Been lurking around this forum for about a year now. It's what convinced me to buy the M22's for my in-laws as a house warming present. Then shortly after that I purchased a set of QS8's for my surrounds. In short - both pairs of speakers are great.

So now I'm about the pull the trigger on completing my system so everything is Axiom. Just sold my mains on CAM and a buddy of mine wants the QS8's so I have an opportunity to switch to the high gloss cherry vinyl. Has anybody seen both as I've only seen the boston cherry.

Now I've had the chance to listen to the M60's and really liked what I heard so I'm leaning that way and that would keep me in budget even with the high gloss and then new QS8's, a VP150 and an EP350 to finish it off.

I'd like opinions. (which I know there is no shortage of on this forum)

Hi, Sloped. I believe "HAY" has some high gloss cherry vinyl and he has posted some pictures on the forums somewhere. They are beautiful, BTW. Maybe send him a PM if you can't find the pictures on the forum search, there should be some sample pictures in the "store" somewhere, too.

My vote goes to HG cherry. Its what I would have picked up if it was in my budget. The HG vinyl is impossible to tell from the real thing unless you are within a foot of the two. I did the comparison at the factory.

I have my setup in HGC, but I can't help you with pics for the 60's though, unfortunately. I find they photgoraph a little bit orange. These aren't too bad, but some pictures online look quite orange.

I hate when people post high gloss cherry pictures. Takes me forever to get the drool stains off my desk.

I believe if you go to the gallery section and head back into the previous postings you will see a number of HG cherry pics

Thanks Adrian

I've PM'd HAY to see if I can arrange an audition. He lives really close and has the M60's in that finish. Pictures are great, but live is best. I also hope this can solidify my decision on the M60's instead of M80's. I've heard the M60's once, but the room it was in seemed to kill some of the low's. From what I've read in these forums there should have been more so I'm going with that. If it doesn't satisfy, I'll send them back for the M80's or buy another EP350 which I plan on doing eventually.

Thanks for the pictures Potatohead. They look gorgeous. I'd seen a couple in the gallery. Have you seen the Boston Cherry? Would you say they are the same with a gloss finish or from what I interpret in the pictures, do they have a little less red colour and more of a light chestnut finish?

Actually, a good friend who turned me on to Axiom in the first place has the Boston Cherry. It's definately got more red in it than the HGC. These are slightly lighter, with a bit more grain. To be perfectly honest the only reason I didn't get BC was because he had it already, and there aren't any other medium - dark standard finishes.

Here's some good pics from member DanielBme...

Mine with outriggers...

Thanks for the pictures. I found these after I posted. They look great. A side bonus is I think I have the same Pany TV so now I know it's meant to be.

Hay,

Awesome pics! Did you make those outriggers, those are sweet...

ooops, I just searched and found the thread when you purchased them, it is all coming back to me...Still waiting for MarkS to go into production of his wood version...

Well lookit Mr. fancypants...Hey, yer speaks got big feet!

Me too!
Beutiful!

Easy & simple.... You can order sample swatches of any colors & finish. ( look on the site )

You order them look at it and before 30 days, you can return them (after asking an RMA number) you will be refund.

the only charge for you is the shipping charge for returning them.

The sales dept will gladly serve you on this.

I did it to compare the new black finish & old black finish
you can compare grille color too !!!! ( i did it black vs charcoal )

Nothing is better having samples on hands and eyes

Thanks everyone. I'm placing my order tomorrow.

Well... For what????

Just finished with Noreen. Before I go on I have to say she's great.

So I ordered two systems. One for me and one for my buddy. Before someone asks, no, he's paying for his own.

I ordered the M60's, QS8's, VP150 and EP350 all in High Gloss Cherry.

The other system is M22's, VP150, EP350 and I selling him my QS8's as I had them already and he wanted Boston Cherry. Then we got him some M2 in wall for the ceiling over his pool table.

He had more of a challenge than I did. He's just finishing his basement and his wife had a custom built-in done for the TV. I couldn't talk them into the in-cabinet so they went with the M22's. I've done all the wiring for him in the walls for audio and video and all the equipment will be in a closet. When everything comes together I'll see if he'll let me post some pics.

