Just ordered Axioms!

[genesis471]

Hi,

The klipsch speakers I had are sold, and as they say out with the old, in with the new. I am highly anitcipating some kick *** sound from the Axioms. I order a pair of M60's, there vp150 center, and QS8 surrounds. Will be hooking these to my Denon 3805, and playback via Denon 3910.
I'm sure these must be a big step up from the Klipsch I had which were equal to the current synergy series (but a few years older). They should be here by thursday, and I have all of friday off to play!
I am not very good at writing reviews but I will do the best to describe my listening experiences!

Mike

 

[colin.p]

Cool

I've been lusting after those speakers for quite awhile. Unfortunately, I will have to continue to lust after them for another quite awhile, however, I am looking forward to your review. It may just make me buy more lottery tickets.

Colin.
BTW, I haven't bought a lottery ticket for over 10 years.

 

[Ajax]

Congratulations Mike. I had exactly the same Axiom setup, and was VERY happy with it. I certainly hope you will feel the same. I've heard good things about the Klipsch HT speakers, but I've never heard them. Because of that, I have no way of knowing if the Axioms will "be a big step up." The only Klipsch I've heard are my ProMedia computer speakers, and the Axioms would definitely be a step up from those.

Much like Axioms, people seem to either love Klipsch or hate them. If you liked anything at all about your Klipsch, I suspect you'll really enjoy the Axioms. Let us know when you get them, set them up, and have a chance to spend some time with them. And, try to keep your nose off the window looking for the delivery truck if possible.

 

[genesis471]

So Jack you had Axioms? What did you replace them with?

 

[Maxer]

Congrats genesis! I have the exact same setup and absolutely love it. They are excellent speakers and I haven't had a listener yet that wasn't as amazed as I was the first time I cranked em up.

Looking forward to your review!

 

[gene]

They should be here by thursday, and I have all of friday off to play!

Haha I used to take the day off from work when new gear arrived for my system. I remember the feeling. Take your time to set up everything properly. You have made a wise upgrade decision. Enjoy!

 

[Sheep]

Congrats!

Post some pics in the member system forum while your at the review!

SheepStar

 

[s002wjh]

could you tell me the speaker setting in your 3805 receiver for the speakers after you done? thx

 

[Rip Van Woofer]

Ah, sweet anticipation! Enjoy and post your impressions/pix.

 

[genesis471]

Thanks for all of the great replies! Great group of people on this forum!
To Soo2wh, I will do my best. I was going to ask some of the folks here whom have the same setup ie. Maxer; besides setting the sub crossover at 80hz, what do you have the other settings at? And do you use the auto/manual eq? I know the eq settings must be a little subjective based on we all hear differently. I was very satisfied as to what my system sounded like with the Klipsch, so of course I will be using that as a starting point, and reference to try and compare them to the Axioms.
To Gene: Roger your message!

Mike

 

[soundhound]

i just ordered some too, the m3tis. they ship from canada, right? anyone know how long it usually takes to get them in the US?

 

[Wid]

I had mine (northeren Il.) in three days.

 

[genesis471]

Mine are due today to Seattle. They shipped on this past monday from Ontario, Canada. I'm sure they will be here about 5 minutes after I have to leave for work. Will I have tomorrow in the am to play, and all day friday!

Mike

 

[soundhound]

mine just came. don't know if i'll be able to demo tonight, probably tomorrow at the earliest. 3 days to NY, not bad.

 

[Maxer]

I was going to ask some of the folks here whom have the same setup ie. Maxer;

Glad to offer my experience. The first thing I did after carefully unpacking and connecting was use the auto setup on my RX-V2500. This gave me the distance, level, crossover (80hz), equalization, etc settings. After a little listening, I was a little impressed, but not blown away. I went into the manual setup to see what was set. All the speakers were set to large (so only the .1 track of a Dolby/DTS source was going to the sub) and the equalization really damped the high end (I tend to like bright, crisp highs which is why I love the Axioms).

So I flattened the EQ on all the channels and set all the speakers to small and holy crap what a difference. The Axioms came alive and on music the sub rounded out the bottom perfectly.

To summarize, I recommend the following:
1. Set all speakers to small (Thanks to the Audioholics guides for this tip)
2. If you have a sub, set bass to sub, else, set it to fronts
3. Flatten the Equalizer for your first listen to hear the speakers as they were designed. Tweak from there.
4. Play with the level settings if you use an auto setup. I found that the receiver did well, but didn't get it quite right.
5. Enjoy!

 

[genesis471]

Thanks Maxer! Just got the speakers yesterday afternoon. I am in the process this morning getting them in there proper locations, etc. Won't have much time for testing or reviewing today, but tomorrow I will have lots of time.
One note, I can't believe how heavy the QS8 surrounds are!

 

[Sheep]

Thanks Maxer! Just got the speakers yesterday afternoon. I am in the process this morning getting them in there proper locations, etc. Won't have much time for testing or reviewing today, but tomorrow I will have lots of time.
One note, I can't believe how heavy the QS8 surrounds are!

Good! Now, update that signature.

SheepStar

 

[mikey d]

i just ordered from axiom also. i got m80s vp150 and the qs8's.
i plan to get the ep600 later. I cant wait till they get here!!

 

[genesis471]

Good! Now, update that signature.

SheepStar

Done!

So writing this after work Before I had to leave for work, I got the surrounds mounted on the walls. I moved them about 2.5' down and 2' over from where they used to be. I had to fish wiring thru the walls and thru a couple of studs to do this, and now am left with the connections in the junction boxes.
The Center is in place.
The fronts should be in place by tomorrow afternoon and ready to rock. I have to do some extensive modifications to my built in cabinetry to accomodate them. Yes they go in a very custom entertainment center with the subs as well. The cabinetry has been modified a ton to ensure sound is not deadened by the cabinets themselves. So no issues there, but need to raise parts of them just a bit to accomodate the taller speakers (then the Klipsch I had).
So tomorrow by this time I should have an idea of how these babies sound and will do my best to report! I'm going to go get an SPL from radio shack and then tweak it from there. I also am going to use the manual eq and set it to flat as that has been recommended here.
Oh the anticipation is killing me!

Mike

 

[genesis471]

Finaaaaallly, I'm back to say the the Axioms I order sound excellent to these ears. It took me a while to get them set up in the room and tuned for both music and movies. I used my RS SPL meter and auto setup. It did an excellent job I think on distance settings etc... but I didn't care at all for the auto eq. I fiddled around for a bit with that and finally found the flat setting on the 3805 to be an excellent starting point. I set the manual to match the flat and went from there.
Sound quality is impressive. No doubt I hear sounds on SACD's and concerts that I couldn't hear before. For movies the surround field really feels like a theater more then before. There is excellent seperation from these and the detail is amazing. As far as the QS8 surround backs go, these are a huge step up from the Klipsch surrounds I had. Again, the detail is excellent.
I also just got one Dehringer DSP1124P Parametric EQ and hooked my two subs up to it and gain better control of the frequency response in my room. The rear sub I got set up perfectly to my ears but I am struggling with the one that is in the built in cabinetry... I know, I know! The cabinet is eating the sound alive! That is a work in progress but I WILL get it fixed so the sound shoots out in the room instead of getting absorbed inside the cabinetry. I will probably write a new post to seek help in that field!
I am extremely satisfied with the Axioms, they sound real nice!

mike