Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater I might need some help!

So the other day my wife walked in the living room and asked if I had a problem... my name is Michael and I've been an audioholic for three months... lol

Needless to say, i've been pretty surprised at how well Axioms compare to other speakers. it's shocking when you buy speakers that cost more than twice as much and they either sound the same or worse! I have to say i've learned first hand of the audio perfection AXIOM has.

I have learned Axioms are more versatile than some other speakers in a wider range of room sizes. Excellent dynamics which affords them a little advantage when stretched to bigger spaces.

Looks like you have options for a solid bedroom or computer setup!

Oh yeah...she's gonna hip toss you outa the house and into the water.

It looks like the M3s from your shop could use trading in for v4. M3v4 has a real cross-over. I actually enjoy listening to them. I like the M50v4 better but then again, those are bigger so they may not work for everyone.

The v4 M3 and M2s are already on order Mojo! I've been experimenting with different tweeters in the Axioms. After lots of listening, I have v1's, ti's, and v4s. There is no doubt that the v4 tweeters sound more similar to the higher end speakers than I initially thought.

I ordered a few of those bookshelves, but the other day I walked into a best buy and they were rebuilding their speaker room... 60-80% off all open box, lets just say the speaker gods were very good to me that day! I also picked up a demo Yamaha RX-1080 receiver for $500! How can you say no to that! I've been shocked at how much better all these speakers sound with this receiver. A bad receiver can really screw up a good speaker!

That's really great to hear. I'm really looking forward to hearing your opinion between the old M3 and the new ones. Do try to get the M3 and M2 out into your room even temporarily. Of course comparisons between brands is always cool.

If that's the latest 1080, I'm really curious to hear what you think of the Surround: AI.

Yes it has the surround:AI, but i've yet to reach a conclusion. Right now it's a pain because my remote does not have a button to disable it and when it's on you can't change anything including all DSPs, 2ch or 7ch. So I have to walk my lazy ass over to disable it. A very small price to pay when it opens your ears to how receivers can really shape the sound of a speaker.

There should be disclaimers on every speaker manufacture's website that says, "We build the best speakers just so receivers and sound environments can screw them up".

Mojo, do you have any feedback on the Yamies AI feature. I'm using a Sony x800 for Ultras. Picked up a few disc's including the new Back To The Future in ultra and what HUGE difference in sound and video, it's a classic! Loving the significantly increased sound quality in Ultra 4k discs over streaming. Can't quite figure out if the AI is doing me any favors though. What are your thoughts on that?
What is your preferred DSP? Are you a DTS guy or dolby?

I don't know anything scientific about the Surround: AI. Supposedly it analyzes "the scene" and dynamically "adjusts channels" to more properly image the sound. I don't know what is meant by "the scene" and "adjusts channels". Is a scene a frame? Does channel adjustment mean volume and tone? And what is the practical effect on a listener?

You may not hear the effect due to the topology of your speakers.

I am generally a "Let my Onk pick the decoder automatically" guy. There are times when I over-ride it though. Nora Jones - Live in New Orleans now sounds horrible in Dolby Digital. I switch it to stereo and it's more enjoyable. Even more enjoyable is PLII or Neo (those are simulated surround settings).

I'll just add in here that I am running 4.5. I have total holography. I see no need to go to Atmos. Stereo is absolutely magnificent and holographic also.

Edit: I just found this totally laughable article by Yamaha. What a piece of shit! I would have been totally embarrassed posting this. What this describes is what every multi-channel receiver has done since the dawn of time. Absolutely deplorable. I really despise technical writers who not only aren't technical but also cannot write. Joy Frye, take a hike. You're such a waste of time.

Then again, maybe Surround:AI is nothing but marketecture.

https://hub.yamaha.com/what-is-surroundai/

Hmmmmm...I would not be at all surprised if what Surround: AI does is rob power from one channel to support another. It would do this by analyzing dynamics and ensuring those dynamics are preserved while less dynamic channels are sacrificed. I worked on something like this 18 years ago. We called it Dynamic Power Allocation. I should have called it DynaPower: AI. Missed my chance.

First, while reading your response i'm listening to Norah Jones (sunrise - live itunes festival) she is the best! With that tid bit aside, I can say I do believe that yamie's Ai is a marketing thing designed to help those who are not familiar with DSP. Yamaha does not seem to delete old DSP choices. You have so many choices with a yamie. After listening, I would not be surprised if it's not just going back and forth from the latest Dolby to DTS.