Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Considering Axiom and need a little input

I'm thinking about purchasing some Axiom speakers but I have one concern. All of the reviews I've read have been very positive with a couple of exceptions. I've read a couple of reviews from what I guess would be considered professional reviewers, as well as some posts from "the average Joe", that mentioned that sound coming out of the center speaker sounded distorted. One review, I think it was on C/net that said it sounded like people were talking out of a megaphone and another site said that it sounded like people were talking into a microphone without the foam cover so that the s's were very noticeable and emphasized to the point of being distracting.
I figured this would be the best place to hear from system owners first hand about whether or not they've encountered this. Again most reviews don't mention this but I have seen a few, which in my mind is enough to raise some concerns.
By the way I'm thinking about something along the lines of the Epic 50 with the v150 center as opposed to the v100. Any input would be greatly appreciated and would go a long way in ending my Home Theater Speaker search.
Thanks

I had the same concerns, and after much homework, and listening to many speakers, considering everything I liked cost more than the Axioms, I took the plunge. (60s,150, qs8s) I received my speakers Monday. I love them! The 150 is excellent. None of what you are talking about thus far. Though from what I have read on this and other forums is these speakers are very clean and will make a bad recording sound bad. Follow? Many people on this forum are real helpful and can probably help more. Look around the forum some too. Alot of info and advice. Good luck!

In reply to:

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some posts from "the average Joe", that mentioned that sound coming out of the center speaker sounded distorted. One review, I think it was on C/net that said it sounded like people were talking out of a megaphone and another site said that it sounded like people were talking into a microphone without the foam cover so that the s's were very noticeable and emphasized to the point of being distracting.

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Who know why these "average Joe's" gave unfavorable reviews. It could be any number of reasons but I suspect that the main reason is that they simply don't know "sh!t from shinola". As far as sibilance(sss"s) goes, it is usually a result of poor quality "hot" recordings and more the fault of the recording studio than the speaker. And if that one guy really thought the Axiom sounded "like people talking out of a megaphone" I would be willing to bet 10-1 odds is wasn't the speaker at fault. I've heard the VP-150 played through a Pioneer reciever (at sushi's house) and the resoultion was fantastic.

Remember, in the end you must listen for your self and form your own opinions and what I've said here and what those "average Joe's" said were just that...opinions.

And you know what they say about opinions....

What a lot of people do not understand about Axiom speakers is that they are ACCURATE and DETAILED. Not bright. A poorly mixed or recorded disc will sound poorly mixed or poorly recorded. A great mix will sound incredible.

Many more laidback speakers are able to mask poor recordings by not allowing good recordings to shine, so most recordings will sound solid in comparison.

Do not fret about Axioms, if what you have heard interests you, you will not be disappointed. If you like accurate detailed sound, these are the best speakers you can get for the money.

I have Axioms M60s, VP150 and QS-8 with an SVS 20-39 sub and a Yamaha 1400 and wouldnt have it any other way.

I too read all the reviews I could find before purchasing. I had no way to listen to the speakers before buying so I wanted to make sure I wasnt going to be disapointed. Two things I saw over and over was, a little bright and inadiqate bass.

Wrong and wrong!

When I first pluged em in I immediatly thought I noticed the brightness I had heard about. After a listening a little and tweeking the treble and bass, I realized it wasnt brightness I was hearing, it was a whole spectrum of sound I wasnt used to hearing. Highs were clear and precise, but not bright.

AS far as bass, I didnt care cuz I knew Id be running a sub. When I hooked it up I immediatly was shocked by how inadiqate the bass was. Then I realized I hadnt told my reciever I wasnt running a sub at the time. Few clicks of a button, BOOM, there it is. For normal music listening, these speakers are fine by themselves, but for movies and thumpin music, still gota have a sub, but that goes without saying.

In summery, AXIOM is the bomb. I dont know what other problems people might have had, but like mine, its probably self inflicted.

Thanks for the input guys. It's good to hear this from owners of the system. I guess I was just worried because from what I read it seemed like an issue that was unique to axiom and I just didn't think their equipment could be so superior that no other speaker companies were sited with this same problem, but I could be very wrong. It sounds like actually trying them is going to be the best solution and from what everyone keeps saying I won't have to worry about the shipping to send them back because I'll be keeping them.
One last concern I have that someone may be able to help me with is the vinyl finish. How does this look? Does it peel, look cheap etc. Is there an option for a different finish?
Thanks again for the assistance.

Sorry just saw that Axiom offers custom finishes on the website. Must be smoking crack again. Really just need input on the quality of the vinyl finish.

One thing i did read was the speakers were too bright but i completely disagree. I think if you stick a speaker in a 'bright' room with hardwood floors, reflective walls and no furniture the sound will be bright more often then not.
The axioms are better then anything i tested in that price range at any of the audio stores i visited

grifter,

I think everyone here will tell you that the vinyl finish is much better than they expected. The pictures on the website really don't do them justice. The finish on my M22s has some of the best seam/edgework I have ever seen -- and I even bought mine from the factory outlet.

You won't find vinyl done any better than Axiom does it. Yeah, real wood would be nice, but it'd cost a heck of a lot more as well. The Axiom speakers look real nice. No worries.