Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Advice from Axiom Owners VP150 a little boxy, please help me optomize.

Here is the general setup:
(All connected to Denon AVR-2805, Panasonic DVD-S35)
Listening seat approx 10' from VP150.
'150 is on top of TV, with wedges underneath to point it at listening position.
M22's on 16" stands approx. 12" from side walls, back of cabinets 12" from rear wall, approx 9' apart. They sound great w/wo sub.
EP350 inboard of LF speaker, back of cabinet is 12" or so from rear wall.
QS8's on QSS stands beside and slightly behind listening position.

The '150 just sounds a little boxy, a little "forward in the mid-range." The individual speakers sound clear, and I can hear no crackle or fuzz in them at all. Phase is correct (as I double-check again). I'm hoping to get some ideas on how to get a little better sound out of it.

Today marks one week since arrival/setup. I have enjoyed the
system immensely. Just this one last little sticking point with the '150. Also, a buddy is bringing over his HSU VTF-3 MKII (?) tomorrow so we can have a subwoofer showdown. He already envies the M22/QS8/VP150 combo (even with my audio-geek concern over the 150). He has a BIG RETAIL setup other than the HSU. But the HSU is IMPRESSIVE. I want to do a side-by-side, and he wants to hear it with the Axioms.

Thanks,

Mark

Not sure, so far I haven't had such an issue, they seem very detailed and accurate with no mid push. Is this with all movies? Have you used the Auto Setup? For the Room EQ do you have it set to none, or Normal after running the autosetup. I notice if I switch from Room EQ off to Room EQ Normal, after performing the AutoSetup Pink noise tests, there is a little more punch...

M60's Vp150 EP350 4 Qs8's
Denon 2805

Have you calibrated using an SPL meter? Have you tried moving the M60s forward or backwards a bit?

I should have been a little more detailed:

"Dialog" movies are more susceptible. Especially movies with a "dry" mix. Resevoir Dogs does it, Pulp Fiction, not so much. TV is boxy. LOTR, Star Wars, not a problem. It's only when dialog is at the forefront, only on some sources. "Elephant" was boxy, "When Harry Met Sally (don't ask) wasn't. Could just be the source, I don't know. I'm just wondering if others have seen this phenomenon and were able to fix it with a little tweaking. That's the problem: With the upgraded speakers and receiver, you hear everything, warts and all. I think I already addressed the issue of my wife's beloved Rolling Stones cd's which are all old pressings not digitally remastered. She can't bear to listen to them and has ordered remastered replacements of some of them already.

"I think I already addressed the issue of my wife's beloved Rolling Stones cd's which are all old pressings not digitally remastered. She can't bear to listen to them and has ordered remastered replacements of some of them already."



If you ever get tired of her, can I have her?

As far as the SPL meter: Yes, yes, a thousand times YES I have
Thine Holy SPL Meter and have thus gone forth and anointed thine speakerseth.

As far as y'all waiting in line to steal my wife:
To quote Mr. C. Gull from the movie "Finding Nemo": "Mine, mine, minemineminemine!"

The '22's are in their "sweet spot" and should not be moved, methinks. And sorry for the misspelling of optimize. I am now flogging myself with licorice whips.

Mark:
I think that the biggest change you'll find in positioning is moving it further and closer to the wall.

Try isolating the center. I tested mine by popping the banana plugs off the back of my M60s and lying to my receiver: "No, I swear I have no sub or rears!" I proclaimed with a straight face.... When you're hearing only the center with music and movies, you'll better be able to tweak the position. Don't forget also to experiment with "large and small" settings on your receiver.

Finally, regarding Mick and company: Don't forget that one of the axioms of Axioms (I crack myself up) is that they will let crappy recordings sound that way! If the Stones sound bad but some great recent recording sounds good, you'll know it's the source material!

Good Luck!

Mark, that's a good tip. I'll try to isolate the '150. And the remastered "Sticky Fingers" is worlds better. Although the actual recording is still, I don't know, blah. The music is good though, for the Stones.

Well, although I'm not named Mark, I'd still like to participate in any threads where you can sneak in annointing, flogging and the Rolling Stones.

Um, Ray, he's got M22's. Try to keep up, willya?

I like MarkS's suggestion about isolating the speaker and fiddling with the front/back ratio a bit. He cracks both of us up.

Have you tried comparing the full 5.1 on the objectionable material with using a phantom center channel (umm, 4.1?)? Any chance you can move the speaker, even temporarily, to a spot/stand in front of the TV and closer to the floor? Just to see if a dramatic change in placement does anything?

Can you show us pictures? Have you read the beer thread? Do you have any good chili recipes?