B&W or Axiom

[goldie]

Hello,

I am looking into purchasing a Rotel 1056 receiver and speakers for my HT. Since Axiom's are only sold over the internet I am nervious about buying them without hearing them. I have heard B&W at a local dealer. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks

[David Meek]

Goldie, is there a local HT/Audio group in your area? As popular as the Axioms have become, there's a reasonable chance that someone has a setup you could audition. You know how gearheads love to show off their toys. . . . Short of that, about the only thing you CAN do is buy on trust in the reviews from owners/reviewers, and then use the return window if you aren't satisfied. :roll:

[aud19]

My suggestion is to listen to as many other brands if possible so you have an idea of what's available and what you like. (Take notes!) Almost any good quality speaker will sound good. I think that's what bothers be about the whole online ordering thing. I'm not saying Axiom's or Rockets are bad, I'm sure they're very nice speakers that offer excellent value. But I wonder how many people order them based on reviews, forums etc to bring them home, connect them and thoroughly enjoy them to never know that they might have actually preffered another brand...? Again, not that they're bad, but something else might be better to THEIR ears.... I've actually read posts of people who never even bothered listening to other speakers, even as a reference! 8O I guess ignorance is bliss....

Also where do you live Goldie? depending on your location you be able to get better prices on certain companies.

Jason

[spiffnme]

Before I bought my Axioms I listened to everything I could get my ears on. That landed a pair of Energy C-3 bookshelfs in my home. I also ordered a pair of Axiom M22ti's. Gave them the old "Pepsi Challenge" in my living room. and the Axioms simply out shined the Energy's. Clearer mids, more detail in the high end. Just a much cleaner sound all the way around. The Energy's sounded muddy in comparison, and I really liked the C-3's!

Since then I've upgraded from bookshelf to towers. Before doing that I again listened to a ton of speakers. And once again, I bought a pair of speakers from Energy. The Veritas 2.1 (again a bookshelf, but a BIG bookshelf). I only was able to grab them, as they were blowing out their floor models, at half price. I got them home, and indeed they were astounding. But rather than turn my back on Axiom all together (I already had their center channel speaker as well.) I compared the Veritas 2.1 to the Axiom M60ti. I had them in my home for about two weeks. I bought a speaker switcher, and did comparisons. (adjusting volume as needed) I'm not going to say it was an easy decision, but in the end Axiom won out again. Though I liked the resonance the Veritas gave to horns and female vocals, the enormous soundstage, and superb clarity and detail of the Axioms was something I just couldn't get myself to give up.

One particular track I was listening to really stands out. I was listening to a cd of chinese drums. With the Veritas the drums sounded good and tight, but with the Axiom M60ti, you could actually hear the mallet striking the skin of the drum...truly amazing. I also have to say I appreciate a company like Axiom putting out a product as good as the M60ti for a price that's truly reasonable. The M60ti at full price is the same as the Veritas 2.1's at HALF price!

Since the move from M22ti to M60ti, I've also added Axioms QS8 surrounds to my system and must say they are just as amazing as the rest of the Axiom lineup. They do an amazing job of submerging you in sound.

I've also continued to listen to other speakers, because I just like doing it. The last few trips out listening I've dragged my brother along, as he's going to be buying a new system himself soon. Of all the things we heard, only a few stand out as meeting the Axiom M60ti's in quality of sound.

Theil and the B&W 700 series have a similar sound as the Axioms, but at 3x the price. Give the B&W 704 tower a listen, if you really like that sound, you'll very likely be extremely happy with the Axiom M60ti tower.

I understand buying without hearing first is scary...so do stop by the Axiom message boards and see if someone local can give you a demo.

Have fun, and let us know what you decide on!

[Danbry39]

There's no better way to audition than in your home's listening environment, with your equipment. Most of the online companies I've dealt with offer a free 30 day in-home audition period. Yes, you do risk shipping costs, but stand to buy something without middle man or store costs.

With my ACI's, I, like Spiffnme, have spent a lot of time listening in stores to speakers. Like Spiffnme, I've come to the personal conclusion that I haven't found anything at near the price of the ACI's that sound as nice to my ears. In fact, every time I do audition speakers, it just cements my ACI experience all the more. And, the after-purchase attention from ACI is wonderful. I recommended some speakers to a friend from ACI, the only speakers they sell that they don't make themselves. Anyway, he was fiddling around and something happened to the sub - no sound. Somehow, they had been damaged, he wasn't sure if it was what he had done or if the sub just malfunctioned on its own.

He called ACI and, a couple of days later, he received a new sub. No questions were asked and they didn't even wait until they had received the old sub back. They paid for shipping of both the damaged sub and the new one being sent my friend.

What I'd do is an extensive search of online brands before buying. Like other companies, each has its own sonic footprint and you can get a better idea as to which you might find most appealing to your tastes. Besides ACI, Rocket, and Axiom, there are also great companies like GR-Rearch and Ascend. Sonically, I've heard amazing things about the Ascend sound, although their cabinetry isn't for all.

