I guess we'll need a new forum category.

Well, 24h later than expected (a mishap by Purolator) and 60 minutes of wait at their depot until they find by box... I have them and they are installed. A few things:

1) Maybe it is coming in a separate box, but I can't find the LCD screen that is shown on the site;

2) A few packing things that could be better (box is too small and swells a lot with humidity, power is on by default on the amp, you need to put the amp's weight on the volume knob to install the little rubber feet). Little things that I am sure they will improve very fast.

3) I have them currently at max: sound is perfect (very close to the M3s, apart from the bass) and SPL is at 102db. Not bad at all. (I will try later on sound system).

4) Sound at max and perfect! (I know this is a repeat of point 3, but I thought it was worth mentionning twice).

5) Mine are normal black. Very, very pretty (I personally don't like high gloss; I mean, I find high gloss impressive, but not on a daily basis)

6) The magnetic grills are just amazing. You let it go and it slips back into place (from an inch distance, not five feet!).

7) In case I did not mention it, the sound is amazing. I am currently listening to Xenakis' Rebonds (a show piece that impresses the heck out of everyone with the M80s) and it is SO beautiful. I think I will stay on my keyboard for a while now!

8) For those who don't know yet, Axiom redesigned the EP0 and will only be available Jan 14. But, for those who were wondering (I was one of them), they are good by themselves. The EP0 will proabably add depth, but I could live with what I am hearing now.

For those who haven't figured it out yet, I am typing as I listening.

9) Just put Kodaly's cello sonata: WOW WOW WOW: 110db (I am to lower the volume). And the sound is pretty deep. VERY deep. Can't wait for that sub! (I will try with the EP500 in an hour or so).

10) Bottom line: GUYS AND GIRLS (I mean Axiom employees, of course) YOU HAVE OUTDONE YOURSELVES AGAIN! I can't believe that I'm hearing this out of my sound card!

For those who prefer rock, I just tried (max 60 seconds each!) "Black Dog" from LedZep, "Time" from PinkFloyd and "Bohemian Rhapsodie" from Queen... You will be pleased, even without the sub.

Eric,

I'm sitting here listening to Icebergradio through my Altec Lansing laptop built-ins torturing my poor stapes. So I finally pulled the trigger.

I just ordered mine now in the high gloss walnut. The thing I agonized over the most is what kind of finish to get. Although black goes well in my main area for the Epic system, it does not go well in my office. I was really split between the walnut and cherry. John and his wife love the walnut and so does Amie so that's what I went with.

I'll be using my 150W Sony active sub with these puppies. But I would love to hear the EP0. One day the Sony sub is likely to go into my living room in which case I'll need another sub in my office and then well...EP0 here we come.

I'm glad you're really enjoying it. And I'm a little envious too...but not for long . I wonder if they'll get here in time for the next Calgary GTG (Tuesday or Wednesday).

Eric,

A/B them against the 80s .

Be a man and get some M22's for your desktop system...just kidding :P.

I'd really be interested what the sound signature of these little guys are...are they more forgiving on badly recorded albums for more casual listening...etc?

Apart from the power and the bass, their sound is pretty similar to the M80s, actually. More so than what I remember from the M3. I have it running now with some organ music and the EP500 as the sub. And it connected through the headphone port of my 805 (it's ok, they're more than 4ohm!! )! The 500 blends perfectly with them and I did not touch any settings at all! Pretty cool!

I don't doubt what you're saying, Eric. When I heard them in the pub with all that background noise, they sounded like a cross between an M3 and an M22. I was pretty blown away by the bass especially considering that they're sealed. I wish they'd get here already...it's been a half hour since I put in my order .

I have been living in this apartment for 7 years. I wrote 5 novels in my office and also worked remotely hours at a time (lots of keyboard time). But it is only the fourth time today that I eat in it! I just cannot stop listening.

