Axiom Speakers? Are they really good? (1 Viewer)

[Brook]

I've heard that Axiom speakers were great. I looked at their web-site and they did look great, just wondering if anyone one owns or knows something about them? (VERY CURIOUS)

 

[Marc H]

You will find many Axiom owners on this forum. They are very good value for the dollar. An accurate type of sound. In general, they have a transparency one would expect to pay a lot more for.
They design them here in our city, Ottawa, at the National Research Council's facilities and build them in Algonquin Park about a four hour drive west from Ottawa.

I've been selling the Axiom brand since the late 1980's and they have always been great value for the money. The designs are very advanced through the use of aluminum woofers, anti-standing wave cabinets, noiseless port designs, etc.

Their main business used to be building OEM products for other companies but always had the Axiom brand going in the background. Now, because of the internet, the Axiom brand has really taken off through word of mouth. Last year, they were the top selling speaker brand in our shop, outselling companies that spend a ton on advertising and promotion!

Give me a shout if I can answer any specific questions on any of their models.

 

[Allen Longcor]

What would you recommend for an HT setup? I read a review from some magazine off the site that said the M80's were very sensitive to placement, is this true in your experience? If you are confined to having them in a certain spot and the room is small which floorstander would you recommend as mains? Also do you recommend the M3's for surrounds? For HT, SACD, and music. Also, is their top of the line center the best? I thought I read that it was harsh, but that may have been on this messageboard. Thx in advance.

 

[Marc H]

The Axiom pure titanium tweeter is smooth, very smooth but it can show up a harsh source for sure. The top of the line VP150Se centre speaker is quite good. I bought one last December to blend in with some Energy Veritas V1.8 and it shines with those and shows off what a bargain it is. It also is very good for lateral dispersion as the dual tweeters are mounted at the outside of the woofers.

I have not found the M80TiSe to be anymore room sensitive than any other accurate floor stander really. In general, the Axiom floorstanders can be placed closer to a rear wall than most speakers but I fell comfortable recommending at least a foot from the rear wall.

The real strength of the M80TiSe is their ability to play blisteringly loud and stay open and non-fatiguing at high levels. If no sub is being used, they do have appreciably deeper bass than the next model down, the M60TiSe.

Both the M60TiSe and M80TiSe are a three way design and will have a better vocal range over the other Axiom speakers because of that. If you are going to use a sub and you don't need blisteringly loud levels, I'd say save the money and get the M60TiSe. Also, the M80TiSe is a four ohm load and the M60TiSe is an eight ohm load if you weren't aware already.

If you are going to use the system for both movies and multi-channel music, I would recommend a forward radiating speaker for the rear effects if you have the elbow room for proper placement, like the M3TiSe. In an ideal world, the same speaker front and rear would be my suggestion though.

One of my favourite speaker combinations is the M22TiSe for both front and rear along with the VP150Se. There's a certain symbiosis with that combination that creates and awesome precision to the surround imaging along with an effortless transparency and clarity. Granted they don't have the three way design of the M60TiSe and M80TiSe but may be worthy for the close performance matching.

If your room is too small to accommodate proper placement of forward radiating speakers, Axiom has their Quadpole series of rear effects speakers. They are easily wall mounted and do have a very neat enveloping effect while maintaining a level of detail beyond dipole effects speakers.

 

[Leo_P]

I have Axiom Audio's VP100 center channel speaker and a pair of their M3 bookshelves as my mains and am very happy with them. They replaced a JBL N-Center and N24's and the improvement is huge.
My next speaker purchase will be to buy a pair of Axiom M60's to replace the M3's and move the M3's to the rear.
I have NO problem recommending Axiom!
Good luck!

 

[Allen Longcor]

How would you rate Axiom against other brands Marc? Any commercial or factory direct brands that you have heard will do. I'd like to get an idea of what other brand you feel the Axiom equals performance wise. If that is possible. All this info is great.

 

[Martice]

Hi Allen. There was a very well conducted review of the Axioms as well as some other competing brands of speakers.
Go HERE and it should give you all of the information you need.
Good Luck

 

[Marc H]

The Axioms do well compared to any other speakers I have heard in the accurate category of loudspeakers.

I think it's their transparency that really makes clients notice them when they are comparing here in the shop. They don't expect to hear that level of detail, openess or the layered type of imaging for the prices they sell for when comparing similar priced, brick and mortar brand speakers.

I can't compare with any factory direct brands though; they're scare here in Canada.

 

[Allen Longcor]

Thanks a lot guys. Man this is making it tough on me. I have my eyes on Axiom, Diva, and possibly Wharfedale Pacific or Polk LSi. The price and performance of Axiom is just right however, so I think they may have the edge. Urgh. Glad I dont' have any money right now or I'd spend it all eheheh.

