Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Stereo The Axioms have arrived - Warning large Images.

Ok, the Axioms arrived yesterday but I had to wait until today for the receiver before I could set everything up and hear how it all sounds. Let me just say that I'm really impressed and only have a few slightly negative comments, but I'm getting ahead of myself. How about we take this one step at a time...

*** Disclaimer: I'm not a professional reviewer and I'm in no way an expert. I'm just really enjoying my purchase and I'm trying to give back to the message board that I've learned so much from over the past 8 months. What follows are just my opinions. ***

First the system specs:
Speakers: Axiom M60ti
Receiver: Harmon Kardon 3480 - 120 watts per channel
Cable: Blue Jeans 12ga. No terminators.
CD Player: Old cheap Sony cd player, cdp-315 High Density Linear Converter -- whatever that means
Room Size: Approximately 14' x 26' x 8' - Speakers around the middle of the long wall, listening area directly across from them (about 11 feet way).

I ordered the speakers fairly late on Monday evening, and they arrived Thursday morning (I live in Michigan, btw). The boxes were in very good shape -- some folks mention that the outer box is pretty beat up when they receive them -- even though the speakers always seem to come out alright I was glad to see the boxes undamaged. The driver was kind enough to bring the speakers into the house which was nice because these things are *heavy*!
Here's a picture of one of the boxes...




They even included instructions on how to open the box!




I've always wondered what people meant when they talked about the double box packaging. Simple solution that surely offers quite a bit of protection during shipping.




Just for fun I've included a picture of the accessory pack:




The steel spikes used for placing the speakers on carpeted surfaces were surprisingly heavy. They had a nice solid feel. Don't drop one on your foot!



This is one of those little things that really impresses me. I know, I'm easily amused. I liked the way that the speaker is shipped upside down. This way, when you open the package the speaker is in the right position to mount the feet.




Here's a picture of the back of the m60 with two of the vortex ports shown. I was kind of surprised that the ports are actually made out of some sort of hard plastic. Not that it matters, but I just assumed they were vinyl or something similar. I think the color of this photo seems pretty accurate to my eye on my monitor.




The finish is truly flawless. I'm a woodworker hobbyist and I can of course tell that it's not real wood, but I still think they look great and I'm pretty picky about that sort of thing. It's the one thing that kept making me consider the rockets. Here they are sitting side by side. Grills on:




But I think they look better naked. My wife calls it speaker porn!




And here they are in pretty much the final position. Notice that I don't have the receiver setup yet.




My wife was kind enough to find an excuse to leave the house on an errand so that I could really check them out once I set everything up. I powered them up, popped in Pink Floyd - The Wall was immediately impressed. No break in necessary (either for my ears or the speakers). I literally knew within 5 seconds that I would be happy with my choice. Over the next hour I listened to The Eagles - Hotel California, Cake - The Distance, a bunch of Rush and a few other songs from various CD's. The only one that didn't sound very good was the first track of Queen - Live Killers. I noticed quite a bit of sibilance (that's where the s's are over pronounced, right?) but I think it was just that live recording. Yep, I just popped the CD into my computer and listened to the song on my headphones and I still hear the same effect. It's just the recording I guess. I hadn't listened to it in years so I guess I just forgot what it was like. One of my first thoughts was wow, there's plenty of bass. Over time, I started to change my mind a little bit, but I'll get to that in the downsides section.

I tried moving the speakers around a bit, setting them either closer to the wall and/or entertainment center or moving them further out. They seemed to sound great no matter where I put them. I did notice a slightly nicer openness with the grills removed, but it could have just been psychological.

Even when listening to them at very loud levels (-5db) I was just truly amazed at how effortlessly they reproduced the music. And when I closed my eyes it seems like the singer was standing between the two speakers. I guess that's what they mean by soundstage. I had honestly never really experienced that. The other thing I noticed was that they even sounded great when I went to the kitchen to wash some dishes. I was afraid that you might really have to be in the sweet spot to really enjoy the music, but for me that doesn't seem to be the case at all. After an hour of playing at about -15 to -5db which was about as loud as I could take it, the top of the receiver was barely warm. That was another thing I'd worried about based on what I've read on various forums.

