Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Stereo is axiom the right speaker?

of course, right at the top goes the standard disclaimer about buying without auditioning and everyone's ears are different and your room with makes a significant difference warning. ok? ok! I realize all of that and am just looking for some off the cuff opinions.

the home office measures about 13x13 and has ten foot ceilings. old plaster walls, lots of bookshelves and hardwood floors. I'm using a vintage nad 7020 receiver. I love the sound of my b&w 602's in the living room, but they're too big for this office. I love the brightness, clarity and punchiness of vintage ads speakers. I've owned old advents and loved them for their earthy, uncomplicated sensibilities. I loved my old dcm time windows just because they sounded so good with brass.

I listen to everything. a lot of classical. a lot of rock. I've been in the music business all my life so my listening habits are akin to sybil's personalties moreso than the average, dare I say, more focused enthusiast.

would you recommend any of axioms smaller bookshelves? which ones?

I'm considering the 3's. they are at the upper limit of my budget.

thanks very much for any input.

I love my 3s. I spent a good deal of time auditioning the Paradigm Reference 20s and the PSB 2Bs, as well as the Klipsch RB5s. They will stand with any of these. Like you, they were at the top of my affordability range and they enabled me to obtain a quality of sound that was not affordable with other brands. Not a moment of regret since their purchase.
On a seperate note, what was your experience like with the NAD 3020? I'm considering picking one up used.

How did the 3s compare to the reference 20's not taking cost into account. Soncially are the similar where are the 3s advantages and shortcomings compared to the 20. Personally I thought the 20's were amazing speakers for the price in US $ compared to other speakers at similar price points.

I'm a huge nad fan. however, as a matter of disclosure please allow me to explain my history with them.

in 1979 I sold hi-fi at a small shop near san diego. one of lines we sold was nad (back they were, say with a slight sniff in your voice "new acoustic dimensions"). I've owned nad, without pause, since then. I've gone through a bunch of different units. I've never had a bad experience with their products (I just like new toys, even if they're pre-owned). since then I've purchased used nad equipment, same experience. flawles performance. maybe I've been lucky. but I tend to think, considering the number of close friends that also have nad equipment (some of whom were my customers as well as friends) during that same time, that nad builds good stuff.

the 3020 is a great little integrated amp. far more gutsy than it's power rating claims. they're durable and all nad amps are extremely flexible. I've always enjoyed being able to buy an extra power amp for what just about anyone would consider a ridiculously low price and reconfiguring the system without having to get rid of orphaned equipment.

that said, I'm surprised to see many early eighties nad pieces selling for their original list. reasonable I suppose as they were really dirt cheap back then. it's a testament to their quality how many of these amps are still floating around and that they hold their value as they do.

right now I have a 1020 pre-amp and a 2155 power amp driving a pair of b&w 602s2's in my living room. the whole system works very well.

I just bought an early eighties vintage 7020 (the receiver "version" of the 3020 amp combined with the 4020a tuner). hence my search for some smaller, perhaps slightly more efficient speakers for my home office.

finally, keep in mind that even though the 3020 is a great amp, it's not a be all end all (not that I think you imply that). it's great for what it is but if you're driving something that needs a little oomph in the current department consider something bigger, or, get a 1020 and a couple of 3020's. there's a ton of possibilities and some patient ebaying will yield any number of nad amp possibilities.

thanks again for the response. best of luck with the nad hunt. I hope you nab your target and enjoy it as much as I enjoy my nad gear.

I didn't have a chance to hear them back to back and I heard them with different electronics. The only thing I can say is that the sound from both was terrific. I don't think you could pick one over the other in terms of sound quality. Where the Paradigm shone was in the quality of the cabinetry. I loved the quality of the real wood panels. The Axioms are built very well but they can't match up. However, the Paradigms with the wood were 3 times the price of the Axioms. I figured that I would be spending a lot more time listening than looking. I'm still spending a lot of time listening.

Have you any thoughts about Adcom versus NAD?

if you were asking me about adcom here is what I'd have to say.

I'd always liked adcom stuff when I'd heard it. I was opening a large music store in los angeles and curiously enough, there were three audio systems all using brand, new adcom power amps. I loved them when they worked but I had a lot of problems keeping them running. and strangely enough, it wasn't abuse or that they were over-worked per se, they just seemed finicky as heck.

so, with that limited experience in mind, I'd say adcom was great stuff, when it works, and, compared to nad, I don't think adcom is quite the bargain nad is. now, my experience is also about decade old in that regard. times and pricing strategies may have changed (the usual "ymmv").

in general I'm a huge fan of things that work reliably, aren't real flashy and last a long, long time.

while I love gushing about nad equipment I should add one caveat, like all companies that make a range of products, some nad gear is better than others. I think their forte is amp/receivers and such. I've owned two of their cd players (as have several friends) and I've found the value and durability of those components to be much more variable.

I recall when the first 500 series turntable came out. at the time, I was very underwhelmed. the same could said for their 6000 series cassette decks (not that anyone buys those much anymore but the same comments apply).

so, while I would, without question, recommend their amps/receivers/tuners, I would be much more guarded about recommending their cd players and such.

just as an f.y.i.