Obviously, my regular sound system is 2-3 notches above, if only for bass power and surround reasons. But the Audiobytes are much better than playing my sound system from afar. I was expecting to be pleased, but I am truly impressed. 110db (solo cello!) without a hint of distortion! Pipe organ shaking my 3/4 inch wood "director" desk without a sub?!

The small 55W amp is probably also for something in the max-output, no distortion part!

I already have 3 employees dying to listen to them. I will have to lie that I don't have them otherwise they will insist in coming here while it is a bit of a mess!

How do you feel now that it's been 1.5 hours that you wait?

Not forgiving at all. I just tried two badly remastered old recordings and they sound as awful as on the M80s (pretty good on the iPod, though!).

I wonder what the heck internet radio will sound like.

Eric, I thought you had a 600. Time to upgrade. You can use the 500 with your audiobytes .

Yo! The A1400 first... I don't have oil coming out of my sink!

LOL. I'm not a true Albertan so neither do I.

Have you tried cranking up the volume on your soundcard to determine the point of audible distortion?

I just tried "live365" and it sounds good... after you stop iTunes, of course! For a few seconds I had two things playing at the same time... Ahh!!! I also tried WOI-FM and it is good.

Sound is not as crisp at lossless from CD, but much better than on the horrible little speakers I had before. I would say it is at least better than FM radio.

The 110db was all at max. No distortion whatsoever.

What was your distance at that 110db level?

Office desk distance. I am at 2 feet, but the SPL meter was in front of me at around 1.5 feet (6 inches hand-holding distance from me). The cello-sonata used is recorded LOUD at 100% of volume. Regular stuff was more around 102-104db (max volume).

I suppose 110dB at 8 feet would be too much to ask.

I agree with all of Eric's comments on the Audiobytes. Mine arrived yesterday as well. The bloated packaging looked like it had gotten wet but the contents were dry and well protected in plastic and foam.

They sure are smaller than I remember from the show last summer but that amp looks substantial. Gotta love a 55wpc amp to drive such small speakers. No fooling around as usual.

I fired them up with my alphabetical iTunes list starting with Diana Krall's "All or Nothing at All". My first thought was where did all that bass come from? It had me wondering whether I needed the EP0 which has been delayed. My second thought was how well the dynamics were being reproduced and that is where that beefy amp comes in. Also there is something to be said for sitting nearfield within 1 metre of a nice sounding pair of speakers. Like EFalardeau, I play mine all the time while in my home office. Hmm...come to think of it a set in my downtown office would be a good way to start 2008.


My wife walked in and remarked how nice the high gloss burled walnut looked. Even one of my teenagers like the way they look. I was more fixated on the sound but it is nice to know she approved of their looks which doesn't happen often with my electronics. High WAF is always a good thing.

I know this wasn't how they were intended but the sound is good enough for the Audiobytes to easily serve as a second system in a bedroom or den. And its small enough to be portable. It would be cool if Axiom came out with a carrying case to go with the Audiobytes/amp/EP0/Ipod/Charger...instant high quality portable stereo for partying and visiting.

Yes, a bit! They have other products for that (M2, M3, M22...). But for a desk speaker, it is astonishingly clear and loud ("loud" in the good sense).

Actually, I just went to the kitchen (12 feet away) and the sound was very clear and good. Just not as powerful as when the M80s are playing.

Ask and you shall receive...

Same request...

Ian's Response

I wonder if the amp can be bridged .

Uh oh, here we go, the EP600 amp is coming out again isn't it.

John,

An inverter would be nice too.

I'm getting really anxious now. You guys are enjoying high fidelity at your desks and I'm suffering. Innovation is a funny thing, isn't it? When it's available, you just gotta have it .

I hope they get here quick so I can take them out to Kananaskis. I can nurse a few Rickard's and space out to my audiobytes .

Thanks for reminding me HAY. I forgot he mentioned the carrying case accessory. Good stuff.

Mojo. An inverter? You can get one that does the job most anywhere.

Hmmmmm...an EP600 amp per audiobyte channel with ones as the DSP coefficients. Somehow defeats the purpose of audiobytes .

