Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion The Water Cooler Boxing Day Sale

Great deals to be had in the bstock and refurb store.

Just picked up 2x EP500 (one walnut and one cherry -to be both gloss black once they hit the garage.) The page didn't update they were gone... I hope I didn't buy them after they were already sold to someone else. eeeek! lol.

Anyway, I'm sure Axiom will have lots of happy customers this week getting great deals!!

So tempting to run up the credit card. lol.

Trevor, I just picked up 2 x EP500 - one walnut espresso and one boston cherry.

Mine did that as well, but eventually disappeared from the page - Maple EP500

Natural maple is one of the nicest looks IMO ... have an natural maple EP500 and its a very clean and sharp look. If you see one at a great price ... Buy it ... I.E. Press that buy button before someone else does...

I'm not sure pressing the buy button first guarantees you the sale. I wonder how that works. Is the buy command time-stamped, and if so what is the reference for the time-stamp and is it used for establishing purchase priority? Or is the priority established by the arrival of the buy message into a FIFO?

You can see this shit is really complicated and it's a wonder we can buy anything online at all!

I was watching the maple but wanted a pair. Glad you snagged it.

Did you really Mojo? Lol. That would make 7 or? Awesome.

I dunno if I ended up getting em..... See I guess.

I did indeed! Maybe I'm getting the boxes and amps and you're getting the drivers?

If there's any dispute, you are welcome to have them. As long as I can visit with them some time. Lol!

Just pulled the trigger on a refurb VP180HPv4 Boston Cherry with inverted cabinet. With the added loyaltee reward, it came down to a irresistible price. My current VP180v2 will rejoin the good ol' M80v2 in my family room!

Yeah, I actually bought it on Christmas day and have been chatting by email with Ian about he details, as I lost one a few months ago and did not want to lose this one!

My main colour choice was Mansfield Beech for M80's, 2 EP350's and VP160. I have QS8's that are Maple. In chatting with Ian some years ago, he mentioned that there was not a big demand for Mansfield and if I saw anything I should buy it.

I guess I will eventually swap everything for maple!

The maple doeslook nice. Friend has whitewashed maple M5s. Very nice.

Be a great time to build a whole setup if black works. Lots of options. Really great for them to do this!

I used whitewashes maple for the family room QS10s to blend better with the light gray walls. It’s very close to natural maple ... kind of like a very translucent white over the natural finish.

Rich, aren't you shy a few subs?

Nine. An 800, two 600s, four 500s and two 125s. All v4. I'd really like a 175 and 350 too but that might be ridiculous, huh? LOL!

It looks like the page was updated and subs still up there. Maybe they had a bunch. Doh! Coulda got matching.... oh well. Painting fir behind screen anyhow.

Just let them know you want matching.

Edit: scratch that. You may enjoy the different finishes as much as I do!

I’m sure you have enough for both of us

Reach out to Ian via email and ask him to adjust. He is more than likely willing to accommodate.

A lot of gear was sold including active LFRs with dual 1500s. Those warm cherry M3s looked pretty sweet.

Shipped! Good thing i'm on vacation until the 6th!

Eric, I'd be interested in knowing of any audible differences between the 180 v2 and v4.

It will be interesting. I'm expecting uneven results. I played with that quite a bit which is why I was going to buy a new one sometime in 2021. But at 650$ (after all the rebates), I could not wait any longer, especially not 21 days! I suspect it is not a wood finish (but it is HPv4). My D2v allows for 2 speaker config and switching from one to the other is fast. On my laptop I have ARC files for both sub/no-sub and center/non-center configs. It is just a bit annoying doing the RS232 transfer (and quad measurement as the software is too dumb to allow me to select different speakers to use AFTER the measurement).

One of my issues is that to avoid interfering with the short-throw projector, the center is low (hence I was looking for an inverted cabinet although I suspect flipping it on its back is the same thing or Axiom has gone something extra to point everything upwards. So my conclusions were: Certain loss of clarity with single or dual instructions (for which I use Neo:6). Larger settings or pipe organ (PLIIx) I could not determine if there was an issue big enough for the need to be the deciding factor. So movies and TV won the day and made me look at the VP180 web page very frequently!

