O.K., now that the idea of Magnepans is off the table I'm on to Axioms. I guess I'm just a sucker for direct purchases from the manufacturers(can't beat the customer service, just as nice as the Outlaws). I ordered and received (2 days later) a pair of Axiom M80ti speakers to audition at home for the next 30 days. Almost everything I read about these speakers has been very good and since the only way I can hear them for myself is to purchase them and try them at home(just like Outlaw), I pulled the trigger. I also decided to upgrade from the 7125 to the 7500 which should be arriving the middle of next week. My FedEx guy is going to shoot me when he gets done going to the chiropractor from lifting all these heavy packages.

Anyway, does anyone have any opinions on the Axioms? I got them hooked up today but haven't had a whole lot of time to listen to them yet. First impressions are favorable. They handle instrumentals really well from acoustic guitar to piano to trumpets to whatever. I'm not sure i like how they handle vocals to this point but like I said, I haven't had much time with them yet. I'm anxious to see how they perform with the 7500. Maybe there will be more in the midrange with more power. I figure if I like the M80ti's as the mains I can order the rest of the package. I didn't want to have to return the whole package if I didn't like them. That would probably really put the FedEx guy over the top.

I don't see much talk about Axioms anywhere but on their website from people who have purchased them although as I mentioned, I have read a lot of favorable reviews. Any thoughts from anyone here at the Saloon?

To be hopnest, I'd never heard of Axioms until I started reading this forum. I'll be curious to hear what you think since you've decided to get them instead of Maggies (wow!).

Cheers,

I have a friend that bought the m50's and the Qs8's, I calibrated his system for him and I was quite impressed with the quality of the speakers,I have not heard them since then but they impressed me at the time with there sound and looks.
If I was in the market for speakers again (which I'm not)they would be in the running. Hope that helps a little.

Ritz, believe me it was not because I didn't love the sound of the Maggies (and the jury is still out on the Axioms as they have the same 30 day trial period as Outlaw). It's just that I know my wife wouldn't let me get the 1.6's anywhere near our Great Room because of their size. I'm still contemplating figuring something out for a 2 channel system at some point in the future using Maggies. Maybe I can set something up in our basement where she can't complain about their size. That will have to wait however, until I recover from buying the Outlaw stuff and whatever speakers I finally decide on for the HT. I might order the MMG's through Magnepan to do a side by side comparison realizing that the MMG's are half the cost of the Axioms so it may not be a fair fight.

The Axioms are definitely a more directional speaker as I would have figured so I need to experiment a little to find the sweet spot. So far I would compare them to the Paradigm Studio 60's. I think they sound very similar, maybe a little more "forward" sounding, but it's hard to tell as the acoustics in our great room are completely different from the showroom where I listened to the Paradigms. I asked the people at Axiom what they thought about comparing the two and they indicated that they have actually had people bring in Paradigms to compare the two. According to them (and I would expect nothing different although they have been very frank with me on other issues such as speaker wire, etc.)the Axioms came out on top each time. Axiom received two awards at the 2006 CES related to the M80ti's: one was for the Exceptional Value Award from Soundstage for the M80's and the second was from Audioholics for the Product of the Year Award for the Epic 80 HT System of which the M80's are the main towers. But, as always with speakers, it's up to our ears regardless of what others say. Soooo, I've got some listening to do.

Do let us know how it works out. I'm temporarily in 2-channel mode myself. I've had to temporarily take down my surrounds. I had them attached to the wall and one of my children managed to find a way to hang on it to the point that it came down...5 staples in the scalp later and an angry wife = no surrounds in high places. So I may just have to throw in the towel on the theater system and go back to a higher end 2-channel setup until I can get something a bit more childproof. 8-(

Cheers,

Wow, I hope your child is O.K. Sounds like a fun time in your household. At least you have some wonderful speakers for a 2-channel setup. I really did love the soundstage the Maggies put forth but I know that the store I listened to them in was running them on some very expensive electronics and wire, certainly stuff out of my league.

I just spent some time listening to the Axiom M80's. After some shuffling around I found a pretty nice sweet spot and they sound real nice. I listened to some tracks from the "Best of FourPlay" CD (nicely engineered CD by the way, regardless of what style music you like) and the newly remastered "Bothers in Arms" from Dire Straits. The Axioms do sound nice, very detailed. I'm anxious to see how they'll be with the 7500. I would say they're not quite as smooth as the Maggies (such is the magneplanar design), again more in your face, but not in a bad way. The FourPlay CD was awesome. They handle instruments very nicely. I'm no audiophile so it's hard for me to describe how they sound technically, what they do well and don't do well. I guess part of the problem is that there's really so much good stuff out there it comes down to some very minute differences in sound, some of which may be just be perception on our part. It will be interesting to see how they perform with the 7500's power.

