Returning to this forum after perhaps 5 years, it is great to see the long time forum members like JohnK, pmbuko, jakewash and many others still giving their objective views on Axiom products.

As life has moved on with so many ever increasing responsibilities, I realized its time to also acknowledge the little things that make the next day worth looking forward to.

The first thing I did was to stop logging into FB. There was so much time freed up after that. I began calling my friends and dear ones over the phone. The sound of their voices beats any social networking site.

The next thing was to go back to my prized possessions that put a smile on my face. I realized how much I missed listening to stereo music. The wife and kids were out one evening. It was time for Metallica, Led Zep, Norah Jones, Mark Knopfler etc. Listening for an hour was so good. These 2001 M3Tis still belt out superb midrange, great highs and sufficient lows. Michael Nyman's "The Heart asks Pleasure First" took me to a great high and "I Gioni" by Ludovico Einaudi nearly brought a tear to my eyes. There is no need to go in for another review. Enough has been spoken. These are simply fantastic, heirloom level speakers.

Do I intend to upgrade? No. I have what I need and more in these speakers.

Thank you to all the members of this great forum. You guys do wonderful work in small ways by supporting newbies and giving very very objective feedback. More importantly thank you Axiom for bringing great products at affordable prices for people in the third world too.

Shankar, good to hear from you again, and congratulations on your escape from Facebook!

Thank you John, great to hear from you too. Yes, the great escape from FB was necessary I feel. Don't get me wrong, it is a wonderful site for information. But getting to the right information is after laborious scrolling.

Funny how time tempers emotions. I'm not getting all teary but I posted this more out of thanks to this forum and its members who steer people towards what they will need. Stalwarts like you guys who are loyal to the cause make it possible.

Of late, I've been using the M3s as monitors when I connect my Yamaha keyboard. And wow, the DACs on the Yamaha really bring life through the speakers. Anyway, that's another story.

Good to see you again. You have 10305 posts! Its time Axiom gave you guy a free HT system.

Thankfully I'm too old to have joined the 'social media' thing; however, since I updated all of my Axiom sound systems starting in 2010, I began hanging out here with all of the fine folks who provide so much good natured banter here. This is in contrast to some of the other sites where nastiness is so prevalent.

I too rekindled my long but waning interest in my sound gear & spend far less time watching TV than I used to.

Anyway, welcome back, & be aware, upgradeitis may strike, especially with Axiom's new model lines enticing you, ha!

TAM

Indeed. Its fun to see all the things that Axiom is up to, but all I need to do is put on some of my favourite tunes and maybe a rumbly movie to remind me that I got exceptional value for my money.

Welcome back, and thank you for telling your story!

...what Tom said!!

Nice to hear from you.

Welcome Back!

Great to hear from you again, Shankar. I am honored to be named in your post.

What is this facebookie thing i keep hearing about?

It's a clandestine institution operated by Dr Evil in the guise of social media.

The social media thingy has affected people of all ages. So if you have steered clear of it, its you and not you age.

I totally agree that this is one of the fewest sites where there are so many gentlemen. The only other sites which is very similar to this is at badgerandblade.com and straightrazorplace.com. Very down to earth folks who have fun perfecting the art of shaving and teaching others the art of going old school.

Upgradeitis may strike but fortunately I'm too far away to get Axioms. No dealers in India to tempt me

So true. I played the Yanni - Acropolis video today for the kids (poor quality video) but the music still sounded so good. So did Metallica's S & M. The orchestra pieces have so much depth.



Thank you tomtuttle and everyone else too.



Believe me, the honour's all mine

The other audio site that I enjoy is Home Theater Shack. For the most part, the members are mature & the admin staff doesn't put up with any juvenile BS that is so prevalent elsewhere...

TAM

Well, my new meds really must be working! He said he watched Yanni at the Acropolis and I didn't say anything at all, nor did my head explode.

I once asked Ian, no, no, Alan, if there was any music or voice that could damage an Axiom speaker, and do you know what he said?

