Axiom M60 review

[zipper]

Having had these for a week now,I thought I would share my thoughts on these.
Packing was as advertised,not ridiculous,but double-boxed with sufficient protection.Arrived in 3 days as promised(kudos to the Fedex guy for coming back after reading my note on door).I got the Boston Cherry finish & it is indeed as nice a veneer finish as you'll see.Only drawback is they have a distinct varnish smell which has seemed to subside.One speaker actually has a small flaw on it but one must search to see it.
Immediately I tossed the Boston 950's aside & proceeded to hook these babys up. Listening to them in 2-ch stereo(effects on the Yamaha 3300 turned off as well as the sub) I was somewhat disappointed. So I let them play for about 6-8 hrs on low volume as I went out for awhile. Upon returning I remembered to give them proper spacing from the walls as recommended. Now we're talking! I played a variety of CD's(Mitsubishi DD-6030) & quickly discovered what I had only heard talked about before; that many recordings ARE worse than others.I mean, I could tell the difference between old 60's & 70's music compared to newer stuff, but to learn that REO Speedwagons' "The Hits" is a poor recording was indeed a shock. Ozzys' " No more tears" CD on the other hand is a friggin treat to hear.From the acoustics on "Mama I'm coming home" to the ripping guitars on the title track,this is a pleasant surprise that almost brings tears to the eyes(no pun intended).
These speakers are NOT what I would call bright whatsoever.Smooth comes to mind with a surprisingly deep bass. After much reading I was skeptical of pairing these with my Yammy but I have to say that those fears were unfounded. I have turned these up to -22 (uncharted territory as I live in an apt.) & they seem to say "That all you got?" I'm waiting for the frikkin recluse downstairs to take off for a day so I can do some serious testing,but I have to admit, I've pushed the envelope as it is & I'm not disappointed in the least.

I'll have more later.

 

[Holy Diver]

Now we're talking! I played a variety of CD's(Mitsubishi DD-6030) & quickly discovered what I had only heard talked about before; that many recordings ARE worse than others.I mean, I could tell the difference between old 60's & 70's music compared to newer stuff, but to learn that REO Speedwagons' "The Hits" is a poor recording was indeed a shock. Ozzys' " No more tears" CD on the other hand is a friggin treat to hear.From the acoustics on "Mama I'm coming home" to the ripping guitars on the title track,this is a pleasant surprise that almost brings tears to the eyes(no pun intended).

Glad to hear you like your new speakers. I think this quote from you is a good example of why all things in audio are so subjective - what sounds good to one person may sound terrible to another, even with similar speakers.

REO - The Hits - is very conservatively mastered with average power of -18dB rms; ie 80's standards and what many recording engineers wish we could get back to. [Google for "cd loudness war" to see what I mean.]

Ozzy - No More Tears - the orginal EMI release is absolutely horrible. Check the waveform in SoundForge and you will see it is way off center (large DC offset). The remaster has been corrected, but was mastered to today's insane standards. Average power: -10dB.

If you play them both at the same sound SPL (use your spl meter to check) you may find just the opposite of your current impression. Initially you may still prefer Ozzy because of the psychoacoustic effect that "louder sounds better" that the ear is susceptible to; however, after listening for long periods of time, you may find that the loudness and lack of dynamic contrast wears on your nerves. Then again, they are vastly different types of music so not really a fair comparison anyway.

I prefer the cds to be conservatively mastered with good dynamic range - you can make it as loud as you want using the volume control on the amplifier.

 

[zipper]

What I'm refering to is soundstage,instrument definition,clarity,etc. Volume doesn't change what ain't there. Perhaps the original mixing is the culprit.
When I close my eyes & listen I can almost sense where the musicians are on some tracks (Laura Branigan,Alice in Chains "Jar of flies" are some examples). I don't get that from REO. I'm not saying the recording is a disaster,I'm just saying it's consistently undefining. Maybe thats REO's style,I don't know & it's really not the point. The point is now that I've got some decent blowers I can hear stuff I've never heard before.
Trust me,REO is one of my favorite bands,so it's not like I wanted to just make this up.

 

[jzac]

zipper, good to see you are finally settling in with the new speakers. Wait for a few more hours when they break-in to really hear them breathe some life into your cds. With a good receiver and proper placing these babies are better than most high-end speakers...if not as good. highs and lows are excellent, and when your neighbor is gone for the weekend crank them up to hear how well it sounds without a flaw. Coupled with a good sub you cannot beat the performance or the value for these speakers. Enjoy them!

