Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Anthem 520/720 Denon X4200?

Have you ever considered an AV Receiver that has pre-outs? Or am i just missing something?

Run the lower speaker off the built in amp, and run the upper speaker off the pre-out with it's own amp. What is the issue.

No way to level match is the issue.

Mark, shush.

Choose the amp that lets you. I have an Amp/One A that has level controls on the front. I know that Crown does, and some Rotel amps do as well.

Get an SPL meter and hook up the on board center channel and take a measurement. Then unhook it and hook up the external amp center. Adjust the amp level so the the SPL measurement is the same as what you got for the onboard. Bob's your uncle.

You're missing the point. There would be no need for these work arounds, if an AVR or Pre would have two center channels. Then you could level match, apply delay times, and room correction - correctly. I was running an over/under center before. A Y-connection into two amps. Another workaround, that worked, but not perfectly. And, you need two identical centers with any of the work arounds.

A follow up ? regarding Atmos itself..which speaker modules are the best choice to put on top of my 80's as using ceiling installed speakers are a no go looking at trying a simple 5.1.2 set-up first...is axiom going to build a add on module ?Thanks!!

I would not think of putting upward reflective sound as an option. On the Anthem unit, you can define the Atmos speakers as being in ceiling, height or dolby. if putting speakers into the ceiling is not going to work, then I would look to the second option and install height speakers.

This is the option that I am going to be using. (once I get my equipment cabinet made).

I don't think Axiom would produce the reflective type.
Being more of an audiophile brand reflections are a big no no, that's the reason they have the in walls.

Plus more of the add on modules are for the HTIB crowd who haven't grown out of the Boombox sound those systems produce.

Axiom is missing out on an area of the market if that is their positon. Plenty of people would like to try Atmos without the inherent difficulties associated with ceiling speakers. Also many people rent and can not cut holes in their ceiling. It would be nice to have an Axiom speaker that matches with the rest of the speakers I now own. Lucky for me I can build my own modules but many can not. It would be easy for axiom to build a small module that fit on top of the M80's etc and use the driver from the in ceiling speakers. BTW sound effects hardly need to be audiophile quality.

Richard

It's true, the Atmos market is enormous. <eye roll>

I have full 7.2.4 Atmos and I don't have holes in my ceiling, and I definitely have better sound from the overheads that reflective models. Reflective speakers tend to fall into 2 camps... Cheap "crap", and expensive "decent" sound. This is where people 1) don't want to invest into the sound format enough to make other changes and thus don't want to spend anything on it, or 2) have money to throw at the problem, even though it doesn't yield the ideal sound.

There seems to be a market in the middle that has a void, but even so, that is probably where a bulk of the "enthusiast" are at, and they are making efforts to get true overhead sound, and are going with in-ceiling or on-ceiling speakers.

So it is a distinct market oddity for sure, but I don't ever see Axiom jumping into that, nor do I fault them for it. They are not in the cheap "crap" or the expensive "decent" market. They do offer an enthusiast level in-ceiling option and have other options that work for on-ceiling as well.

As for sound effect quality, Atmos (and DTS:X) are more than just "sound effects." In order to do the proper 3D sound imaging in a room, you need the speakers to be as close as possible in make and model (timbre) to do it correctly. I mean, imagine trying to pan a sound between a front M80 and an overhead Bose cube (extreme example, I know) and you will not get smooth panning, let alone good ability to place that sound object anywhere in the theater space due to the lack of timbre matching and lack of pure output quality. Similarly, if you take a monopole front and try to use a highly diffused overhead reflected sound to do the same thing, it is definitely less precise sounding and cheaper options are borderline "muddy" sounding.

Now, we can't (although I am sure that someone, somewhere has) put M80s in all of the current 11 speaker locations, so there needs to be some compromise, but if one compromise is already a smaller overhead (or surround for that matter) speaker, then why add another compromise of either a low cost "crap" speaker or a non-monopole speaker that both will just muddy what Atmos can do?

If someone has no other choice, then so be it, but after too many compromises one would just come to the conclusion that "hmmmph... Atmos isn't really *that* great." When in actuality, their implementation is what is holding it back. AS for a reflected speaker on top of the M80s or other front towers, someone would need to blaze that trail on their own as I don't think that too many will be taking the time, effort, and even money, to try out difference modules as installing something else would end up just being easier than the experimentation.

PS. Yeah, I am a bit grumpy today too. I know it, and I am sure that it is coming across in all of my posts today. Maybe I just need a nap. My points still stand, but I probably could have been a little less "blunt" about them.