Axiom?

[mouettus]

I would describe them as a high quality speaker with a sound similar to the Paradigm studios or B&W 700 series. Some like that sound, some don't. Some like to stick to a name brand, some don't...

Funny you say that. I thought the B&W (700) were very neutral. At least, where I heard them and with Rotel equipment. Don't know about the Axioms though. I'd really like to see and listen to them. That's what I hate about ID.

 

[ParkerAudio]

I was in the market for new front speakers and considered the Axiom M80's but went with the B&W 703. I was lucky enough to have a friend that had the Axioms.
I find that the Axiom's won't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. Played everything great except for poorer recorded material, or material that wasn't quite as dynamic. I also found the 703's to be a little more spacious sounding.
Again this is all subjective. The 703's sure did cost me more, but IMO too be comparing the Axioms to the B&W is a compliment to the Axioms.

 

[Soundman]

Soundman. I wasn't offended, your tone is very reasonable.

Thats a lot of amp, but it shouldn't blow a tweeter. I would suspect that was a one off.

The custom wood finish is more like a 40%-50% premium (just being pedantic). They RCS200 and M80 would be a better comparison dollar for dollar. I'm sure both offer equally good value.

The sound is what it is. Very much personal taste.

I have heard others talk about the Axiom centers as being weak. To me the 150 was just fine, but I didn't do any off axis listening and, when I finally get to that point, that won't be an issue for just two of us watching movies.

Fred

Hey Fredk,
I went to Axiom's website and did some pricing. it is almost exactly double the price to get the m60's in real rosewood and high gloss piano. Thats the closest finish Axiom offers to compare to the Rockets. The price comes to $1,974 a pair, just 6 dollars shy of being double the price of the vinyl finsih. As far as built quality and cosmetics go, you would come out cheaper getting some Rocket's, and the RSC 850 Rocket's are a step up over the m60's. The normal retail price is $1,999.00, but you can often find them on sale for $1300-1400. I actually picked them up for $999. Anyway, I'm not trying to be argumentative. It was just an observation. Also, you compared the m80's to the RSC200. The Rocket RSC200 signature speaker is a center channel. I might also add that it's a 46lb center channel!!! Anyway, I was just curious as to why you compared the m80's to a center channel.

Again let me reiterate, it's not that I thought th M60's were bad. They were in fact a very nice sounding speaker. But the Rocket 850's were a step up from them. Again, there is a big price difference here so that is to be expected. Maybe you meant to say that the m80's would be better compared to the Rocket 850's?

 

[the grunt]

I was in the market for new front speakers and considered the Axiom M80's but went with the B&W 703. I was lucky enough to have a friend that had the Axioms.
I find that the Axiom's won't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. Played everything great except for poorer recorded material, or material that wasn't quite as dynamic. I also found the 703's to be a little more spacious sounding.
Again this is all subjective. The 703's sure did cost me more, but IMO too be comparing the Axioms to the B&W is a compliment to the Axioms.

I was in the opposite boat having a friend with B&W 703s. I liked the sound a lot, but not the price, so when I read somewhere, maybe from you, that they compared them favorably to the 703s I decided to give them a try and never looked back.

I have to agree with you about the Axiom M80s not being forgiving to poorly recorded material and that they sound best with material that has a wide dynamic range. I especially like that the high frequencies keep up with the midrange and the bass at higher listening levels but I can understand why this doesn’t appeal to everyone.

 

[larry7995]

I like my M80s for the price, someday when I am better off I want some 800 series B&Ws but for now the M80s are pretty darned cool. Moettus, are you going to drive over to Montreal for the GSP fight in April?

 

[mouettus]

I like my M80s for the price, someday when I am better off I want some 800 series B&Ws but for now the M80s are pretty darned cool. Moettus, are you going to drive over to Montreal for the GSP fight in April?

If I get the job (interview in 2 days) in Laval, sure I'll be there. Laval is 5-10 min north of montreal. I'll finally be a policeman maybe since they cut me out of the selection in my hometown 3 weeks ago.

 

[larry7995]

Good luck with the interview, I was in Montreal for about 3 weeks in 2000 when I worked for Nortel and I really liked the city. Came back through in 2001 after I got laid off from Nortel one week when I went hiking up Mt. Washington in New Hampshire.

 

[fredk]

Soundman. Thats funny. I went and priced out the M60 as well. Not rosewood though (cherry). Thats a big premium they charge for rosewood.

For me, I would rather spend 1300 and step up to the M80 in a vinyl finish and spend the difference on a better sub at some point down the road. If the M60 sounds good for music, and for me it is a music first choice, the M80 sounds great.

Yes, I meant the M80 vs 850s. I was a little quick with the cut and paste.

Fred

 

[fredk]

The grunt. Its comments like that which encouraged me to give Axioms a listen. In my case I listened to Paradigm studios and really liked the sound. Why not go for something with a studio 100 like sound for an M80 price.

Fred

 

[Soundman]

Soundman. Thats funny. I went and priced out the M60 as well. Not rosewood though (cherry). Thats a big premium they charge for rosewood.

For me, I would rather spend 1300 and step up to the M80 in a vinyl finish and spend the difference on a better sub at some point down the road. If the M60 sounds good for music, and for me it is a music first choice, the M80 sounds great.

Yes, I meant the M80 vs 850s. I was a little quick with the cut and paste.

