Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Advice from Axiom Owners Pictures of real wood speakers

Just curious if anyone has any good pictures of the M60 or M80's in Oak or Rosewood with the semi-gloss finish? I'm trying to make the decision to move up to real wood or stick with the stock vinyl.

Thanks!
Mike

I think onn has all you could ask for... Piano finish though!


http://www.axiomaudio.com/boards/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showgallery&Number=212511

Yes, I saw those, and they look great, I'm just not sure I'd want the upkeep! I was wondering how much duller the semi-gloss looks...

I have the stock vinyl on all of my Axioms. If I had to do it all over again, I'd cough up the extra bucks to get one of the premium finishes. That Piano finish in particular is gorgeous.

There's nothing wrong with the stock vinyl. It's fine. My 5-year old Axioms still look as new as they did the day I got them. But it's absolutely nothing special. It is what it is. Those premium finishes though, my-oh-my, they bring the look of the speakers up to the level of the sound. If you're considering it, I'd say go for it. In a year, you won't care that you spend a couple of extra bucks to get it, but you'll still be enjoying that beautiful finish.

I took a peek through the gallery...

http://www.axiomaudio.com/boards/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showgallery&Number=222282

That is a very good example of what the stock vinyl looks like. The gloss/sheen produced by the lighting in those pictures is a good representation of what you can expect in reality.

Mike, you could ask Axiom for a sample to help your decision. Small price to pay, to make the right choice.

Peter,

That's exactly what I keep telling myself! I'm just wondering if the Rosewood is a bit much and might look dated 10-15 years down the road...

Thanks for the thoughts!
Mike

IMHO, real wood on speakers will never go out of style. If I were buying speakers that were not for a darkened home theater, I would have spent the extra money for real wood. I went with black to match the theme of my theater.

Steve only watches movies that are deeply depressing.

"Film noir"

So I decided to order some samples, called up Brent and found out some interesting info, the samples are returnable! So all I'll be out is shipping costs to get them back to Axiom! I'm ordering 4 right now!

Geeze....just when I had talked myself into ordering the custom vinyl (which I can do sooner), a thread like this one comes along........

Please let us know what your thoughts are after you get a chance to compare and contrast the samples. I'm seriously considering the purchase of an Axiom "system" and after seeing your thread, I will wait to see what your impressions are.
TIA

I'll definitely do that!

Sorry Argon, I know how difficult this is, I've been struggling for months now! LOL! It'll all be worth it in the end...

I do go listen to a system (M60's) last night and came away very impressed! Thanks to Kevin if you're out there!

What four finishes did you order?

1 VaSSallo Series Sample in Rosewood Natural Semi Gloss (Gloss-Black Accessories & Black Grille) for 28.75 USD
1 VaSSallo Series Sample in Oak Cinnamon Semi Gloss (Gloss-Black Accessories & Black Grille) for 25.00 USD
1 VaSSallo Series Sample in Oak Natural Semi Gloss (Chrome Accessories & Black Grille) for 25.00 USD
1 VaSSallo Series Sample in Oak Buttercup Semi Gloss (Gold Accessories & Black Grille) for 25.00 USD

Ok, this does it. This is the third thread today where it has become painfully obvious that Axiom - an Internet company - needs to buy a good digital camera and a web-guy. They are selling products that cost thousands and hope to get people to opt up to the fantastic real wood for 25% or more premiums. Yet the customers have to search and beg for people's home pictures of various finishes. I can think of no explanation for this. For a web-only company they should have 360 degrees of pictures for every model in every finish and have a cheap virtual room that lets you see that image/finish next to a yellow wall, or a brown rug, etc. It should not be so hard to take our money - and by all accounts their customer services in every other respect is top of the field.

I feel better now.

Mark just needs to go to the factory and take some pics, then all will be well.

Argon. If you want a nicer finish, but at a better price, consider some of the custom vinyl finishes. I have seen both the HG cherry and HG burled walnut vinyls next to the real thing and they are almost indistinguishable.

Here's a nice review and pic of the M22's in Rosewood. I think they're stunning. I too recommend a high gloss. The gloss adds a rich and elegant touch of class. My M3ti's are of the standard issue vinyl, and, if I had to do it over, a real wood finish would be on the menu.

http://www.goodsound.com/equipment/axiom_vassallo_m22_v2.htm

Rich

Here's my M3s in Cherry/Chestnut/Semi-Gloss.

