As a tool designer in a past life, the word design doesn’t mean cosmetics to me at all. Form an engineering perspective, I think Axiom speakers are designed very well. They sound great and have a very cost effective manufacturing process. They are also easy to service if needed. This constitutes, at least to me, a good design, and should warrant an 8 or 9 out of 10.

My problem with the review is the 7 score on value. Most people who buy Axiom are buying based on quality / price ratio relative to other manufactures. When I compare the M60’s to other (retail) speakers, I think Axiom has a much better “bang for the buck”. In this category I would expect at lest a 9 but probably a 10.

It is difficulty to find a speaker that sounds better than the M60 for less money!

paul

Like, totally! I looked for months. Nothing < $3.5k came close. Even some $5k+ were no match. (Who wants Klipsch or Martin Logan @ any price?) And more than a couple o' mfg's designs sure warn't pretty--at all.

I agree!,I don't own the M60s but the same can be said for the M80s V3 I do own!

Also, I hear Klipsch, which I have owned in the past, is being taken over by Audiovox. They will undoubtedly do unto them as AMF did unto Harley Davidson in the 70s. So kiss their status goodbye.

Good for Axiom for getting a little mainstream AV press. Congrats!

It's always baffled me why DI sales companies like Axiom, Emotiva, Outlaw, etc don't push harder to get big-press reviews of their products. Unless they have something to hide...

At great risk from drawing the ire of other Axiomites, I think 4 is a little low on the 'design' scale, but not by much. While you can get nicer cabinet treatments via the custom shop, I really don't think Axiom speakers are all that visually beautiful.

I fully realize that they are not designed to be froo-froo pretty. They are designed to be acoustically amazing for their price. That is Axiom's raison d'être! And that's something that all of us owners know.

Aesthetics are the epitome of subjectivity, so it's basically impossible to have a meaningful conversation of which is a "prettier" speaker. But IMHO, while my M80V2's are great speakers (love em!), they look a little lower-rent compared to something like ...

B&W CM9's


or (to some degree) Paradigm Reference Signature S8's


vs..


Of course, in the case of the CM9's, they're roughly twice as expensive as M80's, so they darn-well ought to look nice. Then again, maybe I just like yellow mid-bass drivers.

Don't much like the B&W's but eyez likes the Paradigms.

I can't say they look better, myself. The Axioms have a homesy woodsy look, whereas the other 2 have a chineesey plastic look.

If anything, I think Axiom should concentrate on improving the wood look of their speakers, maybe with a little brass/gold colored trim.

I think phase plugs and concave dust caps look better than convex dust caps.

Overall, I have to agree with Peter. The Axiom aesthetic seems - to me - a little dated. At a minimum, I'd like to see Axiom consider some different baffle designs/treatments. Perhaps contrasting colors, different materials or other approaches could be incorporated without fundamentally altering the manufacturing process.

You run the risk of looking like the future Enterprise-D from "All Good Things."

Which I thought was awesome when I was a kid.

</dork>

Keep in mind those S8's are....$$$$$.

The Enterprise-D from that alternative time line was awesome.