hey guys knew member here.
current equiptment:
52" panasonic Vierra 1080p
Onkyo TX-SR607
Xbox 360 & PS3
speakers:
energy connoisseur C5's main
energy connoisseur CC1 center
energy connoisseur C1 surrounds
Mirage BSP 150i & DefTec SupercubeII for sub

I ordered M60's,VP150,and Qs8's for surround

do you all think that the axioms will improve my sound by much?
the energy's are pretty good but i wanted to go alittle more high end (I'm taking baby steps lol). i got the energy's on craigslist almost a year ago.

here is a review of the energy C5:
http://www.audio-ideas.com/reviews/loudspeakers/energy-c5.html

im hoping to get an improvement and believe the axioms will rock my world but my biggest fear is that they will not. what do you guys think?

also thank you axiom for being a really cool company and also tx to all the posters its been fun reading what you guys go through and talk about.

van.

pic kinda old this is when i had a yamaha reciever.

I've never listened to Energy speakers before, but have heard good things said about them. So how big of an improvement is hard to say, but I will say that I don't think you'll be disappointed by them at all. The M60's are giant killers forsure! If you really like bass, you might consider the M80's, if that's not a big concern for you then I'd say test out the M60's forsure.

And that's the best part of Axiom, don't sweat your decision too much because if you get them and for what ever reason they fail to blow you away, then simply box them up and return them for a full refund, simple as that. I'd really love to hear a good head-to-head write-up between your Energy's and the M60's to be honest, since Energy speakers seem to be fairly popular. Which ever road you take, good luck!

tx for your quick reply micah. it's funny you posted first i just got done reading about your subwoofer experience. i don't mean to laugh but that was crazy, hope all is well your room now lol.

and yea i would have absolutly no doubts the m80's would do fine but my reciever is only rated for 6 ohms and above or else i would have been all over them.

but yea i will do a heads up callenge with fresh pics and see what happends. they arrive on thursday 11/19/09..can't wait. :0)

Hi Van, welcome to the forum. Before I bought my Axioms(M80/QS8/VP150) I auditioned some of the Energy line of speakers from their Connoisseur and Reference Connoisseur lines(RC70,CF50 ect). Compared to the Axioms, I found the Energy's to be less detailed and more subdued, almost muffled by comparison. The Verita line up (which I've never heard) has been said to be much closer to the "Axiom sound".

Energy certainly makes some nice, well built speakers but I'm sure you'll notice the difference esp compared to either the "C" or "RC" line.

Hi: Welcome to the club!!! I owned mirage bi-polar(890's,+ their center) I find the Axioms a major step up from the Mirages I owned you will not regret the move to Axioms!!!! Mirage & Energy were owed at the time by Audio Products International(API for short)

Hi i am popping in on this one. I am looking at the M60 and M80 and cant decide. Not sure I want to spend the extra money for the 80. I am upgrading from the M22 on wall and think the 60 will be a big improvement. I am running the ep350 sub and have an 18x18x8 sized room. will that sub and the m60 be sufficient? powered by a Denon 3806.......

Crazy isn't even the word for it, there is some sort of demond living in this house that has a pure distain for bass, and he made sure no Axiom sub was ever going to thunder on his parade ever again! But through all of that, through all of the parts swapping, exchanging units, and all the rest of it, I came away with nothing but the utmost respect for Axiom and their company, that if nothing else, should prove to you that you made the right decision to purchase their product. You will never find a company more willing to do what it takes to satisfy you than Axiom. And if in the end it doesn't work out, they will take their product back with a smile and wish you a good day.

You my friend, can not go wrong.

Van - absolutely send us your take on your Energy line Vs. the M60's. I've been an Axiom fan for over two years now. Recently I visited BB (had to buy some blank discs) and auditioned some $1000+ Def Tech towers... my M3's with the BIC sub (hands down) beat that pair. It wasn't even close IMO. I'm still in a little bit of a shock the comparison was that much of difference in favor of the Axioms. Oh the midrange, oh the midrange. I think you'll enjoy your new M60's very much.

Can't help you with Energys, but Axiom speakers are awesome.

