Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Technical Questions I think I heard my VP150 strain last night...

Yeah, I was watching Sky Capt & world of Tomorrow (woah, did that stink, but worth buying just for the FX) and during one of the scenes where Polly and Sky Capt were yelling at each other in the cockpit, I heard my VP150 strain...kinda like the same sound I remember hearing when I had an old tube TV and I played it too loud (sound from the TV's speakers, no HT.) It happened when they were yelling their loudest/highest and it was really, really brief. It happened a couple times, but only when they were in the cockpit yelling. I've owned my Axioms (VP150, M60's)for just a couple weeks and this is the first time I've heard this sound from them.
My system has been clibrated w/an SPL meter to 75dB and I was playing the movie at -19 powered by my Denon 1082.

Any ideas what may have caused this?
Thanks,
-flip22

i have never heard my 150 struggle on any movie.. and i have watched plenty on high volumes.

it did strain itself one time when i was cranking some metallica on "all channel stereo" a few months ago. i had it insane volume level, and i heard the woofers kinda muffle and strain during a particularly heavy guitar riff section. it worried me a bit, and i tried to replicate it with some other songs, but it didnt do it again. i think it was just that one track.

but, i learned a valuable lesson. crank it on 2-ch stereo so the 60's get woked, and not the speakers that arent made for it.

BTW- i havnet had any other trouble from the 150, and it is not damaged. it plays fine, and i have still not heard it strain during a movie.

bigjohn

I spoke to Joe @ Axiom and he believes I may have a bad tweeter, which can be easily swapped out. I'm going to check that scene again tonight and take it from there...

Always a good option to call Axiom direct. They seem to be very eager to help. Tough to beat their customer service!!!

I kind of hope that it is a bad tweater for you. Not so that you have the fun of swapping it out (which is pretty easy), but so that you can enjoy your 150 to it's fullest!

Yeah, I really hope it's that simple of a problem...

Are you sure it wasn't on the oricinal recording? It wouldn't be the first time I've seen a digital recording go over the 0db limit.... and digital overdrive ain't pretty!

When you check the recording again, do it with with a "Phantom Center" mode as well. If you hear it again and at all volumes, you'll know it was the recording and not the speaker!

Phantom Center mode? Never heard of that... And, I'm pretty sure the recording isn't to blame; I've read plenty of reviews on this movie and the audio is supposed to be of ref quality. I guess I could try it in 2ch stereo and see if the problem persists. But, I'm first going to see if I can determine if it's a single tweeter malfunctioning by replaying that scene and covering one tweeter at a time.

Phanton Center mode is when you tell your receiver that you don't have a center channel speaker. The receiver will take the center channel info and simply send it out to your two main speakers...creating a mono, "phantom" audio source dead centered between your mains. Some people actually prefer this to having a center speaker, by the way!

The reason that this is beneficial to trying as opposed to just listening in stereo is that you're sure to get the center channel audio... only it's now split between two speakers OTHER than your center speaker.

Just remember that a phantom center will only work for the person sitting in the sweet spot. Everyone else will hear the center channel information coming from the nearest front speaker.

This thread reminded me that I strained last night as well.

I know, crude.

May I recommend a cup of strong coffee?

You need some of Big John's Free Spirit Chile.....
No offense intended John.
My wife is after me to try out your recipe.
Maybe for the Superbowl?
Apologies for the thread hijack....

flip: I know what scene you are talking about, and it's the recording that is at fault, not the speaker. You will probably notice this on a few other DVD's as well (The Fifth Element comes to mind) especially with the revealing nature of the VP-150. On a side note, make sure your audio is properly calibrated by using DVE, VE, or the S&VHTT DVD's and an SPL meter from RS.

Ok, the scene is right at 37:25:
"...If you can't take it..."
& 37:32:
"...I can take anything you can dish out."

They just dove under water in the airplane and the conversation (obviously) is taking place in the cockpit; overall, their conversation during that scene sounds kinda "canned", I guess you could say.
Is that the scene you thought I was talking about, minirock?
Can anyone else confirm this??

Also, I have my system calibrated w/an SPL meter, but I used my receiver's internal test tones.

Right, it is when Joe says,"Can't" and Polly says. "I." Even at a lower volume it was noticable.

Dude, that's exactly where it is!
Well, that makes me feel a lot better....Thank you very much, Minirock.
I'm glad it wasn't the VP150, but at the same time, it's kinda sad that a DVD of supposed ref audio quality still has it's imperfections. Nothing is perfect, I guess. On the other hand, we watched Diana Krall's Live in Paris and the vocals were nothing short of awe-inspiring- a must have IMHO for demo'ing this center (along w/David Gilmour In Concert Live DVD. )

No problem man!