After many years, I finally have an excuse to upgrade speakers. The room is roughly 4,000 cu feet, roughly L-shaped with speakers pointed down one leg of the L. A grand piano and dining room table fight them for space. I listen mostly to jazz, but also classic R&B and a hodgepodge of other music, almost entirely at low to moderate volume. I'm not one tiny bit interested in HT, but I'll probably run the TV through them because it's own sound system is failing.
My amp is an older (1988) Adcom GFA-545 (100W/ch) and I'm looking to spend roughly $1k, but I have some latitude. After poking through recommendations in the archive, the list under consideration is:
Somebody also recommended Definitive BP7006. I'm a little skeptical on that, since one that I actually heard sounded awful, but I also suspect it was damaged and the EQ was tweaked beyond all reason.
Here are my questions:
1. Is there anything already on this list that really doesn't belong?
2. Is there something else I should check out?
3. The Axioms create sort of a problem for evaluating. I plan to listen to everything else first. How should I go about deciding whether Axiom is worth a try? Right now I'm thinking of posting my reactions to the other contestants in hopes that they will have some relevance to the decision.
Of that list I would recommend listening to the Paradigm Monitor 9 v5, the PSB T55, and the Monitor Audio RS6. I would scratch the Axioms, they just aren't that good a speaker. Remember there are a bunch of other great speakers out there, go out and listen. BTW I used to have the GFA 555 back in '89 I think.
If you don't need a speaker to be real loud you may also want to consider the Rega R3...not to everyone's liking but a very good speaker that excels at jazz and classical. Will play old school R&B very well also. Hip hop and the likes...probably not.
Preamp is Adcom GTP-500, sources are mostly a mid-range Phillips CD burner (used for some live recording), a Panasonic hard drive/DVD recorder, and vinyl once in a while from an old Dual turntable with a less-old Shure something-or-other cartridge.
Ofcourse I've heard them Josh, I don't offer opinions on things that I haven't heard unless I qualify it so. And I will stick with my opinion that they are a poor sounding speaker. To each his own.
Didn't you say they were quite bright? I purchased the M22 back when I was trying to decide on the magnepans, or go internet direct and get a nice speaker.
The m22 was overly bright and had (to my ears) a hard sounding midrange.
I also tried the Ascend Acoustics speakers, and those were terrible. Flat, lifeless, and dull. Hopefully the new ones in development will be better, they can't possibly be any worse.
The Axioms are a bright speaker, but work well in the right environment. I think there are many superior speakers, but Axiom offers pretty good value for money.
I've read a lot of posts by people who don't like them at all, and equally as many by those who think they're quite good. Must be that you either love 'em or hate 'em.
Of the ID companies, I'd be much more interested in av123's products at this point than Axiom's. Unfortunately I haven't heard any of them, but I'd love to hear their Strata Minis.
After hours of tying up listening rooms, I went with the MA RS6. I liked the RS8 a little better, but not enough for the price difference. I thought the mid-range on the PSBs was mushy compared to the highs and lows and the Paradigms didn't excite me either. Other stuff I heard isn't even worth mentioning.
Based on what I've read here and elsewhere, I would like to have heard the Totems, but not enough to wait for them.
As some of you know, I own a pair of Axiom M60's. I bought them used on the cheap. I do not like them very much. Granted, my cables and interconnect are not the best. The Rega is more neutral to maybe warm, but that does not help the axioms. I suppose it depends on the person and on the system. They are bright. They do not play classical music very well IMHO. They play some jazz okay, but still not to my liking. I think they might be good for a home theater set-up.