Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Advice from Axiom Owners Underwhelmed. Receiver to blame?

I just received my new Epic 50 system from Axiom, and after setting everything up, I'm a bit underwhelmed by the performance. I can certainly appreciate the great clarity these speakers are producing, but they seem to lack the 'oomph' I was expecting. I suspect my receiver may be to blame. I currently have a Yamaha RX-V630, which outputs 75 Watts/channel. I'm considering upgrading to a Denon, either 2803 or 3803. Would I notice a marked improvement by switching to one of these? And if so, how much more of an improvement would the 3803 bring over the 2803? Worth the $200 premium?

What exactly do you mean by underwhelmed?

What type of room do you have this setup in? Did you properly calibrate evyerhting, or did you just put it in a spot, plug in the speakers and start listening to it?

I personally dont think that the change in receiving will make a huge difference (maybe a BIG placebo effect). Most likely its a positioning/calibrating issue. I was pretty disappointed until I took a couple hours to sit, play, and calibrate.

Fade, welcome, and be assured that it almost certainly has nothing to do with your receiver, and that no "upgrade" in that area is necessary. It's difficult to evaluate "oomph". There may be something in your calibration of the sub and speakers that needs adjusting, or has your previous experience made you expect some unnaturally heavy sound which the Axioms won't do when set properly? Experiment.

Define "oomph". When I think "oomph" its usually related to the sub.

But, I can assure you I have the model below in that receiver lineup and I'm not complaining about "oomph". I have the HSU STF3 though.

Proper setup will make a world of difference. Plus, the Axioms don't throw any muddyness at you which, if you are used to, will sound kinda "oomphy".

I'm unfamiliar with that receiver, but I noticed HUGE improvements in sound quality when I switched from a circa '94 Onkyo receiver to an '02 Denon. I've determined it was likely the difference in the '94 Onkyo CD players processors vs. the modern Denon processors. If you aren't using a digital out from your CD player to your receiver, I would suggest you try that and then see what's what.

Fade, I agree with most of the reply's you've already received in this thread and your problem is most likely a tuning issue. How do you have your M50 mains configured..(large or small)? I think the general concensus of people on this board would recomend a "small" setting so that all the low frequencies are sent to the sub. If you do decide to upgrade the receiver though, the main thing the 3803 has over the 2803 is a feature called video uplink which means if you run your video signals through the eceiver, you can elect to have it convert coaxial and/or composite signals to component video signals and only run 1 cable (component video) to your TV/monitor. I have the 2803 and am very happy with it's featues and performance. Again, play with the tuning of the speakers first though.

Bob

Greetings,
I have the Epic 50 system as well, along with a Yamaha htr5660 receiver, which is the equivalent of the rx-v 640. Take a look at the March 2003 Axiom newsletter in the archives about setting up a subwoofer. The article mentions setting the M50's initially to "large". On my Yamaha there is a setting in the subwoofer options for "both", which routes the bass to the main speakers and the subwoofer at the same time...you might want to try that as well.
b.

Thanks for the advice. After playing around with the settings in the receiver and subwoofer placement, things are starting to sound better.

Bob4's reply reminded me of something that may or may not be a factor. With that Yamaha, if you were in stereo mode and had the M50s set "large", all the main channel bass would go to the M50s and none to the sub unless you set the sub "both". In general, put the sub in the tightest corner behind the M50s, set all speakers "small", and set subwoofer only, not "both". Since the receiver is then handling the crossover at 90Hz, the crossover in the sub is just interfering, so turn it all the way up to get it as far out of the way as possible.