Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater New set up in Australia

Hi, I'm completely new to all this and I don't have a lot of knowledge about this stuff, but I have been wanting to set up a HT for a few years now. I have just been renovating the house and have made a room 22 x 16 feet as a dedicated HT room.

I have no equipment yet, but I've been researching on the net and I thought I might run this stuff by you guys to get your advice on some of the equipment I'm looking at.

I am looking at getting one of the new Epson projectors, the
EH-TW4500, due out in Australia next month.

The guy at a local Hi-Fi store has been talking me into buying a Marantz AV SR7002 and Marantz BD7004 Blu-Ray player, that I can get for a pretty good price.

The Hi-Fi guy wants to sell me Paradigm, Monitor series speakers,
but from what I have read, I am leaning towards Axioms Epic 60-500 HT 5.1 speaker system. (The Paradigms are around the same price)

How does that sound? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Also, has anyone from Australia brought in Axiom speakers etc and how would I go for warranty?

Thanks

Welcome David. There is one forum member from Australia who is on the audition list:

jmone in Sydney and looks like he has the Epic 60-500.

There are a couple of other members in Australia, Shane White in Perth comes to mind but I’m not sure what he owns. Also you could do a search for “Australia” and see if any other member have mentioned being there. Also you could email Axiom and see if they have any local connections they could hook you up with so you could have a listen. You could also ask them about how warranty issues are handled for Australia.

I think the Epic 60-500 5.1 is an excellent choice for that size room for both movies and music. I’ve used both M22s + EP500 and M80s + EP500 in my 13 x 21 foot room and both combinations sounded great so I think the M60 + EP500 would also work great for you. Also, even though I have 4 QS8s I only use 2 of them for 5.1 because they work so well I don’t feel there’s any need or benefit for me to use 7.1 for now. Of course others opinions may vary.

I think Epson makes great projectors with excellent black levels and would be a good choice for any use. I’m not acquainted with any Marantz equipment so I can’t comment on those.

Besides what you’ve listed have you been looking at any other equipment? I can’t see much sense in making other recommendations not knowing how much different brands cost down under.

Cheers,
Dean

Another 'K' eh?

JohnK...
FredK...
& DavidK....



... it looks like this 'K' thing is spreading!!! I fear if we don't kill off all of these 'K's now, while we have the chance, one day soon we will ALL be a 'K'!!!

Hi Dean,

Thanks for your reply and advice, especially regarding the QS8s. I sent an email to Axiom regarding their warranty over here.

With reference to other equipment I have looked at and prices in Australia. Our dollar is currently around 93 US cents, so it's around the same as yours.

The Epson projector EH-TW4500 is $4799. The Local dealer has tried to talk me into me a Mitsubishi or a Sharp projector, both at around $5500 to $6000. But I think the write ups on the Epsons is better.

Th Marantz AV SR7002 is $2999, but I can get it for $2000 and the Marantz BD7004 Blu-Ray is $1399. I have looked at some Pioneer units online that are of similar price to these, but haven't spoken to anyone who has recommended them.

The guy at the Hi Fi shop gave me a brochure on Denon equipment and said that should be an option as well.

Take care
David

I can tell you that I bought an Epic 60-500 earlier this year - sight unheard so to speak. I did audition Pardigm - I think they were Studio 60s and ultimately found that the sound was very similar. There was no one with in 6 hours drive time from me that had or was willing to audition for me.

I am thrilled with my setup and expect that you would be too. All my concerns just "drifted away" once I got mine set up.

Not sure what your concern is about warranty, it should be no different than anywhere else in the world. Axiom speakers carry a 5 yr warranty, if you have issues you contact Axiom.

Hello David,

And welcome to the Axiom forums. If one of my Axiom colleagues hasn't already replied to you regarding the warranty, the speakers and subwoofers are designed so that drivers and amplifiers are easily replaceable by the owner. We send you replacment parts by FedEx Air so there is no need to return large speaker enclosures.

When you check out the Axiom web site, be sure and enter "Australia" in the drop-down menu at the upper right-hand corner of the Home page, and the prices will read out in Australian dollars, including FedEx air shipping. The additional charges on delivery are duty and VAT, which are quoted at the top of the product page.

Regards,
Alan

I've always like Marantz stuff, but you should be able to spend an awful lot less on a BD player and get as good/better output quality. I'm not sure if the new Oppo is available for markets other than North America, but reviewers are calling it their new reference, irregardless of price. In not Oppop, I'd be looking at a Panasonic or Samsumg.

Any of those three can be had for less than the Marantz...

DavidK,
I would not recommend the 7002 for one reason. You cannot perform any upgrades on your own. For example, there have have been two or three upgrades since the original 7002. I'm not sure if the dealer you're buying the gear is authorized to perform the upgrade or not.

I have the 8001, then bought 8002 and ended up trading it in for Denon 3808 (so I have 8001 and 3808). I would recommend the 3808 over 7002.

7002 only has Audyssey MultEQ and you cannot apply Audyssey corrections when using high def codecs (master audio, TruHD etc). 3808 has MultEQ XT and you can apply Audyssey corrections to all input.

I have the Epic80/500 and couldn't be happier. I'm sure you'll be very happy with the 60/500 setup.

But do give more thought to your AVR choice.

Do yourself a favor and follow Mark's advice and get an Oppo BDP-83. Review

I didn’t know if it was easily available in Australia but apparently it is: Merlin Audio

Looks like they sell for $1,075 delivered and modified for zone free.

I took delivery of mine a week ago and without a doubt it’s the best player I’ve ever owned. It was only about $550 USD delivered but I would gladly have paid twice that. IMO the only reason not to get a BDP-83 is if you also want to play games in which case get a Sony PS3 (but not sure what that would cost you)


Cheers,
Dean