Kindest greetings,

This is my first post here on this forum. I have just recently cleared a request for new towers with the girlfriend and am getting a tax return so that puts me in the market currently. I would not consider myself informed enough to be an audiophile but I am more passionate about music than anyone else I know. Having said that, I am trying to decide on a set of speakers that will meet my needs.

I am primarily concerned with music performance with HT coming in a far second. I don't have a sub and won't have one for some time due to the neighbour below me. Therefore, I need a tower that can at least deliver a moderate amount of low end - also required due to the kind of music I play.

I have a JVC receiver (RX 6042), JBL (HLS 610) as rears and tend to play most of my music from the PC (Turtle Beach - Santa Cruz). As you can see, I don't have a serious set up - yet...

Price is a big concern. I am willing to part with about $1000 CDN but might be able to stretch it to ~$1250 but would prefer to keep the cost down.

I notice that I listen to very different music from most audiophiles. Just for reference, I enjoy the following bands/DJs: Radiohead, Tigre Lou, Mike Patton, Massive Attack, Ellen Allien, Midi Miliz, Timo Maas, Plastikman, Ed Rush, Dillinger Escape Plan, From Autumn to Ashes, Charles Mingus, Duke Ellington, Miles Davis, MJQ, etc.

I am currently looking at the following options:
Axiom M60's
Paradigm Monitor 7, 9, 11
Monitor Bronze B6, Silver S6

I would be most appreciative to hear your thoughts on the above.

Many thanks in advance,

Jordan

From what I know, the M60s and the MA Silver 6s are head and shoulders above the others. The only ones I have heard of your other list were the Monitor 7s and 9s. The 7s were a bit anemic compared to the 9s, and M22s (the M60's little siblings) blow the 9s out of the water in terms of sound quality, clarity, soundstage, and overall wow factor. The only place where the 9s did better was bass, but since yo'ure looking at the 60s, that's not really a concern.

The MA Silvers are highly regarded; but I've not heard any of their line.

I spent quite some time looking at the Monitor Audio Silver series when I was speaker shopping. Very good for the money. I preferred the S6 over the S8. The S6 didn't quite go as low as the S8, but it had a clearer midrange and much more balanced sound to my ear. The extra driver of the S8 seemed to muddy things up a bit. The new Silver series is supposed to be pretty good, too, although I haven't had a chance to hear them.

I own both Axiom and Monitor Audio, but not the models you are looking at.
General consesus is that the Axiom M60s are pretty close to the MA Silvers. At this point, the main difference in price is going towards the finish as both speakers sound excellent.

Hello and welcome to the boards.
I have the Axiom 60's and I am very pleased with them.
Actually, that would be an understatement. I bought mine after listening to many, many speakers at much higher price points. You can't go wrong with the 60's or 80's from Axiom. Their products and their customer service are outstanding.

I have never heard the Monitor Audio S6 but I have heard many goood things about MA speakers in general and the S6 in particular. As a matter of fact there is a very good review of the S6 in the March '06 Stereophile. Keep us posted on your decision.

oz

I just love m60s. I also think that a good sub is a great addition even for stereo music. It doesn't have to be very expensive, EP350 would be just fine. But it can reinforce the bass so gently.

Forgot this... I also agree with Ken the Monitor 7 and 9's are not even in the same league. I would narrow it down to the two mentioned above or the m80's (if you have the extra cash)for a little extra bottom end and the ability to play insanely loud.
oz

Many thanks all for your replies.

Seems like the general consensus is that the Paradigm monitors don't hold up vs. Monitor or Axiom. I'll still give them a listen but it confirms the direction that I was already headed. Axiom or Monitor. I suppose the only problem is that the Monitor Silver S6 goes for ~$1500 from what I can tell. That's just a bit out of my range. If it is on part with the M60 ($1100) then I would likely go with the Axiom and save $400.

What about the Monitor Bronze series? I don't see as many reviews for this speaker. It seems like a big step down from the Silver line but B6 price is on par with the Axiom. I would be curious to hear from anyone who has some experience with the Bronze.

Cheers,

jordan

I have auditioned the Monitor Audio line. The Bronze and Silver series are good but I ended up with the gold series. From the GR10s up to the 60s you can't go wrong. Having said that, they are very pricey to purchase new.

I have a pair of GR60s that myself and two others in my area are going to review side by side with the Axiom M60s (identical driver arrangement). The local audiophile shop sells the GR60s for about $6000 CDN a pair (may be less now but needless to say I did not buy from them).

I expect the GR60 to sound slightly better but likely not worth the extra several thousand dollars. We will see...I may be surprised never having heard the Axioms yet.

As for Paradigm, I really liked their reference line but the others were just ok. I am suspecting that the M60 will more than be adequate for you.

As a side note, I bought the GR60s (used and a little dinged) before I found out about Axiom.