[BoB/335]

There is a thread on another forum discussing Song Towers for Home Theatre. I sent my Axiom setup back. Had it for 30 days in the house. Very first impression was that they were quite bright. First thing I put on was music. I ended up watching a lot of movies this month and was starting to enjoy this system fot HT. Once in a while I would second guess myself about my decision to send them back and then I would put on some music. There was just something about them that irritated me a bit with music.

As I read this other ad I realized that my audition of the ST's didn't include any movies. So how well do them perform in a HT setup?

[sfox7076]

I can say that I have never been disappointed.  I have to say that you need a subwoofer with the STs as they lack the bass that you will want for HT, but after that, it is great.  In fact I find the sound worlds ahead of my Paradigm v2s.  One thing I noticed immediately was that the SongCenter made dialog cleaner. You actually understand what everyone says.  I have not used it with Blu Ray and have been using it with an Outlaw 990 and an Outlaw 770.

Shawn   

[zybar]

I am using five SongTowers in my HT and I love them!

They are articulate, without being edgy, they are punchy, without being slow or bloated, and when asked to, they really rock!!

Yes, you need a sub(s), but I would say that you need sub(s) for ANY HT.

Highly recommended.

BTW, can you post the link to the thread in a different forum?  I am guessing it is AVS?

Below are a few pics (yes, I know the tweeters should be on the inside - they are that way now).  I will try and take some newer ones in the next few weeks.

George

[DMurphy]

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1130669

The issue in that thread kind of came down to whether the ST's could hit a 105 dB peak at 12 feet with normal amplification.  One dude was contending that no speaker can do that unless its sensitivity is at least 94 dB.  And then there was discussion about whether sensitivity specs were reliable in the first place.  I don't think anyone actually commented on whether the ST's could hit 105 dB at 12 feet on a peak.  I'm not sure I would know 105 dB if I heard it, or whether it would be the last thing I ever heard. 

[zybar]

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1130669

The issue in that thread kind of came down to whether the ST's could hit a 105 dB peak at 12 feet with normal amplification.  One dude was contending that no speaker can do that unless its sensitivity is at least 94 dB.  And then there was discussion about whether sensitivity specs were reliable in the first place.  I don't think anyone actually commented on whether the ST's could hit 105 dB at 12 feet on a peak.  I'm not sure I would know 105 dB if I heard it, or whether it would be the last thing I ever heard. 

Dennis,

I will try and take some measurements (via the Radio Shack meter at the main listening positions) over the weekend, but I know that it went over 100 dB (not just a peak) when playing some Blu-ray discs for a demo I did for a few friends a few weeks ago.  The system was crystal clear and there was no distortion!  I am driving the ST's with an ATI 1506 amp that produces (150 watts into all 6 channels or 450 watts into 3 channels when bridged).

I agree that 100+ dB's is VERY loud!  I will wear some ear protection when grabbing the measurements.

George

[earthbound]

. . . Below are a few pics (yes, I know the tweeters should be on the inside).  . . .

You probably expected this question: why aren't the L/R tweeters on the inside as recommended by Salk?

[zybar]

. . . Below are a few pics (yes, I know the tweeters should be on the inside).  . . .

You probably expected this question: why aren't the L/R tweeters on the inside as recommended by Salk?

They are.

I just didn't do it when I was taking pictures.

George

[jd3]

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1130669

The issue in that thread kind of came down to whether the ST's could hit a 105 dB peak at 12 feet with normal amplification.  One dude was contending that no speaker can do that unless its sensitivity is at least 94 dB.  And then there was discussion about whether sensitivity specs were reliable in the first place.  I don't think anyone actually commented on whether the ST's could hit 105 dB at 12 feet on a peak.  I'm not sure I would know 105 dB if I heard it, or whether it would be the last thing I ever heard. 

Dennis,
Yeah, I posted a response on that thread over there and once the guy you're talking about chimed in, I was done.  When he gets involved the threads always seem to get derailed to his agenda, and he's an authority (just ask him)

[Nuance]

^ You are, of course, talking about penngray.  While he usually has good intentions, he just LOVES to argue/debate.  I think everyone at AVS knows this.  Best to just let him be I say.

