New Axiom VP180

[bigbassdave]

Man this thing looks like a beast. I'm kicking myself for buying my 150 a couple months ago.

http://axiomaudio.com/vp180.html

 

[billy p]

Man this thing looks like a beast. I'm kicking myself for buying my 150 a couple months ago.

http://axiomaudio.com/vp180.html

I hope you have the v3 version at least. It sure sounds like the v3 are a hit and with their great customer service you could ask them about trading up? Fwiw...I'm re thinking my current speaker situation and maybe going with some Axiom in walls...I don't know yet?

 

[bigbassdave]

I have the V2 center, V1 fronts and surrounds. I'm completely happy with all of them I just like having the biggest baddest thing in a line up (I know its shallow.) I did contact Axiom btw and they are offering no such trade up program. In fact I spoke with Brent from customer service (I have talked with him a number of times and have always found him to be extremely knowledgeable and helpful) and he said they have been overwhelmed with calls from people wanting to trade up. He went on to tell me that Axiom was going to set up an area on their member forums dedicated to people wanting to sell their used VP150's for that very reason!

 

[Zer0beaT]

I better head over and find that thread then!

Been wanting to upgrade from a VP100 for years. Maybe I can get a VP150 pretty cheap?

I wonder has anyone A/B'd the V3 vs. V2?

 

[bigbassdave]

Yeah I'm guessing since Axiom is so "overwhelmed" by people wanting to upgrade their 150's that over the next few weeks would be a great time to pick one up only slightly used at a great price. In fact I'm considering picking up a second one and running duel 150's instead of one 180.

 

[TLS Guy]

Man this thing looks like a beast. I'm kicking myself for buying my 150 a couple months ago.

http://axiomaudio.com/vp180.html

I can't think of a worse speaker layout for a center channel than that.

Natural speech it won't have. That is far from a point source and will have comb filtering issues galore. The only way it will have speech intelligibility is to give it mid range shout.

The only thing it will have going for it is power handling. Getting good power from fewer drivers cost money, but pays huge dividends.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I can't think of a worse speaker layout for a center channel than that.

Natural speech it won't have. That is far from a point source and will have comb filtering issues galore. The only way it will have speech intelligibility is to give it mid range shout.

The only thing it will have going for it is power handling. Getting good power from fewer drivers cost money, but pays huge dividends.

Will placing that thing vertically help?

 

[TLS Guy]

Will placing that thing vertically help?

Probably marginally. However the largest crime among others is to have two spaced tweeters!

It rally is disappointing, that speaker is a classic example of visual impact being upper most and audio quality a distant second. That is why "white van" speakers are generally crammed with drivers

 

[fredk]

I wonder has anyone A/B'd the V3 vs. V2?

Nope. V3 was just released this week.

 

[fredk]

It rally is disappointing, that speaker is a classic example of visual impact being upper most and audio quality a distant second. That is why "white van" speakers are generally crammed with drivers

Ouch! Tossing white van in there is a low blow. Putting dual mids and tweets in a vertical orientation would make for a very tall center.

The intent with the VP180 was a best match with the M80 and from the early reviews they achieved that.

Axiom is also tossing around the idea of a center to match the M60. With a single tweeter and mid, it seems a much better candidate for a vertical orientation.

I side stepped the whole issue by using two Axiom bookshelves (one above, one below the screen). The seem to be closely enough matched that I get a seamless front stage.

 

[fredk]

Been wanting to upgrade from a VP100 for years. Maybe I can get a VP150 pretty cheap?

Yes. you can. Axiom just set up an auction page and the first few auctions have been good deals.

 

[MinusTheBear]

I can't think of a worse speaker layout for a center channel than that.

Natural speech it won't have. That is far from a point source and will have comb filtering issues galore. The only way it will have speech intelligibility is to give it mid range shout.

The only thing it will have going for it is power handling. Getting good power from fewer drivers cost money, but pays huge dividends.

It is just a M80 that has been re-arranged with a symmetric driver layout for horizontal placement. No doubt there will be comb filtering issues with this speaker but according to Axiom, comb filtering is only a measurement artifact.

It is shocking that Axioms research team has never designed a W T/M W center over the years. It is a superior driver layout in theory. The two tweet designs they incorporate into their centers does not appeal to a lot of people.

http://forum.ecoustics.com/bbs/messages/34579/572305.html (Axioms thoughts on comb filtering)

 

[sholling]

It is just a M80 that has been re-arranged with a symmetric driver layout for horizontal placement. No doubt there will be comb filtering issues with this speaker but according to Axiom, comb filtering is only a measurement artifact.