Yeah, but is it audiophile quality? Doesn't it have to say "Axiom" on it ?

Too bad we couldn't just buy Axiom badges and glue them on stuff.

Tell us again John and Eric just how great they are, pretty please. If I can't enjoy them myself, I may as well relish in hearing about them.

Well they deserve to be used as a standalone stereo. To call them computer speakers is like saying a Porsche is a good car for driving to get groceries.

Oh I forgot, you're still waiting for yours. Actually, they suck and will hurt your ears and cause dogs to howl.

Actually John he wants to to hear how good they are. Tex is trying to live vicariously through you and Eric for the next few days until his arrive.

It is the rest of us that don't want to hear how good they are!

Honestly Tex, I was really not expecting this. My expections WERE high. Spitting out 500$ for computer speakers is almost an act of blind faith based on prior expection-surpassing capabilities of a company. So 500$ set my expections high. Knowing that Axiom kept surpassing my expectations so far (I still remember vividly my first contact with the M80s!), my actual expectations got even higher... Well... They trippled the result! I am right now listening to a magnificent work for 18 strings by Xenakis and, altough it is not as great as on the M80s, it is an experience that is just as amazing in the context of something playing at my desk!

For the next few days, don't hesitate to request refreshers on how good they are, because jakeman and I will continue to love them just as much if not more. (that being said, I did pay a 15 minutes tribute to my M80 and listened to a new Cherubini sonata on SACD on them; they're still the best!). I am also expecting a lot of new Audiobytes owner to chip in enthousiastically as the days passes by and more deliveries are made!

Sorry about that!

BTW, to make you feel better, they are not half as good as you could imagine by multiplying the M80s by 4 and subtracting the M22. The remainder of 7 of 9, based on binary digits, may actually lead you to believe that, upon reflection, you may die without them... I think I meant to say "live without them", but it would not have been plausible!:)

Quiet you two, between this thread and the A1400-8 thread my head is going to explode and my bank account implode.

Oh! Is the A1400 available already? Thanks for telling me...

Wel, I jus retrnd frum the locl pub tryin/2 drawn my sorows...i hope the factry's workin; OT this weemend.

Geez. This is the first time you sound coherant. Did you drink nominal half-pints?

Oh! And just to put a nail in the coffin. When you remove the grills (magnetic grills rules!), those tiny, tiny, 3.5 inches woofers are SOOOOO cute!

OK. I could not wait for you to ask again. It is 9h40 eastern time and they are STILL SO FREAKING GOOD!

So, did you order them already?

I ordered them hours ago and they better be here tomorrow.

I just noticed that on this HP the headphone jack is in the front. So I'll have to cable out the front which isn't totally ideal.

So, can you tell them apart from the 80s in a blind A/B test ?

Yes, I can tell them apart. They 80s are WAY BIGGER. So, if I blindly touches things around, I can feel the difference.

Jokes aside, I wish we had some more info from M2/M3/M22 owners. I only now M80 (a lot) and M3 (a little). So far, they are very close to M80 (signature-wise, not power and stufff!)

We'll be able to compare them soon against M22s. I'm sure Jason would love to oblige.

Geez. I know the point of this forum is not to have a play-by-play account, but my iTunes just switch to a very dynamic and "hammering" contempary piece that I sit mesmerized by the quality of what is coming out of those litte things...

Remember that the audiobytes are not just speakers, there's an amp involved. I suspect it's an Onkyo 805... but I might be wrong...

And even more now...

You are sooo right.

I am a little bit puzzled. we can't be only two to have received the Audiobytes... What the h..k is happening with the others?

Well...it could be just the three of us right now that are on the bleeding edge.

BTW, in case you were wondering, they sound just as good the morning after... And I did not even have to buy them breakfast!

Ferme la bouche... .

I got up at 3:15 am because I thought Purolator was knocking on my door .

Did the source-to-amp cable come with the audiobytes?

Yes. Even color coded for managers.

