Axiom Audio brand - what do you think?

I had the v.2 speaker. They seem to have a loyal following, probably based on customer service which seems very good for an internet direct company. One thing I have noticed is that there does not seem to be many recent reviews of their speakers. Possibly because the designs do not seem to change radically over the years. They still seem to be touting their products based on older reviews. With the significant price increases, I doubt these speakers would be reviewed as favorably now.

 

Do you have Axiom speakers?

 

No, but I don't think I would mind having them.

 

I don't think Axiom is offering as much values as it did ten years ago when I bought the MI60's ...

 

I bought a pair of "blemished" M22s back in '99 or so (I couldn't tell why they were sold as "blemished"). Love 'em in the bedroom now.

 

I see. I suppose you can say that about more than a few high end companies. The prices are definitely more than they were 10 years ago...

 

I am not so sure if Axiom can be considered a high-end speaker company since its prices are still much lower than the likes of Wilson, Harbeth and Spendor, just to name a few ...

 

Perhaps, though "high-end" and "expensive" aren't necessarily coterminous. Many brands try to make this very point part of their marketing ("giant killer" etc). It's up to our ears to distinguish, I suppose.

 

I love Canadian audio gears. I have Sonic Frontiers, Anthem and PSB's in my various sound systems in addition to the Axiom Mi60's. My PSB's are over ten year old so they were entirely made and assembled in Canada unlike models from more recent years ...

 

I have an old pair of Ax 2's that I stored in the basement tens years ago. I just brought them out of retirement and hooked them up to my pioneer SC 1227, pioneer pl 518 and graham slee communicator 2 and I am really liking the sound. Very happy with these old speakers.

 

Thinking about trying out a pair of M50 v4 for a music-only stereo system (small room, Yamaha A-S500), to replace Polk RT-800. Axiom has a 30-day in-home trial.

Anyone have any experience or comments about these speakers?

 

I have the Axiom M60's for over ten years but they are floor standers. They have fairly open and neutral sound IMO ...

 

I think Axiom was marketed as mid-price, not to the Absolute Sound crowd. Weren't they part of the same Canadian loudspeaker manufacturers group that benefited from some government (?) funded research. I thought I read something about this in the Audio Critic in an interview with Floyd O'Toole or John Eargle. Sorry, I only recall bits and pieces, but I noticed JBL, Axiom and several other Canadian brands seemed to dominate the loudspeaker market for a given period. My son is currently using my Axiom M22's in his home recording studio and they sound pretty good; of course he's a great musician and composer.

 

Come to think of it, I have never seen any Axiom speakers having been reviewed by TAS ...

 

I've got four M60ti's in my main listening setup. I use them for front and rear speakers, plus an Axiom center and sub. I've been very happy with them. I think I've had them about 9 years, but I can't remember the price. Certainly less than the $1600 per pair they list the current M60v4 at.

 

I only have a pair of M60's that are now over ten year old but I heard prices have gone up a bit, though the speakers are still manufactured in Canada, which is a big plus to me ...

 

I'm thinking of moving one pair of my M60's to a second system and replacing them with surround speakers. I originally got them as I was thinking about MCH music and wanted full range speakers for the rears. I guess its ideal, but I think it might have been a bit overkill. I mostly watch movies/TV in the home theater setup, so decent surrounds will probably do just fine for the rear channels.

 

I have actually been thinking about soundbar lately. My understanding is much advancements have been made in recent years so some of the best soundbars out there can replicate surround sound quite well. For me, all those extra spaces and cables have always made those surround speakers a non-starter for me ...

 

I get that, but I don't think I'd ever be happy with a soundbar. I'd be more interested in a wireless speaker set up for surrounds, center surrounds, etc. I just don't fully trust them yet.

 

Unfortunately, no mainstream speaker manufacturers have begun marketing any wireless speakers yet. IIRC, Audioengine may have some wireless models. But Audioengine speakers are probably only for computer geeks and not for real audiophiles ...

 

There are these by Dynaudio.
Featured Product: Dynaudio Xeo Wireless Speaker Systems »

 

BTW, are these wireless speakers active, i.e. self-powered speakers. Your sound system simply feeds the audio signals and really does not power the speakers ...

 

Looks like the speakers have to be plugged into a power outlet. Otherwise they would need batteries, which you'd then have to replace and monitor how much juice they have left. I guess there's no such thing as true wireless yet, but if the surround speakers are near an outlet, this could be preferable to running speaker cable across the floor (which is what I do). They are limited in that they accept signals of 16bit up to 48khz, so not up to snuff for hi-rez music.

 

I just wanted to update my fondness for the Axiom M22 loudspeakers. My son moved out a month ago and I recovered my pair from the vacated home recording room. I hooked them up to a JVC JA-S55 solid state integrated amplifier and placed them in my current work space, which has a nice leather couch in it. It's a small room. Wow! The soundstage is awesome. Still don't have a sub, but I can't imagine what's missing. It sounds very full to me. Nice symphonic string sound. I briefly compared them to a JBL S38II pair. The Axioms are less efficient, but seem fully competitive. I actually prefer the dynamics and orchestra sound on the Axioms, at least for now.

 

In the mid 2000s I purchased Axiom's complete highest-end home theater 5.1 package that included M80s (if I remember correctly) as the fronts. My wife and I had just moved into a new house and were building a dedicated home theater room that included a 55-inch Panasonic Plasma display, which (for me) was a huge splurge in those days. Man was it fun to watch movies on that system! I'll never forget how good that speaker system sounded and how loud I could drive it without any worry. It was fantastic. Alas, we moved to Southern California a few years later and found ourselves in a much smaller house. I had no room for the behemoth Axiom speakers anymore and parted with them for a very small amount. That's one area where they bit me, which is that non-high-end-name speakers depreciate very heavily post-purchase. These days I miss those speakers, partly because I'm not willing to spend that kind of $$$ on equipment anymore and so have a simple 2.1 setup with Focal 726Vs these days. They sound good but are nowhere near the power and impact that the M80s provided.