Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater A new Axiom owner soon! I have questions...

Hello. Just wanted to introduce myself to the community. I've been lurking here for over 2 years. My name is Nick. I'm from B.C. Canada. I'm 29 years old.

I have been a stereo and home theater enthusiast ever since my dad gave me my first pair of speakers(wharfedale) when I was 10.

My dad and lots of his family are always buying and selling used equipment. I've been through a decent amount of used equipment in my life. Wharfedale, Cerwin Vega, B&W, Bose, Sound Dynamics, Polk, Paradigm etc.

The only new speakers I've ever bought were when I was 19. I bought Paradigm's monitor 90p's. I really enjoyed those speakers.

I've only owned a used subwoofer once. Subwoofers are new territory for me. I have found a lot of great information on this site regarding this.

My current setup is pretty lackluster. My fronts are Cerwin Vega D9's, my rears are some sound dynamic bookshelf type speakers and my center is an old paradigm. All used, mismatched equipment. The cerwin vegas pound pretty good, but they sound quite muddy in my opinion. I try to negate this by slightly tweaking the equalizer I have them running through.

I run these speakers with a Yamaha RX-V1070 and a Rotel RMB-1095. I'm in need of a new a/v receiver for sure. My dad just bought a pioneer and I'm seriously considering buying one myself. Any thoughts on this?

I'm very happy with my Rotel though.

Sitting in my basement I also have 2 pairs of Realistic Mach One's and couple paradigm bookshelf speakers. I'm not really using them at the moment.

Onto better things...

It's high time I treated myself to something new and fresh. If all goes as planned, I'm going to be starting a new job next month and receiving a pension payout from the old job. I'm going to outright buy the Axiom M80 system.

I'm really questioning the EP800 subwoofer though. What are guys thoughts on the SVS PB12-plus or the PB13 ultra when compared to the EP800? They seem to be built very solid and the reviews are amazing. I found a few comparisons to the EP800 through google and it seems the SVS is the way to go when it comes to price. I have no doubt the EP800 is great, it just seems it should be cheaper. I can afford the EP800 no problem, but it "seems" like I'm getting more bang for my buck with the SVS line, no?

This is the setup I see happening:

2 Axiom M80's
2 Axiom Qs8
1 Axiom vp180
1 SVS pb12 or pb13
Rotel RMB-1095
Pioneer VSX-42
Oppo bdp-103

later on, i'd like to add more power amps, perhaps emotiva?

Compared to the equipment I'm used to, how do you think I'll like a setup like this? Any suggestions or tweaks?

I love to listen to lots of old classic rock and acoustic material. I can appreciate any genre though, especially if it sounds incredible. I'm a huge fan of testing the limits of a system with movies too. I'm starting to collect a decent blu ray library.

Well, I just want to say thanks in advance. I'm very excited.

Welcome. I'm excited for you, and I'm sure we all would like your honest opinion on speaker comparisons since you have such a varied listening experience.

Have you considered Axiom's newest flagship speaker, the LFR1100?

I have been very curious about the LFR1100's now that you mention it

They look astonishing.

I was hoping to buy an entire 5.1 channel system for under 5500 taxes in. I could buy those and then later on add on, but knowing me, my gf and my kids, it would be years before it's finally pieced together.

I'm very torn because I'm a huge music buff(and a musician myself) and they seem incredible for that.

Mad:

I live in beautiful Comox - welcome. I wish that I had your budget, ha!!

I've had Axioms in my house since the early 1990s (my AX2s are still on 'Lifetime Warranty') so I'm not one to be continually selling & buying gear in a never ending quest to find sound utopia - it doesn't exist. Being more pragmatic than I should be, I buy something decent & enjoy it for a long, long time. My 3 sets of new Axioms work for me.

While the LFRs would also be a good option, perhaps a better bang for the buck might be one of Axiom's fine HT packages. Although I have an astounding EP-400 specialty sub for music only, I believe that those who own the EP500 are more than happy with its powerful performance - especially if you get 2 (highly recommended).

Again welcome aboard, I think that you'll find that this is a rather pleasant place to hang out...

TAM

ah, hello my fellow b.c.er

I buy gear because it's always such a good deal and I can't say no to more speakers/equipment. lol. I end up selling it because I run out of storage space

The only new product I bought, the monitor 90ps, I regret selling. I sold them because I was really behind on bills and young and dumb at the time.

This next system I plan on buying is definitely going to be my last purchase for many many years, so I want to make sure I can do the best possible.

You offer good advice. I'm eyeing up the Epic M80 system. Plus I've read rumours that a DSP unit will be available for the M80v3 and the Vp180v3

I'm starting to really lean towards a SVS pb13-ultra sub in place of an axiom sub though.

I'd love to hear from more people that think I should pay a little bit more and stick with either an axiom ep500 or ep800

Welcome Mad!
Just one quick thought about sub selection is that an Axiom sub can match the finish on the rest of the system, improving the WAF.

I haven't compared them, but anecdotally, many say that there is a "texture" to the Axiom subs that is missing with other subs, making them better for music.

Just about all subs from reputable companies are fantastic performers & are all competitive with each other. There is a lot of technology that produces awesome clean bass output .

My twin mid-fi 10" Velodynes in my HT shake & rattle my house with authority & often to annoyance - buzzing & rattling furnace ducting inside the walls & ceilings just doesn't sound very good. I wouldn't want anymore, but that's just me.

It often comes down to features, aesthetics & price point.

Axioms generally are thought to be very musical (whatever that means) & to me, my EP-400 has that in spades, especially considering its diminutive size. For me, I didn't want to live with another black cube in my living room.

For HT, a bigger sub or preferably 2 would be best...

TAM

Hello Mark

Thanks for the reply. Yeah, I just sourced a SVS PB13-ultra from here in Canada, shipped to my doorstep all taxes included, would cost me $2266. It seems like it's built like a tank, great reviews, etc. But it only comes in black. I was hoping to get my Axiom in Cherry. The WAF definitely comes into play here. lol

She wasn't very happy when I told her the ep800 was nearly 4 feet tall. lol

Interesting on that note about "texture". I'd say the setup is going to be used more for music, so that's important to me.

I'll keep digging and researching as much I can. Again, thanks to all that have replied

hmm another person on the musical quality of the axiom sub. Thank you.

And I love earth rumbling, make my house fall apart, bass when it comes to HT. I'm very new to the subwoofer world.

I was reading that having two subs can be difficult to setup because it's difficult to get them in phase with the other speakers while trying to get them in phase with each other. Any merit to this?


If I was to go that route, I could get the Axiom M80 system with 2 ep500 subs for $5,432.39. Would these give me more thunderous bass then a single ep800 or a single SVS pb13-ultra? My understanding is that adding an extra subwoofer only distribute more even bass to the room.

Detractors argue that 'texture' is audible distortion.

At the volumes (up to 85 Db or so) that I listen to, which is so much lower than the max that the EP-400 can produce, I can't imagine that there is any distortion involved. My sub is not being stressed at all with the way that I use it for music only.

The musical abilities of this little box are simply outstanding & I'm more than happy to have purchased it - no regrets at all. I expect that its qualities would also be inherent in Axioms larger subs.

TAM