With my old Bose wave radio, my ears would ache after about 20 minutes of listening. And of course, I could never play the Bose at the volumes that I can with this system. I didn't experience this at all with this setup. Granted, it's not a fair comparison, but since it occurred to me I thought I'd point it out.

Now the downsides. If I'm using the term correctly, they speakers might be a little bright for me. I think my room is pretty hard (I do have carpet, but the walls are pretty bare and instead of curtains we have aluminum blinds). I found I liked the sound just a little bit better with the treble turned slightly down on the receiver. Perhaps I'll order the resister from Axiom, but I want to give it a few weeks first. Also, although my first thought was that the speakers had plenty of bass, I still think I want just a little bit more. I think it's mostly that I'd like to feel the music a little more. Mind you, I could feel the bass beat through the seat of my pants, but I still think an ep350 might be just the trick.

Btw, my wife told me that even though the windows were closed in her car, she could hear my music from the driveway. The windows were closed in our house too! As impressed as I was by how loud they could play -- and I mean *LOUD*, I think I was more impressed by how great they sounded even when played at very low levels. I was afraid that the bass would disappear when played softly but that wasn't the case at all. Whether I played the very loud or fairly quiet, I still experienced the same clean, detailed sound that I was hoping for.

So, to sum up. I'm thrilled that I have this system. Even with the few minor downsides, It's literally the best stereo system I've ever heard! I can't believe it took me this long to finally make up my mind. Thanks again to the regulars on this forum that make the Axiom community so great.

>>Perhaps I'll order the resister from Axiom, but I want to give it a few weeks first.

If possible, try to make your room a bit less live instead. That will kill 2 birds with one stone -- take the "edge" off the sound *and* improve your stereo imaging. You'll know you have it right when on some recordings you hear the instruments spread out between the speakers (all different places) and some of them are even OUTSIDE the speakers on occasion.

Sit in your normal listening position and look for the spots where sound from each speaker bounces off the wall and hits your ears. Using a mirror helps. Make sure those areas aren't too reflective (within the limits of good decorating taste, of course). Watch for tile floors and glass coffee tables right in front of you, but the walls are even more of a challenge.

I really like the M60 bass because it's nice and accurate but not overpowering. Seems to be quite accurate, ie they sound pretty much like the recording engineer intended, but a lot of people like more bass than that

Anyways, you've got a real nice system there. Enjoy !!

Frank,

It's nice to see that you are happy with the M60s,for the most part.Give yourself a little time before ya order the resistors, you just might come to appreciate the detail of your Axioms.I see they have changed the spikes from when I ordered my 80s.Before they were cheesey little black spikes.I changed mine out for aftermarket ones.The binding post wrench also has been upgraded.

Congrats on your new system.Enjoy

Nice

Looks like axiom is sending out alot nicer spikes than what they previously sent oh well. theyre not 22 bucks a set nice seeing as how you cant even see em anyway when you use them on carpet.

EDIT: looks like i should have read all the other posts first! I cant tell if that wrench is metal or plastic but i know that the red plastic ones that came with mine have been pretty much stripped to the point where i cant tighten the posts down real hard.

Wegiz
Congratulations!!
Whats even better (in my case anyway) is that you'll love them even more as you rediscover your music collection.

Oh and you might not want to show anymore of those port photos, I understand there is at least one "addict" around here that might like to meat your speakers.

Haoelelb... Haoleb... Aboobica... You... there...

I have a bunch of extra "Axiom binding post" wrenches if you need - I'm sure they'd mail one out, too... and I think they're intentionally made out of plastic. so you don't end up torquing anythin down to 180 ft lbs.

Bren R.

Yep, the wrenches that I received are plastic, but I figured that was so you don't scratch the binding posts.

