Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Axioms/Halos Ready For Auditions (pics)

Great write up Peter. BTW, where's the pic of the sub?

Good lord, you're contemplating a 2nd EP600?

Twin EP600s were in the origianl concept, just that the funds were re-directed to solve the amp issue. The pic below is from a previous post, was going to take a pic of Peter & Ken by the sub, but forgot about it. I'll take some more detailed pics of it later today, if I don't space it out.

Its been moved more to the left and not in the corner now, this is where the new storage cabinets will live, DVDs on the left, CDSs on the right.


Previous sub position

Notice the arm of a couch toward the bottom of the right-hand side of the picture. That's where the prime listening couch is located, and where Ken and I sat the whole time we were there (in between trips to the CD tray, anyway). The sub is only 6 feet away from the middle of the couch, but darned if we could tell where the bass was coming from. Unless you stand right in front of the thing -- and therefore feel your clothing flapping in the prodigious amounts of air moving in and out of the port -- it blends in so well to the texture of the music, it's sonically invisible despite its ominous presence.

Bravo Axiom. I bow to your engineering prowess.

I just remembered something about calibrating the sub. We discovered that the one of the best ways to dial in a sub to the right level is to use a recording that features a cello. Ken brought Bela Fleck's Perpetual Motion, which features a number of excellent cello tracks. One toward the end of the CD is particularly good because the cello does a virtual sweep of frequencies from high to low quite often.

Too high a setting on the sub will bloat the cello's resonances and muddy up its low end. Too low a setting will leave it sounding thin. Of course, it helps to know what a live cello sounds like, but the effect of too much or too little sub in the mix should be apparent to most people with working ears.

Great write-ups Dennis and Peter. I have to admit I am a bit envious of Peter and Ken. I have always enjoyed calibrating a system, sitting there afterward basking in audio bliss, and this is one of those systems that you can bask in for hours. Kudos to you guys, and Dennis...AWESOME THEATER MAN! I hope I get a chance to see it this summer.

Also, now that it is all dialed in, don't let ANYONE mess with your sh*t.

Hey, we're didn't say it's as dialed in as it's ever going to get. But it is to the point where you have to ask the question, "Could it possibly get any better than this?"

Its to the point where any one with a critical ear that wants to audition Axioms should at least admit it sounds good, even if they do not care for the Axiom line of products. But then that could be asking a lot. LOL

OK, let's get this started...

Dennis likes it LOUD. I don't know if everyone realizes that or not, but that's what makes the Halos necessary. That, the rather large room (which doesn't look as big as it is, sort of like his TV in the pictures), and the M80s. At low(er) volumes, like around my maximum volume (!) the system sounded remarkably similar to my M50s. However, once we started getting the volume up around -12 on the C2 and 92 dB or so (which took awhile for us) they really started to shine. Those things (m80s, QS8s, EP600, and Halos) just kept going. It was like being at a concert or in an IMAX theatre. Every time I thought something was going to get harsh or overdriven, the power was there and the speakers put out. Even the QS8s! Take that, you QS12 nuts!

The EP600 is a truly amazing sub. It was a hell of a lot of fun to watch it go. On the second to last recording we put in (darned if I remember what it was), it had AT LEAST an inch of travel going on. Yet the notes were still discreet, and it was not boomy in the slightest.

I hesitate to say this (sorry Saturn and mwc), but the M80s with the EP600 driven by the Halos were the best I have ever heard (with the only slightly possible exception of the Revel Ultimas). Better than the Magnepans. Better than Paradigm Studio 100s. Better than Hales. Better than B&W.

As for the alleged brightness... yes. It was bright. But that's what well recorded stuff IS when it's played at high volumes through accurate speakers. Early on, we thought that DPLIIx-Music was better than DTS:Neo6 Music because it chopped off the treble. Later on, we realized that we were losing accuracy and enjoyment because of it. The only difference between DTS Neo 6 and Stereo (other than the obvious) was the broadening and surrounding nature of the sound stage. Other than that, the voicing sounded the same.

The soundstage of my M50s is to my ear just as good as the M80s at the volumes I listen at. This was a bit of a relief; and impresses the fact that placement is really, really important.

Thank you again to Dennis for giving us free rein on his babies and for his hospitality. It was a blast. Literally...

wow.......just wow. Dennis, i think you just became my prophet for upgrade-itis! great write-up you guys! makes us all wish we were there! (at least i know i speak for myself!)

Wow! It sounds like this system sounds as pretty as it looks. I love the look of those Halos. Especially in comparison to the my ugly Outlaw gear. If only I had an extra $10K burning a hole in my pocket...

Tharkun...has Outlaw responded to you regarding the 770 you sent back? I'm really curious if they found anything wrong with it. My guess is it was fine...just couldn't handle the load.

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If only I had an extra $10K burning a hole in my pocket...

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...I'd be right there to catch it when it fell through.