Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Advice from Axiom Owners Who's the Hold UP Now?

I am the holdup now. I have a green light. I have Vinyl samples to choose from - and the Cinnamon Beech is a good match for the downstairs entertainment center - if I ever decided to move the system to the Great Room. I am struggling with the $650 premium for the Custom Vinyl. The FO Blacks would fit into the Bonus Room decor just fine - as would the wood look.

The Audition bit has not panned out either - contacting Axiom directly just resulted in them advising me to contact some of the Audition group that I have already PM'd in vain.

I need a sign. Maybe if I fast for 3 days and then go into a sweat lodge I will have a vision?

Too bad that Axiom couldn't help more with the audition.

There are pockets of Axiom fans here and there. If you're far away from one though, there's not much that can be done. I remember that when I was shopping for my M80's, I tried in vain to contact one of the 3 or 4 people in St. Louis (90 miles away) that said they would demo. None responded. I believe that Wid is the closest Axiom owner to me, and he's about 200 miles away. You may be in a similar situation.

My advice would be that if you're really worried about it, and can't find a demo site, just order a pair of M22's. M22's will give you a very clear picture of what the "Axiom sound" is all about. If you dislike it, Axiom will stand behind their 30 day return policy. You will have to pay for the return shipping, but with M22's I can't imagine it being more than $35 or $40 to ship it back to the NY return address from NC. And if you do like the sound, but have no use for the M22's, I'm pretty sure that Axiom lets you trade-up within 30 days too. Again, you might be out for the return shipping. But IMHO, spending $35-$40 to make sure that a $1,000+ purchase will please you is worthwhile.

Or if you're just dead-set on finding local speakers, find either a Paradigm or B&W dealer. Speakers in the Paradigm Studio Reference line have a similar sound quality to Axiom speakers. Pretty close, IMHO. I also think that B&W 700 series speakers share similar sonic characteristics as well. Not to say that either are *exactly* like Axiom speakers, but from my listening experiences I'd say they're "close enough" to give you an idea of what you're in for. Of course, that's all subjective, so YMMV.

Maybe it's time Axiom did a road show. They could outfit one of those fancy pop-out sides RVs with all their speakers and drive around the country with it.

Better yet, they could have me drive it around the country.

An excellent idea. Just so long as it's not a white van.

You'd hit your head. And gas mileage would be better if Ken was driving.

Argon, do you have any travel planned? Perhaps you could visit an Axiom owner near a destination rather than near your home.

Yes, Plenty of travel planned - ANY owners in San Pedro Sula?
Tegucigalpa? Anyone? Bueller?

I may have to go the paradigm route - oh wait.....Tweeter shut down.....and there is nothing else around here....But I whine. I am going to buy sight unseen.

I said I was waiting for a sign....the first thread that popped up this morning was the one on ridiculous upgrades. Like I said, I can't justify $650 upcharge for a different color vinyl. As soon as I come to grips with that, I'll place the order and begin my month long vigil.

Edit: I just did a dealer locater on Paradigm Reference and there is a Custom Installer that is listed as a storefront for Paradigm Reference series. I got an answering machine and left my number. THey are open from 10-3 on Saturday so if all goes well, I can stop by after the class I teach on Saturday is over. Thanks for the tip, Peter.

The upgrade within the 30 day trial period is free no shipping charges, at least that was the case for me and my M60/M80 session (2007) and my QS4 to QS8 upgrade way back in Jan. 2004

You're going the wrong way. You need to go NORTH to find the Axiom owners



You wouldn't be alone. I bought my M22's and VP150 sight unseen. It was a leap of faith, but I have no regrets. Wouldn't it really be 'sound unheard'? Axiom caught my attention because of the very high user ratings that their speakers had gotten over on Audioreview.com. At the time, they were about the only brand that seemed to have several models in the Top-10 lists. Then a little discussion from the happy people here convinced me that it was worth a shot.



Very good. I hope it's a worthwhile demo for you.

From what I remember, in comparing 100's to M80's I felt that the 100's were a bit brighter up top and had a tiny bit more bass at the bottom end. That's remembering back from a couple of years ago, so YMMV. But otherwise they're within the same "acoustic genre" of what you can expect from M80's. They were clean, well balanced, and pleasant enough to listen to. Just that every so slightly overzealous tweeter was a bit too much for me.

For me, it really boiled down to price. If I recall correctly, a pair of S100's was about $1k more than a pair of M80's, not including sales tax. Had S100's been priced the same as M80's, it would have been a tougher decision.

IMHO, if you find yourself enjoying the sound of the S100's, I'd say there's a very good chance that you will enjoy the sound of M80's.

That's cool, Jay. I didn't know the upgrade policy covered the shipping. Even more awesomeness for Axiom!

OK.....The owner called me back. He rattled off the models that he has set up on his floor. He mentioned several models that come up when you hit the "reference series" on Paradigm's web site. I can't remember if he has the S100's - and I was actually considering the M60's. Is there a specific model number that would cross to the M60? Maybe the S60 (Studio 60)? This is good news - I won't mention to this guy that I am using him as a surrogate Axiom set up.....

Oh..and one other thing. I have read all the pro reviews and have been lurking around here for years. I am almost certain after reading what all you regulars have to say - and by the members that post avidly for a while but fade away to enjoy their speakers after purchase that I will be ecstatic with the upgrade to my hodgepodge......Rob