I would also listen to what I could at local shops and try and see if I can find a great speaker there for the amount of money you want to spend. A lot of times speakers can be had at a good discount, especially if the line is being replaced. Good luck.

[aud19]

See, they're excellent speakers! :T

Not to "harp" on but my point was to make sure HE listens to a variety of speakers like you guys wisely did to give him a basis on what to listen for and what sounds he likes. He may for example, on his gear, prefer the sound of the Veritas or B&W's or Totems etc, he may not...?

That's also why I asked where he lived. As I'm pretty sure I can get Energy speakers cheaper in Canada (where they're manufactured) than you can in L.A. If he's in the U.K. he might get better pricing on B&W's.. etc. So depending on where he lives there might be particular brands that are more affordable to him.

Jason

[spiffnme]

Not to "harp" on but my point was to make sure HE listens to a variety of speakers like you guys...

fyi...I think Goldie is a "she".

And yes, she should go out there and start listening. I'm just trying to let her know what brands out there are comparable to the "Axiom sound". So far the closest I've heard has been the B&W 704 tower.

If your credit card can handle it, it's really great to hear both in your own home. (Just be sure of your local shops return policy!)

[aud19]

fyi...I think Goldie is a "she".

Ooops, sorry ops: :B Unfortunately there just aren't a huge amount of female members so you kind of get used to... he/him etc. Glad to see ya on board, I wish we could get more women interested and signing on here :T

Jason

[Danbry39]

He may for example, on his gear, prefer the sound of the Veritas or B&W's or Totems etc, he may not...?

Ah, Totems. I sure wish I could hear this brand of speakers. A ton of people rave about them, but I've never been in a store that carried any of their speakers. They're Canadian made, right? Do they sell them at all in the U.S.? They must. Just not around me.

Goldie,
Jason's advice about learning what your likes/dislikes are by listening to as many speakers as you can is right on. I'd also add that it isn't necessarily the speaker that instantly attracks your attention that is the right one for you. Focus on things like tonal accuracy, sound stage, etc. at different volumes and listen for awhile to make sure you can live with the speaker for hours at a time, rather than just suffering from fatigue after a half-hour.

[aud19]

Try e-mailing mailto:info@totemacoustic.com

According to this page they have the same distribution for USA/Canada (There's also many other distributours for other countries)

They're VERY nice speakers and are the only moderately priced speaker I've heard using soft-dome tweeters that I actually like. A LOT :P They're gorgeously built too. I couldn't justify the higher cost personally (I got a REALLY good deal on my Energy's whose tweeters I also love)

:drool:

[littleb]

Hey Goldie,

I have a Yamaha receiver which I tried to pair with B&W 602s3 which was a bad idea. Matched with a Rotel might be a good idea. I did not like the B&W's with my Yamaha. I came to the conclusion that the B&W's are a little power hungry. I took some advice from people over at the axiomaudio forum and ordered a pair of m22s. It was like night and day. The 22s are very easy to drive. But, a word to the wise is that you must like forward sounding speakers if you choose the m2ti, m22ti, m60ti or the m80tis. If you like a more laid back sound the m3ti, m40ti, m50ti is way to go.

I have had both the m22ti and the m50ti. The soundstage of the m22s is fantastic, the m50s I found very laid back. I kept the m22s.

[Mike Gehring]

Don't even think of axiom's

I ordered and tested the Axiom M-80's and was extremely displeased. They were very muddy sounding and lacked punch.

I sent them back to Axiom and bought B&W 604 S3's. The difference was astounding. Clear crisp, nice low end. and they were about 150.00 more for the pair. Axiom in my opinion are more of a gimmic.

I pulled out one of the midrange and they had an extra magnet attached. To me that says cheap.

I've had my 604's for about 6mo now and couldn't be happier. Send me a Private Message if you want more info.

Mike

[Mike Gehring]

Axiom review on audio review.

I posted a review on www.audioreview.com after I got my b&w's. There had not been a post on them for over a year until I placed mine. In less than 24 hours there was a 5 out of 5 review. I found it very strange that Axiom advertises on this site and after 1 bad review there was a perfect one right after... this is what I wrote.


Reviewed by: mikegehring, Audio Enthusiast

Price Paid: $1100 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)

[tdiciple]

I can't say anything about Axiom front speakers, because I am using B&W 804 myself.

However for the surround sounds, the QS8 rocks. I have never heard a surround sound sounded as lively as with the QS8

I hate Axiom dreaded looks and cheapy vinyl that cover their speaker. But you got to admit, the $500.00 speaker beat a lot of its competition away. at 1/3 of the cost.

[Tha Freak]

a year ago topic ??

I wonder if Goldie has finally chose the B&W or Axiom ? :lol: