Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Stereo POLL: What's your limit?

OK, I know this has probably been done before, but out of curiousity, what is the upper limit of what you'd spend on a single pair of speakers for a two channel system?


This does not include amplification or subwoofer. Just the pair of speakers.

ULTIMATE SPEAKER CASH OUT single choice
	$500
	$750
	$1000
	$1250
	$1500
	$2000
	$2500
	$3000
	over $3000
Votes accepted starting: 05/24/06 10:11 PM
View Results

Is this considering my current salary, or my wishful salary?

I voted for $3000, with B&W 703 on my mind. But maybe this figure will go up a bit, once I get promoted :-)

Thiel 7.2's. Heard them at a friend-of-a-friend's house with Classe Omega monoblocs. That has become my personal what-if holy grail.

I guess that's an added interesting question. What are your "dream" speakers?

I've never really listened to anything above the $2500 or so range. So for me, my personal favs so far are Thiel 1.6, Veritas 2.2, and B&W 703. (Though to be completely honest, I'd stand my M60ti's up against any of those three)

It's interesting to see that the vast majority of us would pay far more than the cost of Axiom's own M80ti's. I wonder what Ian's thoughts are on this subject. Obviously we all love the Axiom sound. What could Ian pull off with a speaker that had a retail price of $2500? Could he create an Elite line of Axioms? Or would all the added cost be simply in wood veneers and fancy connections, with little or no actual sound improvements?

Maybe the new EP500 and EP600 are Axiom's way of dipping their toe in the water and seeing if there's a market for more upscale Axiom products. ???

I could see a nice little market for a $950 Axiom bookshelf speaker, and a $2500 pair of towers. Given Axioms history of offering a massive bang for the buck, they'd have to be something really special, but I'd certainly be interested.

My dream speakers are (gasp!) Magnepans. As far as appearance goes, I'd love to have some Blue Herons. However, I put down $1500 for the max I would spend right now.

Hell, right now I wouldn't spend a dime.

OK, maybe, oh, say $300 for some M3s.

Geez, you and GeneticDrift... I mean slownlo...

I get scared every time someone talks about how much I would spend on speakers. I already spent too much

In reply to:

---

It's interesting to see that the vast majority of us would pay far more than the cost of Axiom's own M80ti's

---

Don't get me wrong, I love my Axioms. In my what-if house the 7.2/Classe combo would be in my stereo-only listening room. Guess what would be in my HT? Just add another 600, a pair of '80s for 7.1, and another '150 to the front of this! It's just I have never heard anything like that Thiel/Classe setup before. It was astounding. Now, to be fair I am planning on moving up to the M80's when we finally buy our next house. At that point I can get a better idea of what Axiom's high end is vs. Thiel. Good enough?

Based on what I have heard so far I think I would go for a pair of these.
http://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazine/equipment/0402/meadowlarkheron.htm
Of couse if I had the money for these I would have to have them hooked up to VTL tubed seperates. Audio Nirvana!
oz

Jeez, Oz...I dunno. 200 hours of break-in time is a lot, don't you think?

I think people who spend that much on speakers might just listen to that
sh!+ just to be on the safe side. Hell I think I might. Nah I'd have to buy them just before leaving for vacation and leave them running the whole time till I got back.
oz

In reply to:

---

...what is the upper limit of what you'd spend on a single pair of speakers for a two channel system?

---

This needs some clarification here.

Is the question asking what you would spend if you had the finances of the King of Saudi Arabia or based on what you earn now or when you are retired or if your distant relative died and left you a huge inheritance, or if you did not have a wife, etc. etc. etc.?

The only time I ever spent a lot of cash on a pair of speakers was when I was single. Though my wife says she would let me spend that kind of money now if we had it, but I don't believe her for a second .

If I had the dough I'd get some Von Schweikert VR-4 JR's. I'd also like a pair of Rega R9's.

Unless I was fortunate enough to score a winfall, I couldn't justify more than $2000 on a pair of mains. But I'm so happy with the 80's that if some money did become available, I would just keep them and buy an amplifier. I would love to hear what these could do with some REAL power behind them.