Sorry about the photo size being so large but I just got home to find my 48"TV dead so I guess I'm just in a sulky mood . Due to the flash the colour appears more red than it really is. I love the semi gloss finish, easy to look after and appears very rich.

We built a house back in 2004 - at the age of 46 - I think I might be an idiot....anyway originally I was going to have the home theater in the great room. It is 2 stories tall with a wide opening into the dining/kitchen area on one side and the entrance hall on another. Nice fireplace on one wall - hardwood floors...My wife's cousin installs communication systems for a living - he came and helped me wire the house. Home runs from all the rooms to the main board for phone (using CAT6), Internet (CAT6 again) and Cable (RG6). He just gave me the wire He is really a great guy. We wired for speakers with 12ga speaker wire. The thing I did not account for was the accoustics. Horrible....I could probably fix it with traps or rugs hanging on the wall - but that does not clear the WAF. Now - enter the bonus room over the garage. Carpeted long room about 18*30 with knee walls ~ 4 feet up from the floor and sloped at about 50 degrees to the ceiling. Excellent acoustics. THIS is the pseudo man cave. Of course, all the money went into the house so I am having to scrape together the money for the speakers. Long story to get to this point....over the years, I / we have sort of morphed towards Cherry and Oak. The staircase and Mantel are Oak where as all the furniture - both dining and bedroom are Cherry. I like the cherry - SO I was looking at the wood veneer in either natural Cherry or maybe the nutmeg. Problem is that I have enough now to almost buy the Epic 60 500 5.1 from the factory outlet in one of those finishes....my head says DO IT....but my gut says hold out for the wood......Dang, I hate decisions like this!.....Rob

I love real wood, but I have been pretty damn impressed with the High Gloss Cherry (in vinyl). The real wood adds a significant premium. I priced a pair of M60s in High Gloss Rosewood, and the price went up almost 100%. Ouch. But, you should know that real wood veneers can be added over the cheaper vinyl later. So perhaps you order the speakers now in a simple finish, and get a nice real wood veneer added later when a few hundred bucks seems like a great deal for nicer veneers. Just a thought.

Oh, and sorry to hear about the ill conceived home theater. I think your experience is the more the norm than the exception. Few people know anything about room design, and fewer want to learn. I know contractors that build homes that often construct HT rooms that don't know anything about wires, speakers, reflections, etc. Glad found another man cave. I had to steal the dining room.

Thats already on my project list. Maybe later this year I can try one of the M2s to see how it goes.

I did a recent upgrade of this type, so drop me a line if want two cents of advise. But generally speaking, get the PSA paperbacked veneers (many options) and the project is pretty easy. Dramatic change is appearance.

I would hold out for the real wood. My Axioms in vinyl are very nice and all, but I don't think they even allow speakers in North Carolina that aren't real wood.

Yep....that is my tendency. I don't buy a lot of "stuff" (my wife would scoff at that comment) but when I do, I usually save til I can get what I perceive to be the best. The only thing that causes me to sway back and forth here is the fact that the outside of the cabinet does not change the sound. SO now the question is the definition of "best".......Rob

The reason I came to Axiom is after reading 100s of reviews of different speakers I liked what people were saying about the Axioms, that they were first an incredible speaker, and then unbelievably inexpensive for what one actually gets.

I love piano black, all of my gear has that finish, but when it came down to it, I decided that paying more for form over function just didn't make sense to me. It was like removing the second most mentioned "feature" of Axioms. But if you (or a loved one) is really set on having a speaker that looks as good as it sounds, then maybe a real wood (or custom vinyl) finish may have some value; it just didn't for me.

Axiom, can you respond to this issue? Maybe you have a good reason (though I cannot imagine one).