Wow, the two of you are going to have some wonderfull systems, can't wait for the pics

First time I've heard of two people getting entire systems in one order... cool! Did you still get the referal rewards? If not give Noreen a call back and make sure she understands all of those speakers aren't just for you. Can't wait to hear feedback and see the pics!

Since he didn't get the free one, does that mean the rest of us still have a chance?

Micah, Noreen was fully aware of what the situation is, as mentioned before, she's great. The thing is I had some old Axiom equipment that I was using for two channel in other rooms and the kids area. By combining our two systems, it gave me the full purchase required to max out the trade-up credits.

The referral for my buddy was easy. I bought some M22's for my in-laws last year, I had the QS8's already and I had a first generation EPS350 so I was able to cobble all the pieces together and demo it for him. He was sold within 10 minutes and commented how he couldn't believe the cr*p he'd been using all these years. He's by no means an enthusiast about this stuff, but he does appreciate value when it comes to price/performance. I'm hoping he really starts to get into it. It's to much fun.

I think I got him a little excited, cause he called me up late yesterday and asked me to help him round out the rest of the system with a new TV, receiver and blu-ray player. Within his budget we ended up with a 50" LG Plasma, Pioneer Elite VSX-21TXH and a Pioneer BDP-121. Gonna be a pretty sweet set up when it's done.

I don't think I've every truly been given anything for free. There's always a cost somewhere.

That's alchemy's first law of Equivalent Exchange.

"But the world isn't perfect, and the law is incomplete. Equivalent Exchange doesn't encompass everything that goes on here. But I still choose to believe in its principle: that all things do come at a price. That there's an ebb, and a flow, a cycle. That the pain we went through did have a reward and that anyone who's determined and perseveres will get something of value in return, even if it's not what they expected. I don't think of Equivalent Exchange as a law of the world anymore. I think of it as a promise between my brother and me."

Alphonse Elric, Fullmetal Alchemist

YIPEE, my first off topic post.

Ha ha, congratulations.

Nice! Did you order the custom Axiom sunglasses as well? I hear those HG speakers are very shiny.

I'm hoping I need a welding shield.

Hugs are free. And there's no greater feeling than when your child runs up and gives you one for no reason in particular!

That's too bad. If I ever have kids, they'll always have a reason to hug me.

My family never hugged. Perhaps that's why we became so disfunctional later in life.

I'll second that, I also love to hear "Thanks Dad" when I help one out.

My 4 year-old daughter is an expert hugger and never lets me leave for work without a hug.

I just got a hug from Noreen. The email I've been waiting for.

It all shipped today, so I should receive it sometime tomorrow.

Oh no, I'm feeling a little sick now, don't know if.....I'll.... be able to....leave the house tomorrow..... cough, cough, weez.

Great!

Must be that flu that is going around. You should stay home and get better. I will have the speakers redirected to my house till you feel better

Wonderful news and don't forget to post pics for us

There here, there here. Or should I say hear.

I got the packages late yesterday, just as I was leaving. So they had to sit until late last night before I could look at them. To make it worse, when the Purolator guy dropped them off, both M60 boxes had huge breaks in the cardboard at the bottom like someone tried to kick the box to get it to more. The VP150 box had a huge gash, like a knife slice across the middle and the EP350 had a large break in the top of the box like something had been dropped on it, probably the QS8 boxes which were fine.
He was "kind" enough to mark on the delivery that the packages were damaged in case there was a problem and then he bolted.

Got home late last night and immediately opened everything up.

Drum roll...........they're all fine.

What a beautiful finish. Anyone who's contemplating the High Gloss Cherry, get it. Absolutely beautiful. Nice graining on it, not overkill and the shine is like a mirror. My wife really like them as well and commented that they were more like furniture than speakers. Her only question was how we were going to keep the 3 year olds hands off them for fingerprints. I have a solution of course, anyone looking to buy a slightly used 3 year old boy, fingers included? Darn I just violated a forum rule of posting things for sale, disregard the last question.

