JC,
You know I'm a Polk guy, so of course I'll be leaning toward the Polks. But I wanted to show you how I shop in general. I like to look for all the negative reveiws of products before purchasing. Anyone who drops thousands of dollars on anything is going to say how proud they are of their purchase in a review. It's difficult to find those "few" who put down a product they just purchased. Those are the ones you need to look for. When someone offers "kickbacks" or "advertising dollars" for their products, they usually get a better review than those that don't offer them. If anyone, I mean anyone, on this forum knows bang for the buck on better than I do, he must be of the same bloodline. I have to agree with Gene that the Axiom line of speakers is a great bang for the buck. They have received very good reviews. We havent' seen many "bad" reviews of these speakers. I though I would do a quick 20 minute search on google to see if there were any "negative" reviews of them. Here is what I found. Keep in mind, I can easily find just as many on Polk, or anything else. What you should keep in mind though is that your expectations may be too great for Axiom, or anyting else you have your mind set on based on reviews. Nothing else takes the place of your own experimentation and demo of any product. My wife wanted a new SUV to replace our 2000 Accord SE. I looked high and low for the best "bang for the buck". I read reviews until I was blue in the face. We waited a year to finally purchase a $30,000 vehicle. It ended up being a Honda Pilot. Sure consumer reports rates it up there. Sure everyone else says it's the best suv on the road. But what mattered to me was that when I test drove it, it actually was what I was looking for, for the amount I was willing to spend. Axiom allows a 30 day in house trial of their speakers. What a great thing. You can't lose. Just keep in mind some have not found these speakers to be as great as we have read recently. Do a side by side comparison and let us know what you think. My Polk system was purchased on a former year scratch and dent sale for a fraction of the cost new, so your criteria for reviewing a speaker is a lot more important than mine was. I couldn't find a comprable package for what I got mine for. These Axioms may.
http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1209
Review Date
March 12, 2004
Overall Rating
1 of 5
Value Rating
1 of 5
Reviewed by: ace5000, Audio Enthusiast
Price Paid: $220.0000
Product Model Year:
2003
Summary:
I had a m22ti pair delivered to check out all the hype. I loved them right out of the box! I therefore ordered the VP-100 center to see if I should go all Axiom. This is the worst center I have ever listened to. It sounds like a transistor radio in a box - pure crap. Not only is smaller than the 22s, it is not ported as they are and sounds like hisses and S sounds. If you like the 22s, get a single one for the center for a matched system. I don't mean to be so negative but, I have heard many a center in this one is more than weak.
Strengths:
none forced me to look at Ascend speakers,which I love.
Weaknesses:
all of the above
Similar Products Used:
Kef, M&K, JBL THX, Def. Tech
Review from DT Reviews:
Comparison
The Epic 80 system certainly offers an overall fuller sound than the Epic 50 system we reviewed last year. There is a more dynamic feel to the system as well as a larger sound stage, but this also means that you really need a larger room and a 4-ohm capable receiver or amp to take advantage of this system’s capabilities. If you have a room that you think might be too small for the Epic 80 system, the Epic 60 system by Axiom Audio may be a better fit. We are told they sound similar to the Epic 80 system, just not as loud.
http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=277
Review Date
March 9, 2005
Overall Rating
1 of 5
Value Rating
1 of 5
Used product for
Less than 1 month
Rate this review?
5 Highest4321 Lowest
Reviewed by: mikegehring, Audio Enthusiast
Price Paid: $1100.0000 at axiomaudio.com
Product Model Year:
2004
Summary:
I've read every review on this site. That was a "HUGE" basis for buying these towers. I owned the Axiom VP-150 center channel for about a year and was very happy with it. I ordered the M80ti's in January of 2005. Very prompt delivery. The best packaged speakers I've ever seen. Great customer service. Actualy the best customer service I've ever had the pleasure to deal with.
Now to the speakers... I went from a 10 year old pair of Cerwin Vega VS-150's to an $1100.00 pair of "audiophile" Axiom M80ti's. Is everyone else who has a pair of these speaker tone deaf or did I get the only bad pair Axiom has ever produced? I ran these speakers with plenty of power and plenty of break in time and I wanted to put my Cerwin Vegas back in their place. The low end was extremly muddy sounding, the highs were severly lacking in crisp, clear definition. The drivers had an "EXTRA" magnet attached to them to give you a false sence of weight. They are not video shieled as they say they are. You would be better off buying a pair of Fischer speakers from your corner drug store.
