Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Stereo It's Been Nice

Actually it is against Forum rules to discuss selling/buying speakers. Sorry, I didn't make the rules...

Have you tried sending him a PM to keep this private?

Some people in the past have called axiom and they've been sent different crossovers...this may be an alternative especially if costs are a factor. I believe they are free of charge and only require clipping in two wires.

O.K., I'd like to settle some misconceptions people had with my post. First, I understand that modern recordings are very compressed and that Axiom's are neutral speakers. I just hate having 600 cd's and I can't listen to but 50. I prefer vinyl for various reasons, one of which is a more "warm" sound I get compared with cd. I don't want to argue this point, it's my personal opinion. Secondly, my wife loves loud music, just not on my speakers. She calls them "bright" for lack of a better word and says they give her headaches. WAF doesn't exist in my household (fortunately). If I wanted the speakers I would have kept them. It was totally my decision.

I listened to several speakers today. Wharfedale Evo 30's, Monitor Studio Silver RS6's, PSB speakers (not sure of model), Quad 22L and Harbeth Monitor 30's. The Monitor Audio was easily the weakest of the speakers. Not enough bass, small soundstage, thin sounding. I had two friends with me during the auditions. One a Paradigm Reference Studio 60 owner and the other a Rocket 750 and 850 owner. We listened to Quad 22L's first. Absolutely amazing! We played several genres of music and each of us made the comment how crystal clear they were. Phenomenal soundstaging, great bass extension and just downright musical. We then listened to the PSB's, which in their defense was in an open area. My friend who owns the Paradigms commented how boring the sounded. I think that pretty much summed it up for all of us. Nothing special aside from a good bass, We then listened to the Wharfedale's who the salesman seemed to not like very much. Well, we all agreed that they were very good speakers and that given the same room treatments as the Quad's they might be in the same ballpark. The Evo's had really low bass and had great soundstaging. They weren't as clear and instruments were not as crisp as the Quad's but this may have been due to the area we auditioned them. We left that Hi-fi shop and headed over to another to pick-up my new Dynavector cartridge. We had the opportunity to listen to a $3500 pair of Harbeth Monitor 30's. We all had different opinions of them. Paradigm owner loved them. I enjoyed them, but thought them a bit warm. Rockets owner disliked them over a period of time and said they were too warm. That says a lot considering he has the 750's. We all agreed they had the best soundstage of all the speakers. They lacked bass compared to all of the floorstanders (obviously) aside from the Monitor Audio speakers. They lacked a bit of dynamics for my taste, particularly at that ridiculous price.

As I've said before, I really loved my Axiom's for home theater, they just didn't suit my tastes for 2 channel. A few people have made it sound as though I was bad mouthing the speakers which was never my intention. Different strokes for different folks. I've made my decision and will be picking up a pair of Quad 22L's sometime soon (I'm still stinging from the $380.00 for the Dynavector cartridge). I forgot to mention that we all agreed that the finish on the Quad's was exceptional. 7 layers of laquer and a birdseye maple finish. They were stunning and they had the sound to match (for me anyway). Have fun and enjoy the music everyone.

please check your PM's. i NEED your vp150 center. i'm ready to pay ya. please get back to me? thanks

Michael

Hello Doubting Thomas 29

I've been thinking about your post since yesterday and have a few thoughts.

First, I agree with you about vinyl, there is an undeniable magic to a well recorded piece of music played on a good table through a good cartridge ... folks who look at graphs won't get it. You've got to hear it.

Second, it may be your amplification that is the problem rather than your Axioms. May I ask about the rest of your system?

Third, the room is the most significant factor in sound quality. In my last home, I had my big system in a large bedroom in which nothing sounded right. I went from Infinity Composition Overture 3s, to Axiom M50s, to Michaura M665s and then Thiel CS 3.6s, just never sounded right no matter the amplification or receiver or source.

My living room on the other hand made a Sony boom box sound outstanding. Go figure.

Fourth, I've had Wharfedale Diamonds, and they are great speakers.

Fifth, if you like vinyl, maybe you might want to go with tubes?

No one asked, but here's what I would do ...

(1) swap your Axiom mains for whatever you're considering and make sure they sound better in your room than your Axioms. If the new speakers don't sound better ... return them and save your money for something that will make a difference.

(2) Get yourself a nice Prima Luna tube amp (integrated), pour a nice single malt and rainwater, kick back in your favorite listening chair and get ready for some audio nirvana.

Anyway, you're obviously an open minded person who trusts his ears instead of conventional wisdom. Let us know what you end up doing and how it all sounds. Audio is a journey. Someday there'll be inexpensive systems which are indistinguishable in sound quality from the real thing. In the mean time we tweak, we swap components, we search for the true sound.

Good luck brother.

2x6spds, Thanks for advice and kind words. I'm glad to see another vinyl afficionado on the site.

My system consists of a NAD C352 Integrated amp, NAD PP2 phono pre-amp, Rega P3 w/ Dynavector 10x5 (vinyl) and Cambridge Audio 540D (CD/DVD/DVDA).

As for the room, I've done a bit with treatments and such, but not a lot of improvement sound wise. I really hope I don't have some sort of acoustically challenged room.

The Wharfedale Diamonds were on my list of speakers to audition, but I was fortunate enough to run across the Evo's instead. They were my second favorite speaker auditioned behind the Quad's.

Funny thing you mention the Prima Luna Integrated tube amp. After I had my cartridge replaced and set-up yesterday, the dealer tested the tracking using the Prima Luna. I didn't hear any magic from it, but it sure looked great. Not sure if the tubes have to warm up or not. One of these days I'd really like to get one and try it out at home.

Not sure if you've ever heard the Quad 22L's or not. If you haven't, do yourself a favor and give them a listen. The sound is every bit as good as advertised. I'll let you know how the Quad's sound after I get them set-up which will probably be after the holidays. Till then....the journey continues.