Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Stereo Recommendation for bookshelfs for classical music

Just remember his own preference might not be your preference. There are many good quality bookshelf speakers out there and until you get to hear them in your own environment with your ears, you will never really know which you like better. I would second the idea of ordering up both speakers listen to both and send back the ones you like the least, at most it will cost you about an extra $20 to return the Axioms should you not choose them and as was mentioned Ascend offeres free return shipping.

Perhaps Ascend has changed their policy or you were thinking of Aperion. Neither shipping from nor back to Ascend is included in the MSRP. They list a $20 flat rate for this speaker shipped to you and say the following in their return policy:

ASCEND 30-DAY GUARANTEE...



I’m guessing it will be close to the same price, however, they also say this:



Axiom includes shipping to the customer as part of the MSRP. And estimates the return shipping for 2 bookshelf speakers at 30USD.

Also Axiom says this:

The Axiom In-Home Trial 30 day...




P.S. I stand corrected if Ascend is offering some sort of shipping special I missed on their site when I checked out the links from that forum last night.

I was in fact thinking of Aperion, nice catch.

The idea of an in-home trial is great (by Axiom, Ascend, others), but I really would prefer not to send any speakers back and just buy and use them.

BTW I wrote to Ascend about my question in this thread two days ago, and no reply yet. I wrote to Axiom before that and Brent replied within 24 hours, recommending the M3 over the M2.

Paul

Bad name for a musical, though.

IMO no one bookshelf speaker in your price range from any good manufacturer is going to bomb or totally outclass the competition. It’s the fine details that will distinguish them and no one but you can decide what those are. Also your room itself will play a big roll I how you perceive these speakers performance.

Your real decision IMO is whether you want a neutral speaker like the M2 or CBM-170SE or something with a mid bass hump like the M3 and many others.

If you will be switching your music listening between these speakers and another system that extends lower I think a speaker with the mid bass hump it the way to go otherwise you will really notice the missing bass. If however, this is the only system you plan on listening to music on or your other system(s) don’t extend lower then I think you would not notice the missing bass as much and the more neutral speakers will sound better overall. Additionally, if you are very familiar with the music you plan on listening to you will also notice the missing bass more.

I really think your best bet is to pick one of each style and compare them directly. Check out any local shops to see if they have speakers in both styles (with and without a mid bass hump) and see which you prefer.

Listening to any one of the speakers mentioned on their own, IMO, would not allow for the subtlties to be exposed thus making your dilemma a moot point. I am quite sure you would be happy with any of the speakers that have been suggested.

As you have pointed out Axiom customer service is the best in the business as far as I can tell, another good reason to go with Axiom.

Another idea would be to order the M2's, as they are similar in characteristics to the ascend's, and if they are not to your liking upgrade to the M3's, you would only pay for the price difference - no shipping charges applied when upgrading during the 30 day trial. If you think the M3's are still not for you and found the M2s closer to your liking but still not quite right, you could again upgrade to the M22 as the final test of the bookshelf idea, after that you would then have to move to floorstanders, which for 2 channel listening is the only way to go, IMO.