Competition is Bryston, McIntosh and so on. So Axiom is actually on the cheap side!
In late summer, I had the opportunity to have the new Denon power amp 10chx150W/300W(MSRP 8K$) for 4 days in my appartment and a Bryston 2-channel 1400Watt (14bSST) (6K$). I still don't have time to have a complete report as I tend to be thourough (and it takes time), but the current bashing in this post is kind of motivating me to bring out the main lines.
Test were done with the same 2 people I usually do testing (plus one new one, but who is also someone exposed almost daily with real instruments). We spent the first day listening to different amp and setups just get our ears in tune (the most common problem of any test is that people are not familiar with the equipment and thus cannot possibly distinguish between anything; ear break-in is real).
Anyway: the bottom line is that (all tests in stereo with M80 and a 100W limited switchbox so no power comparison were done):
1) A1400 against Denon POA-A1HDCI
Out of the 40 tracks times 4 people (160 samples total), 14 times the listener was convinced they are a difference and the difference picked was the A1400. That's nearly 9%. A lot.
2) A1400 against Bryston 14bSST
Only 6 tracks x 3 people (we ran out of time and lost one person). No one perceived any sort of difference.
