Hello DJ_Stunna
Thanks for the opportunity to re-read those interesting reviews. I haven't heard the VR-1s, but the reviewers seem to come to 3 conclusions: (1) The Axioms are wonderful sounding speakers; (2) the Axioms are terrific values for the money; (3) and this is the difficult one, the Axioms are superb sounding speakers for the price but they could be better - they could reproduce music more faithfully.
There were some very interesting comments comparing the M80s to the M3s, and the M3s did not come out badly!
One of the reviews notes that the Axioms are better at reproducing attack than decay, that they are unable to reproduce the 'blatt' and 'blare' of horns, that they lack the 'liquid' sweetness of certain high end speakers.
As it stands now, if you want these qualities apparently you have to find them in the more expensive speakers from other manufacturers. That's unfortunate, because I am an Axiom fan. Axioms introduced me to audiophile sound - but I always knew something was missing, but didn't want to pay thousands of dollars more per pair of speakers to find it. I don't know what it would take to upgrade Axioms to this level - thicker cabinets, better drivers, better cross-overs, dunno.
So, I hope Axiom offers a premium line of speakers, which for the price of the wood finish upgrade, upgrades the sonic capabilities of a line of Axioms to high-audiophile levels.
My candidates for the first upgraded speakers might cause a few guffaws, but I think the M3Tis are the best platform for upgrading. The 6.5"/1" compliment is shared with some of the great speakers out there. Since the M3Ti uses minimal crossover - which is good - the upgrade path would be simply upgrading the drivers. I'd take a whack at it if I knew what the cross over characteristics of the drivers are in the M3. I've asked but obviously it must be some kind of proprietary information. A nice Vifa or Scanspeak 6.5 and a matching high end 1" tweeter in the M3Ti cabinet would certainly produce very interesting results, either way. If there were a substantial improvement, that would be good. If not, that would speak even more highly for Axiom's accomplishment with the M3.
My number 2 candidate for upgrading would be the M80 because of its cabinet size.
Anyway, there are a few speakers out there that will compliment my collection, if I win lotto - the Reynaud Twins MK III (under $900, so I suppose a winning scratcher would do), Silverline Panatella IIIs ($2,500), Spendor S3/5s and of course, the $2,500 (but homely) Reference 3A MM de Capo i.
So, what do these speakers have that Axioms almost have? Perhaps a bit more magic. What do I want from Axiom? A bit more magic for not much more money.
Go after the greats and bring them down!