Welcome Van,

Adrian, as a satisfied owner of the Veritas 2.3s I will finaly get a chance to experience all that the M80s have to offer since my cousin just received his Epic 80 - 500 system last week and I'm doing the install. So after being a part of this forum for 2 years and never heard the M80s, I am really looking forward to it. I will be sharing my thoughts here after some solid hours of good listening. I know that I am super happy with my QS8s and I'm liking my EP500 a whole lot to.. So don't you worry Van, by all accounts, you will be very pleased.

I don't know about your current speakers but I can +1 on the M60's. I have said this many times....I can't imagine any speaker sounding much better.

Van your Onkyo, can in fact, run the M80's, it is just a matter of how loud you want them to go. The 6ohm rating is quite standard among avr's. I ran my M80s with my 15 yr. old Sony with no problems. The worst that would happen is the Onkyo overheats and shuts down for awhile. I am not familar with the 607, does it have preouts? If so you could always add a seperate amp to drive the M80s in the event the 607 shuts down more often than not.

Try the M60s and let us know, if you are not happy with them ship them back and order up the M80s, no shipping costs as long as this is done within the 30 day trial period, you only pay the difference between the M60/M80.

Welcome Van. I just put my new Onkyo 3007 through it’s paces with my M80s. First I played my 7.1 system 3xM80s up front for half an hour at 100dB from 11 feet away. Then played it another hour and a half with just the L/R M80s also at 100dB at 11 feet. I finally got the protection circuit to kick in five minutes after bumping it up to 105dB. This was playing GOA Trance and other music with a heavy rapid bass beat. So I think your Onkyo could handle the M80s unless you want it insanely loud.

Welcome to the club, Van. I think you'll be pleased with your purchase. Do let us know!

Before I knew about Axiom (and before they were purchased by Klipsch), Energy was my preferred brand. I've done quite a few showroom demos from the Veritas and Connoisseur line. No, not as valid as actually owning the speakers in my home, but good enough, I suppose.

As someone else mentioned, and IMHO too, the Veritas i line of speakers matches up quite closely to what you can expect from Axiom's big towers (in my case, specifically, the M80's). I might even put the 2.4i's a notch above the M80's. Those 2.4i's were excellent speakers. Neutral, clean, powerful, and spacious sound. They were quite lovely, when I last heard a pair in a shop. Had they not been nearly 3x my budget, I might have come home with a pair. It's too bad that Energy appears to have discontinued them, as they were really lovely speakers.

The Connoisseur's are/were a step down from that. I would consider Connoisseur's to be solidly good speakers, and probably a cut above most "mass-market" speakers out there. But based on what I've heard, I do not believe they are quite as crisp and clean as what you should expect from Axiom. Someone else mentioned a 'muddiness' to them, and I'd have to concur. I took a CD of music that I liked, and one my most distinct memories of the Connoisseur's that we heard was that the midrange sounded a bit more muffled and the highs lacked a certain amount of sparkle. They lacked the acoustic 'pop' that I'm used to with my M80's.

I have not ever heard any speakers from the Reference Connoisseur line, so I can't say for sure about those.

Good luck, and have fun demoing. Always fun to get new speakers

just looked up the tracking number and they come in today!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! damb i can hardly wait.

p.s. i just now noticed i spelled new, knew..LOL.. sorry :0)

That's OK, you misspelled damn also.

jesus!!! im on a role...LOL

that one was on purpose

You mispelled "once wash"...

while i wait and check my spelling, figure i'll post up some before pictures:0)







some bass traps i built to help with the big bare wall.



right surround


left surround

Nice room!

Getn ready to be even more nicer!




(figured I'd add the mispelling already going on in this thread... when in Rome).

Nice looking room, Energy has some nice speakers but I believe you would get an improvement from Axiom. One thing to be aware of though, the Axiom towers will most likely need to be further out from the wall as they're rear ported.

How does the center sound and have you played with the location at all? I've read a few times about moving it to the front of the cabinet to alleviate reflections or coloration.

In your current set up that may look funny, but if you get the Axioms you would need to move the towers forward as well so the center wouldn't be looking too far forward from the side view

I love your huge clock.

