OK, no one else is interested. I don't care, I'm comfortable talking to myself.

So, tonight my friend Alex came over to return my EAR88pb phonostage I lent to him. I retubed them with Matsushita National 6DJ8s, a great upgrade from the tired JJs that were in it. He also brought over a $9,000 pair of Transparent Audio RCA cables. Go ahead laugh, they're not mine.

So, we listened to the Axiom M80 v2s with about $20,000 of amps and preamp, $6,000 phono stage, about $11,000 table, cartridge and 12" arm and about $12,000 in cabling. These M80 v2s are not likely to sound better than they do in this system.

How did they sound? REALLY GOOD. They sparkle, the mids are rich and accurate, the bass is good. Sounds like they go down to the mid 30s. These are accurate, excellent speakers. They are smooth, there is no noticeable discontinuity between the tweeter and drivers, they reproduce the timbre of instruments very accurately. These would be credible, entry level audiophile speakers that compete well with many expensive towers.

Listened to the Analog Productions 45 LP, Dream with Dean, one of the best recorded albums ever. All the songs on this album share pretty much the same pace and style. Dean's voice was rich, and sounded excellent. Then we listened to the Analog Productions 45 LP, Time Out, The Dave Brubeck Quartet. We were both very impressed. He has a pair of Marten Django XLs, and has a very high end system. Nevertheless, the Axioms sounded excellent and did not embarrass by the comparison. The timbre is right, they were accurate, and presented significant air around the instruments. The soundstage was excellent, instruments were where they belonged and did not move around! Finally, we listened to the Analog Productions of Rimsky Korsakoff's Scheherazade, Fritz Reiner conducting, and although this symphony was not a great test (lots of airy highs, mids, not a lot of orchestral bass excitement) The M80s sounded pretty darn good.

Did they sound as good as the Marten Django Ls ($10,000), no, they don't go as deep, the mids are not as rich, the highs not quite at that level, and they lack the bass slam, but for 15 year old, modestly priced towers, they sound very, very good!

Compared to the Wharfedale Elysian 4s ($10,000), the M80 v2s are a credible alternative! The Wharfedales do go a bit lower, have an AMT tweeter, are drop-dead gorgeous, but the M80s sound very similar. So much for the detractors of the titanium tweeter 2.0. I've never listened to the Wharfedales in my home, but have spent quite a bit of time with them driven by the glorious Luxman KT88 power amp and high-end Luxman preamp.

Anyway, this is a good reason to call Ian tomorrow and chat. Nice job Ian!