I have had Axiom speakers for 10 months. I drive the 80s with Outlaw monoblocks and I believe you will see an improvement (slight) is SQ.

IMHO the 80s show how bad some recordings can be.

The opportunity to try them out at home is great. Some members of the Axiom forum own and speak highly of AV123 Rockets as well.

Yeah Bugbitten, you're right. I have an old live Elton John CD recorded digitally with the Melbourne Symphony orchestra. I always thought it was a pretty good reference with my old system. It sounds horrible now, and not just on the Axioms. I brought it with me to audition some Paradigms and we had to stop it after 30 seconds. I guess that's what speaker accuracy is all about. They reward well engineered recordings and reveal how bad the bad stuff really is. The good stuff does sound good however.

By the way, I sent you a PM for your thoughts regarding the Epic 80 system that it appears you have.

I got my first pair of Axioms a couple of years ago for a small 2 channel system and really like them. Since then I've been using some in my HT for a few months and again really like them. Placement makes a huge difference, more so than with other speakders I've used so far. To be fair I don't yet have much speaker experience outside of bigger producers like Polk, but note that in addition to good speakers it has to count for something at Axiom when you have the wife of the founder following up with you on email to make sure that you got your order and "is everything okay?", which has been the case for me. Outlaw direct service is good, but Axioms seems to be at the next level.

On the bad recording thread - I am to the point now where the music itself seems secondary to the recording....I'd generally much rather listen to a good recording of music that I don't generally like than to a bad (but still "professional") recording of music I that do generally like. Perhaps that is one of the steps to addiction : ).

I am finding myself doing the same thing. I never listened to much jazz at all but have found a couple of well engineered jazz CD's that I find myself listening to constantly now with the better equipment. It is so sweet to listen to well recorded stuff with the 990/7500 combo and the Axioms, regardless of genre.

Yeah, a really well recorded jazz CD is always a good reinforcement for "why we do this." 8-)

Cheers,

Well I guess I'm coming down to the wire with this Axiom decision. They are definitely starting to win me over. I've been listening almost exclusively to 2 channel music of all different genres: rock, folk, jazz, big band and classical. They handle everything very well. They really shine with horns and acoustic guitar and as much as I was concerned with what seemed to me as "suppressed" vocals they are doing a fine job with them now as well. Going from the 7125 to the 7500 made a huge difference in that regard. Very clear now. As I type this I'm listening to Clapton Unplugged and it sounds great. Again, well engineered stuff comes shining through with this set-up.

As I've been comparing them to the Magnepan MMG's over the last two days the one place the Maggies seem to "eeek" out an advantage (maybe) is with classical pieces that have full orchestration. Probably because of the "dipolar" design. The Maggies by design have a very spacious sound. And remember that the MMG's are less than half the cost of the M80v2's; a lot of bang for the buck. However, my wife who never weighs in on anything when it comes to this stuff, informed me that she thinks there is no comparison, that the M80v2's have it all over the MMG's. And for her not to go for the cheaper speakers when she doesn't understand spending any money on this stuff, well that's saying something.

I also went back to the store yesterday with a couple of my CD's (Jackson Browne - Live and the newly remastered Dire Straits - Brothers in Arms) to give another listen to the Paradigm Studio 60's. I still like the way they sound but they weren't up to snuff, I don't believe anyway, with the M80v2's.

It's starting to look more and more like the Axioms have found a home. I guess the only time I'll know for sure is when the deadline to return them passes and they're still here.

Wouldn't it be nice if you could lease this stuff and change things every couple of years? Maybe we should start a new business: Home Audio/Theater Equipment Leasing.

Regards.

WAF is very important in this house and she does love the sound of our Axiom system. She is still getting used to the difference in size to the BOSE cubes that went away.

Axiom speakers get 65-70% of retail on ebay. Leasing would cost way too much!

For what it's worth, I received a pair of Axiom M22s ($460) a few days back. The audio stores around here suck, but I did listen to the bookshelf B&W DM602 S3 ($600 MRSP) and the floor standing 2 and 1/2 way DM603 S3 ($1000 MRSP) played through a Rotel RX-1052 amp.

The DM602s were pretty harsh, and sounded downright nasty and muddled on highs such as the Dixie Chicks beating out "Wide Open Spaces". The 2 and 1/2 way DM603s were warmer, and much less forward -- female vocals didn't overwhelm the instruments so much. Both sounded identical with Teleman's trumpet concerto in D. And both sounded awful with an old Queen recording. I might have been tempted by the DM603s.

I have also casually listened to Polks driven by Denon receivers at Tweeter in their acoustic rooms - sounds dead to my ears.