 

[Allen Longcor]

Whoa, I'm waffling again lol. I just read the first page of that thread Martice, and the GR Research Paradox 1 or AV1+ speakers look to be very good bang for the buck speakers. Not sure how I would like them as mains though. Do you lose anything as compared to a floorstander in your experience? The problem is I could not build them myself. I'd have to have the cabinets and parts assembled for me unless I could do it with not woodworking, tool, or technical knowledge. Do they assemble for you if you pay extra?

 

[Martice]

Hi Allen. Yes you can have them made at Link Removed. Brian built mine and GR Research supplied the electronics for the speakers including the drivers. If you click HERE for my AV1+ review you should have most of my thoughts concerning the speakers. The only thing that has changed is that over time I've noticed more body to the overall music as well as a liquidity to the music that wasn't quite as present when I wrote the review.
Excellent speaker and extremely happy.
Good Luck

 

[DaveHo]

Marc,

What is your experience as far as room sizes go with the M80? My room is 13x20, sort of. I have the front end of the system set up on one of the 13ft walls. I have my current speakers set up about 3 ft out from the rear wall and about 2ft from the side walls. The right speaker has a 4ft opening next to it into another room. There is a bay window about 1ft in front of the left speaker, and a 30" opening in the back left corner of the room to the entrance way of the house. So the room looks somewhat like this:

..|-------------|
..|..S...............|
..|........C........|
..|...M.........M....
./...................
.|...................|
....................|
..|..................|
..|..................|
..|..................|
..|s...............s|
..|..-----------|

S - Sub
M - Main
C - Center
s - surround

Hopefully that came out somewhat OK.

For music, we listen to primarily Rock, Blues, and Jazz and like it loud on occasion, hence the interest in M80's. I do use the sub for music, but still want full range floorstander mains. My current mains are DefTech BP30's, and, well I guess I'm just getting tired of the bipolar sound. They are also somewhat on the bright side as well. I guess I'm concerned about the M80's being to much speaker for the room size, although the are actually similar in size to the BP30's. And I'm a little leary that they will be bright as well. I find my current speakers to be rather tiring after a bit. Although maybe what I'm considering bright is the bipolar smear, so to speak.

Currently I'm using direct raditors for surrounds. Would the Axiom quadrapole's work well considering the opening at the corner of the back wall?

One futher note is that I'm still stuck in Dolby Pro-logic land, but since my system is about 80/20 music/movies I'm not in any big hurry to upgrade the pre/pro. But I will be upgrading that sooner or later. My current equipment consists of the following:

Processor: Parasound PSP-1500
Main & Center Amp: Acurus A200X3
Surround Amp: Parasound HCA1000A
Sub: DefTech PF1500
Center: DefTech C1
Surrounds: Optimus Minimus 7's
Cd Player: Older Sony ES
DVD Player: Pioneer 333
Speaker Cables: Kimber 4TC fronts, IXOS surrounds
Interconnects: Mix of Audioquest & Monster

Hopefully this didn't ramble too much. Just trying to give you as much info as possible. The Acurus is fine with the 4ohm load the 80's would present. I'd also be looking at picking up a 150 for the center, but leaving the surrounds for now. So, what do you think? Would this be too much for the size of the room? Would I find the Axioms bright? How do the Axioms compare to the Paradigm 100's.

Thanks.

-Dave

 

[Marc H]

The diagram came out nicely.
Can't see any problems with the M80TiSe in that set up. Experiment with toeing in if there's a lot of early reflections from the bay window (that could cause the brightness).
Given the gear and cables you are using, the results should be very good. You should hear a whole new level of detail and clarity.
Could your current brightness also be from the Acurus though? I used to sell those a few years ago and remember them as being a bit forward in the treble (maybe other owners could comment on that).
The Axiom Quadpoles would definitely have some advantages for Prologic over forward radiating but I personally prefer a forward radiating for rear channel in a digital surround/multi-channel music set up if you have enough room at the sides. The Quadpoles are good though if you are tight for space and need to wall mount. If you do go Quadpoles, try and place them on the side walls as opposed to rear for the most seamless surround effect. The QS8Se will be the closest match to the M80TiSe and be able to keep up to M80TiSe's dynamics best.

 

[DaveHo]

Thank you for your feedback. Interestingly enough, I used to use the Parasound for the mains which was even brighter and harsher than the Acurus. Most people seem to feel as though Parasounds are warm amps, but I found the Acurus to be more neutral and a better match. The room is carpeted and has a big sectional sofa. The window has drapes on it, but the wall behind the system is pretty barren. Could be the room and/or the DefTechs. I've been meaning to try some wall hangings to see if it helps. Well, I need to sell my current speakers before I upgrade, so...
Thanks.
-Dave