Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater What to expect from poweramp

Hmm. That'll be a problem.

To avoid any (ahem) further misunderstanding, each person would be responsible for shipping the equipment to the next person on the list, and lists would be sorted to minimize shipping & customs costs. Mark, that still leaves a potential loophole for the *last* person on the list

I've already secured an attorney to search for loopholes.

Am I being too forward to ask that we select equipment that would look complimentary in my equipment rack?

Thanks for all the input guys, consensus seems it's not justifiable to add an external processor and amp except when you need more headroom, which in reality I don't. What I want really is just a few new aspects of technology (auto cal/Eq, HDMI 1.3 receiver). I always felt this invisible pressure (probably by reviews/magazines as part of the never ending marketing ploy) that my speakers are "missing" their potential without greater, cleaner power. But Axioms are sensitive, pretty easy to drive, so It's hogwash I guess.

Micah, out of curiosity, you use the XPA-3. So how does that work for your backs? The Denon is the preamp for all 5, but only sends power to the 2 QS8s? I've never come across that approach before.

If there are speakers that could use external amplification are Axiom towers. It seems one of the design goals that went into the towers like the M60 and M80 were power handling and the ability to play extremely clean at very high SPL levels and consume large amounts of power to fill large rooms.

Now if you have a large room and your listening/seating position is far away then external amplification can be beneficial. If you run your speakers full range you might find external amplification to be beneficial. The M60 and M80's will dip into the 4 ohm region full range and at VERY HIGH SPL these speakers might shut down some receivers and even some amps (M80s). If you have a small to medium sized room and sit 8-15 feet away for example I see no point in external amplification. The sensitivity of Axioms are above average in the high 80's so this is why receivers usually work for most rooms because they are easy to drive and in most cases not pushing them past their limits.

The one thing Michael_D pointed out is that some of the more expensive amps can handle even 2-4 ohm speakers to unclippable levels with any speakers without shutting down even with the most demanding of source material. The Axiom amp is an example of that. With the emotiva amps on the other hand I would limit them to 4-5 ohm speakers and up. Upgraditis is always happening. With a quality amp, it doesn't lose it feature set like pre-pros and receivers and should last a really long time from a reliability standpoint.

Emotiva use their own proprietary auto equilization/calibration on the UMC-1. While IMO auto equilization is rubbish on quality speakers, I must think emotivas own technology in this regards is far from revolutionary and Audyssey is probably a better feature which is also a trademark on some very popular receivers with pre-outs. If this type of feature is important, you should choose Audyssey over Emotiva EQ. Audyssey is more stable and has a lot more R & D behind it.

Micah, there's a difference between mere personal opinions and matters which testing has shown to be factual. On the effect of a 3dB increase in loudness, both Randy's "slightly noticeable" and the "slightly louder" which Alan has pointed out here and elsewhere are in accord with actual results. Also keep in mind that the power increase required for this slight increase in loudness is logarithmic, not linear, which means that the difference in loudness from 1 to 2 watts is identical to the difference between 100 and 200 watts.

If you want to confirm the small effect of a 3dB increase for yourself, simply play some constant level source(such as the receiver test tones)and then increase the volume control setting 3 points(not precisely 3.0dB, but close enough).

It would be interesting to hear Ian's reasons for the design he chose. There are other advantages to using multiple drivers. You greatly reduce the excursion of each individual driver ensuring that they do not go beyond their design capabilities. That is a good way to reduce/eliminate distortion of various types.

Erik, if you're interested in a receiver with more up-to-date features, such as those you've mentioned, an outstanding buy at this time is the Onkyo HT-RC180 factory refurb available from Accessories4less for about $470 with shipping. When bought from a reputable source, factory refurbs are if anything even more likely than a brand new unit to operate well.

Well I ordered a receiver...the Marantz SR8002 from Amazon with free 2 day shipping only 999.99. Im gonna stick with Marantz, and for this price I decieded to make my move and be done with it as far as the upgrade itch goes. I'll let you know how I like it. Thanks John, Ive had my eye on that site for a while looking for refurbs of the 7002 or 8002. But here a new one is actually cheaper with free shipping.