Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Advice from Axiom Owners Raising M80's off the Floor

The pos bass module probably has a crossover built in. That means that your M80s were receiving only the frequencies meant for the pos cubes--not much.

Yeah Lee, you should have mentioned the Bose Bass Module. It'd be hard to find speakers of a quality so low that the BBM would have a synergistic effect upon them. Now you can really enjoy that great classical music.

Glad you solved the problem. Enjoy your Axioms!

Well I am amazed...I'm currently listening to Dvorak's 7th Symphony (Vienna Phil/Myung-Whun Chung on DG) and it sounds marvelous. Yesterday I tested the new set up with a SACD recording of Capriccio Espagnol & Russian Easter Overture with Dorati/London Sym on Mercury. These pieces have lots of percussion (Rimsky-Korsakov was a master in his use of orchestration and he is a master in scoring percussion effectively). This recording made in the 50's sounds like it was recorded yesterday and is the most exciting and sparkling recording of these pieces I have yet to hear. The Axioms really shine however the tweeters in the right speaker seemed to break up at a certain point in the overture and then recover. I am unsure of the cause. I checked the wiring and tightened them down and have not heard any break up or any kind of distortion in the same passage since. Could this have been caused by my old 55 watt Denon? All other drivers were working even when the tweeters sounded like they shorted out briefly. Any thoughts?

Sounds good, Lee, I'm listening to Ilya Murometz at the moment. My only thought is that if you can now play the same passage without experiencing the same problem maybe those Russians at Easter loosened up a connection which hadn't previously been quite tight enough to hold them. You're right though that it should have affected all the drivers at that moment, not just the tweeters.

Edit: however, just in case something is loose internally in the right speaker, if that ever happens again, switch the speakers around to see if that changes the result.

It's kind of handy to have a CD around like the "Rives audio Test CD 2". It plays through several frequencies from 20 hz to 20,000 hz. The last time I played it, I noticed a rattling sound coming from one of my 7 tweeters. I tightened the screws on it and that helped a lot.

Hello Captain,

I'm delighted you solved your M80 problems, no thanks to the Bose "subwoofer". It was really bothering me that you weren't getting the stunning performance the M80s are capable of.

By the way, I love Capriccio Espagnol and lots of Rimsky-Korsakov. If you like that, you'd likely like Capriccio Italien by Tchaikovsky, which has lots of percussion and rythmic drive. I first had the latter on vinyl in the late '50s, with Dorati conducting the Detroit Symphony. It was also on Mercury. I've never replaced it on CD.

Some of those 1950s recordings did suffer from occasional tape saturation on orchestral peaks, and that can't be removed by re-mastering. I doubt that is what you're hearing as breakup but there's an outside chance it might be. You could verify that if you have a good pair of headphones and listen to the same passage on the headphones with the speakers muted. If the breakup was in the source material, you'd hear it on the headphones (this is assuming that your old Denon doesn't have preamp overload on the input). That's also a stretch, but I've seen it happen occasionally.

Regards,
Alan

Hi Alan et al: I've had this SACD for several years and also had it in vinyl, cd and SACD and know it intimately. Not all transfers to a different medium are successful. This one is "almost" true to the original vinyl. This is the first time the tweeter cut out (I have played this recording on two other speaker systems). I don't think it is in the recording. I did notice in this one place in the overture when the tweeters in the right speaker cut out (just for a brief moment) and as the orchestra was building up to crescendo...they came alive again. I don't know what this means technically...could there be a loose connection to the tweeter that briefly cut out due to a response to vibration from source material? I can certainly check that, but that is what I suspect since I haven't experienced it since and I've played the piece at least twice since. I couldn't tell if only one of both tweeters cut out, but it sounded as if both did. It may also be, but I think unlikely, the cd player I was using a 90's era Technics 5cd changer that has it's poor tracking bad moments occasionally.

By the way Alan, I don't believe Dorati ever recorded with Detroit in the old Mercury days, it was Paul Paray who did. Dorati took over the reins of Detroit well after Paray in the 80's and when he did he recorded for Decca. I believe he rerecorded the Tchaikovsky caprice then. Dorati did initially record Capriccio Italien with the London Symphony in the 50's on Mercury and was part of the classic "1812" Overture album which also included Wellington's Victory (Beethoven).

Hi John, which Gliere were you listening to. I favor Stokowski with the Houston Symphony(old Capital but now EMI). The latest Telarc recording of this work with Botstein (CD & SACD)is in much better sound and although not as dramatic or interpretively intuitive as ole "Leo Stokes," it seems to be a great favorite of many, but some would argue. Have you heard or do you have his 2nd? It is quite good...less mature and less complex than Ilya (it isn't a programmatic piece like Murometz), very 19th century Russian sounding and to me quite enjoyable. You can get it for a "song" on Amazon...recommend Macal with the New Jersey Symphony on Delos..a truly idiomatic performance in great sound and has much better detail and drive than the popular Chandos recording with Downes conducting. Thanks again for all your comments. I like CatBrat's suggestion...where can I get the test cd?

Hi, Lee; just finished listening to Jim Svejda on the KUSC stream as he finished with the Kalinnikov 1st that Svetlanov did. Re Dorati/Detroit/Mercury, I believe that you're correct.

Yeah, if the tweeter briefly "cut out" rather than continued in a distorted fashion, it would indicate a loose connection rather than an inadequacy in the source material or the amplification.

I've listened to all the Gliere 3rds available. Fortunately, by way of access to two statewide college and public library systems I'm able to borrow nearly any CD online. I like Stokowski, but it's far too short. My clear favorite, somewhat surprisingly, which I bought, is the Johanos. I also borrowed the Downes and Macal 2nds and preferred the Macal, but wasn't quite enough impressed with the piece in general to buy for my collection.

I've used a Stryke Audio test CD(apparently no longer available)for about 10 years and its a good idea to have one. The Rives CD is available on the Rives Audio site for $21, and there are others of a similar nature.

Hi Captain,

Oops. Failing memory. . .you're absolutely correct. It was Paul Paray who led the Detroit Symphony. I'll have to find that old LP and check it to see which version I have.

To check the tweeter connections (check the two midranges while you're at it), just undo the four Allen screws for each driver on the front baffle, and carefully remove the driver. The connections are push-on, so make certain they're firm. Tighten them with needle-nose pliers if necessary.

Re-install the drivers and don't overtighten the Allen screws--snug is sufficient.

Sometimes rough handling in shipping can loosen the push-on connectors. We'd use soldered connections but that would defeat the self-servicing and easy driver replacement which the push-ons enable. Besides, learning to solder well and avoid cold connections takes some skill and time to acquire.

Regards,
Alan