This is really tiring!
Tom,
I did take pics every step of the way. I will be posting them eventually. This process has been so crazy and tiring that I cant keep up with myself. Look forward to making good progress this weekend (if my wife doesnt divorce me by then)
Nick250,
As a starting point I ran the EZ Setup using the HK mike which comes with AVR 240. The process by itself is very simple...I installed the mike on a tripod and let the setup run. The receiver sends bunch of tones to each speaker and calibrates the entire setup which includes speaker size, crossover, channel strength etc. The end result was much better than day 1 when I tried playing stuff on non-calibrated system. You are right about the Sub. Its going to be the biggest challenge. Right now I have kept it in the left corner of the room.
Jlcct,
Yep, I am going to go crazy for the next 30 days. Your idea sounds wild but interesting. If I get to the point of finalizing my speakers soon, then I will probably experiment a little with such a notion
BillnChristy,
Based on the research I did, Axioms stood out in terms of cost and specs. One thing to note here is that I looked at Axiom as the limit I could stretch for now. So I didnt consider some of the step ups like Paradigm. BUT, I located stores near my house which carry those speakers. So once I ve spent good amount of time with these speakers, I shall visit the store for an audition of something different. Also, I did listen to Klipsch, Polk and JBL in the brand stores before I started researching on Axioms.
MDS, bandit,
I shall keep the ones I like, atleast one pair from each category (bookshelf, floor standing etc). I spent about 2 months going back and forth on which ones would be the best and still couldnt decide. So one night, I just went ahead and ordered all the ones that I was considering. If auditioning the speakers is the way to go, then that's what I am going to do. Its painful now, but given that I may not be replacing speakers for a few years to come, I gotta go all the way.
The delivery guy was actually curious as to what I was going to do with so many speakers. What blew his noodle was that the 14 pieces he delivered to my place did not include the Sub
TESTING:
Based on just the HK's EZ Setup, I started testing the speakers. Now I took a little different route here. I started with the best set up first - VP150, M60, QS8. I wanted to set the bar high and then climb down the performance ladder so that I am not pyschologically forced to think that if I move from smaller to bigger speakers they perform better.
Since I completed the setup and placing of all speakers by evening, I did not run the tests for long because my neighbors were back from their work.
Based on the DVDs I had with me I tested Matrix, Return of the King, Crouching Tiger...& Black Hawk Down. With just an automated calibration, I would say that it was an awesome experience. The only difference I heard was among different movies and that's probably based on the recording. I jumped to specific scenes on these DVDs. For Matrix I ran the sequence starting from the building security shootout till the rescue of Morpheus. The sound was superb. Particulary the background music during the security shootout and the LFE from the Gatling gun on the helicopter.
For Return of the King, I played scenes from all over and the final battle scence is amazing. But what I enjoyed the most was the soundtrack when the beacons are lit.
The night fight in Crouching Tiger.. and the opening scenes in Black Hawk Down sounded good too.
Overall movie experience was very good, though I see a lot of room for improvement. I look forward to some manual changes to the settings. But I can definitely see that Axioms are built for HT.
Music is where I am struggling a bit. The M60s running on the stereo mode along with the Sub wasnt exactly a mind blowing experience. Dont read me wrong, the music sounds terrific, but there is something missing which I am not able to point out yet. I would expect that when you listen to your favorite tracks and if the sound system is really good, it almost gives you goose bumps. In this case, the music was great, but not the goose bump phenomenon. This is where I am going to research the most. Any suggestions from you guys is most welcome.
Note that this is my first HT setup and I dont have a dedicated HT room. I am a novice in this domain and that's why there is not a whole lot of technical data associated to my tests. Maybe I ll get there after a while. For now, back to reading the manuals.
