Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Hearing Things Axiom Exhibit at Toronto Interior Design Show 2007

What an exhibit! I should have taken my camera. The Axiom exhibit, designed with the help of Gluckstein Design, won the Silver Medal at the Show. I dropped in this afternoon to find what looked like most of the Axiom team including Alan, Ian, Amie, and Jean wearing uber-cool red shirts with the Axiom logo greeting a long line of interested people that stretched 50 ft waiting to get in. The exibit itself looked like a custom made stone and panelled home with several furnished rooms including a living room, kitchen, and office.

Much to my surprise the exhibit showcased many of the rumoured new products. The office contained new Axiom computer speakers with matching small sub. Nice sound considering these were computer speakers but then again we are talking Axiom.

In the next room, a living room, we saw Amie explaining the new in-wall speakers to an interested couple. In wall on top and on either side of a plasma TV were a W100 centre and W22 speakers with a EP400 in the corner and QS4s up near the ceiling. All the speakers blended right into the colour of the room and were hardly noticeable. My dear wife made a point of mentioning how much nicer it looked compared to my large and visible (ugly) audio equipment in our living room.

Powering this 5.1 system was the new Axiom amp which I only saw from the rear and for something so powerful I was again surprised how small it looked. One of the Sherwood receivers was supplying the tunes.

I have generally been sceptical about in wall speakers but I have to admit the W100 and W22s sounded very airy and transparent with more dynamic range than I expected. Ian and Alan explained how they had spent a long time in listening tests comparing the W22s and W100 to the VP100 and M22s before they were satisfied. They also mentioned they got around the usual problem with dulled dispersion from flush mounting on walls by extending the speaker baffle so it sticks out 1/4"-1/2" from the wall. I have to say the difference between these and other in wall speakers I have heard are like night and day. The EP400 had the usual articulate quality you find in the othe EP subs. It is even smaller than I thought but the bass is clean and substantial for such a small unit. How the Axiom gnomes achieved this with an 8" woofer is remarkable.

Also on the wall beside the fireplace was a main console with a place for an Ipod for controlling sound to the in wall speakers and wireless speakers outside the exhibit. The console had space for a CD player as well so the user can control music throughout the home. Another new design product to fill out the line. That also gave my wife ideas since we have speakers in most rooms. My better half has always left me to audio pursuits and purchase decisions but this exhibit really put alot of design ideas in her mind. Amie of course is also very persuasive.

As we went into the kitchen I noticed another new twist, a pair of M2s lying on their side on an upper shelf but with horizontal grills and the Axiom logo halfway on the bottom grill.

Outside the "home" in a patio area were a pair of wireless speakers which again blended right in with the decor. These speakers were connected to something that looked like a solar powered unit on the "roof" that recharges an internal power supply in the bottom of the speaker. Music was transmitted uncompressed I was told to achieve the no compromise Axiom sound. Perfect for my deck, boathouse or outdoor patio!

I'm still somewhat in awe by these new products and wish I had more time to listen to them but as it was the Axiom folks were very generous with their time and explaining the details. What awed me even more is how my normally ambivalent wife to all things audio is all of a sudden interested in these new design products.

Stellar report, John! Sounds like quite a show. Yeah, too bad you didn't have a camera. Axiom really has a whole buncha new things to debut this year. Exciting, indeed!

Thanks for the news.

Great info, John. Thanks for taking the time to write it all up.

Hopefully, someone from the Axiom team will post some photos and let us in on the new products as well!

Real nice right up, real nice. It looks like Axiom and co. has been pretty busy; I wish them all the success they deserve.

Another good thing to come of all this happy news: a person isn't quite so disappointed in hearing about price increases when they realize that some additional moneys have been spent in bettering the breed!!

....but we knew that! It's worth it!!
Rich.

I thought everyone would find this brief brochure interesting which they were handing out. Keep in mind this is intended for a designer trade show with well over 150 exhibits and Axiom is positioning their new line with the consultants who were at the show.

Thanks for your report, John.

Thanks everyone.

OK, I'm gonna say it. (Again...I've said it before)

Why doesn't anyone from Axiom ever let us...(arguably their most loyal fan base) know about these new products?

Maybe I'm incorrect about his, but it seems the EP-400 was the only product in the last few years that was "announced" to us. I'm not expecting "early insider information", but if they are going to be showing products such as their new amp and outdoor speakers at a trade show, can't they release some information to us via this site or at least a user's club mailing?

No, it's not like I have hurt feelings. I just don't understand their lack of marketing to their most ardent supporters. We find out about almost everything from some other source...

It's the one single area where I see Axiom falling flat on their face time after time after time….

Thanks for taking the time to file such an informative report. Is there anything else you can tell us about the computer speakers? Size, drivers etc?

I wish I could have gone. My wife was there on business, and had a quick chat with Alan, Ian, & Amie. They were kind enough to spare a moment, even though she had no interest in talking "speakers". She brought me back the fold-out brochure that John mentioned above - it is a gorgeous, well executed piece of literature. (She did comment that she liked the painted in-walls, though)

Mark, are you sure you're not just a little bit hurt? It's like having a new girlfriend you're head over heals for, and finding out that she's showing her "goodies" to everyone else down at the mall.

Quote:

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I dunno, I'm regretting posting my impressions.

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Don't be concerned about it. I thought it was a great post.

