Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Compared B&W604, MA Silver 6 S & 8S, Paradigm

Back out this afternoon to hear a few more speakers;

Last time out I seemed to lean towards the B&W 604 for clear, yet smooth sound and thought they were very easy to listen to. I once again enjoyed listening to them to start the day off. I also listened to a pair of Boston Acoustics VR2. Nice smooth speaker as well, but I would still choose the B&W 604 over the Boston VR2.

Next stop was just down the road and as advised from another forum member, raised the bar somewhat from the really nice sound of the 604's. First on the test block was the Monitor Audio Silver S6. I was very impressed with the precise clarity and strength of this speaker. It sounded rich and smooth. Although, I did feel it needed the help of the sub.

The next set that we plugged in were the Paradigm Studio 60's. It had a rich sound but reached a little deeper then the Silver S6. I did have to lean towards the Silver S6 for clean rich sound.

Once we listened to these two towers on their own, we set up the center channels to each and plugged in a couple of surround Silver Sfx for the 5.1. The paradigm center channel was very nice and filled the room nicely. It had a soft rounded depth but not as clear and rich as the Silver S LCR.

The Monitor Audio Silver S6 series was $300-$400 less then the Paradigm, but in my opinion sounded much nicer. I would have to lean to the Paradigm for the deeper bass. After running both of these I decided to also have a listen to the Silver S8 tower which they had close at hand. It was as rich and clear as the S6 but, included a deeper base sound then compared to the Paradigm. It was $300-$400 more then the Paradigm but had the best of both speakers for a very nice, clean and rich sounding combination.

To this point, I would have to unseat The B&W 604 with the Monitor Audio Silver S8.

Next stop, I listened to some Anthony Gallos (I forget the series, but it was distinctly shaped similar to a guitar). Not bad but Silver S series sounded much nicer. The other speakers I listened to were the Angstom Obbligato series. A heck of a speaker for it's size but the cost pretty much eliminated it from my list.

All in all, it was an interesting afternoon of listening to great speakers. The point was to find comparison's in the range of $4000ish. The next speaker set up I hope to listen to will be the M60ti, SQ8, VP150 and the EP350.
My hopes are they sound as clean and rich as the Silver S6 and S8. On paper the Axium speakers look stronger and from all I've heard to date will perform just as well. I must admit the wood veneer on the Monitor audio Silvers was very impressive.

I am looking forward to that listening session, and hope I have put enough sound testing together to have proper comparison.

That's a good (and very appropriate) collection of speakers you have sampled there. Now the only trick is RUNNING to the next speaker audition before your mind forgets what the other ones sounded like

I will try to connect up for a refresher with the Monitor Audio Silver S8 prior to requesting a bit of time with an Axium owners setup. I will certainly try to put my inexperienced ear to the keyboard when I'm done. As stated on an earlier message, I am doing my best not to expect too much, but certainly looking forward to hearing the Axium's.
Troy

If you like the bass on the Monitor Audio S8's, give the S10's a listen. Very, very good bass. Fast and tight.

winterpeg, good luck on your search. If you end up with MA Silver 8s, keep in mind that the MAs will blend reasonably well (very well, IMO) with Axioms surround speakers. The QS8s are half the price of MAs surrounds.

I second that. Prices are outrageous on MA surrounds. If I wanted to match my GRs, I'd be spending a considerable amount more for the rears than I did for the fronts. Doesn't make sense in my book. I will definitely go for Axioms.