speakers: Anyone heard of Axiom, Swan, HomeTheater to you?

[Rolyasm]

Hello eveyone.
Seems I have been meandering around asking a lot of questions. I have been talking to our sponser, Jim, and he is great. But I have to keep investigating everything. So here is the next round.
I have seen several companies online that offer speakers, often a complete package for under 2-3000 dollars. Some of the names and links are listed here if you want to reference them.
Axiom wwwAxiomaudio.com
Swan www.theaudioinsider.com/
???? http://store.hometheater2u.com/

So of course the speakers all look about the same and rant about themselves, even some of the magazines have several good reviews about all of them, except the theater2uproducts, not much on them. If you look a that site, I have been looking at their "Nature Home Theater".
Anyway, Axiom gets great reviews. Some good reviews on Swans. Anybody know anything about these speakers?? Good, bad, ugly? I listened to some energy speakers the other day but the salesman told me they wouldn't be his first choice for 90% HT. I will rarely be listening to music in my shrine to the Gods of Cinema. Well, thanks again for any replies. Good thing is they all have a money back guarantee, so if I hate them, back they go.
Roly 8O

[PiDD]

Those Nature speakers sure look nice... any way to audition them?

Here is another online speaker to add to you list ... www.av123.com.

[Rolyasm]

I don't know how I forgot to put Rocket's on there. I have also heard a lot of good things about those. The Swan series look cool with that yellow driver made from german silk, but how do they sound? Anybody heard any of these? I guess I can buy them all and return the three sets I don't like. Maybe some of you AV guys want to come to my house and do a review, help me set it all up. I'll buy the popcorn.
Roly

[PiDD]

Good idea if you can afford the return shipping bill!

I would also like to hear the Axoim's (Im done my speaker shopping.. for a while) to to hear another speaker I have heard lots about.

Do the Axoims have a wood veneer finish? I think I read that they dont. Sound is job #1 but looks is a very close second for me anyway.

Roly where are you located?

[Rolyasm]

I don't know what kind of finish they use. It looks like you can choose from 3 finishes with 6 grill choices, or you can order a custom color, which costs more, but would match your room perfectly. Kind of cool. I just found out my bud knows a guy that has a set and he is trying to setup an audition of them. I will let you know. I am a Utah native.
Roly

[Joseki]

The Axioms do have a veneer finish. I have a full set of them and have been quite pleased. No hyperbole here - they are not the best speakers ever made by any maker at any price. However, they do sound really good and compare very well to my B&W CDM-7s.

David

[audiofan]

I own Axiom M60 and i like it. Some people in axiom forum said M60 sounds similar to B&W 703 .....even though i've personally never heard of B&W speaker. you can read in axiom forum for review. Axiom speaker's price is affordable to me.

[Andrew Pratt]

Well I can sort of speak to the Swans as my DIY speakers are very similar to theirs as we're both using the same brand of mid range (the yellow gold Hi-Vi M8a driver) I actually almost bought a pair of swans over christmas (R3 surrounds) but had to back out when the speakers I'd shipped to pay for them arrived damaged so now I'm fighting on an insurance claim. Anyway I have to say Jon at Audio Insider was great to deal with via the phone (email was a little slow). As for the swans themselves they should sound very smooth. The Rockets apparently also sound very similar to my speakers as a guy that owns the Rockets listened to mine as said they were quiet similar in tone. If you like liquid smooth sound the Swan's or Rockets are for you...plus they look stunning to me.

[Rolyasm]

Add some new speakers to the mix.

I have been working with Jim Piscitello at Next Level Audio & Video, www.nextlevelav.com, and he has introduced me to the Earthquake Platine Noiree system and the Pinnacle BDC 1200 and surrounds. Both are comparable in price to the Axioms, Rockets, Swans. I really like the look of the Platine Noiree center. You should take a gander if you have not seen it. http://www.earthquakesound.com/Platine%20Noiree.htm
Anyway, I am knee deep in articles, reviews, and pictures, but still having a hard time deciding without listening to them. What I might do is start a post with about 5 speakers listed generically as speaker "a" "b" and so on, and list all the specs, then have you smart people tell me what speaker looks best on stats alone. I know that it is how a speaker sounds to the individual, but it might be a fun exercise anyway. So keep your eyes open for the speaker comparison chart I hope to post soon.
Roly
P.S. Thanks for all the help Jim.

[jimmyp58]

You are certainly welcome!

Jim

[Rolyasm]

Hey Jim,
I have been trying to get crossovers for the Earthquake Platine speakers. So far they have not given me a reply. Do you know the crossovers for the towers? Have you heard them? If so, what do they sound like. Maybe PM me if you think it doesn't relate to this thread. Thanks
Roly

[BobD207s]

I have the Aperion Audio 6.1 speaker system with the 12" 250 watt sub and couldn't be happier. The great thing about these speakers is they sound so natural and the bass is awesome. The speakers are very easy to listen to and for the $ I couldn't find anything that compared. Aperion has a 30 day return policy but after hearing these in my home they not going back. The people at Aperion were great to deal with too - I did tons of research and they answered all my questions and couldn't have been nicer. Oh yeah they even send you an owners kit plus my wife really liked the bags the speakers are wrapped in - very classy. Check them out at www.aperionaudio.com. Bob

[Rolyasm]

Hey Bob, I checked out he Aperions. A few things I noticed quickly. They have a list of all the specs on the speakers, nice. Graphs included. Also, they give a 30 day trial with paid shipping. None of the other companies pay for return shipping. Nice little addition to the warranty. I will have to put these on my list of possibilities. Thanks.
Roly

[Andrew Pratt]

Did you buy anything yet?

[Rolyasm]

Did you buy anything yet?

I hate to tell you, but no. I am still looking and confused. I posted a long reply in the DIY titled "subwoofer under the floor". So now I guess I am looking to have an AV guy build me a system from scratch(specs in DIY) or back to the basics, in which case I will probably use Jim's ideas. It is very hard to decide which way to go, especially since I can't really hear any of the setups. It is all opinion. Go with the in-wall speakers and built in sub, plus amplifier from scratch, or go with a system like the Earthquake Amp and speakers of choice( Earthquake, Pinnacle, Axiom, etc.)