I am about to purchase some new speakers and receiver to upgrade my current system...I am trying to decide between Rockets, Swans, and of course Axioms....has anyone owned any of these that can give me an unbiased view so I can purchase before I head back out to sea!

Unbiased? In an Axiom board?

I am no expert but I can only tell you that I love my Axioms, and I have quite a few!

Good luck with your search, you can't go wrong with the brands you're looking at.

There are a few guys here that own other brands, but for the most part, you're doing pretty much the same thing as walking into a bar in Wisconsin and saying "How 'bout them Packers?!?"

And now, the Americans will hijack the crap out of this thread. *G*

Bren R.

But aren't you an American?

Seriously, don't know if you have had time to do a search -- there are some good posts here already. Consensus seems to be that :

- some people strongly prefer the Rockets,
- more people strongly prefer the Axioms,
- everyone hates the sound of the other brand,
- everyone agrees that the Rockets have a gorgeous wood finish, and...
- about every third post gets into a pi**ing contest about the merits of "assembled in North America" vs. "assembled in China"

There seems to be pretty strong agreement that the two speakers do sound quite different. Reading between the lines, the big Rockets seem to have "more" / "flabby" bass (depending on which side you take) and a midrange dip that gives a "smooth" / "lifeless" quality depending on which side you take. The Axioms seem to be more accurate with essentially no complaints about response etc... but theysometimes get panned by people who find them too bright and edgy with bad recordings. If you get a chance to listen to both and end up wanting something in between, the M3/M50 Axioms might be a good choice.

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But aren't you an American?

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*blinks*... *blinks again*

Umm. no.

Bren R.

The best advice I could give is:

Run a copy of bridgmans' post, tack it up on your wall or bulkhead, refer to it often.

That just about covers it. The rest of us have our opinions, and we're all correct in our thoughts(mostly)but that one post pretty well covers the high points.

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Run a copy of bridgmans' post, tack it up on your wall or bulkhead, refer to it often.

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I agree. That was a well-written reply.

So where exactly is Canada located, then?

I thought the same thing.North America ?

NOT, a cheese head fan, just a Vikings fan

I am going to go with the axioms...now what can I afford on a Navy salary??

I guess that all depends on your rank.

>>So where exactly is Canada located, then?

I might have posted this before, apologies if it's a repost.

A friend of mine was raised in Saskatoon. In his early teens he went on a trip with his parents down to the southern US. On the way down they stopped for gas in the middle of nowhere, SD I think.

Nice old guy comes out, gets the gas flowing. Walks around the car, notices the license plates.

"Sa...ska...tcha...wan... Where's that ?"

Reply, brightly -- "It's in Canada -- north of North Dakota"

Old guy ponders, spits, "Shee-it... ain't nothin' north of North Dakota..."

Anyways, that's where Canada is

Kind of reminds me of a conversation I had a few years ago when I was in Lompoc, California on a project assignment. This very nice lady was assisting me in collecting engineering data and we got to talking about where I was from. Anyhow, she had visited her sister and nephew numerous times in Seattle, Washington and proceeded to aske me questions about Vancouver, B.C. It started with: what kind of cars we drive, how was the weather, do you get a lot of snow, are the Eskimoes friendly etc. Initially, I was kind of shocked about the content of the questions but I regrouped and put my teacher's face on. Anyhow, I am very patient with people who are unfamiliar with the country in which I live. I have travelled all over the U.S. on business and still marvel at the lack of geographical knowledge when it comes to Canada. I kindly explained to her that the weather is actually nicer in Vancouver vs. Seattle (they get more rainfall). We drive the same cars and Eskimoes can be found in Alaska (located in the U.S.) which is quite a bit farther north than Vancouver. I never blame the individual, only the system that they are educated in. After a conversation like this I always hope that this person has walked away learning something and not been embarrassed by their lack of geographical knowledge.

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So where exactly is Canada located, then?

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It's that big state at the top of the map. You know, the big green/grey one with no roads and all the funny town names. (ducking)

I got lost there once and tried to ask for directions. That extreme New England accent is just flat out unintelligable. I thought I made a wrong turn in Toledo and hit France.

Apparently, they think the Baltimore Ravens and George W. Bush are #1, too. Every time one of them read my bumper stickers, they would give me the "you're #1" sign. They really shouldn't sell table saws up there. Apparently, they've had lots of lost index finger accidents and need to use the middle finger instead. If I could speak New England, I would have told them that someone might confuse that for something not so nice. Alas, I just smiled and nodded a lot...

I highly recommend that you check out their beer, and their speakers. For people so clumsy with saws, they seem to do allright with speakers, breweries, and those funny little hooked sticks that they play that soccer-like game with.