Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Advice from Axiom Owners The usual suspects...

I have a phonographic memory. Before I can remember certain things, I have to get the dust and static off, and then the longer I spend trying to remember those things, the dizzier I get.

That's because you need to set the turntable to 33 not 78.

I read an article a while back about how to figure out whether you have a photographic memory...I just can't remember where I saw it.

Fred,
Spoken like a true connoisseur... of, er, whatever. ;o)

I actually had a teacher in highschool that had a photographic memory. When accessing his perfect memory he would do this eyes-closed-statue thing and then rattle off whatever information along with the relevant references. It was kinda wierd, but he was a really nice guy.

Well, I've had my axioms (m22s, vp100, qs8s) for a couple weeks now so I figured I should come back to post my thoughts. Hope people don't mind I bump this thread. As primarily a lurker, I appreciate when conclusions are kept within the same thread.

All the speakers were ordered from the factory outlet but I cannot seem to find any "blemishes" on them. One of the qs8s has two tiny marks on it which I guess would be considered blemishes but you can't see them unless you specifically look for them up close. The black oak vinyl finish looks fine on all speakers.

The first thing I put on was "What It Is" by Mark Knopfler (apple lossless from itunes through a digital optical connection to the denon avr-989, 2.1 stereo). WOW! Sounded incredible.. I was very impressed by the wide sound stage that the m22s created and you could easily pick out and listen to each instrument individually. The detail in the guitar and cymbals was amazing, though keep in mind that I don't have a lot of experience comparing speakers.

I cranked it up pretty loud trying to find the "harshness" that some people describe. It wasn't there. Maybe just cause it's such a good recording, I thought. So I put on "In Mist She Was Standing" by Opeth. You can certainly tell that it's an inferior recording but I still couldn't describe it as harsh, even when cranked (-10db on the 989, post audyssey).

Since then I've spent a lot of time listening to all kinds of different music (including sacd, dvd-audio, and dts-cd) at all volume levels and I just don't find these speakers "harsh" at all. I wouldn't even call them "bright" and to anyone who would describe them that way I'd say go to a concert, listen to a live band: THAT'S WHAT INSTRUMENTS SOUND LIKE!! I would think that a speaker that people would describe as more "laid back" could not be truly accurate to the recordings..

I did compare the m22s directly with a pair of older Paradigm Phantom v2s (http://www.audioreview.com/cat/speakers/floorstanding-speakers/paradigm-reference/phantom/PRD_120360_1594crx.aspx). Although I felt the m22s were slightly cleaner and crisper, the phantoms definitely produced a better mid bass and therefore a "fuller" sound (obviously due to the larger drivers and larger cabinets). Comparisons were done with and without the pb10.

I've only watched a few movies so far (been spending more time listening to music) but everything I did watch sounded awesome. Dialogue was crisp, effects were great. I'm still not a hundred percent sure on the height that I mounted the qs8s. They're just over four feet off the ground and probably about eighteen inches above my ears at main listening position but the room is only thirteen feet wide so they're both fairly close to me (main listening position is about one foot forward but right between them). They seem a bit too high, despite the recommendation of up to five feet above listening position... I don't know, maybe I'm just not used to them yet.

Over all, I am very happy with all the axioms and don't plan on returning any of them. Having said that, I'm sure I will be upgrading to full tower speakers in the future. I really liked the sound of the paradigm studio 100s but at half the price, I will also be considering the m60s or m80s.

Any questions or comments are appreciated.

Glad you are enjoying them. Your comparison to the Paradigm was without the sub right? As for the Qs, why do you think they are in the wrong spot? What do you feel you are missing?

Excellent write up there Cactrot. I love that "live" sound as well especially with a lot of percussion instruments (jazz drumming )

The comparisons with the paradigms were conducted with and without a sub. I think the m22s sound pretty hollow without a sub, but comparing both with a sub I still found the paradigms had more mid bass but lacked some clarity in the high end.

About the qs8s, I don't know, I don't think I'm missing anything, they just seem too localizable from my listening position when watching movies (haven't had that problem listening to 5.1 channel audio). One thing I have noticed is that the audyssey dynamic eq on the receiver does crank up the surround channels quite a bit so I turned it off on some movies and felt it was more submersive that way.

My QS8 are pretty close to my listening position (about 6 feet) and I find I need to back the level off a few ticks from SPL leveling to make them disappear. That done, I've been very happy with them. They are exacting and invisible - although those are polar opposites. But on games, for example, you can track planes or people moving behind you with detail. But on most music it is a seamless wall behind you. In movies you get both. Mine are about 7 feet off the floor with 9 foot ceilings, and about 2 feet behind me, corner loaded; if that helps any.