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.