Well, Fed Ex showed up at 1:30 with my M60/VP100/QS8 order. By 2:00 PM I was hooked up and by 4:30 I was enthralled! I don’t have an audiophile background that would enable me to adequately describe these speakers. However, given the extensive search I have just completed, I do want to provide some input in the hopes someone else wandering in the speaker forest might find some of it useful. I have some spare time since my wife is seeing how these speakers redefine Josh Groban’s music. J
First, I have a 16x22x10 room, opening into a 14x20 kitchen. Last March I put together a modest HT consisting of a 50” Sony Grand Wega LCD, ,and the following Denon equipment – AVR-1803 Receiver, VDV-1600, and DVM-4800 (5 disc CD changer with a bucket full of Burr-Brown DACs). Last month I added a SVS 20-39PCi subwoofer.
I was relatively satisfied with my speakers (Boston T830 fronts/HD5 rears and an Energy Take 1.2 Center). About a month ago the planets apparently aligned and I stumbled across a series of speakers that caused me to question mine. In particular, the B&W 600 and 700 series’ and the Mission M5 series displayed a clearer sound quality than I had previously known with my speakers. Klipsch was a little TOO clear.
I auditioned everything I could find and kept going back to the 3 choices I mentioned above. This was followed by hours of research on forums, including the love fest here at Axiom’s site J and I also managed to glean quite a number of reviews. The good news is that I found several instances where the speakers I mentioned above where compared to the Axioms. I could not audition the Axioms, but with the research I did, and some very nice input here from tomtuttle and a few others, I was pretty confident that I would not make a mistake by choosing Axioms. I knew of the 30 return policy, but I wasn’t interested in the hassle. Forty minutes on the phone with Joe last Tuesday pushed me over the edge and I ordered Wednesday morning.
The research led me to the right place. These speakers are a quantum upgrade from where I was. Simply put – they are special. I didn’t burden my thought process agonizing over the “what’s the best speaker” discussions that permeated my research. The only one that can answer that question is me. I winnowed out the choices and ended up with a winner. At 57, I should be past the point where I feel giddy, but here I am.
Impressions and thoughts. Temper this with understanding that my ears are driving the comments; mileage for others will vary.
I saw the word “Bright” used to describe Axioms many times. I’d use the descriptors of clear, detailed, unambiguous. More sound being swept out of the corners. Small pieces of ear candy are newly available. What always escaped me was why no one ever suggests that a bright sound can be compensated for with bass and treble adjustments.
I have the QS8s on some corner shelves until tomorrow when I can mount them on the wall (elevated enough to allow the bottom woofer to feed). These were worth the price of admission by themselves. They are stunning; the stars of the mix. Sound comes from everywhere and envelopes me. For a surround, they are incredibly stout.
I was experiencing angst because I wanted the VP150 as my center. Just too big to work for me. I got the VP100 instead. Saw many comments that the 150 is “much better”. My angst is gone – the 100 is superb. Joe passed on a tip that the M60s will support the 100 by providing a “phantom center” element. Whatever the mechanics, the 100 does the job and having the 100 should not be viewed as a disappointing compromise. Voices are crystal clear and I have already noticed ambient voices/dialog that I wasn’t aware of before in the movie snippets I’ve gone through so far.
The M60s are just beasts. Full, deep, broad soundstage (my new audiophile research comes into play here!). Whole new spectrum of midrange and highs. I’ve found myself paying more attention to my CDs because of additional things that are being exposed. I haven’t bothered the concern myself with the low end – the SVS sub is just dazzling and covers that piece extremely well. The listening experience has been pleasant with them. I also get the sense that they are not overtaxing themselves to deliver the goods. Sometime this weekend, I am going to try and make them sweat a bit, but there’s no hurry.
Would I confuse these speakers with some of the much more expensive, esoteric speakers that are available? Of course not. However, Axioms stand out against the other, generally more expensive, speakers I auditioned. Again, this is just me talking and my intent is not to stick Axiom in your eye. For me, they work, and work well.
When you look at the full package of audio performance, build quality, fit & finish, attention to detail and Customer Service, Axioms are an incredible value for the price. From a price/quality perspective, I feel like I’ve stolen something with these speakers. Putting all of that aside, they perform unbelievably well. I can’t wait to see what happens once they are broken in and I calibrate them with Avia and my Radio Shack SPL meter.
littleb told me I wouldn’t even consider returning them. He is right.
Now that I’m marching in the Axiom army, I’m looking forward to participating in this forum. The easy nature of the exchanges and helpful demeanor of the communications is pretty refreshing. Additionally, I’ve noticed that some of the contributors are just a little twisted (you know who you are!)
On a more serious note, thanks to the denizens on this forum. The thoughtful and insightful information you posted made Axioms an easy, correct and rewarding choice.
Hmmm, I apologize for the length of this post. I hope nobody snoozed off while reading