Is Purolator delivering on Saturday?

I am no longer a manager .

You're just an Engineering now?

Oh! Sorry. Ok... The green bit goes into the computer (that would be the thing with the fans) and the yellow bit goes into the amp. They ship with instructions anyway...

Can someone post pics? I need to be teased some more. I have been patiently (somewhat) waiting for their arrival. Is there an ETA on the sub?

>>The green bit goes into the computer (that would be the thing with the fans) and the yellow bit goes into the amp.

You shouldn't just *assume* that Mojo is an executive now.

Sub is around Jan 14. No pics from me, camera died in September when I wanted to post pics of my setup!

I would be tempted to guess Mojo won the lottery. He just purchased a set of expensive (but soo good) computer speakers and has mentioned "four watts" several times in the past few days. Something's afoot here...

After 17 years with GE, I am ecstatic to have the opportunity to leverage my technical and management skills for smaller companies that are experiencing growth challenges. It's also fulfilling to explore other opportunities that have interested me for a long time. Now having said all that, I sure miss my old paycheque .

Wow! You sure can talk the talk! Good luck!

They do but only partially staffed. I did see some M22s,stands and QS8s in the warehouse last night. Someone is going to be happy on Monday.

Well, when you see the audiobytes, just bring them right over .

Eric, you better not be still enjoying those darned things. Not until I get mine .

Promise. I am not enjoying them right now as I am at my keyboard. Yuk. They sound awful. Definitely not as good as M80s.

Was it better like that?

PS: BTW, they do have a little drawback. Unlike the M80s, which sound the same at low volume or high volume, the audiobytes play better at higher volume. At very low level they lose a bit of presence. Could be just because the sub is not there yet, though? I'll let you know Jan 14...

See, that's where your system is gonna suck compared to mine . My powered 150W sub will provide me with bountiful lows in my well-damped, 1000 cubic foot office. So I guess you'll have to up me by buying a 600 .

What do you call higher volume? What kind of SPL are we talking about? When you have your soundcard turned to max, what time is it on the amp's knob? How big is the space you have them in?

If I'm good with a half watt in my 4,000 cubic foot space, does that mean that I'll be happy with a tenth of a watt in my office ?

I just measured and I'll be able to form a perfect equilateral triangle with these little beauties. The tweeters though will be about 4" below my ear canals. I need to do something about that .

And my sub will be the exact same distance away as the audiobytes. So I don't have to worry about any time delay.

Kind of hard to mess it up with the EP0 under your desk.
Still can't believe how good these little speakers sound nearfield.

It's my 150W, 12" powered sub so unfortunately I can't put it under my desk.

I have enough room behind my monitor to place the sub so I'll be alright. In anycase, I view the EP0 more as portable drivers for the Audiobytes speakers rather than a subwoofer per se.

As for DBs... I just took out my SPL meters. My soundcard is always at max and so is iTunes. Volume knob goes from 7:30 to 5:26 (yes, I measure precise! ) Using harpsichord (narrow dynamics), I get 75dn at 11:00 and 1.5 feet. Sound is good. For strings, the magic is more at 12:00, but then forte is at about 80-82db. In general, at 11:00 the SPL goes from 60 to 75 db, with acceptable presence. But there is an improvement at 12:00 and then at one o'oclock, each time for a gain of about 3-4db.

As I am doing this test (30 minutes) it sounds more and more as it is the lower bass that are dropping out of the "picture" too fast when lowing the volume, which is about right for a 100hz roll-off. With the knob at 9 o'clock, I can hear clearly most of the range, but it's like the sound is "floating" and has no ground...

Damn! Your plan of making me want the sub now worked!

Oh! Almost forgot. My room is about yea-big on that side, roughly that on the other side and about 10 feet high (maybe less). If you multiply these, you can around 726.75 cubic feet.

Wait a minute... I just rememebered your... slightly... "off topic" thread about implementing methods to increase maintenance cost predictions or something like that. Part of your old life or new life?

