Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Advice from Axiom Owners Axiom comparable to Paradigm Studio 100/CC690 v5

Forgot to mention, I also auditioned the Studio 100's (and PSB's, but can't remember which ones). I liked the Paradigm's very much. I couldn't audition them with the M80's side by side, but did conclude that they sounded more similar than different. I'd be happy with either one, but went with Axiom because of the huge price difference. If I were able to do a side by side comparison and liked the Studio 100's more, I still don't think the difference would be enough to justify the cost. Based on that, I would extrapolate the same for the CC690.

I was able to compare Paradigm Studio 100/CC-690 and PSB Image T6/C5 not exactly side by side but at a same dealer location just in different listening room and PSBs were pretty good but bit laid back for my taste. PSBs sounded amazing with Jazz and Indian Classical music but Paradigms were better with movies, Rock, Hip-hop and as far as center channel goes between Image C5 and Paradigm CC-690, Paradigm sounded leagues better than PSB Image C5. Downside with both brands is - arrogant dealers, they don't budge on price and have to rely on dealer to provide any support not Paradigm. Unfortunately local dealer does not offer in home trial even if I leave a deposit so not sure if I ever be able to compare them side by side if I sign-up for Axiom 30-day in-home trial and that is why I am here looking for current Axiom owners feedback and to see if they had any opportunity to compare Axiom and Paradigm side by side before they settled down with Axiom.

I don't mean to sound like I'm knocking non-Axiom speakers, because I've heard nice things about Paradigm. But I wouldn't buy ANY speaker that I couldn't hear in my own environment, because next to the speaker itself, it'll be the biggest factor in the final sound quality you'll get.

It IS one of the things I've always liked about Axiom: Try them in YOUR environment for 30 days and, if you don't like them (rare), the minor return fee is the cheapest you'll ever find for renting speakers for a month!

You are right on the money about that. There are dealers out there that will let you audition the speakers in your home, however, generally they will probably only do that if you are a good customer and obviously have a history with them. I have one that sells the entire Paradigm line and back several years ago they let me audition a couple of newer models in my home. It was amazing the difference in performance from the store in comparison to my room since because, in the end, they weren't really any improvement to what I already had, so I ended up returning them both.

Of course the dealer didn't object because, among other things, just a couple of months prior I had spent $3200 on a top of the line Yamaha AVR. Of course, unlike Axiom, if I was a first time buyer there is no way they would even allow me to take them out the door without payment in full and probably wouldn't let me bring them back for a full refund if I didn't like them.

I'm with Mark, getting to hear the speaker in your own environment is the best way to audition speakers as the room is the next biggest factor to sound reproduction other than the speaker itself.

Though I wasn't able to compare the Studio 100's(previous version) to Axiom M80's(V2) directly, I took note of the things I liked about the Studios which were also the characteristics I liked with the Axioms. Excellent lower end extension, clear mids and detailed highs, nice imaging, you'll hear parts of your music you never knew was there....both are similar in this regard and share similar design philosophy. As Mark and Jay note, look at the 30 day trial as a "rental" so you can hear them in your own environment, this will be the best audition. I'm sure you'll enjoy the Axioms.

I heard the 100's (V2 I think) several years ago and found them to my liking, much more than the comparable B/W's that were out then (703 or 704, don't recall which). When I got my M80's, I found them to be very similar to the 100's. It would be a very interesting to perform a blind listening test with the latest versions of both. I'm guessing a lot of current Axiom owners would have trouble telling which was which. At any rate, I don't think a person would be disappointed in either, provided they like a neutral sounding speaker.

Noob, welcome. As Alan has pointed out on more than one occasion(which has been seconded by some board members), although they aren't absolutely identical, the M80 and the Studio 100 can be considered "similarly good", and the M80 is significantly lower in price. The new M80v3 may have additional advantage.

As to a comparison of the full systems, the QS8 would be considered by many to have an outright superiority as a surround.