Hello All,
First of all, I have to say that I haven't been here in a couple of days and was shocked to see all the negativity, even inimical. Is the summer heat frying brain cells? What's with that guy getting threatened? Horrible. Hopefully things will chill out.
I thought I'd post some of my thoughts. As a caveat, I am by no means any kind of expert on audio gear. So, like many I received my babies in 2 days time, which I still can't over. I live in Washington. The Axiom staff has been great with all my questions, etc.
To my slight shock, the first thing I noticed is that the grille colour was incorrect. I ordered the "Natural Maple" veneer, and it looks decent. Upon giving each speaker a look, another irritating thing popped front and center, literally. On every speaker (on both sets) where the vinyl meets the cabinet there are quite visible, jagged cut marks (with the vinyl flaring out) where the knife or other cutting utensil was used to form the hole for the speakers to rest. It is most detracting. I tried for a while to use a dull edge of some tweezers to push it down. I don't know what I'm going to do about this, but here's an easy fix for Axiom in future models: utilize some kind of molding on the outside ring of the woofers/tweeters to cover up the vinyl edges, much like molding around your house carpets. I realize that their design allows for the woofer/tweeter to fit almost flush with the cabinet face, but there are ways around that. If anyone has any suggestions, I'd love to hear about them. I just feel like it is a silly flaw in the cabinet treatment.
On to the setup. These speakers are monoliths. They really have a substantial presence. None of the numerous pictures I've seen of the M60s gave them justice. I also guessed that the lighter finish might tone down its scale a bit. Oh, well, bigger is better, no? The spikes supplies are adequate, and came with washers. I'm a hardware nut. I love all connectors and wires. The terminals on the M60s are very nice. My new custom Canare/WBT cables set goes well. Mmmmmm.
I couldn't wait to turn them on, so I just left them in the middle of my room and had to try them. I put on an Emiliana Torrini LP and turned on the power. Nothing but whispers. What the hell?!! Oops, I crossed one of the wires. Cross back, and all is well.
In many of the reviews I've seen on Axiom speakers, prevalent is the term "bright". Well, I actually turned up my treble balance. What was most pleasing to me was how the mids completely opened up compared to my now demoted Wharfedale Atlantic 200s (now playing the role of surrounds). The music sounded that much more inviting. After messing around with placement a bit, I could hear much more concise lows in Ms. Dynamite's LP (a very underrated hip-hop/r&b artist out of England), and some lows I'd never heard at all! Now we're talking.
A few cds later and I was quite pleased with the placement width and angle. I don't know if this is naive, but I assumed that since the Axiom speaker is more than double in size and speaker quantity that the soundstage would be ample. I did not feel that way. I don't really know how else to explain that, since I don't know all the variables, and I think I may have to do some more testing with placement, etc.
My old Pioneer receiver has been a real trooper for me for a couple of years. I got it cheap, and it's served me well. I've been looking for something new for a while, and now I feel I'll have to up my efforts. The rated 100W just doesn't feel like it's giving the M60s a real go. This is just my gut, or maybe me trying to justify more toys, but I think these could shine brighter given more power. I've been looking at the AVR-2805 now, because it's cheaper and has the preouts for an additional amp, which I have not decided upon quite yet. And then there's the cash to buy it all.
I can't wait to rummage through my cd collection tomorrow and crank it up some more. Besides the build quality, I feel like I have a great step in the M60s towards a decent stereo/HT setup. Happy hunting all. Cheers.
