which axiom system with denon avr 3805?

[OliverB]

Hi, new to this wonderful and informative site. I just ordered a Denon AVR 3805 after deciding on it based on what I read here and at other sites. Should have it in a day or two, got it at Magnolia, but it was not in stock. (paid 899)

Now I'm looking at speakers. I first thought I might keep my current custom built speakers for a while and just add a sub, but now I'm tending more towards getting a new set of speakers and what I read about axiom looks promising.

I have a large room, some 20x30 ft, 8ft hight, but also open to dining room, reading corner, kitchen, and main hallway. In a way it's about 1000 sq ft of open room though with several corners. Carpet on floor.

So, I'll need something a bit larger than what would work in a smaller or more contained room.

I used to be into high end audio some 20+ years ago, when i built my speakers, but it's been a while. I read the specs of the axiom Epic 60 500, Epic 80 500, and the Grand Master 500, I think those are about the correct size for me (and I really don't want to have a giant sub like the 600). But some speakers are 4 ohm, some are 6 ohm, some are 8. How much - if at all - does that matter?

Also, I'll use the system for a lot of music listening, including a large collection of live music DVDs, plus of course movies, probably in a 60/40% mix of music and movies. And aside from Opera, I listen to every kind of music you can think of, but mostly rock. From what I read axiom seems to handle both very well, with music handling being a bit better than other HT systems.

I also looked at SVS subs that look great, but in a way I'm tempted to get a system put together by experts instead of fooling around myself. And I don't have the time to sit through hours of listening in showrooms, as much as I'd like to.

Grateful for any input, if some or all of this has been answered elsewhere pls point me that way. I read the axiom reviews here, but they seem to be about slightly different configurations than what's on sale now. Budget is an issue, but considering that I plan to have these for the next 20 years or so, I'd rather spend a bit more if the added value is really there.

Thanks!!

Oliver

 

[newfmp3]

3805 would be more comfortable with the M60's since their 8 ohm, but your room is big enough for me to recommend getting the 80's. If your into rock and stuff, I'd recommend the 80's yet again. Axiom owners are running the 80's off of a 3805. But, if you like really really loud volumes for long periods, I would think you might need an external amp at some point for the fronts. Lots of 3805 owners over at the axiom forums. Hit them up with a few q's about how hot the 3805 gets. My concern would be your room size, and how hard you would have to drive it for good volumes.

Regardless, get the VP150 center, and QS8 surrounds. Always get a matching set of speakers for your fronts/rears. Mutli-channel music sounds much better when all the speakers are from the same company. Don't worry about the 3805 driving these, it'll be fine.

Now, as for the sub, I was in the same situation. I ended up getting the HSU VTF3-MKII. Believe me when I say this...this thing will shake the @#$@#% of out your house and at a much better price. I even found free shipping at the time. The finish on it may not as sexy as the axiom, at least not flat black, but it is more durable by far. I have black axiom's/flat black hsu and it looks all fine together. Granted, if I could afford and had the room for the ep600, I'd have it.

anyways, good luck. You'll enjoy the Axioms. I love them, and they are the one purchase I made without any concern once I heard my first set of 80's.

 

[hunnybunny2383]

Oliver B Im In A Similar Situation As You. I Have Owned The 3805 And Will Tell You That It Is One Of The Better Receivers Out There In Its Price Class. However It May Have A Problem With The 80s Do To The Size Of Your Room And Your Proximity To The Speakers Especially If You Listen To Rock. So A Seperate 2 Channel For These Would Defnitely Get You Straight And On The Right Track. However If Possible I Would Hold Out A Couple Of Weeks For The 3806 To Hit Stores As It Offers A Little More Bang For Your Buck.

 

[OliverB]

3806? what's that one now, is there any info avail.? Can't find it on the denon site. I just ordered the 3805, don't even have it at home yet. Would be curious to find out more.

Now I'll head over to the axiom forums to see what they say there, thanks!

Oliver

 

[jaxvon]

The 3806 info can be found here.

 

[OliverB]

thanks for the link! I'm so out of all this hifi stuff, a lot of the specs don't really mean anything for me. Seems that the major thing of interest is the IEEE port so I'm not locked into an eventual Denon DVD player. Considering that the 3805 costs me 899 vs list of 1299 (a huge difference) and that I'd expect some not too expensive DVD players from Denon to have their d-link and I'd probably get a denon anyway....
The other things I'm not sure I'd get anything from. I doubt I'll really use it for multy room, I might have 2nd speakers in the kitchen someday, but in a way I prefer to have dedicated systems in each room so I don't have to hike to the living room to change the CD. Don't have an Ipod or similar and really don't have use for one, and there are other options to hook those things up to a receiver. Not sure what HDMI is and if I'd ever want to "switch" that? The remote looks a bit nicer than that SiFi thing that comes with the 3805, but that's not a selling point as I learned here

Does anybody with more knowledge than me have any major selling points that would make me want to wait and spend $400 (plus tax) more? I'd rather not, though I plan to have this new setup for the next 20 years or so, which makes this price difference not all that important.