Anyway, for what it's worth I have played music at 100dB levels (according to the SPL meter) and there was no compression or distortion.  I, of course, do not listen that loud, but I wanted to see what the ST's could do.  Once I hit a flat 100dB, that's all I needed to know.  My ears were telling me to stop, and they were right.  Case in point, they hit 100dB, stayed their consistently and the thump of the kick drum hit me in the chest almost as hard as a subwoofer would.  I was shocked for sure.  So yeah, they can go loud without distortion.  Why anyone would ever listen that loud is beyond me, though.

P.S.  The ST's are great for home theater.  When placed in a very large room, however, they may not fill it to everyone's content.  This, of course, should be obvious to most people.  There is only so much the small 5" drivers can do. 

[Crackinjahcs]

I guess I should get off my rear and post a real write-up of my Song setup.  Perhaps this weekend.

I have the SongTowers, SongCenter, SongSurrounds, and SongSub with an Onkyo 876 receiver.
For home theater, dialogue, breaking glass, and surround effects are crystal clear.  The SongSub can really shake the room without being boomy.

When listening at lower volume levels I do need to occasionaly raise the gain on the center channel so the dialogue does not become overshadowed by the other channels.  This is not an issue at normal volumes and power levels.

I also dont need to use "Night Mode" or other similar settings on my receiver.  I just switch off the sub and set all the speakers to full band.  The response and range of the SongTowers (and even the surrounds and center impress) still gives me some rumble without ruining my neighbor's attitudes.

[Nuance]

When listening at lower volume levels I do need to occasionaly raise the gain on the center channel so the dialogue does not become overshadowed by the other channels.  This is not an issue at normal volumes and power levels.

Do you have all the channels level matched?  If so, the center shouldn't be overpowered by the other channels. 

[BoB/335]

P.S.  The ST's are great for home theater.  When placed in a very large room, however, they may not fill it to everyone's content.  This, of course, should be obvious to most people.  There is only so much the small 5" drivers can do. 

Well the Axioms are 5.25" speakers and it seems some on the Axiom website have some fairly large and some heavily treated rooms and love their speakers. When I did my side by side with the ST's I got to crank it up a bit (should have checked with a meter) and the sounded great even through my Denon 2309.

Actually my curiosity of the ST's for HT use was more for how they perform. I'm thinking (unusal for me) that the M80's were sounding pretty good for HT use and would probably perform well in a fairly heavily treated room because of their "brightness" factor cutting through all the treatment and actually benefitting from that "brightness" in HT use. So I was wondering how well a less bright speaker performs HT duty. (and that was the basis for my question)

[Nuance]

A speaker less bright than the axoims will sound great for HT, because too much hiss, zing and sssss is a bad thing IMO.  Some people like overly accentuated highs for home theater because they think they hear everything clearer, but in reality they aren't hearing things as the director intended.  However, one should always do what they think sounds best, and if someone likes a really forward sound for movies, then they should go for it.

Personally, I like timbre accuracy, and an out of whack HF response is not going to give me that.  I also need my HT speakers to pull double duty for 2.1 music, so I will always chose a speaker that can handle music with ease first, HT second.  YMMV, of course. 

[Crackinjahcs]

When listening at lower volume levels I do need to occasionaly raise the gain on the center channel so the dialogue does not become overshadowed by the other channels.  This is not an issue at normal volumes and power levels.

Do you have all the channels level matched?  If so, the center shouldn't be overpowered by the other channels. 

This is only an issue for me when listening at extremely low volume, like if the compressor on the refrigerator in the next room turns on and is almost louder than my program.  -Don't worry, most of the time I listen at more reasonable levels  

[BoB/335]

Personally, I like timbre accuracy, and an out of whack HF response is not going to give me that.  I also need my HT speakers to pull double duty for 2.1 music, so I will always chose a speaker that can handle music with ease first, HT second.  YMMV, of course. 

I am also looking to do music first (now anyways) This was a learning experience. I haven't listened to music in the house other than a boombox in a long time. I didn't realize how much I missed it till I had the Axioms here. Some music, especially jazz, actually sounded pretty good. The final straw was when I played a Blu-ray of "Legends" Live at Montreux. I figured I would get a great sound being Blu-ray and it was just so bright!

One of the guys at Evan's house was actually impressed with the M80's for their pricepoint. But the ST's certainly outperformed them on everything I played on them.