Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Advice from Axiom Owners Russian Maple vs Sorreal Pear vs Warm Cherrywood

Just curious if anyone has seen any of these finishes.

I'm leaning towards the Russian Maple. What I can't tell from the photos is if any of these finishes are a high gloss or are they pretty flat?

The Sorreal Pear looks kinda orangey.

I thought you already ordered?

There's no way someone can really describe a finish. Your best bet is to order samples and look at them in your own home under different lighting scenarios.

Well I did but I just ordered it. But I was curious.

Sorrel Pear is decidedly orangey.

Ok well I'm sticking with my Russian Maple.

The Russian Maple has always been my favorite, if I wasn't so cheap I would have a set with that vinyl.

I was initially thinking of doing something like getting the subs in vermont maple and the speakers in Russian Maple since they have a bit of a dark grain running through them. It would give a bit of contrast but it's really hard to tell how that would look.

In the end I think it's probably better to go with all one colour.

Has anyone seen the Burnt Sienna grill covers? I'm curious if they would look better with the Russian Maple Vinyl finish.

I could probably order the grills and if I don't like them, ship them back and get the black ones. But then it is an added cost.

Hi Daniel,

Yes, I've seen the Burnt Sienna grilles back at the Axiom plant. As Ken C noted, they do have an orangey tinge but "rust-colored" is how I'd describe them. They do provide a nice contrast with some of the finishes, however actually getting samples is really the only way to absolutely know.

Regards,
Alan

Daniel, you're in T.O., why not take advantage of the nice weather lately and go for a road trip up to Dwight to check out the finishes?

Well for one, I have to work...I'll already be taking a day off to drop off my M80's next week. Plus it's about a 3hr drive up and then another 3 back down.

I'm good with the Russian Maple. My next choice would have been a real wood finish but the cost is just too prohibitive.

Received all my speakers today. I have to be honest, the Russian Maple looks nowhere near as brown as the picture in the Customize section. It looks more like Beech to me.

The colour sticks out like an eyesore in my place. Colour wise, it was a mistake. Should have gone with the Warm Cherrywood or paid the $25 for a sample. I just didn't expect the colour to look so different. Oh well you live and learn

Now to hook it all up and bring the smile back to my face..

I'd CALL Axiom; maybe they will work with you on a solution. They want you to be happy.

Monitors don't display colors accurately unless they're calibrated.... and even then....

It's ALWAYS recommended to order a sample....

Right and right.

And I think Axiom applies the cost of the sample to your order. They might even refund the sample cost if you return it.

I have a VP150 in warm cherrywood. I really like that color. It's a decent brown color.

I'll try to post a photo in a few days. I don't think I'll call Axiom though. It was my mistake and really don't expect them to do anything about it, especially such a big order. Plus I'd probably have to pay a fortune to ship them back.

I plugged everthing up last night and matched my sub levels both from the exact same spot, then ran Audyssey with only one sub plugged in. It was set to +2.5. I then did the same thing with the other sub which Audyssey also had it to +2.5. So put the subs in their respective locations, ran Audyssey with both plugged in, and it set them to -.5. I upped the level by 2db then turned off Audyssey and watched a few movies with good bass.

All I can say is "HOLY SHITAKE"! Wow, the bass felt really really good! Way better than my M80's and HSU sub by far!
I also listend to some music and I can definitely hear the difference from my old setup. Definitelly the best decision I could have made!

Daniel
did you check the phase on your subs.

when i installed my second sub, i put the SPL meter at the MLP and rotated the phase knob on one of the subs, from 0 to 180 Degr.
while playing the sub tone in the AVR.

as a result i gained at least 6 dB's in total output, just by adjusting the phase on one sub.

did you "turn off Audyssey" for real (out of circuit path) or do you mean you turned off Audyssey calibration?

Well I just left the phase set to 0 on both subs. I ran Audyssey with only one sub plugged in and it didn't detect a phase problem. I just noticed that with my HSU sub I only had to turn the gain to about 1/4 of the way up so was a little surprised that on the EP500 I had to turn it up almost half way, I would say it was set at about 11 o'clock compared to about 7 o'clock for the HSU.

I did each EP500 separately and they both were exactly the same.

I could try to set them both to 180 and see what happens I guess. I'm not so sure it matters as this point. When I finally ran Audyssey with both I knew they levels would be higher since I have two and sure enough they came down to -.5. Which seems in line I guess.

Does it matter if the gain is set lower on the back of the sub? do I gain anything by it?

Oh and I set Audyssey to Off in the settings after I calibrated it. I just wanted to get the measuremenets at this point.

Daniel, I don't think there is anything wrong with how you have it set up. On the contrary, your measurements indicate a gain of 3db with the second sub, which seems spot-on to me.

Amps have different gain levels internally by manufacturer so the fact that the control is set differently than your Hsu makes no difference, so long as output SPL is the same. Axiom used to have a very sensitive control and it used to be set at about 1/4 instead of the nearly 1/2 on the dial it takes now, makes fine tuning a little easier IMO.

Daniel, Jason's reply is right on as far as the setting on that control goes. Incidentally, it isn't a "gain" control; audio amplifiers have a fixed gain, typically in the 25-30dB area, which boosts the incoming voltage around 30 times. That level control is a variable resistor which can let in almost 100% of the incoming voltage to be amplified or let in almost none.

How quickly the control "opens up" can be varied widely and doesn't have anything to do with the maximum power available. My EP500 has the older control which used a typical setting about 1/4th of the way up, but this certainly doesn't mean that it has more power than yours which uses about a half way setting.

Thanks guys!

Can't wait for the weekend to give the subs a bit of a workout with the Avengers, after of course the opening tripod scene from War of the Worlds

Well, here are a few photos of my new speakers. I thought I'd share some pics so others can get a good idea of what Russian Maple looks like.

Just ran the full Audyssey setup for all 8 positions and I'm quite surprised to find that I prefer the sound with Audyssey on rather than off. Usually I found it the other way around.

I think I prefer the look with the grills on. What do you think?







I wish the colour was closer to this...played with the light a little..

LORD ALMIGHTY! I just played the opening tripod scene from WOTW. It honestly felt like my floor was going to collapse lol. I've never felt such deep earth trembling base before. I couldn't stop giggling for about 5 min.

I love these posts. That is a very nice setup you have there. As to which way looks better, The news anchor looks a little put off by the naked speakers, but I'd say Barack really likes the look.

That's probably cause she was surprised by the size of my tweeter... lol

Daniel, I know the finish is not what you hoped for, but your speakers look rather elegant in Russian Maple. Really like the grain pattern.

Glad you love how they sound!

Daniel, don't feel bad. I actually got samples, but we looked at them in bad light, and bought a color that doesn't match the furniture they were next to at all. But I like the finish anyway.

I definitely like the colour, just don't feel they mix well with the furniture. Maybe it was the initial shock of the colour but I am getting used to them now, especially with the grill on.

The boston cherry would actually have matched the furniture more closely, but i think the wood look contrasts each other fairly well and the black grills bring it all together with the black tv.

I wasn't overly thrilled about the cherry finish Tannoys i bought some time back. They had that 'orange' tint rather than a more rich red that i was looking for. I still consider changing them out for the Rosewood or more rare, Walnut finish but the cost isn't worth it.

Have you considered using Rust-oleum Cabinet Transformations on them? You could verify whether it works well and then report back to your friend.