Legacy speaker or Axiom a hard choice

[radio66]

I am a new comer to this forum and to Home theater in search of some very good speakers. so today I went to listen to some speakers, first I listened to Legacy signature 111. then drove about 1hour to the next dealer to listen to Paradigm studio v2. both were very close in sound but to my ear the Legacy sounded cleaner all the way around. I have also read very good reviews about the Axioms and to the eye the Axioms look very good. has anyone on this forum compared the Axioms and the Legacy speakers what did you think? the speakers will be in a 20 x 20 room powered by an Integra DTR 7.3.

[kexodusc]

Part of the problem you're up against is not being able to compare the speakers side by side.
I have compared the Paradigm Studio 20's v2 to Legacy Signature 111 off the same amp in the same room. I found the Studio's to be a bit better actually, but I could easily attribute it to my listening preferences.
I did like the Legacy's ,though.
I can't attest to comparably priced Axiom's but I do own a set of M3Ti's I run upstairs in my dining room. I believe they are the most basic bookshelf Axiom offers. Compared to some old Paradigm Titans I use to have they are somewhat disappointing, but I must admit, the fit and finish is truly impressive for such a cheap speaker. It's rare a 250 dollar bookshelf's finish would raise my eyebrow. If Axiom improves it's finish as you move up product lines I'm sure you'll be impressed.
This brings up another point though, don't buy Axiom's because you read they're good or they look pretty, actually listen to them, something most people seem to stop doing since Axiom's pushed their on-line sales strategy. Of course, I'm one to talk, I bought them from a friend that carries them at his shop. Personally, I can't see them being any better than the Legacy's you are favoring.
If you can find them, Mirage makes some very good speakers around that price range, too. I'd recommend giving the Studio's another chance as well, acoustic memory is very short-lived.
With that kind of money being spent I'd take my time shopping and testing. It's fun, and you don't want to regret your decision after the fact.
Good luck.

[Woochifer]

As Kex said, it's kinda hard to do meaningful comparisons when you're listening to speakers in different rooms with different front end rigs. Really, the best you can do is identify the preferred speakers for each demo room that you visit. In some cases, what you're really preferring is one demo room's acoustics over another's. What you should do is come up with a list of your preferred speakers and then arrange to borrow them, and do your final comparison at home. That way, you'll hear first hand how the speakers react to your room acoustics and front end components.

As for your choices in speakers, if you can go into the $800 range, the Studio 20 v.3s are a very compelling improvement over the v.2 version. I just heard them over the weekend (basically to compare to the new Paradigm Signature S2), and was floored by how well they imaged and how open a sound they had. I highly recommend that you hunt out a demo with one of the new v.3 models. They are a noticeable improvement over the v.2 version.

The Studio v.2 series has been discontinued since July, so whatever dealers still have in inventory is all that's left. You should be able to negotiate a pretty good deal on those speakers. I got a brand new pair of Studio 20 v.2s over the summer for about $500 to complete my 5.1 surround setup. If you opt for the Studio 20 v.2, keep in mind that the matching center and surround speakers have been discontinued, and might be hard to locate. You should be able to use the v.3 versions, but the match with the v.2 won't be ideal.

I haven't heard the Legacy or Axiom models, so I can't comment there. But, my recommendation would be to try and at least do a sideby side comparison between the Legacy and the Paradigm first. And if you're curious about the Axioms, then order them and do a home comparison between those and the Legacy or Paradigm. But, I would not just set my mind to a pair of speakers just because it gets good reviews. You gotta listen to them with your music and your movies.