Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater I Have The Best Wife In the World!

Hi Everyone,

I've been an Axiom owner for almost 2 years, and have been trolling almost as long. I bought 4 QS8's back then to provide surround sound for a new house we were buying. My old standbys... Infinity IL60s. When the house was built, the new theater was a work in progress. After all this time, I finally had it the way I wanted it... That is except for the old standbys.

My wife knew I wanted new mains, and I went out to the local high end store to audition the Paradigm Studio 100's. Well, they did not have them in stock, so I listened to the 60's... They were okay. The dealer pushed me to Focal's, but they were not what I was looking for. I listened to a pair of Magnepan 3.6's, and I thought they were awesome, but I knew they were hard to drive (I have a Denon 3806). Well, nothing in the cards for me today.

When I went home and told my wife about my visit, she was interested in what happened. I told her about my visit, and to my shock, she said "Well, just buy the Maggies then."

How do you handle a statement like that?

Well, this is how I handled it. I almost fell over to begin with, but then I thought for a while. If I bought the Maggie's ($4500+tax), I'd still need a subwoofer. Most likely also, I would need another amp because I am pretty sure the Denon would not cut a 4 ohm, 80db efficiency load. Then, my center would not match my mains. It just would not work.

So, I said to myself... Self... What speakers do you have that you are the most happy with? My answer was my surrounds. They always seemed to dominate my listening experience. I've always been happy with my Axioms. So, as a test, I took 2 off the back wall and hooked them up to the front, with the subs of the IL60s providing the bass. WOW! They sounded great!

So, I went back to the boss and asked her what she thought about getting some Axioms for the fronts. She said she liked the Maggies for the WOW factor, but it was my theater and I could get whatever I wanted (whoa!). I told her I could really do it up for about 1/3 less than the Maggies and she said "go for it!" (My birthday is in 6 weeks).

So, long story short... For 2/3 of what I would have paid for the pair of Maggies, I'm getting factory outlet versions of:

1 Pair of M80s
2 EP500 Subwoofers
1 VP150 Center

I'm almost a week into the waiting period... 2 weeks or so to go!

Here's some picture of where they are going! Sorry, it's a little dark (Burgundy walls). I'll take better pictures when the Axioms arrive.

Looking forward to talking music with all of you!

Congrats, Sroode!

That's a nice room!

You bought some great gear. Two 500s in that space will rock your world. And you will spend many a night losing yourself in the wonder of the M80s.

I think you will find the 80's will blow those maggies out of the water for HT and music overall, at a heck of a lot less money.

Nice to have you around....

I am getting a severe case of H.T.E(Home Theater Envy), love your room!

I think you made the wise choice and with the money you saved by not buying the maggies you could almost buy the A1400-8!

Thanks everyone, I'm really looking forward to the experience.

My room is 16'W x 19'L x 8.5' H, so I'm hoping the new speakers will blend in nicely. The screen is 126"

Here's my 1st recommendation for a nice listening experience (even without the Axiom mains). Roy Orbison "Black and White Night" HD-DVD. The sound quality is amazing on this disc. It sounds like you are sitting in the audience.

Welcome, Steve!

Fantastic room you've got there! Oh, and, ummmm, fantastic wife you've got there!

Tell us a bit about the sound panels....

Hi Steve:

Thats one awesome looking HT. Love the sitting arrangement.
What projector / screen are u using?

I really wish we could have basements in California :-(

Regs,
Avi

Oh man!! With all these awesome home theaters popping up, there not gonna let the riffraff like me in any more.

Very nicely decorated!

Fred

Hi Mark. I'm blessed with a great roo.. er, I mean wife!

The black panels are ATS Acoustics panels. They are staggered 2" and 4" thick along the side walls to break things up. They are high density fiberglass wrapped in burlap. The burgundy panels are Auralex foam, and I added them to bring the colors together (I also made a burgundy diamond on the ceiling between the prime seating space and the speakers to absorb that reflection, but it's not in any picture I have posted yet).

Hi Avi,

The projector is a Panasonic PT-AE900U, which I really love, but would love to trade in for their newer series which is 1080p and has more lumens and a better contrast ratio. For a totally dark room like mine though, it works very well.

