Anyone get a chance to audition these before their Axiom purchase? I was curious that if you had what were your impressions of them. All three get great reviews, sell online and very close in prices. I don't know if I have the time or space to order all three and do my own "shootout" before I decide. Although it would be very interesting.

DanTana,

I was going to buy Ascend but when I took a long hard look at the speakers themselves, they look like they have bad build quality. I have never heard them, but the look of Axiom speakers, the reviews on audioreview, the people on this board, and of course, the customer support and the company itself, have all made Axiom an easy choice for me.

I audition all three and, not because I work for them,
went with the Axiom. Axiom has the most extended highs among the three.

All three have grrreat customer service, BTW. Aperion even pays for return shipping and Ben Fowler (very helpful) is happy to hear feedbacks.

These are my impressions:
Axiom M3 - laid back upper mids. Bloated lower mids and upper bass. Extended, sweet, sparkling highs which
I liked. Transparent.

Aperion 712D - rolled-off highs. Discontinued so I was given 40% off but I returned it. This has a VERY engaging
mids which might surpass the M3s because there is no bloat.
Excellent imaging. If you listen to a lot of vocals (Broadway, Opera) this might be it.

Ascend CBM170 - first thing I noticed was its brightness.
After 1 week of continuous play it still is too bright for my taste. With a quick glance, looks like a little subwoofer. The cabinet is that wide! Has tuneful bass that is not bloated.

Aperion 522D - current model. Less bright compared to Ascend CBM170 but bright nevertheless. Excellent imaging. I almost bought it. But..there is a peak at around 6000Hz which I can not tame.

Axiom M22 - is what I have currently. Neutral and balanced.
Detailed. Needs 2 weeks of break in. No upper bass bloat. Could be bright sometimes.

My other equipment:
NAD T761 receiver and built-in DAC
cheap generic cables and interconnect
Toshiba 3750 player using the optical output
Medium sized room with vaulted ceiling

By any chance does your room have wooden floors? I think that could attribute to the brightness your hearing. I've heard great things about all three and on audioreview.com the Ascend and Aperion both are on the best buy lists of 2002.

The room is carpeted. The right side is 75% covered with drapes. There was one post in Audio Review which actually
found the Ascends bright. And another reason I returned
it is about aesthetics. It looked like a tiny sub to me.

I think, I should mention that I have a pair of NHT SuperOne which I never found to be bright. This is my
first speaker that might be considered audiophile grade.
Of course, I caught the upgrade bug so I started auditioning. I first bought the M3 and then re-upgraded to the M22. Now, I'm being tempted to get the last pair of
GR-Research Paradox 1. But no. I think I would wait for more feedback about their latest design--a bookshelf with
a hi-performance ribbon tweet.

Have you auditioned Magnepan?

Go for the Ascends...I have used them for the past year and they are WAY better than anything under $500. Here is the Soundstage reveiw
http://www.soundstage.com/revequip/ascendacoustics_cbm170.htm

TheTruth

have you compared Ascend to Axiom? I hear Ascend is good, but I wonder how it would fare in a direct competition with Axiom.

Perhaps you can bring them to someone's house who has Axiom near you, or vice versa, and give it a really good comparison.

Ravi
I also own the M3ti..great speakers! The M3ti is a very nice speaker but just a little to reduced in the mids ( I have read on the web the M2 and M22ti fix this problem but I have not heard these two speakers.) The Ascend is as close to perfect as a small speaker can get. They present a very "rounded" 3D image with good depth...they also have a very fast, crisp, tight and punchy sound..the mids are VERY quick. The slower M3 just can't compete. But I would like to compare the Ascends to the M22ti...this would be the real show down.

But to be fair the M3 is still the best over all loudspeaker under $300. If you are looking to spend a little more the Ascends or the M22 will be the best bets. The only problems I can find with the Ascends is their lack of bass and they are ugly looking. The Axioms on the other hand look great. You can always use a EQ to boost the mids of the M3. With a EQ the M3's can be made to sound very flat but they will still have the problem of very little depth and a wide soundstage. One of the things the M3 seems to do VERY well is center fill. No matter how far I space the speakers apart I never get the "hole in the middle" effect that many other small speaker will give you. There are plus and minuses to all well made speakers. The important thing is to just let your own ears decide what you like. I wish Axiom would make a bookshelf size 3-way speaker...say a M2 with a 6 1/2 driver to handle the bass. I guess this would just be a smaller M60 but I bet it would sale great! The Ascends are so good that other companies are going to have to go all out to beat them at their price. I think Axiom is the company that can do just that.

TheTruth,

well, The M22's aren't three way speakers, and I don't find their bass to be any more performant than the M3's, but they are overall a much better speaker. I've yet to hear a better bookshelf in that price range. I've listened to them without a sub and they do a very good job of filling out the bottom considering their price.

If you can audition those Ascends vs. some M22Ti's, that would be the best test.