When I re-take my measurements, I will do it separate for center/no-center again as I rarely use the sub/no-sub config and can live without it for a while.

Why do you suspect it's not wood? Is it a refurb?

Edit: Yes it is.

Darn! Just like the QS10, new speaker has been delayed and will only make it home tomorrow. I'm sad. In the meantime, preparing the living room to welcome the old v2, I cleaned up the ol' M80v2 and took a "before" picture. They still look great. Grill is a bit dirty. Not sure if anyone has a trick. Just "shower them" with hot water and leave them to dry?

No! They could stain. Compressed air is best if you have one in the garage.

Go from the inside of the grill out.

Wonder if Axiom has any of the old style grills around still. I’d buy a pair if they did. I want some “ charcoal “ instead of black I currently have.

You could try a lint brush maybe ? One of those sticky tape kind maybe.

Edit: don’t use water, you’ll wreck the grill frames. !
I like the finish on your m80s. Glossy! Looks sharp.

Those are 13 years old! Axiom builds well.

While waiting for my new speaker "On vehicule for delivery" (the most beautiful words in the English language), brought my old VP180v2 upstairs... Well, turns out it was a v3! So changes will be less pronounced! So adding a big center in living room does not have a huge impact, but it does make movies seem a bit more "real" and sound more anchored when I move.

My neighboors are not there so for one of the first time I could really listen to things in my living room. It is now (with the M22OW as heights and QS8 surrounds with M80/VP180) a very decent home theater in its own rights! Pipe organ, orchestra, piano or small ensemble all sound very natural. There is no subwoofer in that room and I think adding the VP180v3 helps a little bit with what sounded a bit boomy only recently. New VP180HPv4 should be arriving within the next 2 hours!!!

It's here! It's here!
Confirmed: Vinyl as expected based on the price. Very good condition!
Just finished running ARC (now uploading at 9600bps to D2v which is LONG).
I screen captured both speakers capture by ARC. Will post later as the pictures are local to the laptop currently connected to D2v and microphone. But they looked pretty much exactly the same (not surprisingly as it is more a factor of the room than the speakers themselves).

Comparison is interesting. The new speaker is not as loud as it's predecessor! Hm...
Curve is similar but seemed to have been easier to "correct" and resulting ARC curve matches almost perfectly the "ideal" curve. This is going to be interesting as I suspect the neighbors won't be back until at least tomorrow! BTW, I left it to the 5Khz default

Curve for V3 (previous)


Curve for V4HP (new)

Congrats! Fun times!! Those M100's look great too. Looking at your signature you are swimming in Axiom product!

First movie you are gonna watch?

Happy Holidays.

Hey Eric, not sure how you concluded it's not as loud. I am interested to hear if the v4 offers anything more in "emotional impact" over the v3. Congrats and enjoy!

Mojo, it was during the measurements process that I was surprised it was not the same loudness. The old one was just as loud as the M100, this one seemed a little under. Checking the settings, the old one was set at -0.5db and this one is at +1db.

I will write more later. So far, I went from lukewarm to several moments of utter delights. Neighbors are still out so I will be able to enjoy myself this morning as soon as i finish my coffee.

Kodiak, I have the same issue as Mojo for the signature. There is not enough characters allowed field to put everything Axiom I have (but he has way more subwoofers and ADA than I!)

Eric, you can make space by getting rid of the spaces...LOL!

I'm kinda envious of your M22s. I only have experience with the M22ti. I kinda want to hear the v4.

M22 IMO = M2 sound 3db more efficient

Eric, that’s a nice collection ... how many systems are you running?

Main home theater: 2xM100v4 + 4xQS10v4 + VP180HPv4 + EP800v2 (amp replaced a few months ago)
AV: D2v + ADA-1500

Living room: 2xM80v2 + 2xQS8v2 + VP180v3 + 2xM22OWv2 (heights) [no room for a sub :(]
AV: Denon 3100

Office: 2xM5HPv4 + EP500v2 [planning to ceiling mount 2xM2v3 to add surround]
AV: Yamaha stereo something, likely replaced by MC currently in bedroom

Reading Room: 2xM3v2 + 2QS8v2 [panning to try unused VP150 as center but not with great hope and no room for a sub]
AV: Pioneer VSX-1023

Morning Room: 2xM2v3 [planning to move those as surround in Office, replace with M22v2 and add a small sub]
AV: Onkyo 805

Bedroom: 2xM2OWv2
AV: Pioneer VSX-1023 likely swapped with office

Kitchen: AxiomAir (from the first batch, but with PI replaced at some point)
AV: ... AxiomAir

== [spares]
2xM22v2 (might be used soon)
2xVP150v2 (might try them out in Reading Room or Morning room when I have time)
2xM3IWv2

That’s quite a collection!