PS: And please stop using words like "**CENSORED**" on a friendly forum!

LOL. That's part of my new life. I've always been interested in reliability assessments and particularly, their application to management planning. I've done a lot of that on the hardware side but only dabbled in firmware/software reliability. Since I posted that, I've done considerable research and created a model that is now being **censored** by one of my clients.

That's a great point on the EP0. If you want portability, that's the way to go. I can't be lugging my 30 pound powered sub with me.

Regarding the SPL levels, it's really difficult to judge performance with recorded music because you don't know what reference level it was recorded at. Peak levels for example may be recorded 10dB down from 0 reference (or maybe 20dB down judging from your readings). I would think the best way to judge would be to use a test CD that is known to be recorded at 0dB in a room that is much larger than the speakers themselves. And the speakers would have to be placed well away from room boundaries. I've been using the Realtraps test tones off of their website for these kinds of purposes.

I sure hope so!

That being said, if you were talking about the Virtual MR1, I just tried at 1Khz, 0db: (note: they knob has not markings, so the position is not entirely accurate)

09:00 = 71.3
10:00 = 81.3
11:00 = 86.7
12:00 = 90.0
13:00 = 95.5

Does that give you a better idea? For music, 11:00 is alright, 12:00 is good and 13:00 is excellent in terms of clarity and presence. I did not try it at 14:00 and more for the test signals as the neighboors might still be sleeping.

Yes, thanks, that makes a lot more sense. What's Virtual MR1?

It is a software that I downloaded from the site you mentionned that simulates a phyical device to inject test signals into the soundcard (or soundsystem in the case of the real device). I tought that's what to which you were refering.

I was referring to this one.

What's the link to the one you downloaded?

http://www.realtraps.com/nti_minirator.exe

Those are useful stats Eric. The spec say these speakers have a sensitivity of 87db at 1 metre which is my listening distance. With that robust amp we will cleanly hear instantaneous 104db peaks without clipping. That amp was likely the largest cost component and what really sold me on placing an order.

One beef I've always had with ordinary computer speakers was how easily their puny power supplies clipped transients. Those artifacts just aren't happening with the Audiobytes. If we keep the dial so we get 87db at 1m (90db at .5m) we have another 17db of headroom before clipping which should be enough to cleanly reproduce the peaks on most recordings.

On this issue of dynamic reproduction, a friend of mine reminded me that one of my favourite acoustic blues recordings "The Folk Singer" done in 1963 by Muddy Waters sounds so good because its range is in the 20db zone. The recording has several quiet passages where Muddy Waters voice goes from a soft whisper to a loud wail. When I hear these tunes on most receivers I turn the volume down. Not so with the Audiobytes.

If you enjoy this genre then this recording is a must. The really neat thing is that you can usually find it for $8 at Best Buy or Future Shop.:).

Eric, thanks for that link. That's a really cool program. My laptop "works" from about 200Hz to 16KHz (using the sweep). It'll be interesting to see if this is a limitation of the sound card or the speakers.

BTW, the link I sent you is probably best for your main system.

That's a good analysis, John. I found out from Tom that this amp will provide 60W clean into 4 Ohms from 20Hz up (it's 3dB point is at 10Hz). We may therefore be able to play up to 107dB peaks for a total headroom of 20dB.

Friday I measured 109.8db (from 1.5 feet) with a piece that I know (because it shows up on a curve) that has fairly long sequences at or near 100% (0db). The dynamic was amazing! So with a test singal at standard 3 feet, I have no problems believing it can reach 107db.

Yes, I have it marked for later download.

The in-room sensitivity of these is rated as 87dB. So two of them should produce 93dB theoretically. So the best SPL we could hope for is 93+10log(60/1) = 111dB at 3 feet. I doubt they'd be able to maintain this SPL for long though. The voice coils would most likely heat up and start compressing.

That's still pretty amazing for desk speakers! Maybe you should order some so you could **censored** your music collection! Oh! That's right! You DID order them. They're just not in yet!

