Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Help me understand midbass and power conditioner.

Hi Seeking,

I agree entirely with JohnK on the subject of power "conditioners". Some are sold at outrageous prices to technically naive audiophiles by hucksters who are excellent promoters who lack any engineering credentials. There is no need for power conditioners (and the charlatans who promote them) and I've never used one.

As to mid-bass, I'd be a bit more generous with the range and set it at 50 Hz to 200 Hz. Plenty of listeners like a little boost in this range and often call it "warm" or use other descriptors. Axiom's M3 bookshelf has a pleasant lift in this range (the M22 does not), as do (historically) all of the Paradigm floorstanding and bookshelf models that I've auditioned in blind tests---too much, in my opinion. It can make male vocals somewhat fat or "chesty" sounding and other intruments like cello sound too full.

When I first joined Axiom, I did A/B comparisons with many of the Axiom speakers and other brands I had on hand from my years of audio magazine editing and reviewing speakers. The main difference between the Paradigm Studio 20 bookshelf speakers and the M22s was that lower/mid-bass boost from the Paradigms that gave singers like Harry Connick Jr. a slightly bloated sound in his lower range. Otherwise, the M22s and Studio 20s were indistinguishable.

Regards,
Alan

I live in a very bad area for electrical storms (had one last night actually) so we use a whole house surge protector as a safe measure and use basic outlet strips to hook up multiple items that happen to have surge protection built into them. However, even with a whole house protector won't save you from a direct strike so I unplug a lot of stuff if they are really, really bad storms as that is the only way to surely protect your belongings. I don't use power conditioners.

I have to unplug everything every time there is a lightning storm or a really powerful NE wind. That wind brings salt spray onto utility pole transformers down the road from me. It makes for a pleasant fireworks display as sparks fly everywhere and our lights conveniently dim in perfect sync to give us a better view.

An no I don't use a power conditioner but I'm probably a prime candidate for a full house surge protector.

Yes Murph. If anything, people should be using whole house surge protection right at the electrical panel for a line of defense. Having all computers and all other electronics on electrical strips makes for unplugging equipment a breeze during nasty storms.

Interesting. I was told by an ISF certified calibrator that he sees TV power supplies fail all the time (in rural areas especially), because the hydro isn't as consistent (peaks and dips) the further away you are from the supply.

WOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOO! I'm the charlatan today!

I see computer power supplies fail all the time too. Some are on heavily conditioned power (like my servers at work), and some are home computers plugged straight into the wall.

Power supplies fail. If you work in a field where you see lots of things with power supplies (like an ISF calibrator with TVs) you will see a percentage of them fail. The more you come in contact with, the more you'll see dead.

I understand that, Chris. But it was the calibrator that told me that a unit that has AVR, is a good investment (specifically for the TV power supply).

And chances are the power supply won't fail in your TV. But that doesn't mean the conditioner did anything. Just like this elephant repellent I'm wearing, isn't the reason there are no elephants in my office.

I see more power supplies fail on unconditioned lines, because most people don't have conditioners. But I've also seen them fail on conditioned lines.

Yes. There is not a brick wall between the sub and mains, so both contribute to the sound around the crossover region.

Do you need the M80s? No. The M22 and a sub make for an exellent combination. I think the M22s offer the best value in the Axiom lineup. I had a little more money I could spend and I heard differences between the M80 and the M22 plus sub, so it was worth the difference for me, but M22s are excellent performers as well. Its like deciding between excellent and, um, more excellent.

If you want a good conditioner ,stay away from APC. They are junk. The Panamax 5400-PM is a good unit, protects from spikes and lightning strikes. It keeps the voltage constant so your A/V equipment will last longer,better picture and sound.

I have one and it stays on all the time,cable and telephone protection too.