Comments about the Audax Home Theater System? (1 Viewer)

[Cameron_Peck]

I am considering building the Audax DIY Home Theater System and I would like your feedback. I did a search and found a few comments on the system. Someone said it was good for home theater but not as well suited for music. I’m not sure if that would make much of a difference simply because this would be a 95% TV/Movies system. There was also a thread that touched on an issue of distortion in the upper bass region of the center channel. But others posted that they did not have this problem. Could this be a problem dealing with the quality of the crossover components? Any and all comment would be welcome. Thanks.

 

[Rick Guynn]

I am probably the one who mentioned the distortion in the upper bass area. I still have not resolved that problem, although I have been leaning away from the fault lying in the speakers. I actually now believe it is my receiver. Unfortunately, I do not have ready access to another receiver/processor to test this out.

General comments on the system though: I really enjoy it. I think it has good music performance when the speakers are properly positioned, and it is very good for HT. The problem is that I have limited experience, so I can't make alot of comparisons. They have great clarity through their range. The center is a monster, but seems well-worth it. You might check the archives over on the parts express forum as well. I have seen a couple of guys mention them over there, and they seemed to echo my thoughts about it.

Oh and if you decide to build them, be very careful in examining the schematics and parts layout diagrams on the Audax site.

RG

 

[DaveDel]

I just finished building the complete set and I have to say I'm very satisified with the end result. I have them in a dedicated HT room and use them almost exclusively for movies. Rick mentioned in the last post that the center is a monster, he's right. Mines even bigger due to a modification I found that added a thicker baffle and internal bracing but I think it's worth the same increase in size. The center channel is one of the specs that is wrong on the Audax website. check out this link to see the modification I made and the corrected crossover.
Link Removed
If you decide to build them I don't think you will be disappointed.

 

[Cameron_Peck]

I went to the web site and it said that on the layout, C2 & L2 are switched. I am an electrical dummy, but I thought since the signal has to go through both of the components before it can go anywhere else (i.e. C3-R5, L3, C4) that it did not matter which order they come in. Does it matter? And are there any other errors that I should know about? This is the only one that I have heard about.

 

[Rick Guynn]

Actually, that was one I missed. And I do not believe that will make any difference. I think I was one of the first few people to build this set, so I had only myself to catch the errors.
There are two errors I do remember. One was a trace on the woofer layout for the mains that is not supposed to be there (compare to the electrical schematic). The other is a mis-marking of the woofer polarity on the center. In this case, the electrical diagram is in error and the component layout is correct. Joe D' says in the text that they are supposed to be hooked up in reverse polarity since they are using a 2nd-order x-over.
Now I'm feeling paranoid and may have to go check my center again ... *sigh*
*edit*
Nah, I did it right
RG

 

[Kevin Deacon]

I built the center and rears and truly believe that they are very solid performers for the money spent. These speakers don't need to be babied. I am running a 220 watt amp to these puppies and they go very loud without distortion. I can really piss my wife off if I crank the volume. The center channel is a monster as I did the mods that DaveDel mentions. Make sure you use high quality parts (not necessarily 'top' quality) on the xovers. Go for it, you won't be disappointed.

 

[Steve-AZ]

I asked quite a few folks on the forum about their experience/satisfaction with this system and didn't hear anything but very positive feedback. Thanks for all the help and suggestions everyone!

I'm in the process of assembling the complete Madisound Audax HT kit (less the sub which will be an Adire Tempest with an AVA250 in a sealed Q .7 box) this week. It has been fairly simple since all the crossovers are assembled. I also went with the pre-fab Madisound boxes to save some time and am happy with the cost/quality after looking at them up close.

The speakers will go with a Sony DA5ES, Parasound 855a, and Sony SACD player.

 

[Kevin Deacon]

Hey Steve, are you in Arizona? I'm near Phoenix.

 

[Steve-AZ]

Kevin,

Looks like we're neighbors!

I'm just west of Phoenix (91st Ave and I-10). We'll have to hook up some time. I'm still working on getting my set-up going....my first "experience" in HT.

steve

 

[Kevin Deacon]

Steve, I'm right down the street at Dysart (130th Ave) and I-10. If you want to hear my system your more than welcome to stop by. I've got other DIY kits (Proac Response 2.5 clone and the GR Research AV1's) that you may want to hear, let me know.

 

[Cameron_Peck]

Thanks for the advice. It sounds like I will not be disappointed if I build the set.