Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Axiom products being tested in Erie ...

Yes, when I stated that the list is Craig's opinion, I negligently omitted the fact that Craig has others over for listening tests and factors their responses into his ratings. Mea culpa, mea culpa!


Well, that lets the cat outa the bag.

I had to opportunity to hear some of Craig's entry level stuff at the recent GTG at his home, and came away quite impressed. We all have friends and acquaintances who, for one reason or another (WAF?, size?, etc), are interested in teeny cube systems (and we all know the product to which I am referring ) , and who are even willing to lay out that kind of money. Well, there will soon be available some products you can recommend that will perform better, look better, and cost a whole heck of a lot less.

These are small speakers, but not quite as small as cube speakers. Truthfully, when Craig carried them into the room, my first thought was "Oh Please! Don't make us suffer through listening to these things" . I got a heck of a shock when he paired them with a modest subwoofer and let them go.

Don't misunderstand, I don't believe these products are meant to, nor, IMHO, will they, compete with Axiom, AV123, or any similar brands. But, for those who can't (or don't want to) spend the money on, or deal with the size of, those offerings, Craig's product may very well be the answer - a great sounding, small system that will fit their budget.

I apologize for this coming across more like an ad than I intended. You may all now chastise and berate me .

Craig, Just the fact that you have gone through all the effort to produce a long list of subs you have tested and heard is in itself a valuable contribution. I enjoy your informed posts since you seem to get your hands on many of the latest toys earlier than most. And the fact you take the time to throw in the occasional graph is an added bonus. It must be frustrating taking potshots from the crowd that use a few limited measurements to prejudge the quality of any sub. And yet you always conduct yourself with dignity. Looks good on you.

My view of ranking many of those subs would vary much more than yours in the music category and less so in the HT category. I can see where you have tended to favour subs with more extension which to a certain extent does makes an impact, particularly on that Steely Dan test track you like to play. Yet, when the deepest bass note comes at 27hz from a piano it seems to me that extension is not the most important attribute unless organ music is your thing. I would suggest detailed, articulation which comes from linear FR, low levels of odd order THD and extraneous noise, and excellent transient response which produces nice tight sounding bass are all more important characteristics in sub music reproduction. How well a sub reproduces mid to high bass which is where most music resides and where I listen intently, is the area of the band that distinguishes the musical sub from the not so musical sub.

Hence when we gathered to listen to the Ultra-13, Servov2 and JL-113 at PBCs, the four listeners including myself all gave the nod to the ported SVS sub for HT compared to the sealed subs. However, with music the Ultra just could not produce musical sound as realistically as the JL113 across any of the many tunes we played but it did compare well musically with the Servov2. In that regard we were all unanimous. I receive many PMs asking me to comment on your ranking and usually reply that all opinions are worthwile and we don't all have to agree for them to be worthwhile.

I'd have to agree with Jack's suggestion that using a more generic ranking criteria, especially in the music category, rather than a numerical one would make more sense. Yet I recognize that ranking represents your personal views. In any event, whenever I am asked to compare my views to yours on these subs I do remind them that the ranking is a terrific contribution which represents your criteria and musical tastes. Its all good fun stuff.

And by the way congratulations on your new venture. Is that part of the Canadian business plan you once suggested we get together on a while ago?

I look forward to the review of the EP350 v3. Thanks for reviewing the sub for us!

There is already one product out there that is in the same category and that is the Hsu Ventriloquist system. I wonder how Craig’s will fair against it.

fare.

Thanks Craig. I assume all is well healthwise, I seem to remember you had a bit of an incident.

I used some of your info to help decide on a STF-3 and am loving it. Now I was thinking of M3's or PSB Alpha's, but will be interesting to see how they compare to the Image B25's, which I think have better bass response than the Alpha's.

The local fellas are setting up an Axiom GTG here in Calgary and I'll get a chance to listen to M3's myself anyways, but still interesting to see competitive comparisons.

ctown, I'm happy to report that Craig has recovered nicely from the illness he went through last winter. However, I regret to inform everyone that Craig lost his younger sister last Thursday. I do not have all the details, but she was very ill, and his parents had to make the difficult decision to take her off life support. I can't imagine ever making a more difficult decision.

Thanks Jack, it's good to hear that Craig's health issues are taken care of but it's also very sad to hear about his sister, that had to have been a heart wrenching decision. If you speak with Craig can you pass along my regards.

That is very sad news, I wish the family the best.

Good morning - it is a sad time in our family, for sure. Thanks for the kind words.

This review-testing is also now going to provide some therapy here, keeping busy helps.

I did talk to Ian last week, and am waiting a delivery estimate for the M3's, 60/80's and 350.3 ... once that is confirmed, I will let you know.