Ah, looks like Yanni is not on any acceptable list here.

What did Alan say? What music damages an Axiom speaker?

"Don't ever play a recording of yourself, OK Bob?"

BobKay, I do believe there is no need for you to be deeply sorry. I had a good laugh myself at your post. We are all entitled to our views and sarcasm keeps things lively. In fact, extreme views on a topic make us see two sides of the same coin.

Trust me, I have seen truly "bad persons" when I experienced the gulf war first hand. You come across as an honest person who has the guts to be open on a forum.

Grown from pods?

I also got the joke you made about someone's music damaging a speaker. Just wanted to know what your opinion was. I do not know who Geddy Lee is but I am going to listen to some of his/her music now to see what you are talking about. Cheers.

If you want to hate Geddy Lee, listen to some of his solo stuff. If you actually want to like him in spite of the voice, listen to some Rush.

Great, aqua! Just wanted you to be in-the-know. Hope you can visit more often!

If you have spent your whole life in India, then, for real, your English composition; spelling, grammar, vocabulary, phrasing, content, etc. is excellent! I only wish that our Southern and Mid-western U.S. friends could do as well. (Ha! You all thought I was going to say, "Virginian," didn't you?, but that's not really English now, is it?)

In the 1980's, in some U.S. circles, the name of your city meant "super, super cool."

"Man, dem wheels is hyperbad!

Bob. Did medic8r fine tune your meds in the last day or two? You're really on a roll.

[quote=fredk]Bob. Did medic8r fine tune your meds in the last day or two? You're really on a roll. [/quote

No. I've been O.D.'ing on all of them for two weeks now! I should have done this years ago. Everything and everyone looks, oh, I don't know, so pretty and happy.

Listen to some of his solo stuff. If you actually want to like him in spite of the voice, listen to some Rush.

I would have to think that the Axiom factory in China wouldn't be that far away. If you asked nicely they might find a way to ship something from there... and their stuff is really stupendous!

This is an enjoyable thread! For those of us newer to the site, could you perhaps share how you came by your M3Tis? Was there an Axiom dealer in India at some time?

True, but then there is a thing called licensing and logistics. If it were easy to get the stuff by asking nicely, every iPhone would find its way to India from China instead of having to ask friends to bring in one from US and then unlocking it. That's the irony of the business world. Everything is available just across the border but still has to be sourced from a continent away. No matter. Their stuff is so good that I am no temptation to upgrade!

Unfortuntely, there was no Merlin magic involved in getting the M3Tis. Back in 2001, the market in India for audio enthusiast gear was still nascent and relegated to only the very rich as excise and duties were in excess of 50%.

I had no option but to rely on internet reviews of gear. I suddenly discovered that there were too many brands that were better than the ubiquitous Sony, Panasonic, Pioneer brands. Then a search on audioreview revealed some honest reviews. I finally found consistently good reviews for Paradigm and Mirage. I had zeroed in on the Paradigm Titan and was trying to get a friend to bring them in from the US. Then I found a few other reviews of the M3 comparing them to the Titan. Axiom was unknown in the market here and still is fairly unknown in India.

Seeing the glowing reviews for most Axiom speakers, I found the factory outlet offering discounts and free shipping to the US. Amie was exceptionally wonderful in our interactions and she was the first company representative who was actually willing to answer my questions patiently. The M3s cost a princely sum of $220 then from the factory outlet which was still a lot of money on the purchase power parity in India.

After begging a few friends to get these for me, I found one who was willing to. I paid for the speakers and Axiom shipped them to my friend in the US. He removed the packing, wound the speakers in some clothes and returned to Bangalore. I took a bus to his place and picked them up.

The rest is history. The current popular ones in India are Yamaha, Polk, Paradigm, B&W, Jamo and Wharfedale. There are a pair of Wilson Audio Puppy speakers somewhere in Hyderabad too.

Shankar, yes I remember you relating the unusual mode of transportation to get your M3s to India in some discussions we had in the past. Whatever works!

That seems good and thanks for sharing.