The screen is a 126" Carada Criterion Series (1.78 to 1 ratio) with a brilliant white finish. I can't say enough great things about this screen. It was easy to assemble and install, and it is really beautiful.

Another great thing about my wife is she gave me the basement to do what I please with (she got the other 2 floors though)...

Thanks for the compliment Fred.

Riffraff! What are you talking about? Canadians not only make the best beer, now they make the best speakers! A big hello from your neighbor down South!

Steve, welcome. Very elegant room indeed. Your comment about Canadian speakers probably won't get disagreement here, but beer is a different matter(note that there's a very lengthy beer thread about a week back in the "Watercooler" section).

Congrats on the speakers, very nice rom you have.

I agree with everyone else here- your room is really nice.

Sroode - you are going to be so AMAZED when you get those speakers. I just picked up my Epic 80 system (sub still on order) about 2 weeks ago and still marvel at the quality. Even my wife is astounded with how good they sound (and look).

We were on the couch last night watching an HD over the air broadcast and she turned to me and said... you know, this setup really is amazing. Considering how supportive your wife is already, she's going to be singing Axiom's praises when they arrive. Have fun!

Very nice room, SRoode.

By the way, I have the same screen and projector and also love the combination. In case you didn't know, the Panny will accept forced 1080p/24. You can set a player like the XA2 to output 1080p/24 and then go into Panny's setup menu to confirm.

You will be floored with the sound of your Axioms. With all this people buying two subs, I feel it's time to go for a 7.2. Wait....dual centers, above and below the screen, is supposed to be the ideal setup per Alan. So, I guess it's time to go for an 8.2. Wait...Ian uses 4 subs, doesn't he? So, where the heck does this end?

John

I am about to cave into the dual sub peer pressure myself

OH GAD! Yet another case of room envy. Sheesh!

Thanks again to everyone for your very kind words!

I have a Denon DVD-2930ci which supposedly can output 1080p. I think when I tried to do this however, the projector output was all messed up. I read the manual for the project and it does not say it supports 1080p.

How do I force it in the Panny menu?

The projector will accept 1080p/24, which you can confirm in the setup menu without any manipulation of the settings, but your Denon 2930ci will not output 1080p/24 (only 1080p/60).

John

Ditto that... already took the plunge. They are not two matching subs though... so we'll see how that goes.



Don't forget your A & B side surrounds, which makes it 10.4... If you're not completely surrounded by speakers, floor, walls, and ceiling, you're not done!

Now that's what I'm talking about!!!

I am pretty sure I am going to get a 600- so I will have a 600 and a 500 (not matching but pretty close).

Re: Riffraff You havn't seen pics of my mes... er room.

You know, with the money you saved by goint with Axiom, you could upgrade to the real wood finish and still come out ahead.

As for beer, I wouldn't know. To me, beer and good don't belong in the same sentance together (at least not for me).

Burn him!!!!


Just kidding, Fred. It's okay.

Hey, mine's my living room, complete with the 1 year olds toys and makeshift blockades.

Nice room, SRoode!

I have a 4 year old and a 10 month old... I'm thinking of installing a retina scan to access the basement.

You may want to take a look at the Shepherd DL210 Biometric Fingerprint Door Lock by Hongda.

Nice room! let me know if your wife ever becomes "available", she sounds like a keeper

burn burn burn

Ahh... a nice toasty fire I can sit next to while I enjoy a glass of wine. Now if only I had those M80s I would be in heaven.

A six of Newcastle Brown Ale standing by for me when they arrive...

1 week officially down. 2 weeks to go.

(I should have just paid the extra 10%... Ugh! Damn you Tom Petty!)

Is there anything better in the world than seeing..

Apr 4, 2008 7:59 AM On FedEx vehicle for delivery INDIANAPOLIS, IN

Updates and pix hopefully to follow soon!

The only thing better that I can think of is one out for delivery in Tehachapi, Ca

No way! Out for delivery is torture! Because it could be ANYTIME!

ummm yeah

Apr 4, 2008 7:59 AM On FedEx vehicle for delivery FREDRICKSBURG, VA

I hate you all.