Fred

Yeah, it is a big premium for the rosewood, but since the Rockets use Rosewood it was the closest comparison when I did my pricing and I'm still not convinced the Axiom finish options are as good as you would get with Rocket's. I do agree that (if going with Axioms) the money would be better spent on the M80's, but if looks are important, I was just saying that Rocket speakers are a good choice since top quality finish and real wood enclosures come standard on all the speakers in the Rocket line. I still think the Rocket 850's have an advantage over the m80's due to the added mid-range (4 5.5-inch and 1 4-inch driver), but that's another topic of debate. Like you said, the type of sound you like would over rule these advantages anyway.

 

[fredk]

Soundman. I had a chance to look at wood finish Axioms at various stages in production when I visited them. The finish is incredible. I put my face inches from the top edge of several speakers with no finish on them and could not, for the life of me, find any sort of seam. I have done just enough woodworking to appreciate just how difficult that is, particularly with a veneer. No doubt the Rockets are no different.

It would be interesting to listen to the M80 and 850 side by side to see what the differences are. I think a lot of times speakers arn't better or worse, just different. I'm confident I could find other speakers out there that I like just as much as the M80. Shure is a lot different than when I bought my first set of speakers.

Fred

 

[mouettus]

I think a lot of times speakers arn't better or worse, just different.

There are better speakers than others. But most of the time it is only in certain fields. While one can have better details and soundstage, the other one can have better bass extension and a more flat response. There ain't no perfect speaker out there. It's all about compromises.

 

[fredk]

No doubt there are better and worse. I don't think anything could sound worse than the crappy computer speakers I listen to most of the time now.

I think we are saying pretty much the same thing though.

 

[Soundman]

Soundman. I had a chance to look at wood finish Axioms at various stages in production when I visited them. The finish is incredible. I put my face inches from the top edge of several speakers with no finish on them and could not, for the life of me, find any sort of seam. I have done just enough woodworking to appreciate just how difficult that is, particularly with a veneer. No doubt the Rockets are no different.

It would be interesting to listen to the M80 and 850 side by side to see what the differences are. I think a lot of times speakers arn't better or worse, just different. I'm confident I could find other speakers out there that I like just as much as the M80. Shure is a lot different than when I bought my first set of speakers.

Fred

I see what you mean. That is the main difference here. The Axiom and Rocket sound are completely different. So, I can assure you the differences between the M80's and 850's (side by side) would be night and day. If you like one, you may not like the other just because the type of sound is so different. But both companies make great sounding speakers. I'll tell you what I like about the 850's though. The soundstage is enormous! I really like just how big a presentation they give. They really excell in the midrange compared to others I've auditioned, exactly what you want since the sub will be filling in on the LFE's. I assume this is due to the (4) 5.25-inch drivers. The larger internal volume probably still helps them maintain decent bass resonse. Not the lowers reaching tower I've heard, but very smooth and refined. You'll definitely feel them, if cranked up. I also like that they aren't as finicky on placement like some other speakers I've used in the past. Well, anyway,that's been my experience.
It is good to know you can get a nice finish with the Axiom's if you're willing to pay a price. I'm sure the M80's do a good job too. I just havent heard them.

 

[fredk]

Interesting. I don't know how I would judge the soundstage of the M80 by themselves. I did listen to some Dire Straits live comparing stereo to 5.1 and was wowed bu how huge the sound stage became in 5.1. It was like someone unfolded the speakers into a live performance.

I popped into the AV123 site to check out the rockets. From the pics, they are a very nice looking speaker.

 

[the grunt]

No doubt there are better and worse. I don't think anything could sound worse than the crappy computer speakers I listen to most of the time now.

Then hook those M80s up to your computer right now. Oh wait, only one QS8 arrived so far?

Interesting. I don't know how I would judge the soundstage of the M80 by themselves.

I think they produce a very wide/deep yet detailed front soundstage but are more finicky about placement and room characteristics than warmer sounding speakers. My ears tell me it’s because the M80s don’t roll off the highs relative to the midrange especially at higher volumes which I think can make them sound more directional if you don’t get the placement quite right. Let me know what you think when you have yours.

Dean

 

[fredk]

Oh wait, only one QS8 arrived so far?

Now that would be poetic justice!

I'm actually a little concerned about the high end in my apartment because it is concrete/plaster construction. Though my aging ears may roll off the high frequencies quite nicely on their own.

I will definately post my impressions when I finally get them. The wait until I have the $$ saved up to order is killing me.

Fred

 

[moreira85]

I own axiom QS8s and gotta say i love them for home theater. I dont listen to music on them because i listen in 2 channel mode or pure direct.

 

[the grunt]

I'm actually a little concerned about the high end in my apartment because it is concrete/plaster construction. Though my aging ears may roll off the high frequencies quite nicely on their own.
Fred

A friend who engineers music for some local bands told me to it was best to get speakers with as flat a frequency response as possible because even if you don’t like the highs it’s easer to take something away than add something that’s not there. I imagine that like me you don’t plan to live in the same apartment for the rest of your life so if you liked the sound of the M80s when you heard them at Axiom I wouldn’t worry. I think it would be a mistake to buy “warm” sounding speakers just because you live in a highly reflective room now since you may be in a less reflective room later.

 

[fredk]

moreira85 Have you tried listening to music in 5.1? I listened to a live recording and was absolutely blown away by the three dimensional nature of the sound. It was like the band was right there!

Grunt. That pretty much sums it up. I'll get the speakers, listen and experiment with placement, and add treatments if needed.

Fred