's a question of compromise, I can do the HT thing, within certain limits. Cost is not that much of an issue, within a few hundred here and there.

I do have a plan. Start small, once the wife gets used to the great sound, I can upgrade. Move the fronts to the bedroom or office, get some larger floor-standers for fronts, etc.

I'll mull over my options, then make some kind of move.

Thanks again.

Qs8's are not much larger than QS4's. Your spouse will not find them large at all. I used to have QS4's, but I then upgraded to QS8's, they do not really seem that much larger. The QS8's are so superior to the 4's, that I would greatly recommend them. The 4's use a completely different tweeter than every other speaker in the Axiom lineup, so they do not match up with the quality of the other speakers.