Apr 1, 2008 7:57 PM

Arrived at FedEx location

BUFFALO, NY

When did you move Ken?

I didn't. That's the last entry in the Fedex list. It should be coming to CA...

Which I'm sure it is. It's probably on a truck or something.

Maybe you should, just so the sub shows up faster!

Sigh...

Yeah, Ken. The weather is much nicer in New York. . .

Hi All,

They came around 2 pm yesterday! Just getting some pictures ready now to put up for ya! Give me about 30 mins or so.

Steve

I can't stand the excitement....tic toc tic toc.

The boxes were delivered by FedEx around 2pm (this was less than 48hrs from when Axiom shipped them!). Overall, I think they arrived in fantastic condition. It had been raining the last 2 days, so some boxes were a little damp (the one M80 box was sort of falling apart on the top from the rain, so I took the speaker out of the box in the garage before brining it down to the basement).



After careful inspection, I can tell you that only one speak had any kind of imperfection (they were all bought from the Factory Outlet). One M80 had a slight nick. That's it! The two EP500 subs had sequential serial numbers, so I think Axiom gave me a break and sent out new ones so that I coul have my speakers within the 3 week promise! This is a mark of a great company!



Here they are all unpacked and ready to go in the theater!




Here they are set in pace in their new home!




And of course, the obligatory full frontal nudity shot!



I'm still in the process of tuning things and setting the sound up, so I don't want to say too much about the sound yet (My old speakers were Infinity IL60s, which were great performers in their own right). I will mention a couple of interesting things:

1) Denon Audessy now wants to set all of my speakers to large. I have never had that happen before. I tried twice and both times it set all speaker (even the QS8s to large). Although it sounded great in stereo, it did not sound great in 7-Channel stereo. I have manually set the speakers all back to small with a 100Hz crossover (since I have 2 subs up front next to the mains, I can get away with a setting this high). This sounded MUCH better in all modes. Oh, the subs are both set to FLAT.

2) Audessy likes to tune down the sub a lot. With both subs at 7pm setting, FLAT, Audessy adjusted the sub another -6db. When I took measurements with the Radio Shack meter, and the Infinity RABOS meter, the low frequencies were much quieter than the high frequencies. I adjusted the subs to the 9pm position after the Audessy adjustment, and it sounds much better like that.

3) Even with initial testing, I have been able to get a +/- 1db flat curve from 100Hz down to 20Hz. I am using the Infinity RABOS sound meter, which is very accurate on the low frequencies. My old speakers would begin to drop off at 35Hz, and would be -15db at 20Hz! Huge improvement.

More to come as I continue adjustment and listen to more music!

WOW!!!!!

In one of your close-ups above, I see a lot of white speckles. Is that just dust?

Yes, it's just dust. After I moved them into final position, I dusted them off.

Very nice. You will spend countless hours enjoying this system after you've convinced yourself you've tweaked it "just right" .

The black looks beautiful in your room. Congrats. I'm sure you've got a VERY fun weekend in front of you.

By the way, given the title of this thread, I have to ask... how does the wife like the new setup?

She hasn't really had time to sit down there with me yet. We have a 4 year old and a 10 month old, so it's hard to grab the 30 mins or so a day together between taking care of the kids. By the time we can sit down, the kids are napping or asleep, so we can't play the music loud then anyway! Catch 22

But, I will say this... She helped my carry the speakers down the stairs to the basement!

That right there is a good reason to be married.

Looks good Steve. I don't recall what receiver your using, but I would recommend you use 80hz crossover, even with the subs up front.

ps: After looking at your bar, I can see I need to get more alchohol inventory for my bar.

Funny you mention that, in the midst of a minor disagreement yesterday, my wife said to me, "You better be nice to me or you won't have anyone to help you carry your new 100lb speaker (EP-600) up the stairs when it comes."

"Touche," was all I could say. I'll be on my best behavior for 2 more weeks...

Hah, I'm more of a beer drinker. The hard stuff is for guests.

I have the Denon AVR-3806.

I'll try the 80Hz crossover to see how it goes. I only set it at 100 Hz because the M80 starts to drop off at 100Hz. My room has a notorious 63Hz resonance, so I was a little worried about too much peak at that frequency (my old speakers had built in parametric equalizers to tone down that freq). Surprisingly however, I had no problem with the EP500s set to FLAT. They really are pretty flat all the way down to 20Hz.

