Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Stereo "white van" speakers story

This came as a hilarious shocker to me when I discovered last night that I actually own a pair of the well known "white van" scam speakers that are often sold in parking lots. Here they are, the infamous Acoustic Response series 707:
http://www.swcp.com/pcaskey/gifs/ar-707.gif

I bought these speakers about ten years ago (I've learned a lot since then!) at a pawn shop for around $90.00. Keep in mind that these were my first set of my very own speakers that I could afford and my only source back then to compare them to was my portable Panasonic system (those 80's boomboxes with detachable speakers). I thought, "oh my gosh, these have great bass!" Little did I know that I would eventually come to despise that bass. I was also impressed with the nice gold metal knobs on the front. I thought I was getting a good deal on something that looked like they were sold only for expensive professional installations.

I'll tell you what finally brought me to research these speakers. I hadn't even listened to them in a LONG time. They were just sitting there taking up space in my bedroom and were being used only as stands for pictures and a satellite receiver! But just recently I asked you guys about buying an older stereo receiver to replace my junk Sony because I was finally going to upgrade the bedroom system. Someone mentioned that I should just look for something new since I was just wanting 2 channel. I didn't want anything expensive, but I wanted something that sounded nice. To make a long story a little bit shorter, I ended up with a Rotel RA-01 integrated amp for $310. It sounds VERY satisfying although I probably could have gotten a Denon or something similar for less money. Well, that's beside the point.

Anyway, I took the amp home and decided to hook it up these monsterous speakers to see what it could do with them. Believe it or not, it tightened up that loose boomy bass that I remembered so well. Still, the sound was reminiscent of speakers that used to come with those all-in-one component systems with the turn table on top that were popular in the late 80's. Remember those...always looked fancy, but usually sounded like crap? I used to want one of those! I was so naive.

Well, it had been awhile since I had listened to these crap speakers and by now I have come to recognize and appreciate good quality sound ever since I've been listening to my Axiom M60's for a little over a year. So I chose this time after all these years to investigate how such expensive looking speakers (although ugly & vintage looking) could sound so bad even with Rotel's clean power. I couldn't help but to laugh out loud at my discovery! I guess that is why I felt compelled to share this story although I feel a bit ashamed about it! Thank goodness I was never approached by one of those vans ten years ago because I probably would have fell for the scam and paid twice as much!

The purpose of replacing the bedroom system is to get something highly enjoyable (and listenable!), but not loud. So I've decided to get rid of those monsters and replace them with the Axiom M3's. Initially, I was going to get the M22's, but I will not have a sub. Apparently, the M3's are a bit better with bass in that respect. Also, before I bought the Rotel, I found a review of it online matched to the M3's and they were found to be a very musical together. I'm sure I won't be disappointed...but I'll be sacrificing a LOT of bass! HA!HA!

I liked the last line on the brochure -- "Manufacturer's suggested prices do not reflect a bona fide selling price in the metro trading area".

Your speakers do seem to be better than my current surrounds, they even have a bigger tweeter

I don't think we have white vans up here in Canada, guess they get lost in the snow or something...

LOL! One of my friends has a pair that looks similar to that, although the writing on the mid and treble gain knobs is different.

I think I'll go trade my new M60s with him .

What the.. what kind of speaker has a crossover to the midrange driver at 1 KHz? Must've sounded like crap. Glad to hear you're upgrading.

In reply to:

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what kind of speaker has a crossover to the midrange driver at 1 KHz?

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Only speakers designed for the most dynamic range of requirements that meet the highest standards for autdio applications.

i believe those speakers are available in a burlap finish also

They seem to find their way here in Colorado. I've run into one white van since I've been here in Colorado Springs. It's actually fun to mess with the salesman.

But Mary, just think what a terrific deal you got on the 707s; $749 list!

Since you're used to the sound of the M60s, it's quite possible that you might prefer the M22s even without a sub, which is how I generally use mine. With room reinforcement, I get usable response down to 40Hz, which is adequate for most music. The M3s aren't necessarily "better" with bass; the extension is about the same, with if anything a slight edge to the M22s. The M3s have an elevated response in the upper bass around 100-150Hz, which gives an impression of better, "warmer" bass to both fundamentals in that area and the second harmonics of the lower bass around 50-70Hz, but the M22s are a bit more accurate there.

Oh, John...now I'm all confused again! I spent about two hours the other day searching the board whether or not I was going with the M3's or the M22's. I didn't want to ask because the subject has been beaten into the ground. It seems for people that have heard both, they are divided pretty much equal as to which one they favor so I figured I won't be disappointed either way. But several recommended if there will be no sub, the M3's would probably be best. They also cost $125 less than the M22's. But now that you point about the bass not necessarily being "better" on the M3's and even less accurate, I'm going to have to reconsider my decision. I didn't really want to spend a lot on the bedroom system because I'll be pissed off if I find it more enjoyable than the few thousand dollar setup in the living room! Maybe I just forget about Axiom and get some Bose instead! (just kidding!).

Well, if it's purely a budget system, why not get some Paradigm Atoms? They are about $180/pr, and are supposed to be awesome for the price. They also seem to have good bass, from what I hear.

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