Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Somebody doesn't like our Axioms!

This was posted on Ecoustics.com I guess he's entited to his opinion (even if he is wrong)Ordered my back set of QS8's yesterday!

"I've been reading, listening, researching. My head was swimming with buzzwords like soundstage, imaginng, etc.

First I tried the Monitor Audio bronze series floorstanders. Very flat sounding. I read so much about Axiom that I simply couldn't resist. Compared side by side with the Montiors there was no question about it, the Axioms won.

However, the more I listened to the Axioms (M60's) the more I realized the sound wasn't all that great. Very boomy in the bass side, mid's and high's were okay, but just not great. For $800 I thought they were fine, but I wasn't looking for fine and I'll tell you this right now... Axiom does a great job of internet marketing and while this is only my opinion there is no way they are better than B&W, Paradigm, KEF, etc. like I heard so many people say. They also aren't in the same league as speakers costing twice, three times that. Don't believe everything you hear over the internet. People are crazy. The Axiom's are fine for the money, but as I write this my pair is on their way back to Canada.

Then I listened very seriously to the Paradigm studio 20's and 40's v.3. I liked them a lot. Was ready to go ahead and make the purchase but then I went to a store that let me compare them side by side with a pair of Linn (monitors). The Linn's were way better and it made me realize that while the Paradigms were nice, they're also very muddled. That is to say, they kind of blur everything together.

I was ready to get the Linn's but then I went to another store and was turned onto DynAudio 52's. It really was no contest. It's amazing how much punch those little speakers pack into their tiny box. Not only that but the mid's and highs were sweeter, crisper than any speaker I'd listened to in my price range (mostly monitors, I gave up trying to find a decent floorstander in my price range).

Also, I should say that the Dynaudio's really did blow away the paradigm. I think that if I never heard them I would have been completely happy with the Paradigms, but now I couldn't, wouldn't possibly be able to do that.

I'm currently breaking in the Dyn's (with an older receiver). I can't wait to get a new receiver to really get a sense of what these speakers can do. However, if you're considering any of the brands similar to what I've looked at you should really take a look at the Dynaudio.

To sum up, you can do all the research in the world, listen to all the experts. Everybody has their preferences, the speakers they like and you simply can't take anybodies word for it. The best you can hope when trolling the boards for information is just to get a sense of the kind of speakers in your price range. Ultimately you have to go out and listen and choose based on what you like, what sounds best to your ear.

However, I did get one great piece of advice from all of this. I started my search looking for a floorstander for under a thousand bucks. A couple people mentioned that for my budget I would be much better served with a pair of bookshelves, higher quality mids and highs because better drivers. Plus, more flexibility down the road when adding to the system and makes for a better system overall. I heeded that advice and never looked back.

Now all I have to do is save up for a sub, center, surround (or new fronts) amp, pre-amp, new cd player.

This is a terribly fun hobby, but wow, pricey.

Thanks for reading."


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