I'm more of a beer drinker myself, but enjoy a mixed drink from time to time. I think the 3806 allows for different crossover's for different speakers, so you might experiment. I know many people set the 80's to around 60hz as they go pretty low.

Also, do you have the 150 angled upwards in the picture? If so, I assume it is to aim it towards your ears. You can also flip it over as one side is angled, and then just flip the grill over so the wording is correct.

Yes, it is angled up to my ears (about 4 degrees). I'm using an Auralex MoPads, which are there to acoustically isolate the center channel from the cabinet. This stops the cabinet from resonating.

That's a very nice looking set up and room, congrats, and by the looks of the bar, cheers!

I feel your pain on the 4 year old and younger one. I also have a soon to be 4 year old and just had my second on Thursday. It was hard enough to get a movie in at decent levels with the first...I don't know when I will find time now with the new born

Okay guys and gals... Here's my review of my new speakers.

Overall Build Quality
The build quality of the speakers is excellent, just like the QS8’s that I already had. My previous speakers were vinyl covered as well, but the Axiom’s just seem much more close to real wood to me. Considering these were factory outlet speakers, I really was expecting more nicks and dents. 4/5 speakers were flawless, and only 1 had a small nick that you had to be right at the speaker to see. 9.5/10 from me.

M80’s
It’s hard for me to put in words the difference that I heard from my old speakers (Infinity Interlude IL60’s) and the M80’s. After talking it over with my wife for a bit, I think we both agreed that the M80’s are “tighter” all around. The lows are there, but they are not boomy or muddy. I guess some people here would call that the attack/decay rate. Whatever you call it, it is a much more pleasurable and realistic sound. The highs were much more detailed than my old speakers, yet less harsh. After hours of listening, my ears never became fatigued. In my wife’s words, her ears did not hurt after listening for a while (she usually complained that I played music too loud, but it really wasn’t that, it was the harshness of the sound). The mids were detailed as well, and we both noticed sounds in songs and movies that we had not heard before with the old speakers. With all of these improvements, plus a 6db efficiency edge to the Axiom’s, I am playing my music about 5 db lower than I did before (and my better half definitely appreciates that). The soundstage on these speakers is excellent as well, but my old speakers had a great soundstage too. There is a real sense of 3 dimensions when listening to music in stereo (I have the speakers about 11 ft apart, 11 ft from me, and toed in slightly). This sense of 3 dimensions is multiplied by several factors when listening to music in 7-Channel stereo mode. The M80’s match very well with the QS8’s. So much so that 7-Channel stereo is now my wife’s preferred mode to listen to music. I’d say I’m 80% in agreement with her.

I want to be able to say at least one thing bad about each speaker I talk about. For the M80’s there really is nothing that I would consider “bad”, since they are truly excellent speakers. I guess my only gripe would be that they are considerable shorter than my old speakers (by about 8 inches), and the center point of the 2 tweeters is below my main listening level (and since I have a raised 2nd row of seating, much lower than that listening level). This was easily corrected by using the high quality spikes included with the speakers (they are much bigger than I thought they would be).

So, I give the M80’s a 9.5/10.

EP500’s
I don’t know which speaker I would consider the star of the show, the M80’s or the EP500’s. My old speakers had built in “subwoofers”, but they started dropping off quickly at 35Hz, and by 20Hz, I was already -16db. Not so with the EP500’s. Granted I am still in the process of tweaking and calibrating the two EP500’s I set up, but it is a night and day difference between what I had before. Like the M80’s the lows are nice and tight, and not excessive, boomy or muddy (unless of course I turn the level higher than it should be!). Regardless of the crossover setting I choose, or the trim adjustment I employ, they seamlessly merge with the M80’s. Most people would think a sub’s purpose is for movie enhancement only, but the EP500’s really add a new dimension to my music listening. It’s probably more dramatic for me because I never had a true subwoofer before. Even “quiet” music that does not have a lot of drumming seems more realistic because of the low frequency extension the EP500’s provide. When I played a movie for my 4 year old to watch to show off the sub’s, I chose the rocket liftoff in Apollo 13 (he loves anything having to do with cars, trucks, trains, planes, rockets, etc.). He had never seen the movie before, and I watched his expression as I played track 13 out of the corner of my eye… He was mesmerized. There were parts where I thought he would get scared because our seats were literally shaking and I could feel my pants flap once or twice during the scene. Nope… He was just glued to the movie, and I don’t think he even blinked once. Afterwards, he only words were “Again Daddy!”. I think that sums up what my experience with the EP500 is… It draws you into the movie, and makes it seem much more real.