Zimm, HUGE 'second that'! ! ! It simply amazes me too that their photos just DO NOT convey how good (all) these finishes look in person! I know not having good full screen pictures of the stock colors, for me has been a real guessing game on what would fit best in my living room. It is very time consuming and frustrating to try to find owners with real world photos. When you do, they are usually better than the stock photos on the site. Making it worse, I feel stupid having to ask very subjective questions of how people describe their finishes. As someone who just placed an order for 9 speakers, finish color choice was a real challenge. Axiom, why make your potential customers go through this! IMHO, you would be doing yourself a huge favor by MUCH better showcasing the beauty of these speakers. Listening to the 'choir' of owners here, only goes so far with potential customers. Many are not as OCD as I willing to 'feel stupid' asking others to tell me what colors/finishes that 'I' would like. Pretty weak question, don't you think!

I anxiously await my speakers and service has been incredible, but this finish factor has been challenging. I am required to make a guess and hope it looks like what I 'think' I imagined.
(rant over)
Boy Zimm, I did not know I was so affected by this.

Ford,
NO! This size is much better. People want to see the finish up close! Awesome photos.

Axiom, I am very enamored with your product and the excellent service that your great employees provide. BUT, do all of the owners with a digital camera, a tripod and some spare time need to send you photos to post on your site? Mark is a professional photographer (I believe). Maybe you could contract with him to send you at least good close ups of his Beech finish. Just sayin'...

I'm not so sure that Axiom isn't already offering the best option: real-world samples of the finish in question.

Although I'm certainly attracted to sites that have gorgeous photography, it's really not the most accurate way for people to see color. Monitors, if not calibrated, will each show the photographs differently. And although a real-room photo of the side of a speaker with a highlight reflect will show the difference between a matte, semi-gloss or gloss finish, people can have a hard time putting two and two together.

"Hmmm, I think I like the Walnut with the Bordeaux stain, but in trying to decide on the semi-gloss or gloss, the photos are of a Cherry speaker with cinnamon stain".

There are SO many combinations of wood, stain and then gloss level, that photographing real-world speakers would be near impossible. Axiom would have to build these one-offs, photograph them, then cannibalize them or, in essence, throw them out. Don't forget the custom grill cloth colors, too.

I think Axiom would benefit from some nice photos of Axioms in real-world, attractive settings. Probably part of the reason they've never done that is that they don't spring for nice photos for magazine ads.

But to cover all the options that they have available, and not have issues with a customer who wrongly-ordered a custom finish on $4K worth of speakers because he's using a poorly calibrated monitor, I think sending an actual sample of the actual finish is the best that could reasonably be done.

I agree with Mark here. I can move my browser between my 3 (supposedly identical) monitors on my desk and see 3 different colors. The physical sample is the best way to go.

I know its strange; and I don't even have the problem because I needed black on mine - no debate. I guess I'm just getting to emotionally invested in Axiom. Hate to see them working against their own interest on something so simple, yet so fundamental to the buying process.

And Mark, I hear you, but have to disagree. There is clearly some risk with a customer not liking the product upon receipt as compared to the photo. Of course you have to add the customary warning that pics subject to your video card, etc., and real wood is never identical. But that is well traveled terrain in Internet wood and furniture industry - and this is a furniture purchase in some respects. But you still have the 30 day period and the current minimalist arrangement seems to threaten that scenario of disappointment more than putting up better photos. I have been shocked at the finish quality of the owner pics versus the Axiom web pics - and don't think most were pro photos (no offense folks!) They have to have most of the finishes available on most models within a year or two period. And a demo room with furniture can be rented for a week of photos. Heck, with digital, they can probably get 100 rooms and just paste the speakers in in. Spielberg could do it!
The samples are a nice idea, but you miss an entire group of people who are accustomed to the speed of Internet shopping.

If this was not an Internet only company I could write it off as just not being their business model. But for Internet only, you got to embrace all the Internet has to offer. Look at PSB, or B&W, or Vienna. All have fantastic images of the speakers that really highlight the aesthetic side. And since that is a huge part of the purchase for many people, Axiom should do better on that front. Just one customer/potential customer's opinion - but that customer makes a damn good point.