Eric if that is what Uncle Tom says we can take it to the bank. The Axiom amp stats are quite conservative. He mentioned to me that the A1400-8 can exceed what is published.

The Audiobytes would put most small stereo systems to shame so its really funny to call it a computer speaker system.

Tom is your uncle too? I guess we are all related, huh ?

Yup. He signs his emails to me as Uncle but in person I get to call him Tom because he is only five years older than me. I guess its better than calling him Aunt Tom.

You planning to run yours in mono? Instantaneous peaks can go much louder which is why they have given us all that amp headroom which you seem to not think is relevant judging by your comments in the A1400-8 thread. That is key to good fidelity, which much to my amusement a lot of folks still refuse to acknowledge.

I'm all for amp headroom. I just disagree at this point with the magnitude that some feel is required. But, as you know from the PM I sent you a half hour ago, I am trying to quantify this better for myself.

Sorry, I don't understand your point about mono. The SPL I calculated above is the theoretical best we can hope for.

Ok I'll check the email now thanks. I'm currently confined to my Blackberry here in the Calgary airport and trying to get back to Toronto. Lots of delays and cancellations with the huge storm back east.

I want a pair of these! It's tough having two passions that cost so much! Audio and Art! Ugg! The pennies are being saved up...but the list of goodies is so long!

I am 5 minutes away from the airport I could have dropped by.

Jake, very kind of you to offer. I'm in Calgary on business every couple of months. We should grab a few pops next time.

You probably know this but for AES power ratings to calculate max SPL short term add 6db to the equation above so the max at peaks is actually 117db. That is high enogh for all but the most dynamic recordings.

Certainly the audiobytes can probably handle the 6dB peak that you mention IF they are rated in AES watts. But the audiobyte amp may not be able to drive them to 117dB. I based my 111dB calculation on a maximum of 60W in. Maybe you can find out from our uncle what the short term power rating of the amp is .

Okay Tex.

We are Monday. I know you live somewhere in Canada that lags a bit behind, but, my question is: Have you alreay started to wait for them? What's Purolator ETA on their Web-site? You DID receive a shipping email from Noreen, didn't you? Did you hit the "confirm order" button when you ordered? Have you verified that your doorbell is in working condition? Are you sure about that 111db or was it just a lazy finger on a keyboard? Did you hear that... ? Sounds like a delivery truck to me... Nah! Just kidding... It was the milkman.

I wish someone would deliver milk to my doorstep.
We drink about a gallon a day between the two of us...

Eric,

I started waiting for them long before today. I'd be very surprised if they ship before Friday.

I have to wait the WHOLE WEEK before describing the attributes of this product in a positive manner!

I starting digging for more info on the Audiobyte amp. Now the pieces are falling into place why the system sounds so good. We have a relatively large 60W Class D amp that utilizes a high clock rate (380khz) Philips chip optimized for those speakers. It has a nice array of caps: a large pair of 4700mfd caps for reserve power, a medium pair of 2200 mfd caps for constant duty and for immediate ultra fast response a small pair of 100 mfds. Go Tom Go!

I can't wait for the EP0 to arrive in January though I'm still wondering whether I need it seeing how nice the Audiobytes sound with just the speaker/amp combo.

Do you think that since the amp would also be powering the EP0, it may take away some 'punch' from the speakers? Guess we'll find out.... answering my own question!

That's what I want to find out as well. If it does the sub gets sent back seeing how nice the speakers sound on their own.

where the frack are all the pics?

Sweet setup :-)I'm not computer literate enough to post a picture of mine.

I wonder who at Axiom thought of making the blue light behind the knob into a smiley shape? It's silly, but it's actually putting some light (no pun intended) into the room when I walk in...

Here ya go. Blend right in don't they. Everyone has to look twice to see where all the great sounding music is coming from.

I actually really like it. At first, I thought "They didn't make it into a perfect arc because it's more expensive.". But after a while, it grew on me. I'm looking forward to listening to it in the dark. Wouldn't it be tres cool if the color changed depending on the mood of the song .

