Thanks you for the welcome and everyone's comments! I showed this to Heather. She laughed. Oh well. We have one major purchase coming up in June already and the roof has to be re-shingled this summer, so I think it will have to wait.

About the 150,I don't think I can get seriously off-axis in my little room. No worries there.

So, M50s or M60s? Bearing in mind the size of the room?

If all your speakers are M22's (+sub), then the addition of the VP160 makes a noticeable improvement over the VP150.

Except for the fact that he A/B'd the 150 and the 160 and chose the 150.

I would probably chose the M60s over the M50s. I own a pair of the early M50s, and they really don't keep up with my M80s (which are v2s). I would expect that in terms of bass and loudness, but they just don't have the imaging that the 80s (or 22s) have. I would expect that the 50s have improved along with the rest of the lineup, but the 60s are probably still superior.

But he had M60 + QS8's in the mix. Apparently the vp150 sounds better with them. I'd like to see what would be chosen in the same environment with M22 + EP350 and have to choose between VP150 and VP160.

He's back. Brutal day at work; two colleagues and my regional manager away so I was four people today. Anyway I am three pints better now but excuse me if I make misteaks.

that sounds like too many numbers

Tough to say that the 150 sounded "better" than the 160; as noted, "similarly good" was discussed. The difference really wasn't subtle, but both were pretty impressive. But we both preferred the sound of the 150. Might have turned out different if we'd stayed another hour or listened to different material. I'm good with the choice.

M22s - I don't think I'll go that way. I had a pair of Paradigm bookshelves when they were a very new company (late 70's maybe? I don't remember the model) and traded them in when I bought the Boston floor standers that will be retired this winter. I think I'll stick with towers.

Lots of time to think about it but yeah, I suspect we'll spend the extra for M60s. Sometimes it gets a bit loud downstairs. This whole upgrade was prompted by popping the tweeter fuses in the Bostons again.

I've seen a few pictures of the Axiom "stronghold" on the web, but I don't think I have seen any with snow on the ground. Maybe I'll make another trip north this winter and surprise you with that.

Anyway. heading downstairs to pop in Alien on Blu-ray - birthday present from the kid. Again - it might get loud.

Cheers!

[Gary Vose Sr]Welcome Stilljoe to the forum. Those M60's you might be wanting, would look and sound just as good for Father's Day, as it would for Christmas.

Thanks you for the welcome and everyone's comments! I showed this to Heather. She laughed. Oh well. We have one major purchase coming up in June already and the roof has to be re-shingled this summer, so I think it will have to wait.


No Stilljoe, you are thinking about this all wrong. Buy the speakers now, and do the re-shingling in December. You can always place buckets in the areas where the rain water will be coming in.

New speaker, new camera, new cabinet.
I didn't have a centre speaker before; now I need a cabinet that will let the VP150 sit under the television.

Cabinet finishing construction:

It's not the finest work I've done but it's sturdy and has slotted shelves and base so lots of ventilation. The finish is Antique Cherry by General Finishes and then water-based poly; it blends well with the stock Axiom finish.



The room is darker than that; I'm still getting used to the new camera (Canon SX 40).



I'm also not quite level! But the exposure is better. In the box are: Belkin PF30 "Power Conditioner" (really just a prettier than most surge suppressor); Pioneer 9130 receiver; PS3 slim with a Harmony remote adaptor; and HD cable box.

And if it doesn't rain soon (getting really dry out there!) I'm going to think about Gary's point. The Boston's are still good in two-channel but not really a comfortable match either visually or sonically.

Looks fantastic ,nice job. I envy your shop, all the lighting and organization.

Wow, I think it's gorgeous!

That turned out great, Stilljoe! Nice job!