Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Axiom compared to Paradigm

Hey guys, I am about to build my first really nice A/V system and I am hoping for some advice. I have had a JBL Northridge setup for the past few years and am ready to step up to more of an upscale system. I have been a long time fan of the Paradigm Monitor line of speakers and have always assumed that once I could afford to set up a high end (for me) system, that is the route I would go. I have heard really good things about Axiom though, from a few different sites. For anyone that has heard both, how would you compare a 5.1 setup of Axiom (M3, QS4, and VP100)vs. the new Paradigm Monitor v.5 (Mini Monitor, CC190, ADP190). I appreciate any help.

Also, I have a velodyne sub that I am either going to keep or replace with a stf-3 from HSU.

Welcome JTK,

There have been many discussions over the years comparing Paradigm and Axiom. I quick "search" for Paradigm would bring up those threads.

Historically, the feedback has been that the Axiom lineup overall is a step above the "monitor" series from Paradigm. A better comparison would be the "studio" line of speakers. It is my understanding that Paradigm is getting rid of both of those models, if they have not done so already?

A few years ago, when I was looking for new speakers I auditioned Paradigm Monitors, B&W 703's, and NHT ????. Anyway, after auditioning Axioms, that was all it took. I truely think they are a great value for the audiophile grade speaker you receive.

I would suggest checking the Audition Threads in the "Hearing Things" forum to see if someone is in your area that will give you a listen.

jtk,

I owned a pair of Monitor 9 speakers for a few years before replacing them with my Axiom M22s and a subwoofer. The M22 + sub combination was a significant improvement over the Monitor 9s, which were no slouches to begin with.

jtk,

I originally was going to purchase Paradigm Monitor's as well, but after hearing Axiom speakers, my decision was set on Axiom. You really do have to buy their Studio line to compete with Axiom equivalents, and at that point, the Studio's are twice the price, if I remember correctly.

I am convinced you would be much happier with Axiom over Paradigm.

Do these reccomendations go for HT as well? I will be using them 80%HT/20% Music.

I had the opportunity to take my m60s to a buddy with Paradigm Studios and listen to them side by side in the same room. They were the best of the very few choices I could make locally.

I'm not a professional listener and most of any audio knowledge I have now comes from this board and the Internet, not from experience. Maybe that's why i had trouble telling the difference. I'm thinking my M60s might have had a little more bass and both were so clear on the details I can't even comment there. Maybee the Paradigms were a bit brighter on the high end but not in an unpleasing way. My buddy agreed.

It wasn't a blind test and we had to take the time to change cables all the time without a switch or even banana plugs, so not scientific at all.

All I can say for sure is that they were extremely similar to me and in the end, I knew I would be happy with either one and I payed a lot less than he did. Happy Customer!

as a P.S.
To prove we were not just totally bad listeners, we hooked up his RBH bookshelves, that he now uses as surrounds, as mains. Again, not blind but we could definably notice a strong difference. The depth was gone from the bottom and the extreme detail level was gone. Not a fair comparison but we were trying to prove we were not tone deaf rather than compare the RBHs to the others.

We also had a few beer by then so more science lost.

To me Axiom's excel in HT applications, not to mention music. In reality it makes no difference if we are talking HT or Music, a good speaker is just that, good.

Between Monitor 7s and Axioms (M60s in this case, but same goes for the rest of the Axiom line) the Monitors seem a bit "muffled" by comparison. The Monitors seem to dip in the midrange while the Axioms have much flatter response, ie more detail when compared to Monitors.

One of my hunting buddies bought Paradigms, I bought Axioms. My other hunting buddy ("chips" on the forums) listened to both and bought Axioms. My other buddy with the Monitor 7s wants to make his system sound more like the Axioms -- my guess is that a bit of EQ will help a lot.

I think the Monitors will play louder than the comparable Axioms while still sounding clean but I haven't done any serious A/B testing to support that statement.

I owned the M22 (briefly) and there is NO WAY Axiom compares to Paradigm!!! Paradigm Reference simply blows Axiom out of the water