Re: AxiomAir
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Joined: May 2002
Posts: 5,745 Likes: 17
axiomite
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axiomite
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 5,745 Likes: 17 |
There doesn't appear to be much difference between the Kickstarter price and the pre-production price other than the free wood top. 13% tax, and higher prices for wood top/battery. It's another +$150 for me now for the speaker, wooden top and 9hr battery - so I'm out. I was on the fence about it anyways. I would have liked to try it for my own use of course but I think we could use these at work at as well. My department buys all the A/V stuff for our University. Something like this would be good for people to take out and use in small rooms. All wireless, multiple users connect to it with their phones etc. All things harder to accomplish with a PA system or setting up speakers/mixers. I was also on the fence, but it came down to answering one simple question: Where and how often would i use it? Ok so i suppose those are two questions. Having the Sonos setup throughout the house alleviates any necessity for portability in this area. Don't travel much with campers or things of that nature so, where would we use it? I just couldn't come up with any $500 useful purposes so i passed. However, i have two friends that signed up for them so i plan on testing out the functionality, battery life and sound quality when they finally arrive. It really is a fantastic idea, far more advanced than anything i've come across while searching for good wireless audio setups.
"Those who preach the myths of audio are ignorant of truth."
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Re: AxiomAir
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Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 759 Likes: 1
aficionado
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aficionado
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 759 Likes: 1 |
I'm thinking they should have had a longer kick starter. I think the kickstarter price was fair, so if you got one good for you.
2xAA M80/VP150/VP160/QS8 4xM3/M22OW/M2OW/VP150OW/4xM3IC/4xM3OW EP500/800/HSU VTF3/SVS PB2k/SB2k/SB-12
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Re: AxiomAir
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Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 10,490 Likes: 116
shareholder in the making
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shareholder in the making
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 10,490 Likes: 116 |
I wouldn't mind some opinions on this either. The option for Rdio just came up on our Sonos the other day, that i noticed anyway. Mike, check out earbits.com. I can't stop listening to the blues channel.
House of the Rising Sone Out in the mid or far field Dedicated mid-woofers are over-rated
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Re: AxiomAir
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Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 334 Likes: 5
Axiom Engineer devotee
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Axiom Engineer devotee
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 334 Likes: 5 |
what about heat? how is the unit dealing with heat? just vents? My apologies for not being active in this thread over the past couple of weeks...we have been VERY busy working on AxiomAir! The power amplifier and its power supply are the only areas of concern for cooling, and it and the heasinking attached to it have been placed inside the enclosure in a location that is in the direct path of air flow exiting the port. So, we are dealing with the heat through heatsinking and both convective and "forced air" cooling. Thanks, Andrew
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Re: AxiomAir
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Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 10,490 Likes: 116
shareholder in the making
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shareholder in the making
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 10,490 Likes: 116 |
what about heat? how is the unit dealing with heat? just vents? My apologies for not being active in this thread over the past couple of weeks...we have been VERY busy working on AxiomAir! The power amplifier and its power supply are the only areas of concern for cooling, and it and the heasinking attached to it have been placed inside the enclosure in a location that is in the direct path of air flow exiting the port. So, we are dealing with the heat through heatsinking and both convective and "forced air" cooling. Thanks, Andrew So...all of you port plug lovers are SOL :-). I for one am very happy to hear no moving parts are required for cooling. I had no doubt. Just please make sure there's no bleating or farting artifacts.
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Re: AxiomAir
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Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 334 Likes: 5
Axiom Engineer devotee
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Axiom Engineer devotee
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 334 Likes: 5 |
Andrew or Ian, can you reveal a bit more info:
- At 1:20 into the video, I spied an inverted dust cap on the woofer. At other parts of the video, I saw the regular dust cap. I'm excited at the prospect of an inverted dust cap because, if properly accounted into the design, we can expect greater linearity without a sacrifice in bass extension.
- At 1:38, I spied cast baskets. Is this for real?
- At 2:34, we see the chrome grill. At 1:05 and 3:03, we see the black grill. The drivers are clearly visible through the black grill but apparently not the chrome grill. Although I like the chrome grill, visibility of the drivers is more important to me than grill color. Based on the video, I would go with the black grill. Can you comment on my observations?