The M3s in the reading room are a great choice! The M50v4 would be a nice upgrade for a no sub application in the reading room.

Damn, there's an ebony 500v4 in b-stock now tempting me. Ebony is so hot!

Mojo you need to stop checking the deal pages ...
Your gonna overdose some day....

I check multiple times daily when I’m really jonesing.

I’ve just been keeping my addiction private.

There’s a pair of m80 Boston cherry v4 b stock for $1680 CAD plus the 20% off!!! What a steal!!! I want them.

I’d get m80’s and a divorce, just add to my cart, click wait 21 days for divorce, all online at 20% off too! Ian’s thought of everything.

They are all so dreamy and sound so good!

Kodiak, a divorce may be a cause for real celebration and a walnut espresso M100 gift to yourself may be appropriate.

Well get this, I purposed the idea of mini home theatre in our master bedroom as an escape from the children......

Using OW speakers and small subs.

She’s into it. I’m psyched!! Could be fun to have a 5.2 system! I always considered just 2 channel for the living room. But after reading about Corks different setups and EFalardeau systems I got thinking......

We ll see. Initial enthusiasm sometimes shrinks back to reality.

I’m thinking M5 OW for F L/R............( voice trails off into echoing blah blah blah....).

M2OW.

Was thinking m2 ow for rears and m5 ow up front. And 2 ep125 and a vp100 ow.

Or in walls? Anybody use those. Would nice and clean looking. I would want it to be very clean and smooth. No wires. All hidden nicely.

My master bedroom has a surround sound setup but no screen. My wife keeps getting hot and cold on the idea and I’m too chicken to just put one in ... I think it’s going to magically appear some day and no one is going to know how it got there ....

Oh that’s awesome. It’s really got me interested in trying out a smaller space vs my medium to largish living room.

I want to find a way to store the screen discreetly so it’s not always visible.

I’m also toying with building a room in our garage for a theatre now too instead of bedroom or both?!

It’s all just talk now. But we ll see. We are thinking of moving ( 3 kids getting bigger now need more space ) or just staying bc we like our place essentially. Anyway, I digress......

Tell me about your master bedroom surround setup? On walls I’m guessing? I have a vague memory of you discribing a setup awhile back. And weren’t you building a specific room or something? Or was that someone else?

I’ve never experienced a good surround sound setup other than going to a real theatre. Is it really worth the effort and cost? ( I’m thinking yes....) but couldn’t a good 2.2 do a pretty good job. I’m really WAY more into 2 channel stereo.

If I did this eventually I’d want it to be good but not over the top and really worried about every spec and everything. Where as with 2 channel I’m way more keen to upgrade carefully and make it as perfect and delightful as my budget allows.

The master has M22 mains and QS8 surrounds. When the TV goes up I’ll add an on wall center and think about getting a new sub (vs using my old Mirage subs).

The family room: M2 mains,VP150ow, QS10 surrounds and an EP500. Just watched guardians of the galaxy... I’m always amazed with the sound of this setup. Yes, it’s worth it. You can do better then your local theater.

The Main theater is a work in progress which I hope to finish before summer ... we will see.

There is no substitute for a large room. Forget two-channel for movies.

Thanks rrlev. Those are nice setups. Fun to have a variety to listen too. Very envious! I hear you on the drawn out projects for sure. Time is our most precious commodity. I’m learning that as I get older. ( I’m not THAT old but you know what I mean. ).

Mojo, copy that on the 2 channel for movies. I’ll always be a stereo guy first definitely. But shall surround setup is sounding pretty cool. We live 3 hours away from a movie theatre. And with covid a real deal having interesting things to do at home is sounding good.

