Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Got my Axioms - 4 Weeks Early!!!!

I got home last night and was shocked to see my speakers waiting for me. I got a pair of M22's, VP150, and a pair of QS8's in sorrel pear. I ordered less than two weeks ago and thought it would be at least 4-5 weeks before they arrived. I was caught so off guard I don't even have stands yet for the 22's. Anyway, now that they are here, it's time for me to solicit advice from the experts out there. First on break-in, here's what I'm doing:

- Left for work today and put a Seal disc (the one with "Crazy") into the dvd/cd player on repeat. Playing at a comfortable listening volume. I have the M22's and VP150 hooked up - haven't mounted the QS8's yet.
- Set the front and center speakers to "large" so they get a full range signal. Turned the sub - an M&K MX-125 - off, in case the neighbors are home and I'm not home to complain to.
- Playing in 5 channel stereo (with rear speakers set to off - doesn't matter since the QS8's aren't hooked up yet).

Questions -

Is this a good break-in method? Anyone have any other suggestions (on music, volume, etc.?)

What should I look for as the speakers are breaking in - what should I start to notice in the sound? My first impression is I love the imaging and soundstage. If it only gets better from here, I will keep smiling.

Other impressions -

- They are great looking speakers. The sorrel pear is beautiful. My wife (who picked the color based on the wood samples Axiom sent) cares less about speakers than just about anything in the world, but even she said "Those are really nice looking."

- Very well built speakers, and nice binding posts. My Monster Q-lock banana plugs slit right in and made a snug connection.

- The sticker with your name on the back is a nice touch.

- Even with the M22's on the floor right now, I'm very impressed with the imaging.

I researched speakers for over a year before finally pulling the trigger (I've been running the JBL N-24 setup). I auditoned a lot of speakers (Monitor Gold's, Energy Veritas, B&W, Klipsch, M&K). Having never heard Axioims (until last night), I read everything there is to read about them - since I got a custom color, my trial period isn't really risk free, so I wanted to be sure I was going to like these. Seems like I made a wise choice.

Anyway, if you've read this far, thanks. And any advice would be appreciated. Once I've got it all set up, anyone in Chicago/NW Indiana is free to come by for an auditon.

My setup:

Denon AVR 3802
Axiom M22 front, VP150 Center, QS8 Surround
M&K MX-125 MKII 2-driver subwoofer
Onkyo 5-disc CD Changer
Panasonic 31" CRT direct view TV (soon to be upgraded to a Samsung DLP, as soon as I figure out which new model I want and it's available)
Pioneer DV-563a DVD/DVD Audio/SACD player (soon to be upgraded to one of the new Denon models, but for the price, the Pioneer is a steal)
Sony SAT-W60 DirecTV receiver with Ultimate TV (will get a High-Def TiVo unit when I get the TV, and they come down in price).
Sanus NF-213 TV Rack/AV Stand
Sanus SF26 speaker stands (on order)

Speaker break in is a myth.
Don't waste electricity.

If you want more information, search the forums. The topic has been nicely beaten to death but Alan sums it up nicely here.

Glad to hear your speakers arrived early. It must be exciting.

i hole-heartdly agree that the 'break-in' theory is a myth.. it has been said that its 'your ears' that have to break in, not the speakers. i believe that, and support that theory. if one is not used to listening to the true musical representation that the axioms will deliver, it will take some time to get used to .. but once you go hear some crappy speakers after listening to the axioms for a while, you will definitely hear the difference then.

i have had some real bassy, muddy vega towers for 12 years. i never realized the articualte highs i was missing all this time.

enjoy your new system. you might wanna take off early from work today.. anticipation is gonna kill you.

bigjohn

regardless of where you fall on the "break in" side of things, one technique that I have of is to do the following:

(1) wire your speakers out of phase
(2) point them directly at each other, with about 4 inches of space between the two speakers.
(3) play your music as loud as you want.

What happens is each speaker is playing exactly the same information, but also exactly out of phase, so the sound waves cancel each other out almost completely. So, the volume is way reduced, but the excursion (movement of the speaker cone) is still large. If electricity isn't a concern, and you want to make sure that your speakers are "broken in" before you get "broken in," then try this technique. It'll certainly keep the neighbors at bay,

Congrats! Pictures, please.

Wow. Didn't realize what a hot debate this was. Cheeseroo, thanks for that thread. I read all the posts. Very interesting. What I don't understand is, why do people talk about breaking in speakers that cost thousands of dollars, and sound great? I auditioned the Monitor Gold series, and they are incredible sounding to me. I don't think you would need to tell someone they had to be broken in before they sounded good. So why does every review of these speakers say the open up after a period of break-in? I would wholeheartedly agree that break-in was a myth if it was being used to sell garbage speakers. But this "theory" is applied to speakers across the board.

That being said, I agree that there should be more concrete evidence, and speakers do take getting used to. The Axioms are very detailed at first listen, and if you haven't heard this kind of detail before, it may take some "getting used to." Anyway, I enjoyed reading that thread.

So can I ask a question on speaker placement:

I am going to wall-mount the QS8's with the supplied bracket. What is the general consensus on how high they should be? I have aboujt 9' ceilings - I was going to side mount about 7 feet. Any other suggestions? I don't have much of an option for how far forward or back they'll be because of a set of glass doors on the left side - the speaker will have to go behind them, so they could perhaps be slightly forward or flush with the listening position.

Thanks again everyone. Can't wait to get home. I'll post pics soon.

no sweat, that would be perfect. suggested placement is either a little in front, or behind the listening position.. and the 7ft height, is fine.. you figure your ears, at the listening position, are about 3ft-4ft off the ground, so at 7 ft, they will be almost perfect. the quadpolar design of the QS8's, makes them sound great at almost any position. try and find a stud in the wall to mount the T-bracket to, or use the EZ-screw expandable inserts for dry walls. they will fit nice and snug.

have fun.

bigjohn

tjk,

Since you read through the forum, you probably found the answer to your question about break-in. Essentially the only thing happening is your ears are becoming acclimated to the audio being produced. No biggie. My Axioms sounded great day one and and sound the same today. Just sit back and enjoy. BTW - bigjohn may try and work his way into your place. Be careful - he is a known cone toucher.

Maybe BigJohn thinks that a gentle thumping of the cones helps speed up the breakin process?

Mark

IS anyone gonna chime in as to whether the gorilla ports need to be broken in...if so, how would one go about doing this? Is there any special audiophile lube that anyone coudl recommend?

astroglide is pretty slick!!

of course, the grills might start sliding off

bigjohn