Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Advice from Axiom Owners Jury's still out!!

Hi all,
You may recall my recent posts in here as I searched for the proper speaker solution--and other knowledge in my quest to build a home theater system. Well, my axiom M80's have arrived...and I hooked them up to my Denon 4802R which also arrived this evening. I didn't get a long listening period...so these are my first impressions. You can believe, I'll be doing my best to put these speakers through their paces this weekend. First, I wasn't blown away??? Should I be?? Admittedly, this was a throw together job...I came back from UPS this evening...and stripped some speaker cable...jammed it in the back of the denon, and likewise....inserted into the posts on the speakers...and tightened. Probably more telling is that I just took out my Toshiba DVD player...from my wife's system...to play some musical CD's.

The speakers sound good...quite bright actually.... no shortage of highs in my opinion...but....I don't know. I just wasn't blown away...like I want to be. Is it just too early?? Is it because the DVD is playing my music cd's?? Am I just looking for too much?? Do these speakers need a break-in period?? I don't have a sub hooked up yet...or the surrounds. Plan on getting an svs pb1 sub...ordering it tomorrow. I'm sure that will help, but I'm looking for a little more from the M80's. Should I be concerned??

I only cranked the volume to 1dB on the Denon -- max is 18, and haven't tweaked any setting on the Denon as of yet, but didn't think it was that loud...it was loud, but...also seemed to sound cluttered as the volume increased....something I don't want.

They are attractive speakers, and I really don't want to return them...especially considering I had to drive 2hrs round trip to pick them up from FedEx thanks to an addressing problem by FedEx!!

OK so I have the m60s...so not the same speakers but not too far off. But my immediate comment is that people say the m80s are very "fussy" in placement. You should spend a bit of time adjusting them in small increments and then listening at the sweet spot. You may find that just from a bit of adjusting they sound a lot better. Also, try to test them with a number of different cds. My m60s sound a bit bright on a few disks I have, but I've found that in those cases it is often the disks (sometimes even just a particular song, on a soudtrack for instance). I am impressed with the bass that my m60s put out when they're fed enough power, (although the are no match for a good sub and should supplemented with one) but the midrange blows me away on a good number of my cds.

You don't mention what material you used for your initial listening tests. My experience was that my M60's REALLY revealed how crappy some recordings sound. But, man, when you get a good one, the detail is just astounding. Give it some time.

Some random points:

Being initially a little disappointed is not an uncommon phenomenon. You start out with expectations so high, and get worked into a fever just waiting for them to arrive. It's difficult for any speaker to live up to all that.

The 80s have a reputation for being a little finicky regarding placement. Be sure to try a variety of positions before you judge. Sometimes just moving them a few inches will make a difference. If you have questions, ask away.

Once you have them in the position that seems optimum, be sure to calibrate your system with a Rat Shack meter.

After all that, give yourself a couple of weeks to become accustomed to their sound. Some will argue the speakers "break in," some will argue it is your brain that "breaks in." Regardless, relax, take some time. experiment, listen to a variety of music and movies, and reserve judgment for awhile.

Keep in mind that poorly mixed sources will sound.......well....... poor. Well mixed sources will astound you. Many music CDs, particularly those made from material originally mixed years ago, were mixed to be played through average speakers; small and lousy. Whatever they are, the Axioms aren't average.

Take a deep breath, relax, and give yourself and the Axioms a little time.

Good luck.

"Being blown away" is such an overused term. The exaggeration places suggestion into the mind (that bias i speak about so often) of new buyers so i'm not surprised when posts like this pop up. Several ppl have come back to the forums somewhat disappointed after their new speakers arrive b/c they were expecting more from reading so much hype.
I have to agree with Ajax (although several other good points were also made).

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Being initially a little disappointed is not an uncommon phenomenon. You start out with expectations so high, and get worked into a fever just waiting for them to arrive. It's difficult for any speaker to live up to all that.

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I posted my thoughts on this exact subject here quite some time ago.

I use that term, and I stand by it. The first time I heard Peter's M22s, I was blown away. Perhaps I have lower standards than others...

