Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Advice from Axiom Owners Axiom Loudspeakers vs. Rocket Loudspeake

I'm looking for a good HT speaker package that gives a lot of bang for the buck. I have read all the glowing reviews over the Rocket Loudspeakers and have been seriously considering them. But I recently have read a few glowing reviews on the Axiom Loudspeakers and they are about the same price.

Overall which is the better speaker in terms of quality build and audio performance on DVD movies.

I'm interested in the Rockets RS750 for the mains, RSC200 for the center, and the RSS300.

For the Axiom's I'm interested in the M80Ti for the mains, the VP150 for the center, and the QS8 for the surrounds.

What do you guys think?

Hmmm, I think spiffnme would be the best person to ask on this one... He has a special friend who is very objerktive on this question.

Ah, the eternal debate. Let's put it this way. I have never listened to the Rockets, but there seems to be a pretty strong consensus on how they sound.

If you like a more laid back, warm sound to your speakers, then you would likely prefer the Rockets.

If you like a more forward, clear and detailed sound, then you would likely prefer the Axioms. You are on the Axiom board, so most of us prefer the forward, detailed and clear sound of the Axioms.

Obviously, the only way for you to know which you like better would be to listen to both and make your own decision. There is certainly no right or wrong answer in this debate, just what people prefer.

It's the Axiom board. Whaddya think we're gonna say?

Craig must be actually working today, since it's been over ten minutes since you posted and he hasn't responded yet. Conventional wisdom is that those lines have very different sonic personalities. At the very significant risk of oversimplifying on a topic about which I have limited knowledge, the information I've read suggests that the Axioms are more airy and detailed and the Rockets are smoother and warmer.

At the risk of being slapped for a quasi-political statement, I find it compelling that the Axioms are made in Canada by Canadians; I believe the Rockets are made overseas. I also think the Rockets are quite a bit more expensive if getting a 3-way system matters to you.

Is it possible to like both?? Or are most people, ie. 90%+ on either side of the extreme?? Most likely, I'll be doing ~95%HT ~5% music...would laid back vs. detailed/forward make much of a difference?? Please advise.

gem41573 wrote
If you like a more laid back, warm sound to your speakers, then you would likely prefer the Rockets.

If you like a more forward, clear and detailed sound, then you would likely prefer the Axioms. You are on the Axiom board, so most of us prefer the forward, detailed and clear sound of the Axioms.

Obviously, the only way for you to know which you like better would be to listen to both and make your own decision. There is certainly no right or wrong answer in this debate, just what people prefer.

Is it possible....it does seem like it for some people.

I have heard the RS750 and M60....I think you all know that...well you do now. Both extremely different speakers.

To me, I do not understand how someone could like them both. It will definitely come down to preferences. Listening to one and not listening to the other would be not be right...you would not know what you are missing.

-curtis

wow...how did this thread slip by me?

Curtis said pretty much what I was going to say though. I too don't know how anyone could hear both and say they liked both. They sound far too different.

Most Axiom owners are very willing to open their homes to people who would like to hear the Axioms before purchasing. I'm sure there are some Rocket owners who would do the same.

I wouldn't feel right simply saying the Axioms are better. I personally think they are, but you're ears may tell you differently.

Well, my understanding is that certain devout Onyx advocates actually liked both the Rockets and the Reference series -- again, very different sounding speakers AFAIK. Go figure.

Perhaps, that's the real brand loyalty...

Thanks for all your help guys it really helped. I'm gonna demo the axiom and rocket speakers hopefully this weekend.

Anthony

Good luck! And please report back with your findings

In August I demoed in my home for a week or so the Rockets 750/200 combo (I live within a short drive of the AV123 HQ in CO) vs. the Axiom M60/150 combo. Night and day difference between these speakers. As I listen to music 80% - 90% the Axioms just provided a much truer reproduction of the full sound spectrum.

Now having said that, I will tell you that the Rocket 200 (Bigfoot) is a better center than the Axiom 150. Also, movies on the Rocket setup are very compelling, so I can understand how someone can like both Rockets and Axioms - one more for HT and one more for music.

I demoed 4 other front and center setups against the Axioms (more on that later...) and chose the M60/150/QS8/M22 7.1 setup. I have teamed the Axioms with a Pioneer 45TX and 3 Outlaw M200s. The full setup and pixs will be forthcoming soon, the final walkthrough on my basement finishing project is 10/10.

ugh, drooling.

cant way to see the pics rjj!

Redline76 was supposed to come to my place for the demo, but he never showed up. He hasn't returned any of my emails either. Very strange, he just disappeared.

Hmm... maybe he has been worked up by those Rocket-heads? HAHAHA...

Even if he did hear the Rockets and liked them, you'd think he'd still at least want to hear the Axioms. Whatever. His loss.

I found out this weekend that he did not hear the Rockets either.

What the heck happened then?

Heh spliffnme - makes you feel kinda strange about giving this complete stranger your address and other information, doesnt it? Well I hope you never have any problems as a result of wanting to help him.

Spiff lives in West LA. I'm sure the possibility of one more crazy down there isn't going to cause him any discomfort.
No offense to you city-dwellers, but I can't stand big cities.

I generally don't give out anything more than my phone number until they're on their way. But being from Maine, I'm a lot more trusting than most folks in the city. I've not had any trouble yet. In fact so far, I've met some very cool people. Believe it or not, most people don't suck.

I completely agree. Most, if not all, "strangers" whom I've invited into my house for various reasons (e.g. speaker auditions, to look at or buy things I'm selling, etc.) have been far onto the "don't suck" side of the scale.

I've had two people, that I met on this forum, over for listening sessions. It turned out great both times and one guy has even returned several times for listen sessions when one of us gets a new piece of equipment.

None of my regular friends are interested in home audio so its been a real treat to have met some fellow enthusiasts through this board.

I am the "non-returning" guy that once visited to Mike's house. HAHAHA... Hey, Mike, seriously, come over to our place this time to listen to my system and experience some front projection!

I've also had no less than a dozen "strangers" hear/watch my system -- so far, no bad luck. In fact, all sessions have been very enjoyable.

Just to further the "people good" discussion. My wife was worried about me going to a strangers house to audition his M3s before I bought Axioms. She made me post his address and ph# on the fridge before I left. I turns out neither of us is an axe-murderer and we had a good talk about things other than music. Once I get my M60s (tomorrow!) and set them up he is going to come over for a listen...imagine that.

Sounds great! I'd love to.

In reply to:

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I've also had no less than a dozen "strangers" hear/watch my system

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WOW! where did you get all those "strangers"?

In the short time I've had my new system, I've already had at least 5 people stop by to "demo" my Axioms.

Mainly those folks who saw my posts in the AVSforum, Mike. Now that I've pretty much stopped posting there, I expect much fewer strangers in the future...

So have you got you all to ourselves now? No AVS, no HTS...are there any other great boards that I don't know about? (soundandvisionmag.com is pretty good, as is htguide.com)

Yeah, now I restrict myself pretty much to the Axiom forum only. AVS has been sometimes great for informational purposes, but as we all know, its S/N ratio is abysmal. More importantly, their "noise/distortion" components are often very unpleasant, unlike those in this forum! AVS is also great for getting into debates, but I decided that it's not worth my time.

To me right now, the Axiom forum RULES!!! HAHAHA...

Thats the case with me too. I go onto AVS just when I need a specific info. Why do I need to go to AVS if there are experts here.
sir Alan, Sushi, spiffy, Semi, Chess, 2x6, curtis, pmbuko, kcarlile,kcskins, mwc, JohnK, twodan, twopecker, Haoleb and the rest I forgot.