I have to agree with everybody.....no, I am not running for office. I think that the photos leave something to be desired. Photography is one of my hobbies and I am the first to second (so to speak) the comments that poorly or non-calibrated monitors can not render true color. But....the photos are a good starting place and the better the photo....well...the better.
The samples...now there's a concept. THAT is an excellent marketing / selling point. When I am really close to purchase, I will order - most likely the warm cherry custom vinyl and the real cherry wood in one or two of the finishes - like cinnamon. At one point the cost of the samples would apply to your purchase. Does anyone know if that is still the case? If so - it seems unlikely that if I ordered 3 samples - would the entire amount for all 3 samples apply to the final purchase?......Rob

When I was purchasing my M50s several years ago, I got 4 custom vinyl samples. The whole amount was credited towards my purchase, and I didn't have to send the plaques back. I don't know if things have changed.

I ordered all three stock samples. It was easy to tell that the Boston Cherry was too dark for our taste because it is so much stronger than the Beech and Maple. I did not feel I could make an a decent choice between those two, seeing just the 8"x 10" stock sample plaques. Maybe that is just me.

Mark, you make a good point. My post may have been on the harsh side. I still think that, as you say, a number of good photos of the three stock finishes in multiple decors would be of a big benefit. Three speaker colors with one black cover, one nude. Having buttons to swap colors, like some on the site would be best. But I have no sense of how much is involded to do that. Anyway, the three main finishes would cover the lion's share of their sales, I'd guess.
(went a bit over my 2¢ on this topic... I'm through now ;o)

I just ordered my Axioms last Friday. Without asking, Brent said he'd send me a return authorization to get my money back on the 3 samples. I guess it works just like the 30 day return policy. Makes total sense. They essentially 'loan' out the samples until you are done with them. They send them back out to the next requestor. They just keep a certain quantity of each o/h to rotate out, then return.

Guess it has changed then. I probably shouldn't have posted about my experience there.

Ken, Totally valid. Same turnout. The samples do not cost you but a few buck return freight. That's the point either way

I don't think you sounded harsh.... I think you and Charles make good points.

I agree that they need more / better photos of speakers in an environment. Reviewing some magazine ads for B&W or Snell or Revel or KEF .... or..... well, just about anyone and it's easy to see that Axiom doesn't have any of those types of photos.

I'm just saying that to do so with every wood, in every stain, in every finish, with each grill cloth is a hercelean task and would require them to produce many, many hundreds of speakers, some of which in less popular woods and less popular stains and less popular finishes might not get turned around for years.

And then what happens to the person that says the Maple wood, chestnut-stain, semi-gloss looks good on that M80 in the photo... but I wonder how it would look on a little M2??!!??

Mark has a point. I love the HG burled walnut on my Audiobytes, but I think it would be totally overwhelming on M80s, or even M50s.

Okay, I think we have agreement they need really good pics in a real setting of the most common options purchased in terms of finishes and models. That permutation would come out to maybe 100 pics (skipping any effort at math!) in addition to what is on the site now. Done.

Someone inform the board we have ruled.

All those in favour, say "AYE"....

Aye

You guys are aware of the custom wood studio, right?

It would be overkill (and a herculean task, yes) to capture every possible speaker/wood/finish/gloss/grille combo. I think the custom wood studio strikes the right balance. You can preview all the different woods, stains, and grilles in any combination on an M2 speaker.

I do agree that the pictures should be higher resolution, though. And perhaps include a detail shot taken of a top, front corner at all gloss levels to show the reflectivity.

Sorry, the people have spoken.

Could some one from Axiom weigh in on the current policy regarding the samples?
Does the cost still apply to the purchase?
Do you have to return them?
Just curious....Rob

Rob, call the toll free # or email them to get the quickest response, sometimes your question can get buried in the forums.

Aye...
Even just more photos of the three basic vinyls. That would likely cover the majority of buyers.

Well, huge let down, I ended up going with the Black Oak Vinyl! The samples didn't really knock me out, so I decided to save the $$ and get the standard finish! They should be here within the week!

Thanks for all the input...

Mike

I had 3 different vinyl samples sent to me....I like the wood look over plain black - $650 upcharge over the FO price is hard to justify.

Oh, one other thing I was going to mention. I just bought an in wall magazine rack from a place off e-bay. When it got here, one of the things in with it was a sheet of paper with a $25 off coupon if you sent a picture of your item after you had it installed! I thought that was a pretty good idea. I don't think I'll need anything else from them, but I took the pictures and sent them over anyway, and now I have a $25 coupon! Not a bad idea I thought!

Anyway... Back to waiting for my new speakers...

Mike