Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion What's New At Axiom LFR180

Hi Alan,

The reason we use separate amp channels and a DSP for the front and rear is so we can avoid the typical problem of omnidirectional speakers smearing the image. Our LFR series has pinpoint imaging just like a direct radiator, plus the added benefits of the image not changing off-axis and a more 3 dimensional overall soundstage.

I don't know about this product Ian. A human voice is not like an instrument. Sound doesn't come out the back or sides of a person's head and illuminate the back or side walls. I am of course open to learning and being convinced that the effect you are after is appropriate.

Hi Mojo,

It is really about total radiated sound power. If someone is facing away from you, you can still hear them speaking, even in an anechoic chamber. A speaker works the same way and one of the most important set of curves about how a speaker will sound is the sound power average of curves. It's close cousin, the directivity index, is also important. By having drivers mounted on the rear of the speaker with a separate amp channel being controlled through a DSP we have almost endless control over every curve radiated from the speaker all the way around that make up the sound power and directivity index.

I do see your point now. We have to keep in mind the entire speaker radiates - not just the drivers. Controlling the total radiation is what's important. Thanks.

I think this is a brilliant and exciting idea. One of my ongoing challenges in watching TV programs is that so much of the content is collapsed to the center. Yes, I've tried all the Dolby modes etc. (although - to be fair - my receiver is aging).

I'm going to paste below what I wrote on the related FB post.

My lens is currently a projection system, so I only have ~24" of space under the screen to work with, and only about 12' away.

I'm a little confused about placement. It looks (and seems) like you'd just set this thing on the floor in front of your screen. But how much benefit can you get from the rear drivers being that low? I suppose you'd HAVE to put it on a stand, which would eliminate use in any non-acoustically-transparent projection screen installation. And if you did put it behind an AT screen, you'd have to make that a live environment instead of a dead one. So, it seems like it would need to be in the room, in a big room, on a stand, and yet somehow not compromise the viewing angle. How about if you redesign the box so that the front baffle AND the back baffle are both tilted up so that it is designed to sit on or close to the floor?

Because if I aim the current design up towards the listener, then the back drivers are going to be aimed down at the floor. So the only way this thing "works" is if the tweeters are at about ear level and the speaker is mounted level. I don't want to "look at" the center speaker; I want to "look at" the screen (about 1/3 of the way up).

Make the front and back driver assemblies/baffles two separate units that are hinged at the top?

Before i ever got into HT i had my 2 channel setup which i connected my VCR to. The ol brain bucket had no trouble associating the voices from the speakers with the actors on the tv the imaging was spot on. All sounds are heavily reflected so i see no reason what ian is proposing wont work, god and Ian only knows what goes on inside the dsp.

Just ran my head cleaner the other day and the vhs are lookin good but not as good as my beta's.

Alan:

For me this design of speaker and my ultimate desire is a center channel that hopefully can solve much of the problem of off-axis performance which all front-firing center channels, regardless of design, suffer from to one degree or another.

Andrew is probably familiar with the Mirage Omnipolar design and I owned one in which, ultimately, although it was too small for the system I was building(I eventually sold it), it did provide a very good center channel focus of dialogue and other sounds along with an off-axis performance that was so good I could actually walk up to the side of it, almost at a 90 degree angle and the off-axis performance was such, even standing off to the side that much, it was almost as good as standing right in front of it.

If Axiom came up with performance of anything close to that stature, I would purchase it in a heartbeat.

Hi Casey01,

It was Andrew's intention to make the LFR Series better than his Mirage Omnipolars. Hence the need for two separate channels front and rear.

My three cents worth.

1 cent) I think this LFR800 would best be used as competition to the speaker bar other companies have. Seems Axiom is trying to reinvent Dolby, Arur-3D, DTS sound fields.

2 cents) I love the finish on my real wood Cherry M22 also, TAM

3 cents) I think Axiom should upgrade that Mid Range Driver to keep up with the Tweeter and 6.5” HP Woofers. I think it lacks behind now. I mean yes with the normal M80, 60 it is in its zone. But how can you create better Tweeters and Woofers and just throw in a normal mid range. It just doesn’t do that HP line justice.

4 cents) Axiom did what I was wanting, about 3 months later as mentioned above. I was wanting a speaker like the M5HP and I bought the M22 in Nov, just to come out with the M5HP two months later.

5 Cents ) I think if Axiom is going to have these improvements why not have a decent looking, connection plate. That speaker wire connection plate that cheap plastic makes the speakers look like cheap parts all around. If just for the HP, LFR lines have a nice piece made in white metal or something with great binding posts and great rid of those cheap black n red nuts. They make it look cheap. I mean look at Paradigms binding posts or B&W . Little details go along way.



Ok my 5 cents

I would trade in the M22s for the M5HPs and be very happy doing it. I am betting the M5HPs will sound better than my M80v2.

What makes you think the midrange driver needs improvement?

I personally don't want to pay for fancier terminals.