Had originally after listening to probably too many speakers decided on going with the following . Paradigm Studio 60's,CC-590 center, ADP-590 rears and a Seismic12 sub.Now that I have added a added a Cary Cinema 11 to process audio, a DVDO iScan VP30 to process video and a Rotel RMB-1075 amp I have gone over budget.

In reading through different forums going with a setup of Axiom M60's, a VP150, QS8's and a EP500 seems to give me a similiar sound at a price that will get me back in line. My next step is to find someone in Maine that has this setup that I can audition. Since I live in Central Maine I am willing to drive to New Hampshire or the Boston area.

Bay, welcome. If you look at the list in the audition thread above, you'll see possibilities in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Usually the procedure is to make an attempt to contact them with a PM. You can also contact Amie or Andrea at Axiom for assistance.

Never was able to find anyone in Maine to audition the speakers. Did take a three hour trip today to New Hampshire to hear MarkSJohnson's setup. Special thanks for his hospitaility. Will be placing an order in the next few days and will post my thoughts of how the Axiom's compared to the other speakers I have listened to.

Wow! Quite impressive to drive that far. Which Axioms are you ordering?

Two questions:

1. Does his room really suck?
2. Did you notice something peculiar on the sides of his head?

Wooo Hooo, way to go MarkS. Glad you enjoyed the trip and welcome to Axiom...

ps: did he show you his bad ass snow blower.

Things in New England aren't "bad ass", they're "wicked".

And if a New Englander lives in Northern California for too long, things might become "hella wicked" -- or, for the religiously sensitive, "hecka wicked."

Yes, I hosted my first ever audition. I was beginning to think, after two + years of being listed in the audition thread, that no on in New England had ever heard of Axiom!

Unfortunately, "Bay" did have a three hour ride back as well, and he came in the middle of the day, so a few beers probably wouldn't have been a good idea! Nice guy, though....it was a pleasure to have him.

Anyway, we had a wicked pissah of a time.

And, Bay... here are the photos as promised, sorry to all who have seen these recently:

MSJ has mad skills.

yes he does.

AFL!

AFL?

See Here...
Another credit to Mark S. Johnson!

First of all thanks Mark for posting the pictures. I was very impressed with the design of the center channel speaker support.

richeydog. No the room does not really suck. I actually have auditioned speakers at dealers that also had similiar sized rooms that were also fairly square in format.I mentioned to Mark yesterday the only room that I have been in during my audio search that really did suck was at a dealers a few weeks ago. The room was an attempt to set up a theatre room. The problems were a 12 foot high ceiling that was tin with a wide array of mismatched speakers. Triangle Antal fronts,one set of Sonus Fabar walls for the side surrounds,a Rel Britania sub, a small french brand bookcase`speaker for the center and another brand of surrounds for the rear.

I was there to audition the Arcam AVR-350 receiver which a recent review said was the best sounding receiver ever and actually outperforms seperates at any price. In any event in that room it sounded awful! Most likely a combination of the room acoustics, the wide array of speakers and the fact that it was just out of the box with less then a day of running time.

What I did learn out of the experience was going with seperates is the way to go. I went back to the dealer later in the day after he had hooked up the Arcam seperates that are usually set up in that room. Not great sound but a major improvement over the AVR-350.

For question number two I was so impressed with the Axiom's I did not notice what Mark had on the sides of his head.

Luckily Mark did not offer me a beer. Made it to Concord in about three hours and cut that time to a little over two and a half on the way home. Not as much traffic so I was able to really move along. If I had been picked up, speeding is one thing alcohol on your breath is another whole ballgame.

Now to the really important question. What am I ordering?

The order will be for the M60's,a VP-150, QS8's and the EP-500 all in black oak. I had ordered the sample of the Boston cherry. Showed it to my wife last night and the WAF was order the black as they will be the least noticeable in the room. Black speakers are what we currently have.

I must say I was very pleased in how the Axiom's sounded yesterday. The only speakers that I have heard that to my ear sounded richer were the B&W's and the Thiel speakers. Both beyond my budget and I did not like the look of the tweeter on top of the B&W cabinet.
I mentioned to Mark that I was concerned about the M60's . Seeing other forums call them bright and seeing that they often have their crossovers set at 60 did raise some apprehension. In listening to them bright is not remotely how I would describe them.

I have been using three DVD's to compare speakers and seperates. "The Curse of the Black Pearl" Chapter 2 listening to Jonny Depp step onto the dock and the sound of the coins dropping onto the book and the coin purse being shaken being my first test and also being the one that seems to really test how speakers perform.
The second test the chase through the jungle scene in " The Incredibles "for surrond sound effects.
The final test being chapter 5 in "Master and Commander". A good test for the sub and when the scene comes up with very quite dialogue it really shows what the center speaker is capable of.
In all three tests the Axioms did very well. Coming in maybe a step ahead of the Paradigm Studio 60 setup that I
was very close to going with.

In any event the Cary Cinema 11 and the Rotel 1075 are eagerily awaiting coming out of their boxes to fire up the Axiom's. Will be a while since I will be going the outlet route.No true Mainer would ever pass up fiften percent off!
My wife will also surely be glad that another one of my slightly over the top seaches is now over. Quite a few miles on the Yukon and hundreds of hours searching every audio video forum.

Things really never come to a real end though. We added a Victorian Conservatory to our home last fall that adjoins the living room.The Cary has a second zone that I would like to use to listen to music in the Coonservatory.The room being 14 by 16 feet with five angled glass walls, a full arhed glass ceiling and ceramic tile should really create a challenge.
Like to keep things similiar but so far the dealer that I have bought the seperates from is recommending not using a Rotel amp for that room. He feels going with an NAD amp will mellow things down a bit. Was thinking of putting in the architectural series Axiom W-3's for the speakers but that would really lock me in. Maybe wireless speakers would be the best route to allow for experimenting with different positions.The WAF factor also makes speaker wire being visible a real NO. Also thinking about streaming intenet radio out to that room.