Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Advice from Axiom Owners Axiom M22/M60 vs. Paradigm Monitor series

I am getting ready to purchase either M22s or M60s for my 13 x 22 living room (along with VP150, QS8, and Pioneer Elite 45TX). Went into a local HIFI House essentially to listen to the Pioneer receiver and the salesman was really pushing the Paradigm line of loudspeakers, particularly the Monitor 7s. I listened to them and liked them a lot. Before I purchase the M22s or 60s, which I haven't ever heard, I would appreciate some feedback from those of you who have either heard the Paradigms or know people who own them. I am curious as to how they compare the Axioms, as well as whether the Paradigm Monitor 7 is in the same league with the Axiom M60.

Thanks,

Mark

I personally have not heard the Paradigm products, but I did listen to a TON of speakers before buying my M22ti's and I must say, nothing came close.

I've also read several posts from people who have moved from Paradigm to Axiom, and not regretted it. (On boards other than this one. i.e. soundandvisionmag.com, audioreview.com, etc.)

I've heard both. The Monitor 7s are inferior to the Monitor 9s, which, in turn, to me, are inferior to the M22tis. Perhaps pmbuko, who went from Monitor 9s to M22tis could speak to this...
The bass is not nearly as good with the M22tis (obviously), but I would recommend a sub with any of these speakers anyway (not including the M60s, as I haven't heard those), being a bass junkie.
The soundstage is far superior in the M22tis. If you will let me go out on a limb awhile, the best speakers I have heard that are a reasonable price (ie, not those lovely Revels...) were Magnepan MG 1.6s (still needed a subwoofer). The M22s come close, at least comparing by memory, to these in imaging and soundstage. The Monitor 9s were not anywhere near, nor were the Monitor 7s. However, the advantage (other than about $1000) is that the M22s are not 6 ft tall and 2 feet wide. Plus they're prettier. Unless you really, really like cubical walls.

I have listened to Paradigm Monitor series in multiple occasions, albeit separately from the Axioms. My personal impression was that they do not image as clearly as the Axioms, or do not sound as clean and airy as the Axioms. When listening to large orchestral music, for instance, all instruments tend to be mixed up as a large mass, as compared with the very transparent rendering by the Axioms. In a word, less resolution.

Although the basic tonal characters of the Paradigms and Axioms were kind of similar to each other and I knew that Paradigms are hugely popular, in the end I could not justify myself to go with the Paradigms.

I agree with sushi.
Axioms are way more detailed but beware of the brightness that some people have discovered. A very detailed speaker means your less than superb recordings will show every flaw and enhanced treble.
I've personally found Paradigm tends to have a heavier low end (more bassy sound) but some people may prefer this.

Do a search on the Axiom forums for Paradigm and you should find a ton of more material where others have already discussed this very comparison.

As Ken stated, I recently UPGRADED (note the emphasis) from Paradigm Monitor 9s to Axiom M22tis. Fortunately, I hadn't yet sold my Paradigms when the Axioms arrived, so I was able to do some side-by-side testing.

Straight out of the box, the M22tis sounded MUCH BETTER than the Monitor 9s. Sure, they couldn't come close to the Monitor's bass output -- which is very tight, accurate, and pleasant -- but I wasn't expecting them to. This is why I bought an SVS PB1-ISD.

Another thing I noticed right away was the incredible nuances the M22s were able to reproduce that the Monitor 9s must have been glossing over. They sounded much more alive and alert than the Monitors, which in comparison had a very laid back feel.

I hope this helps you take the leap of faith and go with the Axioms. If you have any specific questions, let me know.

markt, i have had my epic 60 system for about 5 months now, and while some suggest a different brand of sub, the 350 will rattle window pane inserts. bought system after much research and on a leap of faith. system plays great either softly or "blasting". i probably could be happier with another system if i heard one that sounded better to me, but haven't yet. others are correct about older cds sounding ear gratingly sharp, but that's only because of the recording itself. recently re-listened to elton's and bill joel's newer cds, at loud levels, and while they might not be your favorites, if axiom included these two cds with each system, none of their speakers would be returned.
dan

Hi MarkT,

I haven't listened to Elton since he was on vinyl in the '70s, and I abandoned Billy J after he stopped writing real melodies (oops, sorry, Billy Joel fans) but I'm always on the lookout for well-engineered pop CDs (and I've grown weary using Brothers in Arms, as good as it is) so what are the names of the new albums by Elton and Billy? Maybe I'll pick them up and become re-acquainted with both. . .

thanks,

Regards,

Sorry twodan19, for the addressing my reply to the wrong person!!

Regards,

essential billy joel,two cd set, and a two cd set by elton, white in color, not sure of title buy maybe greatest hits thru the 90's.
dan

Alan,

If you're tired of Brothers in Arms, you could try some of Mark Knopfler's more recent solo material. Real melodies aplenty. "Sailing to Philadelphia" and "Ragpicker's Dream" are his two most recent albums and I couldn't recommend them any more highly. Very well engineered, too.

Thanks everyone for the feedback - will be ordering the end of this week.

Mark

i demo'ed paradigms a week ago. looked at monitor 7's and like them vs the mini monitors. then I compared the monitor 7's vs the wharfedale evo20's. the wharfedales were SIGNIFICANTLY more detailed. less bass, but much better, IMHO. I was going to get the aperions and compare in home w/ the wharfedales, but sushi suggested axioms so I'm considering those too.

there's some concern (from some reviews) that the axiom sub is not as good as others. i may consider the paradigm PDR12 which I demo'ed as well. not bad for 12" at $419. tight and not muddled.

I did some Paradigm listening when I was looking. Something just didn't sound right with the Monitor series to me. I think to fairly compare with the Axiom's, you need to move up to the reference line. Alan has mentioned to me in the past that the Paradigm reference 20's and the M22 are very similar.