Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater First CD with Axiom

Hello again everybody!
I'm waiting for my system...and I am asking myself what CD /DVD Audio should I listen to first?And in what mode?
Any suggestions?
Thank you!
Octavian

That's a REALLY good question, Octavian. I know you're a classical aficionado, and being a tyro when it comes to classical music, I wouldn't venture a recommendation in that genre. JohnK, and Alan, are our resident classical "experts." JohnK is on the West coast and usually doesn't stop by until late in the day. However, as it's the day after Thanksgiving, maybe he has the day off and will come by earlier. Alan likely has the day off and won't be by at all, but you never know.

If you're a classic rock fan, in addition to a classical fan, there is a lot of talk about Pink Floyd's Dark Side Of The Moon SACD being something special. I believe I've heard The Eagles, Hell Freezes Over DTS 5.1 disk ($20) mentioned as being excellent. If you really like the Eagles, you might try the Hell Freezes Over DTS DVD ($19) and you can watch them while you listen.

In the Jazz vein, I'm a big Diana Krall fan, and I love her Live in Paris DVD with DTS 5.1 ($11), or her Love Scenes DVD-A ($15). In the instrumental jazz vein, I love Fourplay's Between The Sheets CD. It's very well recorded, and one of the best sounding CDs I own.

I'm sure others will offer some excellent suggestions as well.

Hi!
Thank you for your detailed and competent reply.I agree with you, all are excellent, but my dilema was what shoud I play first from my personal collection (over 600)...a CD in stereo, a DVD Audio in 5.1 or a movie?
Thanks again!
Regards,
Octavian

OOOOOOO! That's an even tougher question! They're all gonna sound good on the Axioms. I would think it would depend upon which of those 3 genres is your favorite.

Pretending that it's me, because I'm an absolute movie freak, I'd watch a movie first. Then I'd check out a DVD-A to see what the Axioms could do with surround music. Then, I'd play a redbook (standard stereo) CD.

On the other hand, if I wanted to make a comparison to the speakers the Axioms replaced, I'd probably first choose a DVD-A that I really love, that is well recorded, and with which I'm very familiar. That would really tell me if there's been an improvement.

At some point you're going to definitely want to listen to a favorite stereo CD through only the M60s, without even a sub, just to see what they can do.

I'm not being much help, am I Octavian. The truth is, only you can really answer your question. But, I hope I've provided some food for thought. Be sure to let us know what you decide, and what your impressions are when you finally get the chance to listen for the first time. It's an exciting moment, and most all of us here love reliving that moment, vicariously, through others like you. Enjoy!

I would start with a favorite jazz CD in stereo, no sub, and work my way up from there...

Octavian, I see that you're more interested in what mode of play to try first rather than a specific CD, but I'll also suggest that for a CD I suspect that you have one or more versions of Enescu's Romanian Rhapsodies and that would certainly be appropriate to baptize your new speakers. Then since it'll be the Christmas season, as I suggested in the Christmas CD thread, playing the Nutcracker is a must.

As to the mode of play, none of those that you list. You need to give those QS8s some surround sound to work with, but use Logic 7 Music mode to steer the ambience contained in the CDs to them.

Hi!
I hope you had a nice weekend...Thank you for your advise...very helpful!I think I will try Vivaldi, The 4 Seasons,DVD Audio(enhanced), then Eagles(Hell...), some Fleetwood, etc.
Regards,
Octavian

Hi!
Of course I will try some jazz,thanks!
Regards,
Octavian

Hi JohnK!
You are surprising me!...Are you familiar with Romanian culture?Of course I will try Enescu,Lipatti,Maria Tanase, even some light music...
Thanks !
Regards,
Octavian

Hi JohnK,

Interesting that you advocate using surround modes for music. I have tried all of the various DSP modes in my Denon 3803 and always come back to good old Pure Direct Stereo. Two main reasons for this that could be specific to my setup?
1. As my VP150 sits below my TV in my stand , when I go to a multi-channel mode it seems to drag down the front soundstage making it seem like I am 'looking down' at the music.
2. The VP150 and QS8 speakers have a -3dB point at around 90 to 95Hz, so to avoid missing audio content altogether I would have to set cross over at 120Hz which would ruin the performance of the M60's.