It is shocking that Axioms research team has never designed a W T/M W center over the years. It is a superior driver layout in theory. The two tweet designs they incorporate into their centers does not appeal to a lot of people.

It would be nice if they improved the frequency response on their other centers. They lost a sale to me because I refuse to use a center that crosses over higher than 80hz and would much rather be able to set the crossover at 60hz.

 

[MinusTheBear]

It would be nice if they improved the frequency response on their other centers. They lost a sale to me because I refuse to use a center that crosses over higher than 80hz and would much rather be able to set the crossover at 60hz.

The other centers are sealed which is one reason why extension is limited. You can probably cross the VP180 at 40hz or 60hz. I have read that a lot about individuals saying a deciding factor to not buy a HT setup or consider them was because of their center offerings.

 

[sholling]

The other centers are sealed which is one reason why extension is limited. You can probably cross the VP180 at 40hz or 60hz. I have read that a lot about individuals saying a deciding factor to not buy a HT setup or consider them was because of their center offerings.

Who wants to experience an audio ping-pong match between the center and subwoofer? A better choice would have been front porting the centers to get a bit of bass. Front porting keeps placement easy. The VP100 should be redesigned to get below 80hz and the VP150 should be redesigned to get below 60hz. I'd expect something as beastly and expensive as the VP180 to go as low as the towers they are meant to match.

 

[MinusTheBear]

Who wants to experience an audio ping-pong match between the center and subwoofer? A better choice would have been front porting the centers to get a bit of bass. Front porting keeps placement easy. The VP100 should be redesigned to get below 80hz and the VP150 should be redesigned to get below 60hz. I'd expect something as beastly and expensive as the VP180 to go as low as the towers they are meant to match.

Front ports are an interesting concept for sure. The VP180 does go as low as the towers according to the specs but if you are crossing the M80's and VP180 below 40hz I wouldn't do it with a regular receiver. Below 50hz it looks like the impedance drops well below 4 ohms and this might cause problems (shut down) at extreme sound levels.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

However the largest crime among others is to have two spaced tweeters!

Oh, I see.

No wonder most speakers only have a single tweeter surrounded by woofers!

Oh, wait...what about the RBH speakers that have THREE tweeters on each speaker?

So it's okay if they are right next to each other, instead of being spaced out?

http://www.rbhsound.com/t30lse.shtml

http://www.rbhsound.com/t1r.shtml

 

[gene]

Guys, there are different and valid approaches to loudspeaker design and you should never deal with absolutes and make sweeping statements about any type of design approach. What matters is how a speaker sounds in a real room and not just a theoretically perfect on-axis measurement.

I am not well versed in the Axiom design yet since we haven't reviewed it but the RBH speaker discussed here is a much different approach. RBH is using what they refer to as a dispersion averaging array which minimizes the lobing effects of the multiple drivers. You can read more about this in my formal reviews of the T systems.

At some point we should probably write up a formal article comparing each of the methods showing pros/cons. Maybe if enough people bug us, I can get Paul Apollonio to write it

 

[Paul_Apollonio]

Guys, there are different and valid approaches to loudspeaker design and you should never deal with absolutes and make sweeping statements about any type of design approach. What matters is how a speaker sounds in a real room and not just a theoretically perfect on-axis measurement.

I am not well versed in the Axiom design yet since we haven't reviewed it but the RBH speaker discussed here is a much different approach. RBH is using what they refer to as a dispersion averaging array which minimizes the lobing effects of the multiple drivers. You can read more about this in my formal reviews of the T systems.

At some point we should probably write up a formal article comparing each of the methods showing pros/cons. Maybe if enough people bug us, I can get Paul Apollonio to write it

Gene,

As usual you are right. As for the Axiom approach, I think I saw this happen last night. I was at a bar while some drunk chick was tossing darts. Good thing I ducked fast enough. Last guy she hit with a dart was bleeding and screaming, and she was heard to say, "Don't worry, its not a real dart, just an artifact." (for those of you who don't get the inside joke, my apologies). (LOL) - Paul Apollonio

 

[MinusTheBear]

Gene,

As usual you are right. As for the Axiom approach, I think I saw this happen last night. I was at a bar while some drunk chick was tossing darts. Good thing I ducked fast enough. Last guy she hit with a dart was bleeding and screaming, and she was heard to say, "Don't worry, its not a real dart, just an artifact." (for those of you who don't get the inside joke, my apologies). (LOL) - Paul Apollonio

So I take it the comb filtering issues will be audible and have a negative impact on performance?