Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater VP180

Even though I don't need one, I'm still tempted to try one out at some point. It will be well after the pre-order period, though.

Thanks guys. I thought I'd read somewhere it was the end of this month, then I started thinking it might have been last month, doh!

I haven't checked the forums in about a month and I've been thinking about what to do about my VP150, I like the timbre well enough, but the dialogue is not always clear and two vp150s had been recommended per Axiom for my size room. I was contemplating a post about how to run Audyssey with one center on the wall and one below the plasma around 2-3 feet forward, I mean how do you run EQ on two discrete centers with one signal, and then I read Alan's article about centers sounding very different given such placement and decided it was just hopeless, I'd just have to live with one vp150 due to my plasma tv being in the way of vp150s above and below the screen being in the same auditory plane.

Now of course I'm thinking about the VP180, but still I have questions. Can I mount this VP180 on the wall? How can I place the vp180 below the plasma tv, I guess the plasma would have to go on the wall? I would have thought the plasma tv (58") would weigh more than the vp180.

Of course it would seem nice to try and run the 150 and 180 in tandem but it still doesn't make sense to me from a calibration point of view.

The time is right to fix my setup but I'm still perplexed, obviously I'm not an engineer of any kind.

Axiom should experiment with a T-shaped center in an attempt to get the best of both worlds. Sound gurus, how unlikely is it that that would work?

Mounting the VP180 on the wall could be a problem for two reasons:

1) It is VERY heavy (same size and weight as the M80), and since the cabinet is so deep it would put a lot of torque on the mount.

2) It is rear ported. So you would need to mount it several inches off the wall, at least.

My Initial Impressions:

Warning – This “review” will use a lot of words that are opinion based, and qualitative. I'm not a professional speaker reviewer, but I wanted to share my opinions of this wonderful speaker.

I stuck with the “Large” settings that Audyssey suggested, as well as the XO settings of 40 Hz for the M80s and VP 180. To my ears, it gives the fullest sound and tightest bass. After taking measurements with my ears and my sound meter, the only other adjustment I made was actually bringing down the VP180 to -0.5 db, while retaining the M80s at +1.5 db. I think the level difference is directly related to the speaker distance from my main listening position (the M80s are about 2 feet further away from my main listening position than the VP180 since I put it as forward as I could to have at least 6” behind it for the rear ports).

Sometimes I felt that the VP150 could sound thin at times when compared to the M80s. Almost like they got lost and the M80s were overpowering them. This problem is gone with the VP180. As I stated above, I am actually running it 2.0 db lower than the M80s. The sound of the VP180 (IMO) is very close to the M80, but if I had to make a guess at what sounds different, it's that the highs are not as (and I'm really thinking hard to come up with the right word here) “forward”? I was thinking of the words “harsh”, “brash”, and “pronounced”, but they all tend to have negative connotations associated with them and I do not feel that the M80s are really anything like that. Maybe the right word is “mellow” or “refined”.

(Alan, you had stated that the VP180 sounds close to the M80. What did you feel the difference was?)

The VP180s blends perfectly with the M80s, and the speakers seem to really compliment each other. The VP180 sounds much fuller than it's predecessor. The soundstage seemed to open up and have more of a sense of a 3rd dimension. This wasn't just my opinion, my wife said the same thing without me even giving her my impressions. After we listened together for about an hour (mostly to a Carpenter's Greatest Hits SACD which I chose on purpose for channel separation as well as a disc that would really put a spotlight on the center) she said that there were times where she could close her eyes and it would almost sound like Karen was in the room. This was really never the case with the VP150 (at least to me). She also said that she could really hear each speaker individually now, and even though she had heard this disc many times, she heard things she never heard before. I agreed, the disc almost sounded remastered.

Over the course of the day, I must have played 40 CDs. I chose tracks that I was very familiar with and ones that covered the gambit of different types of music. In every case, there was a VERY noticeable difference with the VP180. Every song sounded fuller, deeper, and “more real”, if you know what I mean. Most of these tracks were played using Dolby Pro-Logic II and they sounded almost as good as their multi-track counterparts (though the multi-track counterparts always were a bit better). I also took time to listen in the other seats in my theater, ones that were not the “sweet spot”. What I noticed right away is that the VP180 seems to have a wider sweet spot than the VP150. I could hear the center when I moved to the left or right seat, and I could also hear it very clearly from the back row.

I know this is just a bunch of rambling, but I am very impressed with this speaker. It sounds even better than I hoped it would. If you have M80s and the space, I would seriously consider giving it a listen. I think you will find it hard to go back to the VP150.

Hey, thanks for the review. You obviously put a lot of effort and thought into it. Sounds like you had a fun day. What'd you do, tie up the young'uns so you could get some speaker time?

Your results are as I feared. Now I have to get one.

That is is awesome to hear (no pun intended), and no surprise given the VP180's new design (wider, bigger cabinet and unique driver configuration).

I should really stop reading this thread, it's making the wait that much more difficult to handle.

anyone know when "all of us" will see the VP180v3 posted on the site? I guess right now it's under tight raps with the exception of a few who actually have them. Just wondering when it will be advertised to the world s well as when it will be available for purchase. I am considering the M80's, VP180 & a EP175 to replace my current front 3 and sub. turns out my current stand where my center is has about 1/4 more space then required by the VP180, it's like i was meant to have this center! here is my current setup gallery. http://www.blu-ray.com/community/gallery.php?member=solarrdadd

please & thank you!

AFAIK only one person has it. Don't know when it will be up on the site but it is available for pre-order right now (just call or email them). Shipping commences May 31st I believe.