Btw, don't get me wrong, the two small items that I pointed out are just nitpicky things. I'd be very happy even if my perception of the speakers doesn't change. I really feel pretty lucky right now.

yeah im not sure if that is the intention but it is perfect for me if i had anything stronger i would prob twist the binding posts right off. lol

You mean your not suppoised to torque the posts down? Im sure they would send me some more too but i dont have any problems using my metal sockets if it comes to that. What they DID need to improve on is the screws holding the drivers on. I know i have brought this up before, The ones with the smooth heads dont rust, the ones with the ribbed heads had shown signs of rusting. I guess they kinda have a grab bag because some of mine are smooth and some ribbed

Looks like they changed the tweets too, Now it says AXIOM instad of just the A

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You mean your not suppoised to torque the posts down? Im sure they would send me some more too but i dont have any problems using my metal sockets if it comes to that.

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Why can I see Haoleb (sp?) with a 3/4" drive ratchet with a 3' long johnson bar on the end?

In reply to:

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I guess they kinda have a grab bag because some of mine are smooth and some ribbed

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... for her pleasure... damn, I was trying not to take the cheap laff there.

In reply to:

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Looks like they changed the tweets too, Now it says AXIOM instad of just the A

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So they don't get shunned as being adulterous.

Bren R.

Yeah, Bren, and since Brandon is 19 or whatever, he'll be getting bigger and stronger and will really be able to tighten those posts! You're forgiven; who could resist "ribbed".

Just to complete the total hijack of this thread... what IS a Haoleb?

I'm assuming it's a Hawaiian God of... uh... Sibilance?

Bren R.

Haole(e.g. white boy)Brandon.

Ahh, like in Northern Manitoba where everyone called me Dwight... I thought it was like the aboriginal version of "Joe" in those Vietnam War era movies.

Finally someone explained... it's 'cause I was "D'white guy"

Bren R.

Glad to see you got your M60s and are generally happy with them.

I received my M50s a couple of weeks ago and had to rely on the assistance of my four grandchildren, ages four thru ten, to figure out how to open the boxes-no instructions! (they had hidden agendas, however-they wanted to play with the boxes-right away!!)

The only damage to the boxes was the lifting handles; one on each box was torn away-I noticed cause I wanted to be the one to carry them in from the truck, thank you.

I got a very positive feeling when I started connecting them up-very positive! TWO Red binding posts!! (the embossed + and - symbols where there of course, so no problem) I recieved two S/Ns with a gap between them, I suspect the missing s/n contained the black post, which, being negative-relative to positive-made it somewhat inferior and relagated said missing s/n speaker to FO status.

I also have to agree that the bass on my M50s is not quite up to the level that I'd hoped it would be-I guess I just expected better. Other than that, they sound just fine, close enough to my Beloved M3s to be long term "Keepers"

damn... now I have "spike envy"

Good news, In my haste to start listening to the speakers right away, I didn't notice that the receiver was set to VMAx mode. According to HK's website, "VMAx® creates a three-dimensional sound field using only conventional left and right front speakers. The result is sound that fills a room and puts you at front row, center."

It's kind of a strange effect. It definitely sounds different when it's on and perhaps sounds a little fuller or richer. I like it alright, but with VMAx off, the sound is a little cleaner to my ears. Also, I don't feel the need to turn down the treble anymore, so no more feeling of brightness! I still think I might invest in a nice musical sub down the road, but I'm very happy. I had the house to myself for another hour so I made the most of it by listening to more CD's.

Oh yeah, FordPrefect - The new spikes *are* very nice.

I find it interesting that the tweeters have that little cap over them. The four exposed sections radiate outward but the dome doesn't beam straight at you. Seem like it would give the speaker an airy, open sound. I have not purchsed my Axioms yet.

Does anyone have up close pictures of the black m60 in a home theatre environment. THat is the last piece of the puzzle in buying. Black vs cherry. I am also getting the vp150 and qs8 and a DLP is in the future.

Congrats on your new setup. Happy listening .

Don't know if this qualifies as a "close up," but here are black M60s (on ugly homemade risers), and VP150 in a "home theater environment."

look for a thread called new kids in the family. I have some pics of my black 80's.

http://www.axiomaudio.com/boards/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=HT&Number=91819&page=2&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=0&fpart=

Here's the link

Ajax, those are m60's? because they look really short. I thought the 60's were 2" shorter then the 80's.

must be the picture throwing me off

Yup! M60s on 13" tall risers.