Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Stereo What the?

I completely destroyed the first sample Axiom sent me when I was doing a power sweep test and forgot to attach a test load. Once my test gear reached 20kHz, the unloaded amp hit a resonant peak (caused by the unloaded output filter) and blew up the output devices and zobel networks. Luckily Axiom had the foresight to design the amplifier to self contain the fire as I was in no immediate harm, but the smell was horrific and something I hope to never experience again. Granted my scenario is highly unlikely in the real world but the lack of protection for this type of scenario was a bit unsettling to me.

I managed to test my second unit without incident until I was swapping cables in my sound lab. I was comparing the Axiom A1400-8 and my Denon POA-A1HDCI amp on a pair of my bookshelf reference speakers while also switching over to my reference towers. Everything was fine until I decided to bi-amp my towers and move the cables over with both amps turned on. I never recommend this but as a reviewer trying to switch out as quickly as possible for the most accurate results, I got a bit reckless and took the risks for the benefit of our readers. On my towers, I had the Axiom A1400-8 powering the subs. As I switched over my live speaker cables from my Denon amp to the mid/tweet portion of my towers, I heard a loud popping sound and saw sparks come off the speaker cable and terminal lug of my speakers. I looked over to the rack and both amps were still on and no smoke or smell was evident. My speakers were also perfectly fine, no damage to any of the drivers! However, channels 5 and 6 of the Axiom amp were now dead. I have no idea what happened here but from my experience of accidentally shorting amplifiers out when powered on, they typically shut off and protect themselves. The user manual also warns that if this amplifier is shorted when outputting 200 watts or greater, serious damage will occur.