Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Advice from Axiom Owners M60 and Paradigm Monitor 7 or Studio 60

I am very interested in the M60. I have listened to the Paradigm Monitor 7 and though it sounded fairly nice, I found it to be lacking in detail compared to the Studio 60. The Studio 60 also had a bit fuller sound. Paradigm speakers, like Axiom, have also been tagged as being on the bright side. Anyone had any experience with these speakers and how these issues compare to the M60?

I'll add the monitor 11 to this list, I'm interested in the 11, the studio 60's and m60's. C'mon, somebody has to have compared these speakers.

I had to wait till I found my password because I've been dying to reply to this.

I listened to M60, Studio 40 and Monitor 7s. I ended up buying the monitor 7s.

Now before I go into the sound of these let me say a couple things. All prices are in CAN $ because I live in Canada.
M60s retail was $1100 "best deal" was $990.
Studio 40s were $1100 I did not ask for price but less than $1000 (maybe 900-950) would have been no problesm.
Monitor 7s $899 list and I paid around $750 (hard to say because of package price and trade in.

As you can see Studio 60s are even more expensive than 40s comparing Studio 60s. M60 and Monitor 7s is probaly a $500 spread.

Best sound of the 3 was Studio 40s by far. Yes they lack some bass extension BUT crossed over at 80HZ for home theatre and or with a sub you will never know. Studios are more refined than either the Axiom or Monitors (to me). Whay didn't I buy them? They are not efficient and I don't have the power right now to drive them and they are not floor stannders so with stands they would have been over $1000 out of my budget.
M60s had the best bass extension of the 3. I have to admit that my listening tesy of these was not the best as the dealer is an idiot and doesn't have a proper set up. I think they would be great HT speakers but I found them a little forward and I did not like the matching center speaker at all.
The Monitor 7s were kind of in between the 2. better bass than the 40s but not as refined. I probably like the sound very very slightly more than the M60s but it was a tossup. Enough of a tossup that I did not think $250 more made the M60s worth it to me.

I would be remiss if I didn't also mention Energy C5s (or C7 c9 for that matter). I thought they were every bit as good as the Monitors. they had a better sound stage and a more open airy presentaion that I think would be nice for music listening, Did not like them quite as much for HT but would chose them sound/price over the M60.

The Studio 60s are going to need some serious power to sound right so take a good look at your amps before deciding on them.

I did listen briefly to the Monitor 11s and for home theatre they have some serious impact. They are BIG have tons of bass. They would be way too much speaker for my room. I'd rather have 40s Studio center and money for a better amp but that is just me.

Jams, thanks for the feedback. How much of the differences you heard could be due to the lack of proper setup? How would you compare the mid and upper range of the M60 to the Studio 40, regarding the nuances or detail in the sound? Did you consider the M60 to be too bright or harsh sounding. You mentioned the Center. Which one was it and what didn't you like about it? Can you compare it to the CC-370 or Studio CC?

I'm sure some of the differnce was due to improper set up BUT there is no doubt to me the Studio 40s would be more accurate. I listend to the 40s on an 80watt Denon Stero receiver and the M60s on a 110 w Onkyon and the 40s still sounded better. I would not call M60s harsh but the 40s were more smooth and accurate. As for centers I cannot rmember which center and I did not listen to the Studio CC (for cost reasons it is quite espensive.

Personally if I were buying a fron center sub combo I would pay the extra 1-200 (you'd need to buy stands) for the Studios. If it were movies only or I was not getting the sub I'd get m60s.They really are 2 very different speakers and I think M60s are a better choice with lower power due to efficiency.

As a side note Axiom subs to me could not touch the Paradigm PW 2200. Axiom makes very good speakers but their subs are not in the same class as their speakers.

Jams, I just sent you a pm. Thx

Jams, thanks again. I have an SVS 25-31PCi and it is a fantastic sub, so I am covered on the low end. My receiver is a Yamaha 5560, so I don't have a lot of horsepower, but I think it will do for most reasonably efficient speakers. I have heard that the Studio series require a bit more power to really sound nice, so I am not sure if they match up well with my Yamaha. However, they were my first choice before I started looking at Axiom. Actually, I really wanted the Monitor 7's, for cost reasons, but after listening to the Studio's I really liked their sound better. The 7's just didn't have the same clarity and detail. With the Studio's you could hear more information that just wasn't there in the 7's. I also listened to some of the new lower end Wharfedales EVO-30 and EVO-40, I think, and they sounded very nice. I don't know the correct terms to use, but they seemed even more detailed than the Studio's. Very pristine sounding, but maybe not quite as full a sound. You could pick up on a lot more of the little things in the background you could not hear as well on the Studio's and not at all on the 7's. I was wondering if the Axioms sounded more like these, because I really enjoyed that kind of detail. Anyone else checked these out that has any knowledge of the Axiom sound.