I decided to try the Axiom M22, played at home with my old two-channel NAD 701 receiver. It looked tome that the M22s were 2 and 1/2 way, and since I prefered the sound of the 2 and 1/2 way DM603s I went with the M22s. To me, the Axioms sound much better than the DM601 in that the midrange/highs are not harsh and offensive at high volume. Snare drums sound much better defined with the Axioms than with either B&W speaker. I think they are comaparble to the DM603, although the Axioms still a still slightly more forward wth a bright female vocal at high volume.

I think I will stick with the M22 - to my ear, the DM603s are not worth twice the price of the M22, I'll be less upset if my two little children do something untoward with the less expensive Axioms, and the WAF is higher for bookshelf M22 than the free standing DM603. Of course, the B&Ws might sound better with my 10-year old NAD amp in my living room compared to a modern rotel amp in a store, but I doubt it somehow.

Now all I need is an amp (I know, I know, try an Outlaw...).

Well, Axioms it is. I've got the rest of the system set up now: M80v2's as front right and left, Vp 150 center channel and Qs8's as side surrounds. I'm going to use my old NHT Super Ones for the rear surrounds for the time being.

Everything sounds real nice, but what sold me on Axiom in addition to the product I think is what sold me on Outlaw: customer service. It's so nice to talk to people who are genuinely interested in your questions and concerns, and seem to be in this for more than the money. They seem to like this stuff as much as we do. Breath of fresh air.

This weekend I listened to Paradigm speakers in a audio store - the Monitor 7 ($799 floorstanding) and the Mini Monitor ($429 bookshelf).

I brought the Mini Monitor home on loan for a side-by-side comparision with the M22 (still on the 30 day trial).

The Mini Monitors sound much much better - they are not bright compared to the M22s, and easily best the Axioms when listening to highs at high volume by not being too shrill or harsh. The Mini Monitors also have bass, which now I hear that the M22s lack. And drums sound much better on the Paradigms - the Axioms sound like trucated pops in comparision.

I can't A/B the speakers - I have to rewire - so the sound differences are not subtle. So I'm going to keep the Paradigms and send the Axioms back. (sorry korkster!).

The Mini Monitors are a tad cheaper ($429 vs $460) but that's going to be a wash if you pay full price with tax and by the time you pay for a full system it is a wash. The matching Paradigm center (CC-370) is $400 list, same as the VP150 but more expensive than the VP100. For surrounds, I'll probably try the Paradigm Titan ($250).

Compared to the B&W 602 speakers, the Axiom M22s are a no brainer and good value. But not when compared to the Paradigm Monitor series. I know that comparing the M22 and Mini Monitor speakers won't reflect necessarily on the Axiom 80s compared to say the Monitor 11 ($1199 list) but If you have a local Paradigm dealer, I would check them out.

Anyway, that's just my opinion after listening to three brands of bookshelf and floorstanding speakers. Speakers are all a matter of personal taste and you need to pick the ones that you like.

Funny, I auditioned the Paradigm Sudio Series speakers which are (I believe) a step up from the Monitor Series, and although I liked them, I thought the Axioms (M80v2's) were more dynamic, which is what I liked.

Just goes to show you, when it comes to speakers you have to go by what you hear, not what someone else says. It's a personal decision. That's why there are so many speaker manufacturers out there making money. Kind of like Ford vs. Chevy.

Good luck with your Paradigms. They are great sounding speakers.

Regards.

I agree- you need to listen and make your own mind up. Have fun with your Axioms.

Modern speakers will relentlessly reveal badly-done recordings. If you haven't had your Axioms (or any speaker) for very long, it's a good idea to "break them in". Easiest way to do it is to put a cd in the player, press "repeat", press "play", and let it run non-stop for 48 hours at fairly moderate volume. Use a recording with a lot of energy as opposed to classical music with frequent quiet passages. After 48 hours, then start more serious listening. It should make a difference.

I just bought a pair of M22's and a VP100 center channel. So far i am happy with them but i still need to play with calibration settings. I sent Axiom a picture of my setup and they posted it on their site. Pretty cool of them to do so. Picture is here if anyone is interested...
http://www.axiomaudio.com/images/wof/chrish.jpg

Slick looking setup, Zorlac - very clean and tidy. I like those cabinets, by the way.

That is a nice setup, I wish I had that much space to play around with. I purchased a pair of M80ti's a couple of months ago and I could not be happier. In one of the earlier posts somebody mentioned Axioms being very directional, I completely agree with this. I was using some Bose 10.2s, which were great speakers believe it or not, and the change over was very noticable. Once I found my favorite listening spot the sound quality was amazing and much clearer than the Bose.