I've spent the majority of the day listening and setting things up and I'm impressed. My history with Axiom was original AX1.5's and an EP350 v1. My next purchase wasn't until I got a set of M22 for my in-laws and they sent me over the top. All that from a bookshelf I kept thinking to myself and I paid what? That led me to buy the QS8's last year for myself and again I was impressed.

The v3 of the EP350 has a significant improvement to it. I'm finding it just feels a bit more punchy yet more effortless and blended as well. I'm not an audiophile, so I don't know if I'm using the terms right but this is what comes to mind.

The M60's were my biggest concern, the whole 60 vs 80 debate and will there be enough bottom end for me. Well they certainly don't disappoint. I've been listening for the last 3 hours and I'm really happy with this decision. I played a couple of songs I really like and then broke out my favorite album. Listened to it from beginning to end with no sub, just the M60's and it was fabulous. I then picked out my 4 favourites from that and turned the sub on. Better, but the M60's stand alone just fine. Very clear and neutral mid's and exceptional highs for me.

I then played around with Dolby Pro Logic and the bliss continued. Movies will be this weekend.

Huge Fan. Thanks Axiom for a great product and forum members for your informative posts.

Excellent news!

Very good.

Enjoy!

Very nice to hear sloped.

If you do not have one already I would recommend picking up a Blu-ray player for your home theatre experience, just like with music the better the source material the better Axiom speakers sound. Be prepared for movie nirvana!

Awesome to hear everything is good!

Where are the required pics? Tease!!!!


Glad to hear your journey has led you to the doorstep of audio bliss. The 60 vs 80 debate is a very interesting one indeed! I'm so interested in it in fact that I've been thinking about buying a set of M60's for myself! That way I could audition the both of them in my very own living room and see what I make of the differences between them.

They would be for our studio behind our home. Currently we have Amy's ancient Pioneer floor standing speakers out there. They do a decent job I suppose, but nothing like a set of Axioms. I had originally thought I'd like to get a 2nd set of M80's to go out there, but now I'm fascinated with testing my M80's against the M60's. Who knows, perhaps I'll be so delighted with the 60's that my current 80's will wind up in the studio? Or I could swap them out ever couple of months to freshen things up from time to time.

Either way, I see a win/win situation in front of me!

Hey Micah,

I really doubt the 60's would replace your 80's but you would be very happy with them. Since it's going into your work environment, I'd suggest the 60's are a better choice. You wouldn't be doing any real critical listening there I assume and with the money you save, you could get a nice custom finish that matches your studio decor, like say Blaze Orange! Who knows, they could even become a prop in your photography and then, TAADAA, it's a business expense.

As far as my pictures go, I was going too but honestly I'm a little embarrassed at my set up right now. I constructed my first system in 2000 in our first home and it was sweet. We moved about 4 years ago and all the equipment remained the same until the addition of the QS8's last year but the space was/is rough.

I started the room when we moved in but it is still under construction as life got busy. Drywall, check. Floor, check. Woodtrim, up but needs paint. Ceiling, ahhhh well not yet. Cable management, the second coming will look better, what a mess. I just got a reciever about 6 months ago with HDMI. My receiver before that only had component since, HDMI wasn't a ratified standard at that point. Heck, Blu-ray was still a debate. So needless to say, cables are numerous.

I have a great vision for the finished room, but it's still going to be another 12 months before its done. On the list to do/buy:

Oppo Blu-ray - Have an Xbox, so no need for a PS3
AE4000 - Very attracted to the constant image height feature.
Screen - 2.35 ratio
Stage construction - Get the speakers off the floor and have a more finished look.
Window treatments - We have walkout basement with 9 foot ceilings and my wife insisted on full windows, 10 in total, but who's counting.
Theatre seats - Just because I can.

If you recall further up, I help my buddy finish off his basement and we should be done it next week. It's turning out very nice (except for one thing which I'll post later) and I'll post some pics and review of that. Maybe after I post his I'll post mine just so it's clear I am capable of doing it right. Vanity and pride, it's a bitch.

My boxes had several problems same as the gashes and bashed in areas. Thanks to Axiom's packaging design, the speakers were undamaged. ANOTHER reason to choose this company.

You are part of our community and you are worried about these things?

Thanks jakewash. Point taken.