Awww geez! You can pick up B-stock actives now for less than the price of an M100!!!

Not quite...... but close. They’re refurbed. But still!!! What a deal.

Dam there is some great deals on the pages right now.

There’s quite a few refurbed LFR on there. Are folks updating to actives then I wonder?

Mojo I don’t recall but did you go to LFR before going active LFR? Or m80v2 to active LFR?

With discounts, the B-stock actives are less expensive than M100s.

I went M80v2 to M5v4 to M3v4 to M50v4 to M2v4 to M100v4 to active LFR...LOL!

Maybe but you need 8 more amp channels ... which can add some $$. Plus you need space for all those boxes. Believe it or not, I needed to think about where to put it all when laying out the HT.

Indeed!

Oh! Sale is still on!

Neighbors came back yesterday so I was too busy enjoying loud and full-subwoofer days of music and movies to come back with the change of center of my home theater until now.

First, answer to Mojo's question: Yes.

Reminder: I had created two calibration settings, one with center, one without (as I had done when I received the M100s and needed to decide if I kept using a center or not).

Other reminder: There are 4 variables that could each affect results or impressions of my 4-5 days of intense listening.
1. v3 to v4
2. HP version of the woofers
3. Inverted cabinet (important as my center is very low)
4. Psychological bias (I am a well-known psychic who can determine the location where the works were recorded just by reading the booklet).

To start, interesting phenomenon that I experienced the 3 times I tried it (2 days intervals). First starting without center. Sounds good. Doesn't appear to be a hole anywhere and yet... Turn center on. Suddenly the hole that wasn't there gets plugged and instead of having the great wall of sound provided my the M100s, there's just sound with everything just... there! The first time (after I got the M100), it was not always better with the center and even when it was better, it was not as... "disapearing".

So, in general, music with few instruments or solo voices sound much better now (more real, instaneous and with better dynamics). The only way I could express it in a coherent manner is it's like there is one less barrier between me and the interpretation. Even a concerto for a solo (or few instruments) have a more accurate spatial distancing. It's like if the orchestra is now more clearly behind the soloist. Not that suddenly the soloists sound "forward" or in front of the stage, just that the respective position of the players is more as it is on a real stage.

The M100s provided me with many "wow" moments (and so did the QS10), but now all 7 speakers + EP800 combine to provide me wow moments a few times an hour. Pretty happy with the results. Would they have been worth 1630$ for a new (but wood finish) VP180HPv4? Good question. I kept trying to decide myself one way or the other. As hindsight, it would have been worth it. But I'm glad there was exactly what I wanted in the refurb during that special which brought them to 650.

(Next year, if there is again a pair af LFT1100 active with 2xADA1500-5, I will definitely get it at 10000$ even if it's walnut espresso!).

Large-scale orchestral works don't show as much wow, except where there are solo instruments here and there. Anything with voice got better (more attack, improved dynamic). At some point I started to listen to Carmen just to hear voices with a richly colorful orchestra and ended voice so mesmerized by the "presence" of the performance that I listened to it in its entirety (spoiler: she dies in the end). Several lieds in Winterise got to me strongly. It was like the singer was reaching out and pulling me with him. The dynamics was also jaw dropping (with goosebumps).

Same for solo piano, violin sonatss or AWESOME cello or clarinette in chamber ensemble. So... "there" that it is hard to stop listening. Pipe organ also sound more... linear. My EP800's amp was repaired some time after I got the M100s (more likely replaced) and I could feel it's presence quite a bit, especially during movies or LFE intense TV shows like Star Trek Discovery, now that I could crank up the volume for a few days.

Well, on a side note (for the other rooms), I did replace the M2 by M22 in my "morning room" and used those M2s to add surround to my office. Quite nice!

Last day of vacation, so I will try to enjoy the rest of the day even if neighbors keep coming in and out.

Very interesting to see that you have similar observations as I found in my thread
dynamics myth

Even with the powerful floorstanding speakers, the less instrument/vocal music sounds better than orchestral works. This makes me think how good the floorstanding speakers need to be to perform the busy frequency-dynamic music great with high volume to reach the AWESOME level. It seems that this is a really tough goal to replicate a live music hall at home.

