I’ve had the VP160 running in my newly calibrated home theater for a couple weeks now and thought I’d give you my two cents. As other owners have stated, the VP160 fills a hole in my 7.1 system that I didn’t know existed. For five years I’ve been more than happy with a VP150, but after hearing how seamlessly the VP160 combines with my M60’s to create an uncolored soundstage that sounds so natural, I am convinced I’m hearing exactly what the sound engineers wanted me to hear from the source material. From the faintest sounds of an actor breathing, to quiet footfall of bare feet walking on carpet, the VP160 is able to produce the smallest detail without sounding as though the level is unnaturally high. One the flip side, the booming voices of Optimus Prime and Darth Vader carry a weight to them I’ve not heard anywhere but in the better calibrated Cinemas in Calgary. It quickly becomes clear that this is a different beast then the VP150. The frequency response is fantastic, allowing the listener to hear subtleties in the mix that could easily go missing from lesser speakers, but also would not be missed until one heard things as they were meant to be heard. In Transformers: Dark of the Moon, there's a scene where Optimus Prime and Sentinel Prime are having a discussion on who should lead the Autobots. The voices of Peter Cullen and Leonard Nimoy slowly move from the right front or left front channel to the center and back again as the camera slowly moves from side to side. The front soundstage sounded simply amazing, with no obvious difference between my 5 year old M60v2's and the new VP160v3. Better ears then mine might be able to pick something out, but I couldn't.

It's difficult to judge just how much my home theater has been improved by the VP160 due to the fact that I totally re-calibrated my AVR and renovated my room. During the course of my renovation I learned a great deal about room treatment, speaker size, subwoofer set-up and AVR settings. As a good friend of mine with a real ear for sound told me this weekend, "The new center sounds great, but now the whole system sounds like it's just been upgraded." I agree. I'm hearing things I haven't heard before, but not just from the VP160.

I am very happy with the VP160 and would recommend it to anyone with M60's and the space required for a larger-sized center channel. It's a big improvement over the VP150 and the prefect complement to the M60's. Now if only Axiom would make matching surrounds...

Yeah, now that they built new centers and an often-requested new "M100", we can start pressing them for QS10s.

C'mon you lazy Axiom folks! It's been a week since your newest speaker announcement: Where's the next one? Huh?

Bayne, you're really psyching me up for my new VP160. I've honestly been so busy that I haven't given much thought to it's arrival.

But now you've got me checking my email for a "shipped" notification and then I'll be pressing my nose against the front door and craving that new speaker smell!!!

Seriously, thanks for the review! I'll do the same!

Nicely put Bayne. I agree the VP160 is a major improvement over the 150.

Thanks for the review Bayne, and the comparison to the VP150. I’m glad Axiom has offered a couple upgrade options for the VP150 for those who can fit a tower as a center speaker.

I'm just waiting for them to give their in-wall/on-wall models the DSP/bipolar treatment…

I have the same opinion of my 180, with my M60ti's.. They play well together, with no huge difference in the sound between the older speakers as compared to the new one.

Very good review!

I am hoping that the VP180 will sound as well matched to my M60s as it seems the VP160 does.

I totally concur with your assessment with the differences between the VP160 and 150. Large center channels like the VP160 go along way towards negating the limitations of smaller center channels like the VP150 since, no matter the brand, for the purpose of convenience, small horizontal designs are and always have been somewhat of a compromise in sound.

Nick, i think it will.. I can "almost" promise you, that you will Not be disappointed...

It's certainly true that the center channel is the single most important speaker in any home theater, and with the advent of lossless audio it makes more sense these days that all your speakers are equal. I would, however, love and fear the day that I could get M60-type surrounds. How the heck would I hang 3 of those suckers from a wall and 1 from the ceiling?

Nick, I think what summed it up for me was your statement that I didn't know what I was missing. Coming from a VP100, I'm even more impressed with the full and seamless front sound stage.

Well done Axiom...well done indeed!

Well said, I totally agree. The vp160 is definately an improvement over the150 and really came to life after some tweaking. It even sounds good with my M80's. Dialogue is more localized and I noticed the footsteps too! Nice review!

Thanks for this review, very thoughtful.

But it makes things even more difficult for me... if I get a pair of M80's do I keep my VP150 (prolly not), get a VP160 or a VP180!?

What is the bass like out of the 160 ? If you have Tron could you do a test for me. The scene where theyre about to start the light cycle race and Qs side kick is about to give his speech. The fireworks are going off everywhere. How clear are the 'snaps' and 'pops' as they explode. My brothers Klipsch make them nice and clear. With the M60s and 150, they sound more subdued.

I know the scene. With the EP500 turned off the explosions are decent and not what I'd call, subdued. There's a far amount of kick to the low end with each burst. But, of course with the EP500 engaged, the scene is a monster of pops and rumbles. You should also compare the first scene in Star Wars Episode III. The rumble of the Star Destroyer has a lot of power to it.

Just this weekend I watched Master & Commander and season two of Sherlock. Both were amazing audio experiences. In something like Sherlock which is primarily dialog driven, the VP160 really fills out the image well. From the faintest sound of John Watson's neck twisting in his sweater's collar to fingers tracing lines on paper, I am able to hear the smallest details. I really like this new speaker.

Hi Bayne


Thanks for all the great feed back on your new purchase. Now the time I've spent reading through these various forums, I've come to an understanding, that the VP-150/160/180 can be summed up as follows, the Chevy,the Buick' and the Cadillac of the audio world.
With that said, all I can say is boy, I CANNOT WAIT TO START DRIVING MY NEW CTS latter this year.

I watched Tron again today with some friends. When the fireworks played I listened for my impression. My EP350 was on, and there was some low bass notes playing which drowned out most of any popping noises the fireworks were making.

Thanks Bayne and Cat.