Well, my plan to get new speakers is slightly delayed. Only slightly. I'm ordering an Emotiva XPA-3 amp to run my front three channels. I think I'm going to go with three M80 v3s across the front, so I wanted to have some external amplification. There seems to be less cause for worry these days, so fingers crossed. Now I'll be saving for the M80s. Hopefully I'll have them when the mystery device is ready to be rolled out.

I waited for the mystery device but it has been too much of a mystery so I bought an AVR. Three 80's across is my dream. I hope it is awesome.

Charles, you must have not read these threads about problems with the XPA-3 amps and M80s:

My XPA-3 Caught Fire!

I'm returning this POS amp!

Are my speakers destroyed?

I've had it!

I kind of wonder how many people were "waiting" and have since stopped waiting to buy something instead.... I think that Axiom dropped the ball on this one, if they would have at least said what the "mystery" device was, or what it was going to do.. Then people would have been willing to wait... The following of their product should be evident by their underestimation of the demand for the VP-180 or the VP150->180 upgrades that they got.....

Dakkon,
you speak my mind.

hope you enjoy the new diggs once setup

Yup, it's been very quiet around here. But then again, nobody(Ian) answers me.

Did somebody say something?

BOO!

It was shipped today with estimated delivery on Friday. Here's hoping I have it for the weekend!

It's delayed slightly again. I was approved for time off in May and August, so I'll need to pay for tickets to the Sasquatch music festival and the Chicago Comic Con. Then I'll focus my money back on new Axioms. I'm excited.

In anticipation of the new amplifier:



I figured I'd get some of the ultrasonically-welded, banana-terminated Blue Jeans speaker cables.

Totally bought them simply for the swank factor.

One of them looks to be broken

That part is simply unscrewed.

I knew that, just trying to mess with ya.

If you want to do that, there's always my love life. Ha ha.

Very nice! Is this your first time with BJC's locking banana plugs? Well worth it, they are awesome.

Yes, my first locking banana plugs of any brand. Good stuff.

Definitely. BJC's interconnects with the Canare and Taversoe RCA connections are killer. Say goodbye to "death grip".

Funny how those cables look to be Belkin CL2 rated wires with a fancy banana plug on the end (how'd I do CV)

Hey, as long as part of it looks fancy!

Well, I have the XPA-3. FedEx Ground tried to deliver when I was in the shower, but thankfully the same guy delivers to where I work at the hospital, so he had me sign there and took it back to my house. It's all hooked up and works. Well, I haven't tried anything using the center channel yet. The only issue is there is a distractingly loud hum now. I'll have to see what I can do about it.

You probably introduced a ground loop into the system.

I'm never good at diagnosing these.

When I have the amp on but the receiver off, only the M22 center is making the hum. The M80s are just putting out a faint hiss. When I turn the receiver on, they all make the hum. When it's just the amp on and not the receiver, the hum does follow the M22 if I switch what channel of the amp it's on. What could this mean?

I think its still a ground loop that you introduced between the pre-amp and amp. Try disconnecting cables one at a time starting with any RCA types.

With none of the RCAs on the receiver and amp connected, the hum does go away. Once I add any of them, the hum is back, so you're right. What would you suggest at this point, or is there a good checklist somewhere I can refer to?

Okay, I'm really dumb. It was the first thing I should have checked. I still had the TV antenna hooked up to the TV. I thought I had disconnected it ages ago since I watch TV through WMC on my computer these days. Or I will again after I update my Nvidia drivers, anyway. In any case, I noticed it was still connected. I unplugged it, and now it's eerie silence when it should be. Except for the sound of the world's longest duuuuuuuuh.

Great!

Anyways here is a checklist for your amp in case you run into any other issues in the future.

http://emotivalounge.proboards.com/index...2709&page=1

CV,
slightly off topic, but have you ever considered relocating to Massachusetts? Bob and I could have come over and helped you.

Thanks! Hopefully I won't need it, but I'll keep it bookmarked.

So does the amp sound better than your receiver?

...haha

I'd say yes. The bass seems more pronounced. And the sound is cleaner, but it could just be the ground loop being dealt with.

Double check to make sure you have the settings exaclty the same as before, increased bass just because you added an amp shouldn't be happening, I bet its the interconnects

I can be sure the settings aren't the same because I re-calibrated after introducing it to the system. I've also been trying it with and without Audyssey. I wasn't using it before, and I can't say for sure whether it was engaged or not when I was noticing the bass, so there's that, too. In any case, I'm happy with the quality of the sound at higher volumes. Doesn't feel like it's becoming compressed when I'm pushing it.

Welcome to the world of outboard amps! enjoy.

I've actually been to this world before with the A1400-8. That's one reason I'm eager to hear more news on the new version.