Now, if I had to pick a negative about the EP500 it would be the lack of a parametric equalizer (even just 1 band). Most rooms have a resonant frequency that needs to be tamed. The SVS subs do have this feature, and my old speakers had them as well. I will have to wind up purchasing one down the road (as my REW tells me), but it would have been nice to have this feature. Hmmm… The subs do have a USB port…. I wonder what the boys at Axiom have up their sleeves?

I give the EP500’s a 9/10.

VP150
The VP150 is, IMHO the weakest part of the link. Not to say it is a bad speaker, because is definitely isn’t. It just doesn’t seem to match very well with the rest of the system. It could be that the M80’s, EP500’s and QS8’s are just too much for the VP150 to handle. When I play a movie, the other channels seem to dominate, and sometimes it is hard to hear the dialogue. When I play songs in 7-Channel Stereo, the center image seems solid, but this is most likely due to the M80’s helping out. I also have noticed that there is a very small sweet spot for the VP150, much smaller than the sweet spot of my old center, the Infinity Interlude IL36C. If I move right or left 6 inches, I lose the center channel “image”. (I don’t know if I’m saying that right… What I mean is if I move a little, the dialogue no longer sound like it is coming from the center, it sounds like it is coming from the front speaker I moved closer to). With my old center, I could move to either seat on my left or right side and still maintain the center image. I think maybe adding a second VP150 next to the one I have would help, since my screen is 126”.

Since I mostly spoke negative about this speaker, I would like to add a positive. When I play music in 7-Channel Stereo (helped by the M80’s), it really does sound awesome. Better than most speakers I have ever heard. If I close my eyes, there are some songs I have that it really sounds like the artist is in the room singing.

I give the VP150 a 7/10.

Conclusion
Since I had the QS8’s for over a year, I knew that I would be getting quality products from Axiom. When the new speakers arrived, I was so impressed with my initial, pre-calibrated listening sessions that I threw the boxes out the second day. No returns for me! I had wanted great speakers for a while now, and as I said in the initial post, I got the okay from the boss to get just about anything I wanted. I chose Axiom for their quality, my past experience with their products, and probably most importantly my past experience with their people. It’s getting harder and harder to find a company that produces a quality product in addition to providing you top quality support (Denon would be my personal example of a company that succeeds in the former, but fails miserably in the latter).

After 5 days of listening to my new system, I already know I made the right choice! I love my new speakers.

Very nice review. Very well spoken.
Sometimes discussion gets so tied up in the nuances it's great to be reminded that first impressions are really the most important. It's then that you are comparing your new product to what you know and deciding if you are happy. After that, tweaking to make stuff sound a bit better here and there is just gravy.

Great review, I have one suggestion, try adjusting the center angle higher or lower to see if that helps with the off axis, a few inches off axis shouldn't matter that much unless you are quite close to it and with that size of screen I know you are not. I also run the center 2-3 db higher just to make the vocals more pronounced, it really helps.

Great review. Congratulations on your new setup.



...and thus was the purchase more than justified.

If you can play with placement of the VP150, that might make a meaningful difference. Or perhaps you could consider vertical center channel(s).

Do we have pictures?

Thanks guys, I will try adjusting the angle on the VP150.

Tomtuttle - Pictures on page 5 of this thread

D'oh!

Just beautiful!

Instead of 7-channel stereo have you tried DD PLIIx music or the DTS Neo options?

Thanks Tom. BTW, I love your avatar! I can just see Buck pulling the axe out of his trunk... Nice and sharp!

