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Wow...from a new owner...
#65343 10/21/04 05:29 PM
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Wow is all I can say. I ordered my M3Tis Monday, and they arrived here in KY yesterday. When I unpacked them and hooked them up, I was disappointed to say the least. Such shrill little screamers. They sounded like someone's fingernails on a blackboard. Terrible.

Let's back up a little first...

Two weeks ago, I decided to upgrade the home theater. It's been three years since I've made any major purchases for it. So, since I had recently revamped my home brew DIY subwoofer, I decided that for the ultimate HT experience, I needed five or six completely identical speakers. Best buy was closing out last year's Klipsch models, so I got three sets of SB-2s for $250/pr. Not bad. I played them a lot, and eventually became acustomed to their sound. Never really happy, but accustomed. I decided it would be in my best interest to make the most of BB's 30 day return policy. So I've been listening to everything under the sun in town. Infinity, Polk, Athena, JBL, B&W, Klipsch reference, Paradigm, etc. The models I liked better, I couldn't afford, the ones I could afford, I didn't like any better than my SB-2s. I kept reading various reviews on audioreview.com. I keep seeing ads for these speakers that have "no right" to sound as good as they do. I'm not paying $275/pr for speakers I can't hear first. That's nuts.

Oh... They have a 30 day return policy...

So, I got them last night, hooked them up, terrible. We've already covered that base. Well, all new speakers need to break-in. This I know. So, when I left for work this morning, I threw some CDs in the CD changer, hit repeat, turned up the bass, turned the HK AVR230 up to about -18dB, and walked out the door. When I came home for lunch, a miracle had happened. Someone had replaced my shrill terrible speakers with some much smoother, more mellow speakers that looked exactly like the others. I brought a friend of mine who had been interested in my speaker auditions as he's planning on finding a new set of speakers to feed to his Onkyo Integra. The "new and improved" Axioms beat the SB-2s hands down. No comparison. The Klipsch SB-2s sound like cheap AM radios in the same room with the M3Tis. Given, the M3TIs aren't as loud as the SB-2s, but I'll trade quality for quantity any day.

The next step is, well, to pay a visit to best buy, but, I need to plan on filling out the rest of the HT setup. Can't have a Home Theater with only two speakers. So here's my plan. Current pair of M3Tis will be put in series and act as a single center channel. I hate the sound of a center channel that sits on top of the TV. Too distractingly localized. So, I was thinking M40Tis for the mains, and three M3TIs for the surround and surround back.

Feel free to advise.

Chris


Re: Wow...from a new owner...
#65344 10/21/04 05:51 PM
Joined: Dec 2003
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Whoa, better return those... if they went from "shrill" to "wow" in 4 hours, they'll be "muddy" by supper time and "gastrointestinal distress" by tomorrow morning.

*takes a front row seat for the impending "break in" war*

Bren R.

Re: Wow...from a new owner...
#65345 10/21/04 05:56 PM
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I ain't touching this one, but I'll gladly watch.

Re: Wow...from a new owner...
#65346 10/21/04 05:59 PM
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OR, we could respond intelligently, instead of trying to incite a flamewar...

Re: Wow...from a new owner...
#65347 10/21/04 06:02 PM
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welcome kenturkey.. glad the M3's are gonna work for you..

the speaker 'break-in' theory is one that has been aggresively debated several times in this forum, and everyone has their own beliefs. the whole concept to me seems irrational, cause then you would have to consider the fact if the speajkers know when to quit breaking in.. make sense.. ? my personal belief is that the listeners ears get accustom to the new sound, and its your perception that changes, not the speaker.. regardless of what i think, the bottom line is, that you tested several brands and kinds of speakers, and the axiom M3ti's are the best you have heard yet for the price. that all that matters..

and as far as the rest of the system that you want to set up.. there are a few people that have linked M3 and M2 in series to create a center channel, and they are very pleased with the results. the M40's have had great reviews from owners as well.. i cant say , cause i have never heard them, but, i assume they are just as good as every other axiom product. enjoy your new system, and post some pics.. we like to see the set-ups

bigjohn


EXCUSE ME, ARE YOU THE SINGING BUSH??
Re: Wow...from a new owner...
#65348 10/21/04 06:28 PM
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Congrats, Kenturkey, on your purchase.

I've had the same experience TWICE now with tweeters sounding harsh upon the first few listens. You're not alone. They were very shrill as soon as I installed them, so much so that they hurt my ears and caused me to end my initial listening sessions much earlier than I had figured on. They both leveled out after some time. So it seems like you have experienced the same thing that I did.

So enjoy your new Axioms, bud. Welcome to the club.

Re: Wow...from a new owner...
#65349 10/21/04 06:38 PM
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Thanks John and KC. Well, the interesting part of it all will be when I get the next sets of M3Tis. If in fact the controversial "break-in" theory doesn't hold water, then the new ones (right out of the box) will sound identical to the ones I'll have been playing for some time. Right?

The contradiction to the purely psychological aspect however is that it would render speaker reviews pointless wouldn't it? I mean, all one would have to do is make sure a reviewer has a speaker for a long enough time that the reviewer eventually gets used to it, and decides that it's perfect.

Still nobody has mentioned what they think of my HT plan. Anyone else have a room full of M3s or M40s?

Last edited by Kenturkey; 10/21/04 06:39 PM.
Re: Wow...from a new owner...
#65350 10/21/04 06:40 PM
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I didn't notice any difference from Day 1 although if the sound changed all that much maybe something is wrong with them?

Re: Wow...from a new owner...
#65351 10/21/04 06:54 PM
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I don't think many people have the roomful of M3s thing going; Axioms QS series of surrounds is pretty highly regarded for use in home theatre. I've got the QS4s, and they're damn good considering that my placement is poor.


I am the Doctor, and THIS... is my SPOON!
Re: Wow...from a new owner...
#65352 10/21/04 07:01 PM
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If I'm not mistaken Ian suggests a few (couple or so) hours break-in. After that he says it's your ears/brain "breaking in". But he does say they'll need those couple of hours right out of the box.



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