For me these modes only make sense if you have 5 main speakers, or at least 3 mains across the front, and a receiver/processor that allows different crossover frequencies for different speaker groups (or an Outlaw ICBM).

Octavian, my knowledge of Romanian culture is pretty much limited to some of the classical music. I have a fair amount of music by Enescu, including of course both Romanian Rhapsodies. Bartok also crossed the border on occasion and his Romanian Folk Dances are an attractive little collection which I enjoy.

Stuart, when I used the term "surround" in reply to Octavian, I was referring specifically to using Logic 7 or DPLII to place the ambience contained in a stereo recording on the sides or in back where it belongs. In the concert hall the great majority of the sound reaching the listeners doesn't arrive as direct sound from the front but rather as ambience reflected from the side and back walls and ceiling. Although no home reproduction can be totally realistic, having these sounds which should come from the side or back instead coming only from front speakers doesn't help in creating the illusion. Alan briefly touched on this in past issues of the newsletter, including his "Stereo's Intrinsic Flaw: Why Multiple Channels Are Better" and also his discussion of DPLII. You might check these if you haven't read them in the past.

I wonder if you were thinking primarily of something like all channel stereo which has the unnatural effect of sending the same material to the sides and/or back as was reproduced from the front and would be best(relatively speaking)if all speakers were identical. When the ambience is properly steered to the surrounds by the better processors, such as DPLIIx or Logic 7, the effects that you mentioned don't occur and the common 80Hz crossover works well. The degree to which this increases the realism varies from recording to recording depending on how much ambience is present in the stereo channels, but is almost always a significant benefit.

Very well said by John!

My simple input? I never liked ANY other modes for two-channel except standard Stereo.... until I had DPLII on my Denon 3805.

It's not quite as impressive as 6 distinct channels in an SACD or DVD-A disc, but it really works well on stereo recordings to kind of "immerse" you in the sound instead of just having it in front.

And this from a guy who thought he would HATE multi-channel!

Doh, more settings to play with! Have you experimented with the parameters for DPLII (and/or DTS NEO 6)? If so what do you use, I think the parameters are panorama and center width?

Thanks

Stuart

Stuart, adjusting the DPLII parameters can improve the effect with some CDs. I don't care for panorama, which sends some direct frontal sound to the surround speakers, and leave it off. The center width adjustment at one extreme sends nothing to the center channel and puts that material into the left/right speakers, creating a "phantom" center which might actually sound a little better to someone sitting exactly in the middle. Generally it should be left in the middle of its range. The one that you didn't mention, the dimension control, is the one that can be the most useful. It varies the level of the ambient material which has been steered out of the front speakers and into the surrounds. By increasing the loudness of the surrounds, it can in effect move you back in the hall by increasing the amount of ambient reflected sound in relation to the direct front sound. To some extent this can compensate for an extremely closeup recording which contains relatively little ambience in the mix(e.g. many pop recordings)but can't create something which isn't there. Experiment.

Hi!
I'm glad to hear about somebody who likes romanian (good) music!Do you mind if I ask you how did you get to know about it?Any particular connections with the romanian descent?
Have a nice day!
Regards,
Octavian

I've found that some of the older, poorly mixed CDs can sound better in some surround modes. Each one has it's own signature, and none of them work "best" for all recordings. I generally try Logic 7 Music first, then DTS Neo 6 (which sounds great with only 5 speakers, BTW), and then DPLII last. The've done a decent job "rescuing" some of my CDs from being traded in...

Octavian, no particular ethnic connection; although my people did come from eastern europe, it was a little farther north. I suppose the way that I got to like most of the classical compositions that are now favorites was hearing them on the radio when I was a little boy. As far as Enescu goes I can remember hearing and really liking his Romanian Rhapsody No.1 done by Antal Dorati.