I already have two people coming, so why not open it up to anyone else in the area. On Wednesday evening (7/9) there will be a speaker face off at my residence in King Of Prussia, PA. I have the VP150, M22, QS8, and HSU VTF-2. Someone else will be bringing over Ascend speakers to compare them to. Those who are interested are welcome to attend, just send me a PM for more information. We'll be sure to post a review of our results. One note to get out of the way before any results are posted...this will most likely NOT be a scientific review. There are no plans to do blind testing or anything of the sort. I like my Axioms, but will try to be as unbiased as possible in posting any comparisons.

Cool...have fun! Which Ascends are you comparing to? The 170's or the new 340's?

170

i'm envious, i never see a face off in the boston area.

Hi,

Sounds like fun. How far is King of Prussia, Pa, from Manhattan?

Just get the volume levels exactly the same. Even a 1-dB difference will cause most listeners to choose the slightly louder speakers as "better". And if you want to do a really rigorous test, listen to each speaker first in mono, A/B'ing between the two. The differences in tonal balance will hit you in the face immediately.

Regards,

I'd say I'm about 2 1/2 hours from Manhattan. I have an SPL, so I can check volume levels that way. The one part I concerned about is that I have the Onkyo SR600 receiver. The binding posts on the B speakers are not as good as the A ones. How much will this affect the sound quality, if at all?

Hi Zarak,

Not at all, no effect. Even those terrible old spring connectors make an electrically sound connection.

Hey...I've been through this before!

Alright, so tonight was the night. Axiom M22 and Ascend 170. I'm going to make this short, since it's just about bedtime. It will likely be added to by myself and others later.

Disclaimer....not a scientific test. Volume levels were checked with a SPL when switching between speakers. Axiom had to be turned up 2-4db on the receiver(Onkyo SR600) to equal the 170's volume.

Let me start by saying that the two speakers sounded pretty similar in a lot of instances...I don't think you could go wrong with either one. Any differences stated below are dependent on the CD and track played, they did not hold true across the board. When we did see differences, the major ones were:

1. The M22 had more detail then the 170's. I believe it was track 5 on the Cranberries CD (the one with Zombie on it) that we noticed this the most. The piano and guitar in the beginning seemed more real...almost like you could see the musician playing the instrument. The 170's still sounded good, but that same feeling wasn't there.

2. On the other hand, there were other tracks where the fullness of the 170's stood out. The have a fuller sound in general then the M22, which I believe others have called thin in the past. I'm not saying they are thin, just not as full as the 170's.

3. The final difference is the forwardness between the two. The M22's were more forward. The singer seemed further out in front during multiple pieces, as opposed to the voice being more laid back by comparision with the 170's.

I would say they are both good speakers, and it's mostly a tradeoff of if you want a little extra detail with the M22 or the extra fullness of the 170's.

Zarak

Yep...what he said.