Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Advice from Axiom Owners Are Axioms bright?

I am seriously considering a set of axioms for my home theater centered around the m50's. I haven't been able to listen to any axiom speakers since there is no-one in my area doing demos, so I was just going to do the 30 day safety net.

I have heard many comments on various boards that axioms are bright and fatiguing. Personally, I do not prefer a warm, laid back speaker. For example, I did not enjoy the Monitor audio speakers I demoed in the store.

My prime contenders for axiom m50's are the Paradigm Monitor 7 and the PSB image T55 mains. On the brightness scale, are the axioms comparible, brighter or more laid back. All these speakers use a metal dome tweeter, which I have found that I prefer over a soft dome.

What is the opinion of actual axiom owners?

bflat

I'm amazed at how many time this question gets asked on the forum, well actually maybe I'm not. I used to LIVE over at AVSforum and got tired of battling with people on this same question. Everyone has different taste, but I would never consider Axioms bright. Define Bright? Define Laid Back? Everyone has a different definition.

I guess I would say that my Axiom m60's are very neutral. They will faithfully reproduce the recording you are playing. So basically if you have a CD that was recorded crappy, the Axiom's will bring out those flaws. On the flip side, CD and music DVD's that are done with the highest quality, will blow you away.

Nobody will ever pry my m60's away from me, unless of course I upgrade to 80's, which is possible...

Showing the flaws in a bad recording is one of the things the I really liked about the PSB Image T55's. In fact, I have a few tracks on my demo CD that I put there specifically to find the flaws. They are mostly older recordings where you can hear the limitations of the equipment.

Have you heard the PSB's for comparison?

bflat

I have not, when I was looking for speakers over a year ago I auditioned B&W, Paradigm, NHT, and a few others. I really love my Axioms.

You say nobody is in your neck of the woods? Where do you live? Also, I do think from what others have said on this website, that the m50's have a slightly more laid back sound than the 60's or 80's, man I can't believe I just said that.

You might try searching on this forum for PSB, as I think it has been discussed in the past...

bflat,
I do find my Axiom M60s bright sometimes though it is dependant on the recording and the material being played. Articulate detail can be found in any well made speaker.

If you found Monitor Audios to be 'laid back' (although you did not mention which models so i'm assuming at least Silvers or Golds) then you will certainly find the Axiom M50s recessed. If you are considering Axioms and want a forward sound, i suggest you look at the M22/M60/M80s.

Paradigm, Energy and PSB all make good speakers and also often have a neutral sound. The Energy Connoisseur series has quite a flat frequency response from their NRC graphs, but personally i'm not a fan.

Hello bflat,

SirQuack is correct about the M50s. They are not quite as "revealing" in terms of midrange clarity and detail as are the M60s and M80s (and M22/M2s). The M50s are very similar to the M3s, except the M50s have more low bass output.

I've not heard the particular PSB model you mention but having known the designer, Paul Barton (the brand name is his and his wife's initials) for more than 25 years, and reviewed many of their models while I was a magazine editor, I would say that the PSBs are similarly neutral, with a slight edge going to the Axioms overall.

It's odd how the meaning of "bright" has changed over the years. That used to be a compliment--the opposite of a dull-sounding speaker. As SirQuack stated, the Axioms are wonderful with excellent recordings--certainly not fatiguing or "bright" in the new sense.

You really should listen to the M60s or M80s (or M22s with a sub) to get a clear sense of the transparent, revealing nature of Axioms. The M60s/M80s are very similar to the PSB Stratus Gold, which I did review for a magazine.

Regards,

To be honest I don't really want to consider the M60s or M80s since they will blow the budget on my theater. The 80s are right out, but to afford the 60's I would have to drop to the QS4 rear and vp100 center from the larger models. For me, theater is the main focus, so I wanted to balance the speaker size for the whole room. Though this is another discussion.

I don't remember what monitor speakers I heard. In the store I listened to Paradigm Monitor 7, and some equally priced klipsch and monitor. I like the paradigm best and never wrote down model numbers for the others.

Now that I start thinking about it again (it was a few months ago) I am not sure that laid back is the best description of the Monitor speakers. I just remember that I felt they colored the sound more than I liked, though not nearly as much as the klipsch. I wasn't listening to my music though, so it could have been the recording. Maybe I should make another listening trip. I digress...

I am actually in brantford (Alan, How many people email you questions from brantford?) so there is someone nearby that have the M80s, but they are out of my price range, and appear to sound different from Alan's description.

bflat

Order thru the factory outlet and get a 10% discount, then use the discount to upgrade to the M60's. All it will cost you is a few weeks of waiting.

I agree, I ordered all my 7.1 setup from the Outlet, got the 10%, plus Axiom gives you the standard 5% if you buy 5 or more items at the same time...

I actually knew about both those discounts. I was planning on ordering a 5.1 set from the factory outlet to get the ~15% discount and keep everything under $3k. (M50, VP150, QS8, EP350).

If anything I was thinking about stepping up to a EP500 if I had any money to spare, but it seems that the M50 is the red-headed stepchild that nobody wants. Are the M60 really worth $250 more?

Boy did we get off topic? :-)
I would still love to hear from anybody with an opinion of M50 vs PSB T55.

bflat