Whew, I didn't misspell that.

[quote=HAYOne thing to be aware of though, the Axiom towers will most likely need to be further out from the wall as they're rear ported.
[/quote]

I would at least recommend moving them forward until they are even with the front edge of the entertainment center. The room looks great.

[Michael Scott]
That's what she said.
[/Michael Scott]

That's getting close to be a record of mispelling...

Just padding my post count.

Good idea.

y not?

As was said, I would recommend pulling those speakers(any speaker) to be flush with the front of the entertainment center to eliminate reflections.

werx four mi.

Awesome! The Dark Night playing through your HT. Nice room and setup you got there.

Tx! for all the comments and suggestions guys and corrections to mispelling!

okay i got the speakers in and have set them up. first the pics then the questions. i really do take your input seriously







left surround


right surround, i put up the surrounds, just shy of six feet




this is as far to the edge of the stand that i can have them, without them bugging me, by being so far out. especially the center cause the wire is just way too noticable when flush.



to biamp or not to biamp?with one reciever mind you. the onkyo gives me the option of bi or back surrounds.



okay so... the first question is this. should i use avia guide to calibrate spl levels or run audyssey. cause they differ substantially. when i double check the avia guide spl setting for 75db's using the same reference volume of 60 on the reciever, i get higher levels coming out of the center and surrounds. to help make my question more clear, when i run audyssey and then check it with avia... the center and surround level is too low. who should i go with audyssey or avia.

also no matter what changes i make as far as small and large and crossevers. audyssey sets the mains to full range, center to 90hz and surrounds to 100hz. i did make changes manually anyways after every test and set the mains to 60hz and others the 80hz this is from advice thus far.

as far as sound goes , i can only really here a difference between the axioms and the energy's while listening to cd's. the axioms sound great. but in movies this far, the axioms aren't really wowing me for some reason. which seems weird, why do i hear a diffence in clarity and space with music but not movies.

im guessing it might be the movies thus far, or maybe my ears aren't use to them yet :0)

so far so good, they look fantastic, going to give it a few weeks for a final take.

If they're sounding different from one source to another...(especially if you're talking stereo to surround, I'm guessing something isn't right in your receiver's setup.

Let me say one thing, it looks to me as if your VP150 is pointing over the top of your listening area. Perhaps you should try turning it over onto the top so it projects forward (don't forget to turn the grill around)... this might help out your center channel performance. Beyond that you might try toeing your speakers in, out, moving them back, and out, and all sorts of stuff until you find the sound that suits you.

Also it does take a bit of time to adjust your ears from what you've been used to for so long. Initially they might not seem dramatically better. But once your ears adjust and you get used to them, try hooking your Energy's back up (if you haven't gotten rid of them) and see if you notice a difference then. Enjoy.

okay i'll try out those suggestions. and ya mark , im maybe thinking that something is deffinetly not right, maybe it is my reciever. i might have to go a little higher up on the food chain.

I turned over the vp150 to try and avoid the reflections micah but i'll put it right side up and see how i feel and hear.

p.s. mark im reading your looooooong post about your room really interesting read. holy crow! like someone said.lol.

I would drop Audyysey and not use it at first, set up the system with the SPL meter and listen this way then run Audyysey and see which way you like better.

Certainly flip that center over and just try it at the front for awhile and see if you can notice a difference, if no difference then move it back. You can't see the wire while you are listening

When I ran Audyssey with my system, I find my VP150 comes in a few db lower to level match them with my M60s,mabye cuz' its a 6 ohm speaker, but the levels are correct.I agree with the others here, you should flip your center over and slide to the edge of the cabinet and also pull the M60s out to be level with the edge of the cabinet.Looks great though,ENJOY!

Audyssey can take a bit of trial and error to setup properly. And depending on the version of Audyssey (MultEQ or MultEQ XT) it can make a *HUGE* difference. I'm not sure what version you have.

I would second the idea about pointing the centers down a bit. You can always prop it up temporarily with a pen or something.

What sub and receiver do you have? It's actually the receiver that decides what should be Large/Full Range or Small. The makers of Audyssey recommend setting the speakers to small if you have an external sub.