That said, I'll probably be disappointed with my speakers when I first set them up.

I got my M60's last month with the rest of my system and I too had high expections. I would say they did grow on me after a while. After hours of playing music, watching endless movies - they have set the standard for which I grade speakers. I think some of the previous poster's are correct in stating that it is the person that needs "breaking in" and not the speaker.

Although the 60's are different form the 80's, I am sure after a few weeks of usage, you will be very pleased.

First of all, the expectation of being "blown away" is a tough standard we set after reading these forums. We get ourselves into a frenzy about speakers that, in most cases, we have never heard. The risk there is that we may not understand what indeed is meant by clarity/detail. In most cases, our existing setups are on par w/ Best Buy or Circuit City specials and clarity/detail are NOT characteristics of them. So, we have trained minds to hear music that may be loud, but is probably muddy and less detailed. That being the case, experiencing that clarity and detail isn't always the big bang of an experience that we expected.....this is surely true if your source material is something poorly recorded, which brings me to my second point....

I have not posted my thoughts on this yet, but part of my Axiom order arrived last week (M22s & QS4s). I am waiting to post comments until after my M60s arrive and I have had time to compare. But, having had a few days to listen to my M22s w/ a sub, I can definitively state that source material DOES have a large play in this. You may be saying that all material should sound good on my speakers that I shelled out this $ for, but that's not necessarily the case. In buying a speaker known for it's clarity and detail, we have made a bit of a deal w/ the devil. We now have speakers that are going to give a magnificent enhanced experience w/ well-recorded music, but will also be shining a bad light on our poorly recorded music by bringing to the surface all of the imperfections in the recording.

In the end, I would agree with the other posters that suggest you give them and yourself a little time. But, in that time, I would strongly suggest you sift through your collection for the well-recorded material. In my case, I pulled out Children of Sanchez by Chuck Mangione......Good God!! is all I had to say after that.....the trombones and trumpets were almost mind-bending....you could almost visualize the guitar strings vibrating...the drums had so much punch...it was awesome.

Also, don't be afraid to give it some more juice. In hearing this much detail, I find myself cranking it much higher than I used to as I listen for those little nuances that I have never previously heard.

Good Luck

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I just wasn't blown away...like I want to be.

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Eightman - it's tough for any speaker to really blow someone away when your expectations are very high. In the end, they're speakers - very good ones - but they're not going to do away with air pollution, save the whales or expose the culprits and feed them to the children - to borrow some Bad Religion lyrics.

The upside is - if they don't blow you away now, they won't annoy you later.

They do blend in nicely and don't call attention to themselves. The only time I even notice my Axioms now is when I lay down on the couch with one ear under a QS4 woofer, I hear all the delay and phase games that way, but you can hardly blame Axiom's engineers for that - I've never read "mount one surround directly above your head firing directly at your right ear, the other surround 8 feet away, plug the other ear by pushing it against a pillow, cock your head towards the diagonally opposite main and throw a blanket over yourself for best audio experience"

Bren R.

Having just gone through a serious evaluation of the M60's, maybe my two cents worth will help. First of all, purchasing the M60's for a friend of mine just cost me more money than I thought. I'm replacing my existing BOSE 901s with the M60 + subwoofer combination ASAP. Perhaps saying I own BOSE 901s automatically disqualifies me from comment. All I can say is that I got them for $125 (I think even the worst BOSE basher will agree that they are a pretty good $125 speaker). Now as to your speakers. I'm hearing instruments in recordings that I never knew were there on the Axioms. I think a subwoofer is pretty much mandatory with any speaker that Axiom makes. In my experience, speakers that really make an impression are generally too bright our loud in some area, and that with time, will become uncomfortable. I currently own a pair of Quad Electrostatics. They are sitting out in the barn because I cannot afford to rebuild them. I mention this because when it comes to accurate sound, I think you will find electrostatics hard to beat if you can afford them, and can accept their limitations. I keep getting the feeling with the Axioms that I'm listening to the Quads (but with bass). My advice is hold back on judgment until you hook up the subs and listen to alot of music. You could do worse and spend more money.