A question for those that ordered stuff during the awesome 20% sale. Has your stuff shipped yet or been received? I ask because I ordered a b-stock EP500 Dec 26 and a VP160 a week later and both say the order is still being processed. An email to Axiom inquiring 2 days ago has yet to be answered. This seems unusual as Axiom in the past has had great and quick service.

Thanks - p

Hey Paul. How ya'll doin'? Its been a long time since the Audiobytes party. LOL!

I'm sure the factory is swamped.

Holy cats Mojo...have you got a great memory! That was like 14 years ago or so and I would never have remembered your handle if you didn't mention it here.

I'm doin great thanks.

I just got off the phone with Axiom and yup, the uptake was bigger than anticipated, they are swamped, also ran out of b-stock so are making up new items for some of those orders and in some cases are waiting for parts.

That's pretty great of Axiom to honour b-stock orders with new.

Hard to beat their focus on customer service.

Cheers - p

You're gonna love your 160...and 500 too depending on room size.

Did you get the Boston Cherry 500 or Walnut Espresso?

I got Boston Cherry in both. All my other Axiom speakers are Boston Cherry.

EP500 adds a 2nd sub to my home theatre (have SVS PB10-ISD) to hopefully smooth out the base response through much of the seating area. If it doesn't as much as I hope it will, I'll probably move the SVS upstairs to add to M22's that I moved up to the family room.

With being at home so much as a result of COVID, I decided to reno our home theatre room with:
- new projector (an Epson 5050UB (awesome projector imo)...my old Mitsubishi 1000 finally died),
- 120" 1:2.35 screen (projected on the wall previously),
- swapped out the M22's with M80's for mains
- am swapping out an older VP150 for the VP160.
- the EP500
- an UHD Blu-ray (Panasonic DP-UB820), sadly my OPPO died a while back and wasn't crazy about CD's on the Xbox

Still got pair QS8's but added KEF speakers in the ceiling and lowered the QS8's to make it an Atmos 5.2.4 system. Oh yeah, also replaced Onkyo AV with new Denon AVRX4700h. I managed to track down what I think was the last AVRX4700h in Edmonton the day before Christmas...yah!!

I put in new trim, receptacles, repainted, ran most wiring through the drop ceiling and inside walls, put in overhead pot-type LED lights and a smart dimmer light switch so we can turn on/off the lights from the seating area so don't have to stumble in the dark to get the the wall switch once I turn off the projector.

It is coming together pretty nicely. Just waiting for the 2nd sub and new centre speaker.

The VP160 wasn't part of the plan but with trading in the vp150 and a vp100 together with the 20% off and loyalty discount... WOW I couldn't pass up such a great deal for a better matched centre speaker!

In fact most of the reno wasn't really the plan. It started with the Mitsubishi dying so needing to get a new projector (we don't have a TV elsewhere in the house) and let's upgrade from a wall to a proper screen. The rest was just the snowball effect of that leading to the next thing (a UHD blu-ray) and on it went with finishing off with "Holy crap look at the great deal Axiom is offering on b-stock and refurb's".

Lol

Great to hear you also got a great deal! Your room sounds like a good spot.

I guessed Axiom would be busy with those great offers.

Glad to hear everyone gets their order filled. Now I wont have to deathmatch against “The Great Mankini” lol.

Paul, it sounds like you're gonna enjoy good times! Very good call on the 160v4. The QS10s also made a big difference for me. Not sure you know, your Boston Cherry will be real wood veneer and not vinyl as in years past.

Real wood veneer? I did not realize that...cool...although i hope it isn't too obvious a difference from the rest of my speakers (esp. the M80's).

Paul, you can always trade those M80s in for real wood veneer.

You can do as I do if you are as mad as me. Mix the wood veneers. Why live with one veneer when there are so many to choose from. Walnut natural satin is my favorite, followed by cherry chestnut, walnut caramel, walnut espresso and then walnut bordeaux. I haven't made up my mind yet about boston cherry.

I ordered on the 25th, one pair of B stock and one new 21 day business day savings M5HPOW, they shipped on Thursday 14th, still in transit. supposed to arrive on the 18th now.

Correction on last post. They just arrived. nice solid packaging too.