OK, another quick review.
i finally got the speaker wire run in the attic saturday afternoon, and had everything installed, mounted, and connected by saturday evening. running the speaker wire for the surrounds ended up being more complicated than i thought, but it is a clean job and i am happy it is completed.
i mainly listened to some audio tracks on saturday evening. i listened to ALL the modes avail on the onkyo 701.. straight 2 ch stereo, 2.1(w/sub), neo 6, dolby surround, and the various DSP modes. although each listening mode had its various 'good' features, i found myself prefering the neo6 mode. it gave great dispersion thru all speakers, and had a very full, rich sound. (i am not an audio expert, so the 'terms' i use to explain might not be the best).
the AXIOMS are very clear and precise.. i was listening to some bluegrass, and i literally felt as though i could hear each individual string being plucked and strummed on the guitars, banjos, and fiddles. it sounded very clean and had a snap, or pop to it.. i mean that in a good way.. the highs were very defined, to a degree that i had never heard before.. they stood out to my ears, but were still properly related to the rest of the mids and lows. i didnt think they were bright at all. i tested the mids with some good ole' heavy metal power chords.. AC/DC and metallica. they both sounded fabuolous. the guitars were very full and robust.. my old vegas had a very 'whoompy' sound on the metallica stuff, but the AXIOMS were tight and responsive.. i could hear the guitar seperation much better, instead of the one guitar sound i was used to. i cant say a whole lot about the bass from the axioms.. i listened to most music in full surround, not to much stereo direct, so my sub was supplying most of the bass. i can say that the M60's worked well with my vega sub, and i dont have a case of sub envy, at least not yet.
on sunday, i got the entertainment center pushed back against the wall, and went ahead and set the speaker distances to my listening position on my config options on the receiver. i did the pink noise calibration by ear(no SPL til wednesday), and made minor adjustments, including bringing up the two surround volumes up +3 dbs by comparison to the fronts. i will get the 'proper' calibration once i get the SPL meter. i decided it was time to watch some movies.. 'finding nemo', 'pulp fiction', and 'open range'.. i was kinda skipping thru each, going to particular scenes, but i was completely impressed. the QS8's really produce sounds that i had never heard before. they fill my room(28x26x8) completely. i found myself really having to adjust the sub during movies cause it tended to want to over-power the rest of the system.. i am sure the SPL meter will help with that. darla rocked the living room(and the neighborhood), but i actually thought the scene in the whales mouth had better LFEs.. there were a few scenes in pulp fiction, where i had to pause the movie cause i thought i was hearing other people in the house.. it was just the surrounds doing there thing in the DTS mode.. SIDENOTE- movies with the DTS impressed the hell out of me.. the sound was amazing.. i felt immersed in the movie scenes, and the details of the sounds was very surprising to me.. now, i dont know if that is the dvd, the receiver, the speakers, or a combination of all three, but i would have to say i was immensly impressed. i often found myself actually looking 2-3 feet on either side of the M60's for an actor to be standing there saying their lines.. it sounded to me like they were right there. oh, and the 150 center was awesome also. voices were clear, and precise.. not chesty or hollow at all.. dispersion was good, and i moved around the living room to check from different angles, and all sounded great.
i would say, my first impression of the axioms is super. they have detail, but plenty of guts and grunge also. music and movies both sound great, and i have much more experiementing to do. i truly feel, that not only just the speakers, but my whole system is great. the 701 has power to spare, and the pioneer 563a plays smooth/clean images. i am very happy thus far, and i expect to be even more impressewd once i listen to a few sacd's, and dvd-a's.
the only downside i could find to the axioms, is that they make it to where you can really hear the scratches on records.. they are such a good/clear speaker, that the clicks and pops on records are very obvious.. my old vegas just muddled them out. i will just have to get new records.
just for clarification.. i used home depot 12ga wire(about 100ft total), heavy duty banana plugs to connect to speakers and receiver, and ratshack fusion and gold series connectors(rca, digital, and s-video), and a 1,500 joules power strip. the fronts are approx. 12ft from the listening position, the QS8's are 11ft to the side and 1ft back, and the sub is in the front-right corner.
wow, this was longer than i thought it was gonna be. more experiementing to come, and pics should be up by the end of the week. give me some time to play first.. i am like a kid in a candy store.. only prob is, the candy store is in my living room!!
bigjohn
