Newbie

[caupina]

How are you guys???. I'm a newbie here. I enjoy music as much as riding my motorcycle. My HT is composed of a Yamaha HTR5890 receiver, Onkyo DV-CP 802 DVD-A/SACD player, Onkyo DX-C390 CD player, and believe or not an entire Bose speaker system, hahahahaha!!!! . Yes I have a couple of Bose 701 S II floor standing speakers and the VCS-30 package (center and surround speakers). From what I read, Bose takes a lot of bashing here, but I guess what really matters is that they sound good to me and my wife. They might not be the best speakers out there, or the cheapest (I didn't pay top price for my 701, just USD400/pair), but I'm happy with them.
I enjoyed reading all your posts, very good source of info here.

 

[deftech]

Beauty is in the ear of the beholder.

 

[Sheep]

Beauty is in the ear of the beholder.

Well said.

You're better off with those speakers then the cubes.

I hate the cubes MUCH more then the speakers.

SheepStar

 

[caupina]

I used to have the 501 before when I was in Chile, plus a pair of Bose surround speakers, I can't recall the model, but they faired pretty good. I've noticed that most of the "Bose bashing" here refers to the Acoustimass and/or Lifestyle systems, are the floor standing any different when it comes to sound quality????. I can't compare them to any other because it's the speaker brand I've always bought, but after reading this forum I guess I've been missing a lot in terms of quality and/or sound.

 

[hemiram]

I have to admit, as much as I dislike most of Bose's stuff, that 901s, hung from the ceiling in a huge room, with a really big pair of subs, and using a modified 901 EQ box, sounded great. I don't remember what the rest of the equipment was, but voices sounded totally natural, and I really had no complaints about how that particular set up sounded at all.

I can't say that about anything else Bose makes or made, or in any other setting. If you like the stuff you have, fine, you're the one listening to it. Right now, I'm running a $100 Sony receiver, 4 "Optimus77" speakers for fronts and backs, an Optimus center speaker (Actually sounds great for dialog), and a 12" Sony powered Sub.

The receiver, front speakers and sub will all be changed soon though to better stuff, but for a total of $400, it doesn't sound that bad, even one of my snooty audiophile friends admitted it was ok for movies and TV shows. For music? I agree, there is something wrong somewhere.

 

[caupina]

You guys got me thinking. I stopped by Ken Cranes yesterday and took a look at a couple of speakers, the B&W DM603S (beautiful design) and the Klispch RF-82, so I going there again, I'll take a some Cds with me, Pat Metheny's Secret Story and The Road to You, and Incognito's Who Needs Love, and audition both speakers. I'm looking at spending $ 1,000-1,500 for the mains. The center and surrounds, I'll replace them later on.
Bose 701 SII, anyone?????

 

[WorldLeader]

The Axiom m80s are nice mains, maybe you should order some and try them out in your house! Listening in a studio is one thing, but you really need to know how they sound in your own house.

There's an Audioholic review of them too.

 

[caupina]

Nice speakers. One question, those are 4 ohms and my receiver is a Yamaha HTR 5890 is 6ohms minimum, could I run into some problems???. Another thing is the space (and the neighbors) I have which is a little living room 15 ft x 13 ft on the second floor, might not be the appropriate environment, but yet I don't have to crank up the volume all the time.

 

[caupina]

I just came back from the speakers audition. I like the B&W a lot more than the Klipsch, but neither one of them sounded "right" to me, they were too bright and lacked bass ( my Bose 701 sounded a lot better). I'm thinking they were not properly set up, so my next question is: anybody from Los Angeles, CA here that can tell where there is a good showroom???. I live by LAX so unless I have to go to Fontana or Corona, I don't mind the driving.

 

[WorldLeader]

From what I've heard, the Axioms have been described as being "bright". If your not into that sound, a place to look would be Ascend. You can find lots of good reviews about them; they are regarded as being very neutral and clear, not bright like Klipsch.

You could try and arrange a listening time at their factory/shop. They sell internet direct, but you may live close enough to check them out in person.

From their site:
ASCEND ACOUSTICS, INC.
1842 W 169th St. Suite B
Gardena, CA 90247
Tel 310/719-9786
Fax 310/388-1500
Office Hours: 8:00am to 6:00pm PST
MAP-Google Maps

They are within 10 miles of LAX, but I'm not from that area so I don't know.

Their new SE edition speakers have better bass and a nice tweater, plus they aren't very expensive.

About the 4 ohm m80s, I bet that your current receiver can drive them fine, but you might send an email to the Axiom people to make sure.

Good Luck!

 

[caupina]

Thanks Worldleader!!! Gardena is close from where I live so I'll check the place out and let you know.

 

[Buckeyefan 1]

Nice speakers. One question, those are 4 ohms and my receiver is a Yamaha HTR 5890 is 6ohms minimum, could I run into some problems???. Another thing is the space (and the neighbors) I have which is a little living room 15 ft x 13 ft on the second floor, might not be the appropriate environment, but yet I don't have to crank up the volume all the time.

You could run into problems driving large towers like those Axioms (or any difficult load speaker). IMO, your listening taste would move you away from a metal tweeter like what Axiom and Klipsch offer. I would recommend looking into mylar/soft dome/textile based tweeters. I'd also recommend sticking to bookshelf speakers in a room your size. Your Yamaha 5890 offers enough bass management that a separate powered sub should provide the low end you'll need for home theater as well as discerning audio.