In reply to:

---

Jeez, Oz...I dunno. 200 hours of break-in time is a lot, don't you think?

---

Here is another poll:

What exactly is it that "breaks in?" single choice
	Your Ears
	The Speakers
	Both
	I don't know what you're talking about
Votes accepted starting: 05/24/06 10:11 PM
View Results

Must we do this again?

Not trying to stir anything up. I'm genuinely interested. A poll seems an easy way to find out anonymously what people think.

Just so everyone's clear on this, my comment to Oz was a joke. I'm firmly in the "ears" camp.

Hmmmm... 5 votes for "ears" so far, my vote the only one for "both." I wonder if a little of the break in changes are caused by materials settling in. I'm thinking of new boots that torture you for a week then are suddenly supple. Gaskets and seals in new cars that settle and seal better after a thousand or so miles. Possible? Maybe not so much the aluminum cones themselves, but the, what, surrounds? Gaskets? Might they not have a little more play after a couple of hundred hours? Is there an equilibrium they reach after a while? I think there may be a little of that. Maybe it could account for say 20% of the "break-in factor?"

We could just skip to the end where someone calls us an elitist scientist club who should just trust their ears.

I'll second that motion, Ken.

You guys are an elitist scientist club who should just trust their ears..Ok.......done.

I know you are, but what am I?

Oh my god! You killed the other avatar!

Mark, by reason of your new boardname, you're entitled to a second welcome. Welcome, Mark. However, no sooner did you get rid of that highly offensive former title, than you try to make more trouble over speaker break-in!(just kidding). Analogies might make those changes seem plausible, but in reality they don't appear to exist. The slight measurable changes occurring in a relatively brief time after a speaker is first played wouldn't be of audible significance. Probably the most recent published study of this appeared in Audioholics and demonstrated that the slight permanent changes wouldn't be audible and would likely have happened at the factory anyway.

My wife just threw this my way. In light of the fact that this thread has completely and utterly failed to do this, I think it's appropriate to post it here.

In reply to:

---

The slight measurable changes occurring in a relatively brief time after a speaker is first played wouldn't be of audible significance.

---

OK. I'll be a dick. Empirical evidence, if you will?

If you want a setup dedicated for 2Ch listening, you will need some full range floor standers. In this case the sky is the limit, but 3K to 5K is a decent budget.

Not to forget that it does not matter how much you spend on speakers if your HT/ listening room is not acoustically treated to give you as close to a flat FR as possible.

However, some would argue that a pair of bookshelves plus a decent sub would do a great job for 2 channel music system. Yet, some even say that you would need a sub even if you have floorstanders.

Do you mean 3k to 5K including the electronics, or just the speakers?

Im not a big music listener at home but I will take this just for the wow factor.

http://www.magnepan.com/_mg201.php

I agree that some will say that a 2.1 (bookshelf + sub) will beat floor standers. and yes, others will say that you need a sub even with good floor standers. It should not matter if you have a 2.1 or 2.0 setup. With proper placement and calibration, you should not be able to tell that a sub is present at all. Its a matter of taste and sure some will say you are not an "audiophile" if you run 2.1, but they are they ones you can ignore.

Many people equate cost to quality and forget the rule of diminishing returns. 3K-5K for speakers alone was that I was thinking. Because in this price range you can get speakers that have great performance (25-20000 Hz +/- 3dB), and with careful placement and acoustical treatements you can put together a 20-20000 Hz +/- 3dB setup. or 15-20000 Hz +/- 3 dB with a sub ;-)

IMHO, room acoustics plays a much bigger roll in how a speaker will sound in your setup than most people realise.

In reply to:

---

IMHO, room acoustics plays a much bigger roll in how a speaker will sound in your setup than most people realise.

---

Right there with 'ya, buddy!

Oh boy,..Yeah

Ain't it the truth, ain't it the truth!!

My room be a speaker sucker



Ths stockings hung by the chimney with care.....helps






uh,...oops....
The "Red" cheeks are supposed to represent the new Red Curtains we put up this year for the holidays!