Fronts, Surrounds and a Center for around $1,000, options… (1 Viewer)

[Matt_Smi]

Ok I am thinking somewhat far ahead here and by the time I am able/ready to buy new speakers companies may have new model out and such. But anyway I later this year I am going to start the process of listening to speakers. My usage is around 50/50 for music/HT and I will be looking to purchase new fronts, surrounds and a center and I am thinking the budget will be set at around $1,000 (give or take a bit) total for all of them. I already have an HSU STF-2 which I am very happy with, so I don’t need to worry about the sub. Now I know that speakers are very subjective and that I really need to hear them for myself and decide what I like by myself. But I have heard nothing but good things about Axiom and their speakers, and I could get M22ti’s for fronts, QS4’s for surrounds and the VP100 for a center all for just under $1,000. As of now this is my top choice, but the only problem is that I really have no way of listening too them. I already have a good idea of what other speaker companies I am interested in, but I am not as familiar with their models and do not know what I could get with a grand, so recommendations on specific speakers brands/models are welcome. Another question regarding the Axioms, what brand receiver would be a good “match” for them? I will probably be purchasing a Denon, Onkyo or Yamaha receiver sometime this summer. And finally for the record I am currently using some older Advents (which I do like) for fronts, cheap floor standing Sony’s for surrounds and no center speaker. I really like the Advents and will be hanging on to them even if I upgrade, but I feel that they are lacking midrange, probably due to the fact that there is no midrange driver, just a tweeter and a woofer. Anyway any opinions are welcome!

 

[Jim_Ski]

Hi Matt,

Oddly enough I just put in an order for a set of Axioms yesterday, and my soon-to-be old main's are a set of Advents which I've been content with (though all my current speaker seem lacking in mid-range).

I'm getting M60's, VP100, and QS4's... so I can try to give my impression of the change-over.

I also just picked up a Yamaha RX-V1400 to replace Kenwood. I'm planning on hooking up my entire old system side-by-side with the new setup to see how they compare (and to hopefully feel very good about the upgrade

 

[ScottCHI]

sure you do! just order a pair of the m22's to try out. if you don't like them as fronts, you needn't buy the rest, and you can return them. if you like them, then buy the rest of what you're considering.

btw, i'm not a big fan of dedicated surrounds. this is strictly my opinion, but if i were you, i'd consider 4 m22s and a vp100 or even 5 m22s.

 

[Daman]

I would also recommend you have a look at Energy C3(fronts) C1's(Surrounds) and C-C1 center as an option once.. they are amazing for music and equally good in movies as well.

 

[Brian L]

Don't ignore the possibility of used gear. Unless seriously abused, loudspeakers hold up quite well.

I assmbled a B&W 600 Series 1 system (604, 601, CC6) over time, for not much more than your budget of $1K.

Lots of bargains on really good stuff are out there to be found. Just find someone with an incurable case of upgraditits, and make their loss your gain!

BGL

 

[Matt_Smi]

Wow that is a bit odd, but great. Make sure you let me know what you think and how much of a difference the Axioms make over the Advents. I also forgot that Axiom has a 30 money back guarantee, so if I really was not happy with them I could send them back. Thanks for the input so far.

 

[Jim_Ski]

keep in mind that though shipping is included in the price (of the Axiom's), return shipping is not. So if you want to return them you will have to pay your own shipping. I think that's why Scott suggested trying out just a pair first.

 

[CurtisSC]

Also have a look at Ascend Acoustics.

In the B&M route, get a listen to Monitor Audio.

 

[Matt_Smi]

Yes true, but if I was really not happy with them it would be a small price to pay compared to living with $400 speakers that I am not happy with.

 

[EricRWem]

www.htd.com level 3

www.av123.com Rocket ELT HT set.

Infinity TSS-750. Circuit City has these on mad sale.

 

[RaviK]

Also consider the ELT Cse's for the fronts. I heard they are good and they should fit into your budget, since you already have a sub.

 

[Shane Martin]

Easier said that done IMHO.

 

[EricRWem]

Let me ask a really dumb question.

There's the ELT package they offer. Now those ELT Cse's are brand new, right? Those are completely different and better speakers than those in the ELT package?

 

[ScottCHI]

they claim the CSE is based on the ELT center channel speaker. they look exactly the same to me, physically and spec-wise. in fact, if you look, the representative picture of the CSE is an "ELT C" stood on it's end. the difference seems to be that you can get a pair for $499 as opposed to the $598 you'd pay for 2 of the ELT centers, ordered individually.

 

[EricRWem]

Ok, thanks.

 

[Jim_Ski]

hey matt,

my axioms arrived today, and man-oh-man it was hard to finish the day at work.

I quickly connected everything and went through the YPAO (yamaha rx-v1400) and then threw in Star Wars Ep. I - the pod race scene (I needed to test some good surround fx with a 7.1 setup).

jimminy crickets! I got the volume to about 100db peaks and had a grin from wall to wall! I don't have any spectal analysis, or cool colorful graphs, but I heard much more than I've heard before. I haven't done a straight side-by-side, that'll come in a few days or so.

My initial reaction is that the mids and lows were handled much better. I swear it was like watching a new movie.

keep in mind that I also went from a bose center channel to the VP100, and added another set of QS4 surrounds in back. My amp jumped from a 5.1 Kenwood to the 7.1 Yamaha. The bose was outclassed so drastically I practically lost bowel control.

It felt like a night/day difference... and I'm awaiting my SVS sub delivery tomorrow. I can hardly imagine what the next day will bring.

I believe I'm on the threshold of audio nirvana.

I *guess* I got a case of the new-toy's and my opinion may be a tad tainted. ...or not, who knows.

 

[Matt_Smi]

Jim, thanks for posting your first impressions, sounds like you are very happy with them and it makes me want to upgrade even sooner, but I can’t

So you went from a 5.1 to a 7.1 setup? When you are hearing new things you know it is a good upgrade! When I went from my Sony SA-WM40 sub to my STF-2 I heard bass in movies and songs that I never know was there, not to mention how much lower it goes. Would you say that a lot of the new things you are hearing are coming from the center and surrounds? And which surrounds did you have before? Or do the fronts sound much better than the Advents as well? Also have to listened to music on them yet? Thanks…

 

[Jim_Ski]

I actually tried to do a left-old-speaker right-new-speaker test with a Journey CD and the receiver on 'STRAIGHT' to avoid coloring. It turned out to be difficult to adjust the balance as I'm still not totally familiar with the new receiver. doh!

Via that test the high end seemed similar, but there just seemed to be more body with the Axiom, and definitely better handling of the lows. I'd say my Advents did good low-mids and highs, where the Axiom fills in the blanks with the high-mids, and lows.

After that I hooked up both Axiom M60ti's and left the bose center channel, and set the receiver to a DSP setting and really didn't hear the center until I put the VP100 in. That was a very reassuring change.

After all of that I dropped in the StarWars DVD, so my original comments actually had a bit of the Journey CD test mixed in.

...and today my SVS sub arrives. *anxious*

 

[Jim_Ski]

here are some pics of the new stuff:

http://johnskiwevner.com/gallery/album03