Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Advice from Axiom Owners They're here...

Amp problem solved. I am now the proud owner of a Pioneer Elite SC-55. Anxious to try it out along with the new speakers and subwoofer.

Congrats! I've always had good luck with Pioneer Elite gear.

Well, the new AVR is in place, the speakers are hooked up, and everything is cranking out nicely. The M22s are pretty good so far. Lots of clean detail. And in combination with the VTF-3 MK4, the sound is full without any notable gaps. I really like the 150 center. I can really hear the dialog when I'm supposed to. I am waiting for the Aperion Center (I swapped out the Grand center for the Forte; the Grand was so big, it wouldn't fit where I wanted to put it).

I used the MCACC setup on the SC-55; it's really improved since my 2006 VSX82. X-Curve, reverb, customizable settings all around. The SC-55 is really an engineering marvel. From the Video processor to the low input (only 350watts) and high output (140 per channel, all 9 channels). I watched my first bluray (The Patriot) and nearly ducked for cover with the shots pinging back and forth on the QS8's. I'm really thinking of getting two more for a 7.1 system (the SC-55 still leaves the front High/Wide for a zone-2). I've listened to more music in the last 72-hours than I have in two years. I guess that's what happens when you upgrade from cheap speakers.
I also hooked up my Project turntable and dusted off the old vinyl. Awesome. The Style Council's "Money Go Round" just oozed out of the speakers like honey. I think the best "new feature" I love is AirPlay. Damn, the trouble I went through in the "old days" to get my iTunes to play on my AMP. Now I just fire it up and wham, it's on my speakers.

Tomorrow night it's Gladiator,which was mastered in DTS TrueHD, so the audio should be impressive to say the least. I'm dying for the Jurassic Park Trilogy to be released soon on BluRay. The thumping of the T-Rex on this system should be just jaw dropping.

Just a side note, the old VSX82 is in fine working order. It wasn't the AMP at all. The problem seemed to be the mounting I used for the surrounds. I didn't want to drill a bunch of holes in my walls (one set for the Axioms and one for the Aperions) so I used a generic bracket and I guess the speaker wire or terminal was hitting and that's what was pre-empting the amp. So I figured I'd better mount them like they are supposed to be mounted. Now there are holes everywhere, but what the heck, that's what spackle is for.
BTW, if anyone knows how to connect banana plugs to the Axioms let me know. They don't fit down in the connector very well and on the surrounds, they stick out to far, preventing the speaker from sliding into the "T" mount. I just went with bare tinned wired for now.
So now I'm stuck with both amps if anyone wants to buy the VSX82.

Mark, good to hear how you're enjoying your Axioms. On wiring the QS8s, yes there's no room for banana plugs and there's usually no good reason not to stick with the bare wire. The ability to rapidly change the connections with banana plugs isn't ordinarily of significance with the surrounds.

Also good to hear that the shut-down of your VSX82 was just a bad connection. This is the second similar problem this week that turned out to be the wiring, not the receiver. The bad part, of course, is when an unnecessary new buy has been made.

Hi Mark,

I too have extra holes in my walls for different yet similar reasons. You are not alone.

He just purchased the QS8s, I thought the new ones came with the powered T-bracket?

Yes, they do. But I was trying to go easy on the hole drilling because I am trying out the Aperions too and their bracket is different. All good now. And the T-Bracket is a great product.

That's sounding an awful lot like you are well on your way to becoming a full time Axiom owner and not a trial tester.

So I'm really liking these axioms. I now have the aperions hooked up and listening with them. I really don't see any improvement over sound quality from the Axioms. And since the Aperions cost more, I'm definitely leaning towards the Axioms. They present a nice balanced sound stage. So now I'm thinking - keep the Axioms and with the $500+ savings, buy another pair of QS8 for Surround Back speakers for a 6.1 setup. I still have the front High/wide for a zone-3 setup, which I think the outdoor M3 would work nicely in. I have the say the pioneer SC-55 is awesome and so is the Hsu VTF-3 MK4.