Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Stereo Subs:Klipsch RW10 or Paradigm PDR12 or Axiom EP175

Hi,

I'm the happy owner of a pair of M22's + VP100 (used 75% for music; medium-sized room). A sub seems necessary. I've noticed that most people on this board recommend SVS or HSU subs but, as I live in Montreal, these two options are somewhat inconvenient due to customs duties etc (in fact, a HSU is not an option at all right now as they do not ship to Canada anymore till April). I am wondering whether any of you has tried the Klipsch RW10 and/or the Paradigm PDR12 and whether you know how they compare with the EP 175. Thanks for your input !

I heard the Klipsch. It was crap. I haven't heard the Paradigm or Axiom. The Adire RAVA is a pretty popular sub for you folks in the Great White North.

C'mon, Craig. How did you REALLY feel about the Klipsch?

Adire is in Seattle, I believe. So that may not solve the import duty problem.

Sorry - no help here other than smarting off. Hey, we all have our strengths, right?

Besides, it's Friday. And I'm sure there's a cold one waiting for you at home. The giddiness is impossible to contain.

I was home by 2:00!!! Already got a few cold ones in me!!! WWWWHHHHHHHHBBBBBLLLLLLLAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!

Never heard the Klipsch or Axiom EP175. However, I did listen to the PDR12. Was pretty decent but not as fast w/ music as I'd prefer. W/ movies, worked well. But my VTF-2 (10") blows it away.

I've done the A/B comparison of an EP175 and an HSU VTF-2 in my room and as previously noted, for HT, the EP175 was fine but the VTF-2 is WAY BETTER for music and great for HT as well. If you can stand the wait till April....WOW, remember how agonizing yet sweet waiting was?.

Thanks for your replies ! In a different direction, I am wondering about surround speakers - in principle, I have decided to get the QS8. However, given the difficulty I have to choose a subwoofer that will fit well and given that I use the speakers 75% for music (mainly classical and jazz) + I leave in an appartment... I am curious what you think about the following configuration: a pair of M60's as fronts + the pair of M22's as surrounds - no subwoofer.

I am a bit uncomfortable steering you away from the M60s, but as good as the they are, they just can't provide the LFE that a sub can. I got my M60s on Friday (VP100/QS8s) to go with my SVS 20-39 PCi. I've been noodling around with and w/o sub. Gotta have the sub.

If my space wasn't so large (16x22x10 opening into a 14x20 kitchen), I would have gone with the M22s and let the sub do the heavy lifting.

As much as you might like to M60s (for sure, I love mine), for $800 you can pick up an awfully nice sub. I'd suggest looking at SVS or HSU - they usually end up leading the parade in the "What's the best sub?" threads on the net. Both companies have a customer service approach like Axiom and will talk to you at length to help you make the right choice. Whatever sub you might choose, make sure it is enough to avoid buyer's remorse. Talk to those folks and pick a sub that is big enough for your space such that it doesn't need to work at it's max capability to get you chest thumping LFE.

I also think you will find the QS8s are a much better choice for surrounds than the M22s.

Seriously man, if you can hold out till April, I'd get a HSU. For the money, I swear you can't do any better. The Axiom subs are good too, but Axiom's specialty is in speakers focusing on the mid and high ranges. Yet with that said, I would say that their lower frequency response is good enough to hold you over for 2 more months till you can get that HSU. Just my 2 cents worth.

Many thanks for your replies ! This is a very nice board indeed - and in good measure the reason why I decided to go with Axiom in the first place. All my contacts with the people at Axiom (Brent, in particular) have also been helpful and enlightening. The conclusion is that a sub will be added to the system at one moment or other: probably a HSU or an SVS maybe an Axiom. One last question: does any of you have some experience with the M22's used as surrounds ? I know that this is a somewhat heretical thought but I am still curious to know opinions about this....

I sense that someone has made up their mind to get some M60s and is trying to squeeze into that any way he can, even if that means moving some other speakers around.

I got to this board while chasing my speaker selection and it is a pretty homey place. The input is insightful and of excellent quality. While my enthusiasm still outruns my technical expertise, I read ALOT of information here before everyone convinced me to part with my money. One of the consistent things I saw was a common thread suggesting that the M22s aren't the best choice for surrounds. The body of knowledge here points to the QS8s; a recommendation I support completely now that I have them.

Also, the suggestion about the RAVA is a pretty nice alternative to the HSU and SVS if they are problematic to acquire.

QS8's are much better surrounds for watching movies. M22ti's would make better surrounds for multi-channel audio (SACD/DVD-A). As the vast majority of HT owners are primarily concerned with movies over SACD or DVD-A, the QS8 is the surround of choice. However, if you are one of the rare individuals who's focus is on multi-channel audio, you would most likely be better served using the M22ti's as your surrounds.

I believe Chess did an extensive review of this very subject quite a long time ago. Chess?

You can read through this post on my thoughts about QSx vs M22s as surrounds, but the short version is as follows:
QSx great for movies (obviously) and nice for subtle echoes for music, pulls instruments to left and right of front stage very effectively.
M22s ok for movies and CAN be great for music (placement is a huge issue but are obviously more immersive for something like surround sound music)

Very useful post Chess ! Indeed Ray, your guess was right on the mark. Still, after more pondering I have finally decided to go with the QS8's which are on their way (incidentally, the interaction between my credit card and the Axiom web page was less than perfect with the unintended consequence that I almost bought 6 pairs of QS8's.. everything got cleared up by the folks at Axiom without trouble - customer service is indeed excellent).
Next... the sub.