That's a nice chair. If you do a lot of work on the PC, I highly recommend a rollerball mouse.

I would listen to blues all the time 'cuz blue lights on equipment are the coolest!

Yes, tres cool indeed... It's a super-intelligent shade of the colour blue... (this is a reference to the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, hence the "u" in colour).

Ok, is there something you're not telling us (and I am NOT talking about what's crawling inside your walls )? In order for the blue smiley to grow on you, you would need some daily exposure... What EXACTLY did you bring back from that GTG apart from a slightly hesitant walk? And don't tell me "t-shirt and baseball cap"! I have those and I did not need to move to Calgary to get them. There's something quantum going on here...

I'm not into modding PCs for bling but my new case has a blue led in the front fan chamber. I kind of like it now and the Axiom blue will match perfectly.

Will resist for now though. HQ sound from my PC is not urgent at this point as it's in close proximities to M60s.

When I said "after a while", I meant after a few beer .

Oh! Yeah, everything (almost) that smiles makes me want to listen to them at home after a few beer!

I'm really looking forward to these speakers. Can't wait to get my set. But there's no way to turn off the blue lights, is there?

How warm is the amp, out of curiosity?

I've never felt it get warm. Mine is always room temperature.

I think the blue light looks cool next to the computer lights.

Ken,

When you get the amp, you will see the light .

The amp doesn't get warm at all.

I got the e-mail I was waiting for today. PC audio Nirvana will be mine by Monday .

Providing no more snow storms back east. And I won't even get a chance to look for them as they should be on the truck Sunday night.

Excellent! After hearing me talk about them, a guy at the office is going for them as TV speakers in a small bedroom.

Tex, I just realized that this is Thursday (I'm off tomorrow so my internal clock is a bit off). Does Purolator always take that long to reach Calgary? I never had more than 24h between e-mail and doorbell ringing.

I think it was about 4 business days for my Epic80-600 system. I'm remaining hopeful that they can do it in three. I have a lot of people waiting anxiously to listen to these.

Interesting. I guess I'm on a special route because I am 7 out of 7 so far with Axiom and Purolator! Or, it could be the EP-600, you know... placement problems...

My original purchase back in 2003 took a full 5 business days. The M80s last month took 3. Geography gets in the way from Dwight, it takes 2 full days of driving to get way out here. Initial email day means the product is on the trailer that night and 2 more days for travel, then next day for delivery.

If Tex is really lucky he will get the Audiobytes Friday, as the EP400 I shipped back to them ended up going air and was there in 1 day.

Yeah, that kind of makes sense...

Audiobytes are coming... got my DHL notice yesterday. Hopefully they'll be extra fast and get it to my office by tomorrow, or they'll be extra slow and won't get it to the office until next Thursday.

EDIT: Does DHL use the same contractor as USPS for building their tracking system? Fedex and UPS don't take 2 days to get a tracking number in the system... yeesh.

This ends the mandatory bitching about DHL. We now return to our regularly scheduled programming.

It would be nice if Axiom made a headphone amp.

NO!! I can't spend any more money!


Ahem, it would be nice, though. . .

Actually, it would, if only because we would know the truth about how much it should cost! Axiom has the good habit of being honest with their price while maintaining great performance.

All in all, I would be very curious to know what their engineering staff and resident experts have to say about headphone amps. Not that I am a non-believer, but I'm always a bit skeptical...

Count me as a potential headphone amp customer as well.

I'll take the first one.

Today we learn if Purolator can rise to your challenge!

To make it easier on you, I have just been listening to them as I was preparing my home office for some advanced keyboarding. I will tell you what I thougt of them later...

As of 7:08 this morning, they're on the vehicle for delivery. I don't know if that necessarily means they'll be delivered today or that my poor, little audiobytes are lonely and freezing in a cold, dark truck until Wednesday.

I am pretty sure it means it is coming fairly soon. Fingers crossed!