 

[zipper]

Thanks jzac. They seemed to break in pretty quick actually. I'd highly recommend that anyone thinking of spending $1000-$2000 on a pr of mass market speakers demo these 1st if at all possible. I did hear the Paradigm studio 60's & fell in love with them immediately, but they were simply over my budgeted amount. It's hard to honestly compare the 2 because I listened to the 'digms through Rotel seperates & I'm driving the Axioms with a Yamaha 3300 (130wpc). But for less than half the price ($800 flat,no tax or shipping)I'm extremely happy. These are for real.
The Yammy drives them just fine actually. They take a turn or 2 more of the volume knob to reach the same level as the Bostons' but there is no comparison in sound quality. I'd love to hear these with an amp attached but that's gonna have to wait. In fact,I'll probably end up getting some m22's to complement these before I end up getting an amp.
You were right.These are quality.

 

[Holy Diver]

What I'm refering to is soundstage,instrument definition,clarity,etc. Volume doesn't change what ain't there. Perhaps the original mixing is the culprit.
When I close my eyes & listen I can almost sense where the musicians are on some tracks (Laura Branigan,Alice in Chains "Jar of flies" are some examples). I don't get that from REO. I'm not saying the recording is a disaster,I'm just saying it's consistently undefining. Maybe thats REO's style,I don't know & it's really not the point. The point is now that I've got some decent blowers I can hear stuff I've never heard before.
Trust me,REO is one of my favorite bands,so it's not like I wanted to just make this up.

I didn't intend to imply that you were making things up. The difference you heard could very well be attributed to the mix and your ears are different than others. The remaster of Hi Infelidty sounds good to me and does exhibit the soundstage, clarity, etc you mention and is definitely better than the same songs on The Hits.

From this statement: "but to learn that REO Speedwagons' "The Hits" is a poor recording was indeed a shock" I inferred that you *used* to think it was ok, but upon playing it on your Axioms, you now think it is a poor recording. Usually when people say the better speakers reveal things 'they never heard before' they mean for the better, whereas in your case you believe they revealed a poor quality recording.

It sounds like you actually prefer the super compressed, overly loud mastering that is prevalent today and there is nothing wrong with that. I prefer the opposite - and "loudness" (of the mix) definitely does affect what you perceive. IMO, Alice in Chains is a perfect example of a miserable recording: super compressed, sibilant, and with no dynamic range at all - to me it sounds poor on good speakers, average speakers, and my computer speakers. For me, better speakers would likely reveal it is even worse than I currently think it is.

 

[zipper]

Super compressed? Sibilant? Are you talking MP3 type recordings? If so,NO, I don't prefer that at all. Who would? All I was trying to do was relate the fact that I'm hearing more of the soundtrack than before. I don't give a S#[t what method was used in mastering,it either sounds good or it doesn't.
I don't have a remastered copy of "Hi infidelity" so I have no frame of reference.

 

[Unregistered]

I am not talking about lossy compression, like MP3. I am talking about dynamic compression and taken to its extreme - Limiting; ie compressing the waveform so the difference between the average level and the peak level is minimal. Sibilance is the tendency for 'S' sounds to be overly pronounced and is one byproduct of excessive compression.

I've heard nothing but good reviews of Axiom speakers and I'm sure they are excellent, but no speaker will make a 'good' recording suddenly sound poor. They might make a good recording sound better. How a cd was mastered has an even more dramatic effect on the sound you hear than even the speakers.

If you are happy with your Axioms, that is all that matters.

 

[zipper]

I'm quite aware of what sibilance is. I will retract my statement about "Jar of Flies". Having listened to about 40-50 CD's in the last few days I confused it with something else. It is not a good recording.
Putting it simply, I find many recordings to be revealing,some for the better,some for worse.

 

[Unregistered]

I agree. Good speakers make the good recordings a pleasure to listen to and the bad ones, well we just have to put up with them.

 

[BuddTX]

I've heard nothing but good reviews of Axiom speakers and I'm sure they are excellent, but no speaker will make a 'good' recording suddenly sound poor.

I agree.

BAD speakers might make a bad recording sound better, as they might hide sounds, but GOOD speakers, SHOULD reveal the "nitty gritty" in any recording, and a good recording should sound even better, whereas a bad recording, well the speakers will just amplify the badness.

Kind of like an ugly girl without any makeup!

I would be interested how these speakers compared to B&W speakers of about the same price range.