Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Advice from Axiom Owners Still a little unsure about Axioms

I know I've posted that I'll probably order some Axioms in the near future after listening to pretty much everything out there. One thing is nagging at me. That's the Center Channel. I have no doubts that the M60's will out perform the B&W 603's by a wide margin and the QS8's will crush either the 600's or the DM6's. My concern is the VP150 out doing the LCR60 or LCR600. I'm a firm believer in sonic continuity and I can't see having mains and center that aren't matched perfectly.

Has anyone listened to the two centers and can offer either a quick review or some reassurance.

TIA

One option, if there's someone near you, is to bring your center over and give it a listen right alongside the VP150.

Which part of Toronto are you in? I only have VP100. I can bring mine to your place and let you hear the sound. You can PM me if you like.

I think my VP150 does a fabulous job. The detail is second to none. The only other centers I've owned were Advent and Infinity, and they don't even come close to my Axiom...

I don't have much experience with other center channels, but I'm certainly not new to audio either. I love my VP150, and find it a great match for my M60s and QS8s!

I recently visited my son. He has a PSB image speaker setup, which includes an Image 8C CC. Mind you, I've only heard it for a few minutes. But, it sounded real good to me. It just may have my VP100 beat. I'm not saying I don't like my CC, because I do. But, I think I like his a little better he said with no remorse.

only way to find out is to audition them in your home. everyones ears are different.........

I noticed you had some trouble with the axis. I guess I'll have to wait and see once I get a listen.

Thanks for the input!

and, perhaps more importantly, everyone has a different room, too.

Lazerland in Oakville has Axioms usually in stock and when I was there they had the vp150 hooked up....

Where are you in Toronto? I live in Burlington and currently only have the VP150 (wall mounted with the FMB) which I'm very happy with.

ok now just to add to this if you think the Axiom beat B&W 603 601 et all then they should have no problem beating LCR 600 i talk form experience i like the sound of B&W600 series but only complained that center does not kick in too much and feels muffeled besides so many axiom owners can not be wrong thanks

Hey.....Hay.

I know about Laserland. I went there about two-three weeks ago and auditioned some M80ti's, VP150 and QS8's. I watched about 15 mins. of Pearl Harbour. At the time I didn't think much about concentrating on the Center Channel. I was floored by the 80's in two channel and the QS8's were terrific for realistic surround features. To be honest I guess NOT noticing the VP150 is a good thing.

I have to agree with Mark. The VP150 matches the M60s perfectly. It did take some work on my part to make it that way in my room. I was having some doubts about it when I first got it. Positioning was everything in my case. I had 4 issues that had to be overcome to get it to blend properly.

#1 - My 65" RPTV is a big (58"x61"x22"), 3 sided, resonating box. If I set the VP150 directly on top of the TV, I can hear the coloration that it adds. I made a "bridge" out of a 1x6 and some folded up red shop rags at the outside edges of the TV. The cloth works well to kill the sound transmission from the VP150 to the TV, and the whole thing only lifts the VP150 about 1" above the TV. This also prevents the weight of the speaker from bowing the top of the TV. The resonances are gone and the sound cleaned up nicely. I will make a new bridge out of some "living area acceptable" materials one of these days.

#2 - As someone else here mentioned, moving it forward or backward even an inch causes big changes in the way it sounds at the listening position. It makes perfect sense, as this changes several things at once.

• It acts as a "fine adjustment" for the delay setting in my reciever (HK630), that only has 1 foot adjustment intervals. Changing the delay settings absolutely changes the way the speaker sounds in relation to the other speakers, it is very easy to hear the difference between settings.
• The phase control on my sub is set in relation to my M60s. Moving the VP150 changes it's phase relationship with the sub. I have the crossover for the center set to 100Hz in the HK, and the sub really needs to be in phase to get that bottom end filled in properly.
• It changes the angle at which the sound waves hit the ceiling. Visualize a side view, and think pool shot. Sound comes out of the speaker, hits the flat, hard, ceiling (or floor), and goes where? The combination of these reflections along with the sound coming out of the speaker going straight to the listening position matters. It's the same as the "early reflections" often spoken about in reference to the front speakers and the side walls.

#3 - At first, I was always propping up the back of the VP to point it down at the listening position. I started using it pointing straight ahead, and it fills out the soundstage much better.

#4 - I had the center level set too hot. Whenever I used Avia, the proper center setting would be -3.5db. I always rounded up to -3 instead of down to -4. It blends much better at -4. The difference between the two settings is very noticeable in movies like Star Wars where there are long slow pans across the front. The VP150 is closer to 6 ohms and the M60s at 8 ohms. I think that the high current amps in the HK really make the most of that slight difference.

Just my observations...