Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Advice from Axiom Owners Why Axiom???

Having represented a couple of mid to high end retailers in recent years, this is a subject near and dear to my heart. Whether it be electronics or speakers, after all these years,in my opinion, ideally unless you can get the product in to your home for a test run(most retailers won't allow it), it is honestly very difficult to make an informed decision, especially if you are on a budget. Zimm brings up an interesting point of listening to higher end "high-priced" speakers for a start. I have about a dozen or so mid to high end retailers within a fifteen minute drive of my home and although this may be different in other areas, a common thread among all of them is that they separate out there high-end high priced(in this case speakers)models placing them in their own environment isolating them from the less expensive lines. In this particular case this set-up only allows you to make comparisons(assuming the dealer has switching capabilities) to products in similar price categories, and I can assure you this whole scenario is intentional. It should be noted in the case of the high-priced product in addition to substantial distributor and retail mark-up, you pay a considerable amount more for what is usually much more elaborate cabinetry. Unlike Axiom with its varying degrees of optional finishes, you generally have no option with the Wilson, B&W, Martin Logan, etc.

I have mentioned a couple of times in earlier threads that in their infancy, Paradigm, PSB AND Axiom did all their initial R&D at the NRC in Ottawa, Ontario with it's then ground-breaking unique anechoic chamber and the goals of ALL these companies was to design and manufacture speakers that were as neutral and transparent as possible, so if you are listening to any of these Canadian built speakers, you are essentially getting a somewhat similar sound. Paradigm and PSB's sell thru retailers, Axiom, obviously does not, so depending on what finish you chose, you are getting a similar sounding speaker to the others but usually for noticeably less money. Where the companies part ways in their philosophy is that Paradigm and PSB have chosen to offer three or four lines of speakers in different price ranges while Axiom has gone basically the "single" line route with a range of sizes. The exception being their subwoofers. Having said all that, I have owned AND listened to dozens of speakers over the years and IF objectively comparing "similar" sized enclosures with "comparable" driver configurations, regardless of price, you really can't go wrong with Axiom.

Something I noticed recently is that Totem's are all designed and set up 'by ear', no chambers and such, which I found very interesting. This could be why I find them a lttle too flat(?) for my tastes, as we tend to not want to hear top end as much as low end and I find Totems to be this way, they stil have detail but not like Axioms or Paradigm or any of the ones designed in a chamber.

Others have covered every reason why I purchased my Axioms. I would definatly purchase from Axiom again.

WOW!!!! You folks really came through in a BIG way! Those are EXACTLY the types of experiences that I was looking to hear about. THANKS!!!!

I'll let you know how I make out. I found a place fairly close to check out some speakers on Wednesday.

Nice post Casey. This is exactly what I found. The one retailer where I tried refused to move PSB bookshelves into a room to do a direct comparison to Totems.

The store where I bought my first set of speakers as a teen had a room set up with 10 or 12 different speakers wired up to a set of switchboxes so you could a/b whatever you wanted. I have never seen that setup again.

After all these essays, I expect Mr. Stedenko to make an appearance next.

Before I got to the Axioms, I had been auditioning all sorts of stuff in my range. (i figured I was going to be in for about $10k for 5 speakers and a sub) This included a lot of the known mid/high-range brands like B&W, Paradigm, Mirage, PSB, Vienna, Magnepan, Klipsch, Totem, etc. I was probably leaning toward PSB or Paradigm. I'd read some less than stellar impressions of PSB's customer service, however. People needing an exchange and taking months for a turnaround.

Then a friend had mentioned he got all his stuff mail-order directly from Aperion and was really happy with them and didn't pay anywhere near as much as I was looking to originally. As I researched those, I got to the inevitable comparisons between Aperion, Axiom, Outlaw, SVSSound and the Rockets. Magazine speaker reviews are generally worthless, since it seems everyone likes everything.

However reading user impressions around the net, it seemed like people were really happy with their Axioms and the service. (and who can argue with a Canadian mad scientist in a brown suit) So while I didn't order full sets from Aperion and Outlaw, etc. to compare, I decided to try the Axiom set first. And, to me, sounded as good if not better than Paradigm/PSB stuff I was hearing at HT stores for thousands more. With the budget I had left to spare, I was able to grab the A1400-8 power amp too. (yeah, and that's not a cheap amp at all.. but that's how good the deal is on the speakers)

Note: I posted just to make sure fredk's prediction wasn't correct.

I got to listen to some speakers a little while ago. I expected the place to be closed but happened to be in the area. I was going to this place on Wed so I'm glad I got this out of the way.

Nice place and very low pressure salesman. They mainly do installs also but had some displays to check out. Three different pairs in 3 different rooms. The guy carried them all to the same room and had to switch out the wires several times for me. No master control board.

Millenia 300 was initially ready to go. I thought they sounded good and some decent bottom for such a narrow, shallow cab.

Next up were PSB Imagine T Tower. Very appealing look and size. Great bottom in comparison to the Millenia. No where near as efficient as the Millenia. Had to turn it up much more. Very smooth sound.

Next up Paradigm Studio 60. I noticed the bass almost disappear in comparison to the PSB. Until it was turned up. These speakers totally opened up. I can say very "airy" highs and mids. bass was much cleaner. Overall a much clearer sounding speaker than the PSB. The guy tells me that the PSB is much more compressed and gives an illusion of more bass when it is really compressed bass.

Prices I believe were:
$2000 per pair for the Millenia
$2200 per pair of the PSB
$2000 per pair for the Studio 60

Special 20% discount on the Studio 60 VERSION 4 because the V. 5 is soon to be released. Making this a $1600 per pair speaker.

Special 35% discount for that floor model pair making that $1300 for a 1 year old Floor Model pair with a full new warranty.

I mentioned the Studio 100's and he thought that speaker should really have more power than my Denon 2309.
He also stated that Denon is a fairly bright amp with a fairly bright speaker in a room with oak flooring could be a bright combination.

So how did I do and what do you think?

If you liked the studio 60s you would love the M80s. As far as the Denon being bright, well that's pretty much hog wash. For just $30 more you could get the M80s (brand new) which are more akin to the Studio 100s. The Denon would power the m80s just fine.