Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater VP180 First Impressions

While there are a few comments already about this I have a couple specific questions about the VP180. I’ve read the reviews so far and some of this has been covered a bit I’m just looking for more opinions if anyone would like to share.

1. How is the timbre match between the VP180 and the M80v2/ti. Specifically has anyone tested how voices, especially male ones, sound when panning from center to left or right or vise versa.

2. How is the off axis FR. Specifically is there a noticeable change as one moves from the center of the room to either side.

3. How does the discrete placement of instruments and vocalists sound using the VP180? Are they precise or a bit spread out?

Cheers,
Dean

1. I think it's as close of a match as you could hope for. No real noticeable difference.

2. Much wider than the VP150. Sitting to the side seat, I still hear the center channel (I did not with the VP150).

3. I have a much greater sense of placement with the VP180.

Thanks Steve that’s what I was hopping to hear.

I agree with all 3 Steve's comments.
If you recall, in a previous post, I mentioned that I had to turn the VP150 off for music as the experience was much more enjoyable only with the 2 fronts. Well, not anymore
When in the main listening position, it is very close. Of course, when you shift to the side, it is not the same but you still hear all the instruments (ie mid/upper bass that I couldn't hear before) and vocals.

Hello, My impressions are that vp 180 blows my m80's away.Could something be wrong with my m80's.I listen to some WHO songs and the center was so much better than the other speakers. Is this normal? .Any comments would be very helpful. thanks pat

I would hazard a guess that there's something wrong in your setup...

Since you are using the center speaker to listen to music, I am assuming you are listening utilizing a surround program(DPLII, Neo6 etc.). I guess the question is how do you have it set-up, vis a vis the relationship between the center and L/R speakers and their volume levels. No center speaker(in mono) should sound better than its equivalent L/R combo no matter how good it is.

Thanks Bruno, I also turned off my center VP150 for music always and movies if it was just me in the sweet spot until I got my M80 center.

When you sit off to the side do you notice any “beaming” effect like the sound from the VP180 is coming out of a tunnel? I know you sit close so this might not have even been an issue for you with the VP150.

Based on your comment’s it sounds like you would have to A/B compare the VP180 directly with the M80s playing the center to hear any difference (and then location and orientation could be the cause), would that be an accurate assessment?

Got some more time this weekend with the VP180 and the more I use it the more I love it. Music has never sounded better, and hearing it with the VP180 just makes me want to listen to more and more I ran it set to large without a sub this time and it was absolutely incredible. For anyone who's heard the M80's without a sub they will know what I mean. If it weren't for movies, I could easily live without a sub.

To keep this from turning into a love fest, I will comment on the horizontal off axis performance. Now, before I get lambasted, this is not a complaint, negative, con, or knock on the VP180. It is entirely possible that my following comments apply to any and all horizontally designed and oriented centre speakers, so take it FWIW.

There is a very slight dropoff in SPL and a very slight change in FR as you move left/right. The dropoff is more significant as you move towards the extreme left/right. You can still hear the VP180 loud and clear and detailed, just not as loud or prominent as in the sweetspot, which is direct centre.

I do understand that this is normal for horizontal centres, so there may be no way to actually change or improve it. I'm just wondering if having a tweeter above a mid driver (to mimic a vertical speaker) would improve the horizontal off axis performance. My frame of reference is the M80, which IMHO has outstanding horizontal off axis performance, so it may be asking too much.

OTOH, the vertical off axis performance of the VP180 is fantastic. I know this matters little to most people, but my VP180 sits close to the ground and needs to reach an elevated back row of seats. Whether I'm sitting on the ground or standing on the elevated platform, there is almost no difference in sound. Simply amazing.

I want to add that the horizontal dropoff is difficult to notice if/when the mains and/or surrounds are playing content at the same time (ie. under normal conditions). Isolating the centre by disabling all other speakers made the differences easier for me to hear. Also, you will only notice it if you keep sliding from one side to the other, which no one does when listening to music or movies, so practically speaking this shouldn't be an issue for most people.

I can just about guarantee that Axiom tried the tweeters in the middle before settling on their rather unorthodox approach. Ian mentioned that they were trying a ton of different configurations...