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

Not necessarily a "pair". A single one works well.

yep for sure, I hear what you are saying. Thanks I'm browsing the site right now

edit: on that note, I think the wife would much more appreciate a vp160 or vp180. lol she doesn't seem to keen on the idea

She's not to happy about the ep800 either, but that's a must for me

So quick question to all the wonderful people here...

For a center channel, which would sound better with the M80's, in your opinion(obviously the room plays a factor, so this is just best guess)

1 or 2 M3 bookshelves below tv
1 or 2 M22 bookshelves below tv
1 Vp160 below tv
1 vp180 below tv

There is a small love seat pretty much directly in line with the tv, about 8 to 10 feet back, but people also sit on the large couch which is along the long wall to the right of the love seat. So there will be off axis listening.

Since the 5 1/4" mid-range of the M22(and VP160)is the same as that in the M80s, that would be a preferable match. Note that the VP160 configuration can be viewed as a vertical center flanked by woofers to handle the bass.

If the center would have the tweeter at a position significantly different from ear level, it would be good to tilt it slightly so as to point at the ears.

Nick Send me a PM and we can try to set something up while you are in Alberta. I have M22's and my VP160 that you can have a listen to, this should give you a better idea of what everyone has been talking about.

I don't think it is necessary or even a good idea to have TWO bookshelf speakers below the TV unless you had a very wide room and could meaningfully separate them horizontally from not only each other but also the left and right speakers. When people here talk about using a pair of bookshelf speakers for center duty, they are almost always referring to one above and one below the screen.

Both the VP160 and 180 are terrific speakers. The best match for the M80s is another M80, but that's not practical for most people. I'd pass on the M3 and get a single M22 as John suggested if your SO is vertical center tolerant.

I recently changed from a VP100 to an M2 center and like it very much. I owe the forum a report on that.

The thing you need to understand is that the principles of sound reproduction aren't inherently different for the center. If a horizontal array was "best" then we'd have all kinds of main pairs produced that way. A narrower baffle is actually much better for treble dispersion and the only reason center channel speakers look the way they do is to more easily integrate with the form factor of commonly surrounding objects.

To easily fit under/over TV's, which is the main reason why it is so difficult to get vertical designs to 'work' as a center.

Exactly.

Very sound logic tom. That makes sense.

if vertical isn't a problem, you feel a M80 > M22 > a vp160 or vp180?

I've been reading so much lately.

Found a particularly exhausting thread to read

http://www.avsforum.com/t/1337283/any-thoughts-on-axiom-audio-speakers/90

Ian and brent actually are posting responses. I like how they get involved with the discussion, you can tell they are passionate about what they do and you can tell they are bothered by what some of the people are saying in that thread.

I felt one particular post by Ian owned them. lol


What I keep hearing about in that thread, aside from all the technical stuff is that the M80s, to some, are excessively bright.

I read in one good review for the m80s, that the high end seemed slightly shrill, but after being worn in, they fell in love with them...short version.

Your take on the high end of the M80's?

edit: with further reading, I kind of answered my own question

"In closing I would like to touch on this Axiom loudspeakers are all bright comment that a few individuals have mentioned in this post; one of them numerous times. We cannot control or even begin to surmise on every person's individual experience and/or motives when listening to and commenting on our products. We would love it to be 100% positive but it will not be. There will always be some small percentage where it just doesn't work out for any number of reasons. That is why we have a 30 day return policy. Instead we monitor for any sort of repetition of improvement suggestions. We then check them against our lab results and in double blind listening tests against competitor product. Last September we had a 30 year anniversary get-together party here at Axiom. It was really fun by the way. We had factory tours, engineering seminars, and wrapped it up with a live band playing dockside. One thing we did do was have a blind listening test running for the entire day and anyone could sign up for a time to participate. It was between an Axiom and a B&W. We had 26 people participate. I just went through all the comments and found that there were seven comments that contained words like bright, harsh, and sibilant. Six of these comments were a criticism of the B&W and one was of the Axiom. This is consistent with the results we get in other competitor double blind listening tests we do. Axiom products are not overly bright by any comparison we can find and certainly not by the amplitude response measurements. That said they are not purposely laid back either. We go after neutrality and that will mean if it was a harsh recording, it will come out that way"

I have a lot of respect for this company. I'm definitely sold