- Is the grill removable? Like Vlad says, the dominant aesthetic feature of the industrial design is the grill BUT my Axioms sound distinctly better to me and others with the grill removed. I don't know if that will be the case with the AxiomAir or if the industrial design relies on the grill for structural integrity but I had to ask.
- How much dynamic headroom can we expect? The Kickstarter page suggests 5 x 150W. Is this for real? If so, is this headroom available from AC and battery power?
I don't know how others feel about this. I am not opposed to swapping out hardware if there are problems provided it's relatively easy to do so and the packaging is not compromised in the retrofit. If it's not easy, I'd prefer a delay in shipping to ensure robustness. Hi Mojo, The dust cap on the woofers is our conventional convex dust cap...an inverted dust cap buys you nothing in terms of off-axis performance or linearity, in fact it hinders it. Sorry...that shot was an early prototype...the production woofers will be made with our high-gauge stamped baskets. I find that your observation is correct, even though it is kind of counterintuitive. You would think that the black drivers would be more visible with a white grille, but they stand out the most with the black grille. The chrome grille is somewhere in between. The grille is removable for servicing only, so we don't recommend it. It's not difficult to do, but there is a high likelihood that you would damage or kink the grille in the process of swapping it out. Keep in mind that the tops CAN be changed out anytime you'd like. They are held on with magnets. Dynamic headroom is approximately 4-5 times the max continuous power, and it's available from either power source. Thanks, Andrew
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Re: AxiomAir
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Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 10,490 Likes: 116
shareholder in the making
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shareholder in the making
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 10,490 Likes: 116 |
Thank you for taking the time out to answer the questions, Andrew. Very useful info.
House of the Rising Sone Out in the mid or far field Dedicated mid-woofers are over-rated
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Re: AxiomAir
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Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 334 Likes: 5
Axiom Engineer devotee
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Axiom Engineer devotee
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 334 Likes: 5 |
Is there easy access to physically get to the Pi if needed (for maint / upgraded units etc)? Hi jmone, The Pi and DAC can be accessed by taking out four screws and removing an access panel on the bottom of the AxiomAir. This will allow you to service, upgrade, or change the SD card in the future should it be required. Thanks, Andrew
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Re: AxiomAir
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Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 334 Likes: 5
Axiom Engineer devotee
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Axiom Engineer devotee
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 334 Likes: 5 |
How much weight does the battery pack add? Are you going to release a stand for it? would be nice to have a stand with some matching wood accents on it.
Hi newf, Each battery pack weighs approximately 2 pounds. We will not know the final weight until tooling has been completed. Thanks, Andrew
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Re: AxiomAir
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Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 334 Likes: 5
Axiom Engineer devotee
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Axiom Engineer devotee
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 334 Likes: 5 |
Ok...now that I _think_ I have covered off all of the outstanding questions, how about some feature additions and updates? Volume control: There is a physical volume control knob on the bottom front of the unit behind an access door. This is the same area where the power button, USB ports, and indicator LEDs are located. The volume control only works on the analog input. This allows you to plug something like a CD player directly into AxiomAir, even though most CD players do not have a volume control. The same goes for some TV analog outs. For all of the digital streams (AirPlay, UPnP, web radio, NAS, USB, etc.) the volume can be controlled from either the streaming device or our web interface. We will also be adding a maximum volume level setting with password protection if you'd like to limit listening levels...for the kids or maybe your visiting Mother-in-law who insists on rocking out too late into the night! 3.5mm jacks: We have had a large number of backers ask about using AxiomAir with their TV. Of course this is possible as long as your TV has an analog output. In order to make the connection cleaner, we are adding a duplicate 3.5mm jack on the back of AxiomAir to easily allow you to hide the wires. This input is in parallel to the 3.5mm jack on the front, so you can only use one at a time. Selecting the analog input, rather than the digital stream, is via a button on our web interface. This means that you can leave an analog source like a TV or CD player plugged in all the time and switch between it and streaming audio remotely. Spotify integration: Maybe...fingers crossed! TIDAL integration: YES, AxiomAir will have it! Rdio integration: We have not really looked closely at Rdio yet as it seems to be a less popular player in the streaming music marketplace, but it is something that could be added if there is demand sometime down the road. Thanks, Andrew
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