Randy,

I have, but for a stereo source, to my ears I would rate them:

1) 7 Channel
2) Stereo
3) Neo
4) PLIIx
5) Matrix

Hmmm, Neo and Matrix in the same list...

Awesome movies In fact, I just recently had a Matrix movie marathon at my place.

Nice review and congrats o the speakers.

Bang on! Good review and enjoy your system.

Sorry to dig up an old thread, but I feel it is justified. When I reviewed the speakers on page 7, I only had them a couple of days. Now that I have had a couple of months to listen to them, I have to change one of my reviews...

I did not give the VP150 the justice it deserves. There, I said it, plain an simple. About a month ago I decided to throw the Audessey settings out the window and just listen to the system with no equalization. Immediately, I noticed an fuller sound all around, and actually had to turn the volume down 3-4 db from my normal listening volume. Where as before I had to crank the center up 3db to hear the vocals, I actually now have to have it about 1db lower than the mains.

After a couple of weeks of tweaking, I have found manual settings that I like the best. It's a typical bell curve, albeit slight (+1.5db on the high and low frequency ends, -1.5db in the center frequency... Except for the center which is flat in the center frequency).

The vocals are now crisp and clear, and the whole system blends beautifully together! I can hear nuances in the vocals that I could not hear before (like when the singer stops to inhale, or licks their lips... you really can hear everything).

I am extremely happy with the VP150, and just wanted to say I withdraw my prior rating of a 7/10, and move it up to a 9/10. It's an excellent speaker.

Here I am digging up one from the grave again...

We've had the system for about 9 months now, and I just cannot say enough great things about the speakers, and the company. As some of you know, I've been on the road the last couple of months for work, and I only get to go home to see my family every other weekend. When I do get to go home, one of the first things my oldest boy (Stevie, who's 4 1/2) asks is for all of us to go to the basement to listen to music. We spend hours playing music, dancing together, and rolling around on the floor. Needless to say, I think that the speakers we purchased have been one of the best purchases I've ever made. Our time together (although short now) is filled with great music, great times, and more and more memories as time goes on.

I had mentioned my interest in the new EP800s to my wife several months ago, sort of off the cuff, just to see what her reaction would be. I was kind of surprised when I found her reaction to be positive to the idea. Unfortunately, I did not have access to the owners club, so pre-purchase was not an option.

After several e-mail, phone calls, and months of waiting, I finally got my invite a couple of days ago. I immediately went to the EP800 screen to see if pre-purchase was still an option. Unfortunately, I was about a month too late... After a couple of e-mails to Axiom, including a response from the man himself, Axiom agreed to allow me to trade in my two EP500s as credit towards two new EP800s. After speaking with my wife (for final approval), we agreed to the deal! So now I'm chomping at the bit for their release too!

So, long story short, again I am very grateful to have such a wondeful wife, speakers from such a wonderful company, and a great group of online friends as well.

Steve

:P, :P you deserve 2 rasberries for that.

Congratulations, with all of you 'expecting in the next month or so, we all had better tread lightly, I know what expecting mothers can be like!

What did you do with the Infinity Interludes, they're awsome?

That's great news! I'm glad it's working out.

I still have them. Waiting to find a local buyer.

Another 12 or so years there will be loud music played, dancing and rolling around on the floor ... the only difference is that you'll not be invited Steve, and may even be shunned as a total and clueless stranger. "What I'd really like, Dad, is to borrow the car keys. See you later, can I have them please?"


Congrats on the new 800's and remember to lift with your knees and not with your back on those critters.

Awesome Steve, fantastic! (and congrats on finally getting the elusive access into the owner's club). I guess I need to start beating that drum again too.

Jason

And a friend. My father, at 74, knows to lift with his legs, but still hasn't figured out he needs help now and then. I wish I was close enough to volunteer. I would love to hear the 800!!

The 800 still isn't as heavy as my PB13, quit yer whinin'.

Volunteers, as well as interested parties (parties, did someone say party!) are always welcome. I let you guys know when they come, and give you my pre and post REW tuning analysis.

I still wouldn't mind hearing the Elemental Designs A7-900, speaking of heavy subs.

Volunteers interested in parties?

If I was within 3 hours, it would be very tempting.