I realize this may be a shot in the dark, but nothing ventured, nothing gained. After much listening in various audio emporiums - comparing Thiel, Focal, Paradigm, Magnepan, Martin Logan, B&W, and a host of others, I had decided that the Thiel CS1.6 was the best speaker in my price range.
Since I'm posting in Axiom's forum, you've probably guessed that this isn't the end of my speaker hunt. While I absolutely love the sound from the 1.6's, I'm starting to balk on the high price tag. Ebay is of no help, as apparently no one who buys 1.6s ever sells them (I can't say I blame them, either). In fact, there are ads out there looking to buy used 1.6s. The one store locally that carries them sold their demo model, so my hope of discounted Thiels is about gone. I'm back to $2400 retail (more with the finish I want), plus tax. When you add in a center channel (assuming the new 1.4 is good match, it's still $1000 per speaker) and surrounds ($1200/ea. or more for the ceiling mount surrounds... or get two more 1.4's), I'm up to at least $5700 after tax. While I'm sure I'd be very happy with this setup for a long time to come, I have other financial irons in the fire that currently take precedence over my HT habit.
As my moniker suggests, I'm an audiophile (of the non snooty variety, I hope
) on a budget, which brings me here. After discovering direct sell audio places like Outlaw Audio and SVS subs, it wasn't too long before I found Axiom, which has thrown a monkey wrench into my HT plans (a good one, I hope).
This brings me to the reason for my post. Has anyone ever compared - directly or indirectly - the Axiom M60 to the Thiel 1.6? I'll be honest and say that I don't expect the M60 to be the sonic equal to the Thiel, but if I can get to the magic 90th% range, I think I can live with it, given the price difference.
One thing I look for in a speaker is midrange purity, lack of compression when the volume is turned up, fast attack in the mid-bass region, and airy high end that does not promote listening fatigue. Deep low bass is handled by my sub, so the lower octave-nad-a-half is not a necessity.
My current system consists of a Pioneer Elite <mumble>26<mumble>THX<mumble-something> reciever(why can't reciever manufacturers come up with reasonable model numbers?). I use the built-in amplification for center and surrounds. Rotel RMB-100's power the main speakers. The reciever will eventually be replaced with an Outlaw Audio 990 pre-pro (with existing external amplification by Rotel and NAD to drive the center and surrounds), but that will likley come after my speaker purchase. Bass will be handled by my new SVS PC-Ultra sub. I mention the components only because system synergy is always a consideration. Some speaker/amp combinations work well, others less so.