I think the review of the show was great also!

And I also agree with Mark. At the very least; Axiom could have had an update for the owners club to be released on-line concurrently with day 1.25 of the show. Nothing elaborate, maybe as simple as a few photos and a little blurb. But yeah, at least "something" to acknowledge our existence here would have been nice.
Rich.

I dunno, we heard about the EP400 early, the W series early (heck, we named 'em!), the amp early (I think)... Pretty sure we heard about the EP5 and 600s early.

i remember getting an opportunity to vote on the case design of the axiom amp a long time ago. i think it was through the owners club.

too bad they missed the home show in Indianapolis. northern Indianapolis ( Carmel and Noblesville) probably has a large demand for the market it sounds like they are trying to reach

Mark, I didn't mean to be condescending just wondering why you are so negative about what was otherwise a happy event. I guess we do disagree as I see nothing unusual with showcasing new products at trade shows. And as been pointed out by several posters before me most information shows up at this site first. Many audio companies choose venues like CES to showcase new stuff first anyway but in this case most of the info has been discussed. So I don't believe your negativity is justified.

John, you are correct about trade shows. In my business, there are always new products that are "Hush-Hush" before they are introduced at the HPBA Show. (Hearth, Patio, & BBQ Association)

Mark, I understand your position as well. It would have been nice on Friday to see a notice at least saying something like, "New prototypes being shown at trade show this week-end."

I tend to agree with you Mark.
I'm just not as grumpy about it.

I think both Mark and John have made valid points. While John has pointed out that Axiom's behavior is not abnormal, Mark has wondered why they haven't talked more about these products here on the forum.

I'm chuckling about this whole thing because, in addition to hanging out here, I hang out over at the av123 forum as well, and Mark Schifter operates in a completely different manner. He generates excitement about his products by announcing them way ahead, sometimes years ahead, of release and sharing nearly all the developmental headaches. But, he takes a lot of criticism, from competitors and forum members alike, for missing release date guesstimates and allowing the forum to see the goofs and glitches of the developmental process.

Now here is Axiom taking a little heat for not sharing that process. Two completely different approaches, and each has it's positives and negatives. I don't think either approach is "wrong." In fact, going by what I know of the two companies and their people, each has chosen the correct approach for them. I'm beginning to feel sorry for these manufacturers. It seems that no matter what they do, they are just not going to please all of the people all of the time.

It's just a guess on my part, but I suspect Mark is not as bent out of shape about not hearing about these products as he appeared in his first post, and John isn't as critical of Mark's question as he seems. As usual, it's not what we say, but rather how we say it, that gets us in trouble. What I know is that both are good guys, and assets to the forum.

Bickering aside, I like the fact that Axiom has "stepped out" in this kind of venue. Hopefully they'll keep that momentum rolling with more active participation and spread the mesasage of high quality audio with great value.

wicked report,

Looking forward to those computer speakers!!!!

I agree with mark in part.

I think the solution would be for Axiom to have a forum dedicated for press releases for the forum members. No responses, just the releases of when new products are coming up and such so at least we know about them.

Yes, Axiom could do a better job of marketing new information to its customers - simple press releases or pictures would suffice. I am looking for outdoor speakers, and did not realize Axiom will be offering these items soon. Thanks to this thread, I may actually hold off and wait to see if Axiom will be selling these soon.

John,

Thanks so much for posting this info- It was great info. I hope next time you get to take your camera. I sure wish I could have been there as it sounds like it was done very well.

Thanks also for posting the scan of the brochure. I wish I had a hardcopy of that as for some strange reason, I found it very appealing to me

Thanks again John!

Dave, I was going to post the obvious like an idiot, until I saw the *wink*.

Jack:
Thanks for taking the time to do your usual "fatherly" things here, and thanks for not making it a slap in the back of the head.

Based upon a few other posts here, it's obvious that I'm not completely off-base, though I have no doubt that my post "read" as much more negative that I meant it to.

No need to "pull this car over right now".

No worries Shawn. I started reading the brochure and got through the first paragraph before I noticed what the photo was.

Jack always keeps us in balance. I agree fully that both Mark and Jakeman are invaluable here. And by 'in-valuable' I mean more than valuable. (Just watched Three Amigos again )

Hi everyone;

I see Jakeman beat us to the punch (or post) on the recent Interior Design Show this past weekend.

Though I understand Mark's concern that we did not post these new products here or in our newsletter first, the truth is that except for a few last minute entries into this show, our first opportunity to even get pictures of them was at the show. Ian and Tom worked literally around the clock to get them working for the show. Most of the products though are products that we have either been discussing here for months (and sometimes years) or were brought back from the past.

As soon as we have our pictures downloaded and sorted out from the show I'll post the prototypes here for you to look at - should be soon! We can't wait to hear what you think of them.

Best,

Wow! Great news Amie. I look forward to seeing the pictures.

Thank so much.

Can't wait to see the picture as well!

Amie, it must be a nice feeling to know you have fans of your products that are so loyal that the slightest slip up on your part gets them cranky. Seems to me that must mean you're doing something right! Keep up the great work. Know that we all love ya.

Of course I'm not implying that Jack. I'm glad you got the wink. Much ado over nothing lately. Constructive criticism is always a good thing when its done in a positive manner otherwise posters can across as whiners.

Do you amuse yourself?