Guess what I just received .

However, at the same time, family guests arrived and they'll be here until much later. So now I'll have to wait some more to open them .

Sort out your priorities!

Hmmm.. I have no clue? you are just going to leave us wondering what you received?

Oh wait.. could it be the audiobytes that you have been talking about for the last 2 weeks?!

Glad you got them in finally. I would def. like to order a pair of those sometime.

RE-VIEW! RE-VIEW! RE-VIEW!

FOUR MORE EARS! FOUR MORE EARS!

I kicked my guests out . Audiobytes here I come.

Remember that the green bit goes in the computer!

OH MY GAAAAAAAWWWWWD!!!!!

Did you drop the amp on your foot?

That's what I said when I first turned my Audiobytes on. Either that or someone was glad to see him.

Unless he is faking it? He might not have received them at all...

Tex, I will be over tomorrow!

Jason, get in line . Unless you are ready to buy these, I don't recommend you come over. They are totally addictive! All my neighbors are now green with envy .

The review and the multitude of photos I've taken will have to wait but let me just go on record and say that all of you NEED these. Your productivity and work satisfaction will exponentially increase. You will very simply become better people .

Ian and Tom, did I ever tell you how much I love you ? I love you too Amie for suggesting the high gloss walnut.

Grrrr. I really need to buy the rest of my new computer first!

Aaaahhhhh! So, is the ban over? Can we resume saying how great they are? Glad you're onboard now! The number will be growing so much we'll be needing a whole new forum section!

PS: Are you using the laptop as a ventriloquist hand-puppet to talk to the other computer? Are the Audiobytes helping you throwing your voice?

They look awesome and I hope to hear them soon!

I don't know how I lived without dual monitors for so long. BTW, Diana Krall is right above the top of my monitor...singing to me...while I work on a massive spreadsheet. FYI, I have raised the AB to ear-level using 16 CD cases. I need to find something more permanent...like a nice chunk of walnut. The imaging and soundstage are both quite incredible!

Interesting. My first few tests did not yield any improvement putting the Audiobytes at ear level. But it was not that big a test. Worth a second hearing. Thanks for the tip.

It should sound like the soundstage has moved up. Before, Diana was coming from the centre of my screen. Now she's up above it. I like my soundstage up high rather than lower. Make an equilateral triangle between you and the AB.

That is the tidiest desk I've ever seen. What'd you you, fling all the crap off on the floor when the AB's showed up? Congrats on the new toys equipment.

I have a hard-cover notebook that I did fling onto the floor . Other than that, I work paperlessly. The 24" monitor and the 17" "laptop" screen that extends my desktop helps immensely.

OK. I have bought myself a little Canon A560 yesterday and can now take picture (for my HT, you'll all have to wait until I clean a little, which may take a while...). I had also created a video with sound so you could all hear what they sound like... but I lost the file. Are for those who are wondering, I did NOT throw anything on the floor... this juts happens to be a very large desk...

Here they are... I don't always use portrait for the monitor, but I thought it would be best for the pictures (see how, on the left, the Axiom symbol reflects the sun back on the desk!)



Without grills... (the big spot on the screen is not burn-in dammage, it's juts the sun!)



Close up...



Long amp...



The future "hang-on-wall" version????

OK...am I the only person who's desk looks like a total disaster area?

****ashamed****

No, mine looks pretty evil.

I'm thinking a new contest is in order. The member with the worst desk gets a pair of AB's. No faking it either- the judges will check for dust.

Mine's pretty bad too.

It's said that people with messy desks are actually more efficient and work better than those with clean ones. What happens is the things you use most end up being in more easily accessible areas, while lesser used things are further away and under other things.

Using this logic, you can more easily find things. In the back of your mind you are going "oh, this is probably under here or way back there since I haven't used it in a while" etc... Hence the name "organized mess"

So, revel in your messiness :D.

...unless your desktop is virtual...

My virtual desktop is messy ;(

All you have to do is create a single folder and drop all your mess in there .