As for the speakers, I think I might get the Epic 80 500 package, price diff is not that much ( I think $300) and I can always add an amp for the front if I ever think it doesn't get loud enough. Seems like people drive those speakers with the 3805 just fine. I don't need rock concert volume at home (matter of fact, I tend to wear earplugs at most shows now), so LOUD is fine enough, don't need a jet taking off in my living room or the pictures falling off the walls. We might also move within the next year or two, who knows what the layout will be there. I'd prefer a dedicated music and movies room anyways ;-)

But thanks again for the link, this is really a great and helpful site!

Oliver

 

[OliverB]

one more thing, just read that the axiom can be bi-amped and the review of the 3805 here has a way to do that (though it seems some had hiss problems), would that be enough power to drive these? I'd guess so, but I'm just getting into this stuff again.

Anybody here do this with the 80es?

Oliver

 

[hunnybunny2383]

Well I Could Probablly Sit Here And Rattle On About This And That In The 3805 Vs. 3806 But I Just Dont Know Enough About The 3806 To Inform You Correctlly As To Which One You Should Get. It Really Boils Down To One Thing There Room Eq's. I Have Had The 3805 For Some Time And Found The Room Eq Quite Uselless However I Recently Upgraded To The 4806 To Try Out The Audessy Room Eq That It Has And Was Not Dissapointed I Found It So Worth It That I Now See No Need For Any Dsp Simulation Modes Two Channel Music Is Awesome But It Really Gets Down In Multi Channel Music And Drops The Hammer On Movie Soundtracks. And From What I Here Around The Net The Speakers I Have Arent Nearlly As Good As The Axiom 80s. So In My Opinion Where Some Would Spend $400 Dollars In Cable In Your Case I Would Spend It On The 3806. It Is A Big Leap Forward In My Book And At Least It Will Make A Difference You Can Actually Hear Not Minor But Major.

 

[Buckeyefan 1]

HB,

Some good advice, but I'm having trouble reading your threads with every word capitalized. No need to do that.

I also own a 3805, and would say the extra features with what you are doing probably aren't worth $400. The power output is the same. The 3805 has a great graphic eq, as well as bass and treble controls to tweak the sound any way you see fit.

The 3806 will come down in price - but not for several months (it's not even out yet). Heck, the 3805 hasn't lost much retail value since inception. You can use the $400 you've saved on a separate two channel amp to drive your demanding M80's. The 3806 won't provide any more headroom than the 3805.

 

[OliverB]

I haD thE samE probleM readinG thE bunnY posT

From looking at the specs I tend to agree, what ever the 6 offers in addition doesn't seem to be something that'll be missed in my house in a long while, if ever. And $400 is $400.

I think I might go the 80 500 way with the axioms, maybe even try the dual amping as per 3805 review here, or - if I think I really need to start the next big one - get an extra amp somewhere down the road. I like it loud, but I don't need to make my ears bleed either. But the 80 500 set is only $300 more than the 60, seems worth it spending the extra cash considering the future.

Does anybody have this setup here? Anybody have the 600 sub? That thing just seems a bit too big, looks like it's larger than the front speakers, where do you "hide" that thing?

Still might just go for the 60 500 set since I'm sure the 3805 can drive those, but in a way I'm tempted to rather go overboard on the speakers, after all, that's where the music comes from in the end....

Oh, so many options, so many decisions......

Thanks!

Oliver

 

[jaxvon]

Remember, you can get the EP600 in a horizontal configuration too, so it's more hide-able. And yes, it IS bigger than the M-80s (in every dimension). I don't think it offers much more output than the M-80s, but it does offer lower extension.

 

[OliverB]

I think it's just too large to hide it, which I'd like to do with the sub. Judging from reviews of the 500 I'd expect it to go pretty deep also. Would be nice to find a comparative review of the two somewhere. I guess I can always exchange the 500 for the 600 if I'm really not satisfied, but I don't want to move the house off it's foundation

Thanks!

Oliver

 

[OliverB]

just to close this out in case others come by later and wonder, I got the 60/500 5.1 package and I'm extremely happy with them! The sub is incredible, it's rattling the walls and pictures in every room of the entire house! They get very loud and sound just wonderful, the larger sysems would have been overkill for my situation, where I have about 1000 sq ft of open space (several rooms and a hallway) to fill.

Oh, and Axiom service rocks!

Oliver