I replaced these speakers with a set of B&W 604 S3's and replaced my VP-150 with the B&W LCR600 S3.
The B&W 604 S3's cost about 2-3 hundred more than the Axioms but if your planing on keeping the Axioms you might as well light you cigar with a couple of $100.00 bills.
Like I said... they had the best customer service that I've ever had the pleasure to deal with... it's just a shame I can't say the same about the speakers
Strengths:
Look nice... but a 1965 Mustang Fastback looks nice without and engine.
Nice finish.. Mine were in Boston Cherry.
Weaknesses:
Very poor quality. Very poor sound. Without a doubt.. not worth anywhere near $1100.00
Similar Products Used:
B&W 604 S3's
Cerwin Vega VP-150's (the axioms are on par with my 10 yr. old Cerwins)
Review Date
May 26, 2000
Overall Rating
4 of 5
Value Rating
4 of 5
Used product for
More than 1 year
5 Highest4321 Lowest
Reviewed by: Dan, Audio Enthusiast, from Gold River BC
Product Model Year:
1998
Summary:
All around a good to excellent speaker my Axiom speakers have a 5 year warranty and I have never had a problem with them. I have them hooked up to a Dolby Pro Logic Receiver (Sony)which puts out 100 wts/ch times 5 (including the center channel ) and I'm very satisfied with them although I really love Bose one day I might be able to afford some/
Strengths:
Excellent voice and high end response when you give them power at any range they respond in a positive way very little if none distortion.
Weaknesses:
not really much in the bass department but they do respond nicely and they don't crap out like some speakers if had
Similar Products Used:
If had Bose and Altec Lansing and these can keep up with them without spending megabucks
Axiom M80ti Speaker
The Downside
When getting into comparisons with speakers in the $2,500 and up price range, as I noted earlier in the review, I wished for a bit more bass control. I tried running more beefy amps, but with 95 dB efficient speakers, power wasn’t the problem. The solution is likely finding a subwoofer that can mesh with the Axiom’s prodigious bottom end. (Axiom currently has available the EP500 and EP600 subwoofers that are designed to compliment the M80ti.) Also, I am judging the bass performance of the speakers at an audiophile level, when for movies, a little extra bump in the bottom is considered by many listeners to be a very good sonic characteristic.
The lack of a retail presence for Axiom isn’t that big of an issue for me in terms of purchasing, because they are so liberal with their in-home demo program. For people who change speakers like they change underwear, the Axiom brand name doesn’t carry the brand recognition that Bose or some of the bigger boys do. In terms of resale, this might hurt you to the tune of 10 to 20 percent. However, I would suggest that buying and owning Axiom Audio speakers is similar to popping for an Audi A8L. A lot of people pop for a V12 BMW sedan, but for $40,000 less, the A8L customer gets a faster car with a lighter, stronger frame, more goodies and maybe even better service. This is the value proposition that Axiom offers, which allows it to favorably compete with speakers costing double the price.
Conclusion
The Axiom M80ti is a very good speaker and an unquestioned value at $1,240 per pair. Axiom Audio has managed to design and sell a speaker for much less than many comparably-performing speakers, due in part to their Internet-direct business model. What’s more convenient than ordering a speaker online, coming home from work and having a speaker package on your doorstep waiting for you? To top that off, if you aren’t in love with them, you can send them back or trade them in for other models. Clearly, Axiom puts their money where their mouth is.
http://www.audioworld.com/review/0408/axiom.m80.review1.shtml
But I still can't do away with bass management altogether, as I had hoped. In some of my listening and testing, I used the M80ti's as a regular pair of stereo speakers, without the subwoofer to assist the bottom end. They sounded gorgeous in this mode with classical and acoustic jazz recordings, but notably light on the bottom with pop and rock material featuring aggressive bass content.
In summary, the M80ti's are superb speakers in the home theater / surround audio context for which they are designed. But they wouldn't be my first choice for stand-along stereo speakers in a 2-channel-only system.
