Axiom M3ti vs. Paradigm MiniMonitors

[newbsterv2]

.....if you look at these two graphs it can be seen why one speaker is much more well engineered than the other. One graph is extremely peaky and sloppy looking. The CBM-170- on the other hand.........

Ive never heard the Axioms before but ive had similiar results with the Ascend Acoustics CBM-170. This is a speaker that has outstanding reviews by both pro's and amatuers alike, has won multiple awards, has been compared to speakers costing 2x as much blah blah. But imo its a speaker that offers very little to nothing that would actually want me to sit down and enjoy some of my favorite albums. Its a speaker that makes u concentrate on the speaker itself instead of the music. After owning this speaker for over a year I cannot see how so many people hold it in such high regards and say it competes with speakers in any price range- this to me is outragous.

[dave123456@mail.com]

.....if you look at these two graphs it can be seen why one speaker is much more well engineered than the other. One graph is extremely peaky and sloppy looking. The CBM-170- on the other hand.........

I think that measurements are just part of the story. While the Ascends measure very well and play without audible resonances, they are an extremely boring speaker that has an overly analytical presentation that seems to favor measurement rather than musical enjoyement. Now, im not saying Ascends are crappy speakers its jsut that people need to look at them for more than jsut measurements when writing a review. They may measure as good as 1k speakers but they wont be as musical.

[GeneticDrift]

You guys have really pointed out some very important issues about these speakers. In having the m3's I really find myself unhappy with the midrange they have.

Also, for lack of any other way to explain it, I find them inconsistent when listening to soundtracks or music. Sometimes I hear things that make me take notice that something I just heard shouldn’t have been there. I know im not the best at explaining this but that’s as best as I can put it into words. Could this be because of a raw feed to the woofer?

I really think, in my novice opinion, that axiom is missing the boat by using the same aluminum drivers in all their applications. I had their vp150 and found it completely unacceptable. It had horrible off axis issues and even on axis to my ears it never sounded the least bit natural for a center.

Again im using these for my rears in a 5.1 setup but im really having a hard time with my purchase when im not totally happy with them, I think I may be better off with the mini monitors.

[newbsterv2]

Here's the thing GeneticDrift. It all comes down to what we as listeners have as references. If all we listen to is one speaker for 20 minutes at a hifi dealer and buy it then some of us might have a misconception that that speaker is "perfect" to our ears. I bought the M3's as well as a few other set of speakers and have listened to countless other speakers until I realised what the speakers that sound good to me have in common. The first thing is the engineering that is involved. When you take a woofer that has a 5db peak at 3Khz and just stick it in a cabinet that peak is going to still be there. An engineer can simply use a low pass filter well below that peak and make it relatively benign but hey that costs money!! The driver materials as well as the type of material used has a big impact as well. I own a pair of Magnepan MMG's that I really enjoyed listening to but got on my nerves after a whike. You know why? Because of the way they radiate different frequencies. They always sounded so confined. As good as the ribbon driver is on that speaker is still is very directional and when magnepan states that box speakers sound "boxy" well then panel speakers sound "panel-ly". The Axiom M3 can sound good(I'm currently designing a custom crossover for my pair) to prove that even though the materials used aren't the best that they have a lot of potential to sound better than they currently do. I like simple 2 way bookshelf speakers with decent tight bass and a smooth midrange because they, to my ears, really seem to dissapear better than many higher priced models/designs. They are also relatively simple to build because of their size. If you feel comfortable with soldering and aren't scared to use a drill, Parts Express sells a speaker kit that cost's $140 ddollars shippped to your door that while it's not exactly perfect does a fantastic all around job of playing music. The kit is called the BR-1. Happy listening

You guys have really pointed out some very important issues about these speakers. In having the m3's I really find myself unhappy with the midrange they have.

Also, for lack of any other way to explain it, I find them inconsistent when listening to soundtracks or music. Sometimes I hear things that make me take notice that something I just heard shouldn’t have been there. I know im not the best at explaining this but that’s as best as I can put it into words. Could this be because of a raw feed to the woofer?

I really think, in my novice opinion, that axiom is missing the boat by using the same aluminum drivers in all their applications. I had their vp150 and found it completely unacceptable. It had horrible off axis issues and even on axis to my ears it never sounded the least bit natural for a center.

Again im using these for my rears in a 5.1 setup but im really having a hard time with my purchase when im not totally happy with them, I think I may be better off with the mini monitors.

[kexodusc]

I think that measurements are just part of the story. While the Ascends measure very well and play without audible resonances, they are an extremely boring speaker that has an overly analytical presentation that seems to favor measurement rather than musical enjoyement. Now, im not saying Ascends are crappy speakers its jsut that people need to look at them for more than jsut measurements when writing a review. They may measure as good as 1k speakers but they wont be as musical.

This brings up a good point engineers don't like to admit...Frequency response curves only tell part of the story. As I said earlier, for whatever reasons, there are many speakers that measure very well, but don't sound great, and vice-versa.