Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion The Water Cooler I just sent the M3s back. Here's why...

Well, all in all - you have to be happy with what you buy and there are a lot of factors.

For me to move to Axiom (Paradigm was the front runner for me) - the hook was price and the set was Ian's approach to audio. No frills, no whiz-bang - put together a solid line of products and base your decisions on proven scientific facts. So when I'm done (currently only have Axiom mains - will be ordering my surrounds soonish - ie: when I know I'll have time to set them up without leaving other things undone, after all, who among us can leave speakers in boxes while we do the honourable thing and get the necessary things in life done first?) I'll have a great sounding system and enough money left in the bank to do everything else I like to do. It also didn't hurt that Axiom is a Canadian company, meaning no hassle at the border (and the hassle only ever seems to be on products entering Canada, I never hear Americans complain about them getting rooked at customs) and then seeing Alan Lofft's name associated with them (used to seeing his name in bylines of trade publications) and you've got a win-win-win situation.

I personally really like the colour of the Beech veneer (I ruled out Maple as too light, Boston Cherry as too rustic and Black... well, I think black looks cheap) and I intentionally bought them with tan grills for a bit of a retro feel (I would have gotten gold grills if it was possible without going custom) - even though they've never been back on the speakers since they were unboxed.

As for Cambridge not getting their just desserts, they shot themselves in the foot for me by selling off their low end powered speaker division to Creative. Bought my fiancee a set of CSW computer speakers, paid a pretty penny for them - and lo and behold, the line had been recently changed - the satellites were down to 3W I think, and the sub was plastic and particleboard (not even MDF!). The second you can't trust a company on name alone you second guess all their products.

Luckily I don't have to worry about SAF, she can appreciate my "function before form" philosophy, not that the Axioms are ugly, but in my case, they're prominent - nothing hidden here. She thought the whole thing was pretty trivial until I set up the 3.0 system... then she (pardon the pun) changed her tune and wanted to know when the rest of the speakers would be ordered.

Bren R.

My Beech QS8s look awesome mounted on the off-white walls, but the Beech M3s looked a little "artificial" (as Shrubber noted) in another room, next to some darker wood.

Bren, you pretty much nailed my opinion on several things too.

'll have a great sounding system and enough money left in the bank... Axiom is a Canadian company, meaning no hassle at the border (and the hassle only ever seems to be on products entering Canada, I never hear Americans complain about them getting rooked at customs)....well, I think black looks cheap... the satellites were down to 3W I think, and the sub was plastic and particleboard (not even MDF!). The second you can't trust a company on name alone you second guess all their products. ..."

Oh-oh... Chess and I are apparently the same person.

And further to the SAF - she's started painting out the built-in media bookcase thing tonight and asking when I'm stripping the cedar wall (want to do it before getting the QSs).

Ah, well.. other concerns right now... the lane here is looking like Venice - garage has already flooded, hoping the basement won't be next... and my DVD player's decided to suddenly "freeze" from time to time and excrete a loud white noise sound... grrr...

Bren R.

Oh well then don't the parallels just continue.
My window well has failed and i've been outside all day with a submersible pump and a steel spade attempting to dig gopher holes in frozen ground in order to keep my basement from flooding. The shed already has items floating out the door.
I'm one frustrated gopher let me tell you.

A couple things I should have said better/gotten right in my original post:

1) It's easy to take for granted just how cool this company is. How many other audio brands would host a forum and allow posters to openly critique their products in comparison to a competitor? Are there ANY?

When I called to get my RA code, I had the good fortune to talk to Alan. He was genuinely curious about why I was sending the speakers back, and not at all defensive, nor was he dismissive or critical about my choice. We had a nice chat about the state of speaker manufacturing, importing, and finishing. It's just so rare and refreshing to find a company that's genuinely interested in understanding its customers. I'll definitely be back.

2) It's Alan, not Allen; it's Amie, not Amy.
Soory aboot that.