Experience or Opinions on internet brands AV123 Rockets or Axiom?

[SofaKing]

I have read some good (sometimes glowing) reviews on these internet brands but have only read one opinion from someone who actually owns them (Rockets) and he loves them.
Both these brands seem to give you a lot of bang for you buck. And they both have packages within my budget.

http://axiomaudio.com/products.html

http://av123.com/index.php?option=com_virtuemart&page=shop.browse&category_id=19&Itemid=37

My issue is that I can't go listen to them. I know both have a 30 day in home trial but that seems like one big PIA. I mean, having to order them, pay for them, unpack them, hook them up just to audition them seems much too cumbersome. Not to mention repack them and ship them, at my own expense, if I don't like them.

Most of you here seem to be quite knowledgeable so I was wondering if anyone here owns or has heard them (either brand)? If so, what was your opinion?
Do you know of anyone who has experience with these?
Do you think it would be worth it to get these to my home and audition them?


P.S. Yes I know I started a thread about on wall speakers because the wife doesn't want big speakers in the living room but I think I may be able to convince her that floor standers are the way to go.

[traugh]

I have a set of Axiom M80ti towers about 4-5 years old that I picked up used from an audio reviewer. He wrote a glowing review of them and I find them to be very nice. When I asked him why he was selling them he said that he lived in an apartment and he decided to keep his Vintage Walsh when he had to make the choice. They were his "babies" and he had to choose. The only other speakers of any account (read $$) I have owned are a couple of pair of vintage McIntosh (XR5's and XL10's). They (the MC's) are a very different sound - a bit warmer to my ear (especially the XL10). The Axioms seem to be a good compromise for digital music and home theater and a great bargain from what I can tell.

I have also owned in the past: KLH 17's, Cambridge Audio, Sonic Arts (a local house brand), small advents, Boston A60's and assorted pieces that came into my life fast and left just as quickly.

[RoadRunner6]

Scan down to the next page of threads and you will see a thread entitled "Opinions on Axiom Bookshelf Speakers" by Zepman1.

You will see my long winded responses there about my Axiom speakers.

RR6

[SofaKing]

Scan down to the next page of threads and you will see a thread entitled "Opinions on Axiom Bookshelf Speakers" by Zepman1.

You will see my long winded responses there about my Axiom speakers.

RR6


Yes, thank you. Very detailed and informative info. I'm leaning toward Axioms thanks in some part to your review.

BTW do your hands get tried typing those "long winded" responses? http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h45/Foot67/lol2.gif http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h45/Foot67/rofl.gif

[RoadRunner6]

Yeah, you hit it right on the nose. I got a "D" in typing in high school and our typing instructor was also the track coach (if that tells you anything about our schools emphasis on on typing....that was in 1962...wow, am I an old fart or what?).

[pixelthis]

a friend has a pair of m80 towers, the best they make, and likes em a great deal.
They are competent but not spectacular.
They are a product of the Canadian speaker industry, a collection of different companies that turn out similar products , each geared towards various market segments.
Axioms are the chevy of their industry, PSB the pontiac, PARADIGM the cadilac, etc.
At least they have an industry, we sent ours to CHINA:1:

[drseid]

AV123 puts out some fabulous products for the money. They are Chinese built, but maintain some superb build quality/fit and finish. I bought my dad one of their Rocket subs, and it was a perfect fit to fill in the low end for music with the main speakers I built him. The finish looked *much* better than anything on the web, and the sound was truly stunning for the price I paid. I would say that AV123 may not be "the absolute best sound," but if you are a value hunter like I am, you will not be disappointed.

---Dave

[Luvin Da Blues]

Axioms are the chevy of their industry, PSB the pontiac, PARADIGM the cadilac, etc.

Pixeldicks, where do you come up with this sh!t. I'll put my PSBs up against Paradigm any day. As a matter of fact I did when I auditioned them. :rolleyes:

[zepman1]

a friend has a pair of m80 towers, the best they make, and likes em a great deal.
They are competent but not spectacular.
They are a product of the Canadian speaker industry, a collection of different companies that turn out similar products , each geared towards various market segments.
Axioms are the chevy of their industry, PSB the pontiac, PARADIGM the cadilac, etc.
At least they have an industry, we sent ours to CHINA:1:


I don't think this is a very valid statement. It really matters to what you are comparing. Compare Axiom M3/ PSB Alpha /Paradigm Atom and I don't think anyone will find any significant differences other than personal sound preference. And when it comes to finish and aesthetics the axioms are hard to beat from what I hear. I imagine the same would be true when comparing other price points of these companies. You can't compare the PSB Alpha and the Axiom M3 to the Paradigm Reference Signature.

From my limited experience high end PSB products compare very favorably with high end Paradigms. As for Axiom, I don't know first hand.

[RoadRunner6]

All the Canadian brand speakers; Axiom, Energy, Mirage, PSB, Paradigm, sorry if I forgot some, have a secret tool that they have all used. It is the Canadian government's NRC (National Research Council) testing facilty lab with state of the art anechoic chamber (sort of cheating, aye?)..

Many of them now also have their own facilties.

http://www.audioholics.com/news/on-location-articles/audioholics-on-spot-location-factory-tour-2-of-axiom-audio

RR6

[RoadRunner6]

Sorry, this is the article I meant to link:

http://www.audioholics.com/news/on-location-articles/axiom-audio-loudspeakers-factory-tour/?searchterm=national%20research%20council

[drmarkou]

I have a pair of the Axiom Millennia M1Ti Se bookshelf speakers and the build quality and sound are quite good for their size and price. A friend has owned a few larger sets over the last few years and again, they've all sounded quite impressive, especially at their price point.

They seem to get so good reviews too.

Do some more research and good luck.

[Vardo]

I've owned Axiom M3 speakers (in a smaller, 2nd home theater).
Nice speaker for the money, and very well put together. I just
couldn't get over their slightly bright sound. Still, I got used to the
sound....then I began reading reading about AV123 speakers a
couple of years ago.

On a wim I ordered a x-cs center (for $140) and two x-ls speakers
($200 for the pair). Ordered all in birch veneer. I kinda laughed to
myself when I ordered these speakers...thought these are kinda
big for a bookshelf speaker (17 lbs ea), and the center was huge
(34 lbs). I felt that considering the money they probbably wouldn't sound as good as they looked. Got the center first. Hooked it up and thought, well pretty
good for the money. The x-ls bookshelf came a few days later.
Out of the box these had different grills on them (snowman) verses
the regular retangular on the center.....told my wife, "these are going
back". Then I hooked them up, and couldn't believe what I heard.

To my ears they sounded absoutly great. Warm, sorta laid back, but
still detailed. Even the bass was very good for a speaker in that price
range.

Most speaker companies design and make speakers that have a
similar sound signature. The problem with AV123 is their delivery
time. Mine took 4-5 weeks before they arrived.

It all depends on what you like from a speaker. Axiom's are very
good, and if you like alot of detail, and don't mind them being a little
bright (bright is not a bad thing, lots of people like slightly bright and
detailed speakers)...then you can't go wrong with the Axioms. Their
build quality is superb.

Rockets on the other hand have a smoother/warmer/laidback sort of
sound. They to me (my ears) are a great sounding speaker.
And the looks (real wood veener) and build quality are second to none.

I plan on ordering Rockets in the near future....I've owned many
different speakers over the years...Klipsch LaScalls, Altech 19's,
Mirage M5si, Vandersteen 2c's, Mission, Atlantic Tech 370's
(these are in my main home theater)...and speakers from AV123
IMO for the money spent sound extremely nice...vardo