Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater EP500 first impressions

Thanks Mark for taking the time to compile the list. Of those, the Eagles and Steely Dan are down my alley. And yeah, I am kinda psyched knowing that the SACD I heard was on the lower end and I was still having a blast.

Of course, my former mains were... ahemm..... bose.... yeah, lets move on.

Well, Welcome!
Report back again when you've heard a great recording!

>>First, nobody gives a rat's posterior if you have Paradigms.

Yep. You'll find a number of people here who own both Paradigm and Axiom speakers.

Thanks for posting the EP500 review. It sounds like an awesome sub. Don't worry about it being too big for the room or anything -- the EP500's other big strength is its ability to go very deep into the bass, more so than most of (ahem) OUR subs ;(

(owners of big SVS water heaters can look suitably smug here)

Good luck hunting down the buzzes and rattles in the house, the only problem with having a great sub is that it can make seemingly solid things buzz, rattle and dance.

Congratulations on the new system !!

Sea Change is in SACD (or DVD-A)??!??! (runs to store).

Have you heard the SACD mix of The Downward Spiral, by any chance?

(not to drag this into OT land)

I bought and love this cd...

Yo-Yo Ma Plays Ennio Morricone

Sea Change is in DVD-Audio. I've heard some call it their reference disc. I kinda like his older music a little better (this is very mellow), but it DOES sound great!

I haven't heard any NIN in the higher rez discs yet. I know that The Downward Spiral was highly anticipated, but don't remember reading any reviews from someone who got a copy....(I think it was just released 3~4 weeks ago!).

Sea Change.
Loved it when it first came out, now I can hardly listen to it.
Its kinda like, poor pitiful me, my girlfriend has just broken up with me, so please listen to me whine about for the duration of this disc.

Its kinda like, poor pitiful me, my girlfriend has just broken up with me, so please listen to me whine about for the duration of this disc.


True... I just love the lush arrangements too much. I just hear it as an extension of Mutations's "Nobody's Fault But My Own".

P.S., I don't think "Paper Tiger" is self-pitying... but then, I try not to listen to the lyrics too closely on that album.

In reply to:

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Can you recommend any good SACD's?

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Note there's often a huge difference between artistic quality vs technical quality of the surround mix.

I have many SACD/DVD-A albums by great artists I like, but the surround mix isn't very good -- muddy, flat, etc.

By contrast the good ones are so spectacular, it's as if you're hearing it for the first time.

My recommendations:

Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon (SACD)
Eagles - Hotel California (DVD-A)
Fleetwood Mac - Rumours (DVD-A)
Elton John - Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (SACD)
David Bowie - Ziggy Stardust (SACD)
Roxy Music - Avalon (SACD)
Dave Brubeck - Time Out (SACD)
Mike Oldfield - Tubular Bells (SACD)

There are several very well known albums by famous artists that (to me) have sub-par or downright poor surround mixes. In general these are older material so maybe it's a source quality issue. However that's not universally the case.

Re-mixing for surround isn't like a simple digital remaster. It requires a lot of manual artistic decision, and the skill of the mixing engineer can make or break the final product.

Less than stellar surround mixes (IMO):

Peter Frampton - Frampton Comes Alive (SACD)
The Who - Tommy (SACD)
Neil Young - Harvest (DVD-A)
Derek & the Dominoes - Layla
REM - Best of REM (DVD-A)
Beach Boys - Pet Sounds (DVD-A)
Fleetwood Mac - Say You Will (DVD-A)

My brother has Sea Change in SACD at home. It must be available in both formats. It's one of the best "help me wallow in my misery" albums available.