Paradigm Studio 100 v.3 vs Axiom M80s.

[rajx7]

Hi Guys,
I just had the oppurtunity to listen to Paradigm Studio 100s and was quite impressed. I just wanted to know if anyone had the chance to listen to these and Axiom M80s. If yes, how do they compare with each other. If Axiom sounds as good as the Paradigms or little better, I would prefer to go for them, as there is a good difference in the dollar amount. I would really appreciate your insights.
Regards,
R

[kexodusc]

rajx7: I've not heard the M80's, but, a year ago I took the plunge on some Axiom M3Ti's. If you read the Axiom boards on their website, Axiom owners will all tell you how great they sound, because they're an internet-direct company, they offer tremendous savings, and that the M3Ti's will trounce the Studio 20's.

I own the Studio 20's. It's not even close. I'd like to personally slap every moron on that Axiom forum that makes such rediculous statements.

Now having said that, I have some impressions about the M3Ti's, which should sound somewhat similar to the M80's. A year ago or so I posted a rather unflattering review of the M3Ti's that I wish I could take back. At first I absolutely hated them. They sounded to me much worse than some older, cheap Paradigm Titans they replaced that I had for my dining room. Decent bass, but a bloated, and rather annoying sound in the midrange. After getting very bored one day, I decided to take the M3Ti's downstairs to my main system. I was floored at how my opinion changed.
I find the Axiom's have a very wide and deep soundstage, but a somewhat less focused imaging than say, the Studio 20's. They do sound very good for the money, but unlike most other speakers I own, they require (to me at least) absolutely no toe-in to sound good. At moderate volumes, in a medium or small room the M3Ti's would be very good.
I'd recommend them as a decent value, probably somewhere around the same level of performance as Paradigm's Mini-Monitors (though maybe not quite), but without the slightly bright sound Paradigm's known for. Though the Mini Monitors have a lower, and more authoritative bass, and would sound a bit better than the M3Ti's without a subwoofer. Considering the M3Ti's are about $125 less than the Mini Monitors (before shipping costs), they are a good value, especially if someone was putting together a home theater with a subwoofer.
I would expect the same scale of value from the M80's.
Just don't believe everything you read from some of the other Axiom owners...they don't sound anywhere near as good as my Studio 20's, and I'm very reluctant to believe the M80's would rival the Studio 100's.

[rajx7]

rajx7: I've not heard the M80's, but, a year ago I took the plunge on some Axiom M3Ti's. If you read the Axiom boards on their website, Axiom owners will all tell you how great they sound, because they're an internet-direct company, they offer tremendous savings, and that the M3Ti's will trounce the Studio 20's.

I own the Studio 20's. It's not even close. I'd like to personally slap every moron on that Axiom forum that makes such rediculous statements.

Now having said that, I have some impressions about the M3Ti's, which should sound somewhat similar to the M80's. A year ago or so I posted a rather unflattering review of the M3Ti's that I wish I could take back. At first I absolutely hated them. They sounded to me much worse than some older, cheap Paradigm Titans they replaced that I had for my dining room. Decent bass, but a bloated, and rather annoying sound in the midrange. After getting very bored one day, I decided to take the M3Ti's downstairs to my main system. I was floored at how my opinion changed.
I find the Axiom's have a very wide and deep soundstage, but a somewhat less focused imaging than say, the Studio 20's. They do sound very good for the money, but unlike most other speakers I own, they require (to me at least) absolutely no toe-in to sound good. At moderate volumes, in a medium or small room the M3Ti's would be very good.
I'd recommend them as a decent value, probably somewhere around the same level of performance as Paradigm's Mini-Monitors (though maybe not quite), but without the slightly bright sound Paradigm's known for. Though the Mini Monitors have a lower, and more authoritative bass, and would sound a bit better than the M3Ti's without a subwoofer. Considering the M3Ti's are about $125 less than the Mini Monitors (before shipping costs), they are a good value, especially if someone was putting together a home theater with a subwoofer.
I would expect the same scale of value from the M80's.
Just don't believe everything you read from some of the other Axiom owners...they don't sound anywhere near as good as my Studio 20's, and I'm very reluctant to believe the M80's would rival the Studio 100's.

Thanks kexodusc. Really appreciate your opinion. But again, of all the Axiom models M80s have the most acclaim and have read great reviews about it. They cost nearly $1000/pr less than Paradigm Studio 100s. So was wondering Paradigms were $1000/pr more woth sound over Axioms. or not.

[SAPSEC]

Are both Paradigm and Axiom Canadian speakers ? Same type like PSB ?

[rajx7]

Are both Paradigm and Axiom Canadian speakers ? Same type like PSB ?

Yes they both are Canadian as far as I know. Why?

[dvjorge]

I will go with the Studio 100 V3. The studio serie is one of the best value-price has the market now. Considering that speakers are one of the most important part of the chain, I will put all the money I can on them. Personally, I don't like the Axion's sound. On the other hand, I find Paradigm Studio Serie a real contender for any speaker in his price range.
Jorge.

[RGA]

Hi Guys,
I just had the oppurtunity to listen to Paradigm Studio 100s and was quite impressed. I just wanted to know if anyone had the chance to listen to these and Axiom M80s. If yes, how do they compare with each other. If Axiom sounds as good as the Paradigms or little better, I would prefer to go for them, as there is a good difference in the dollar amount. I would really appreciate your insights.
Regards,
R

Firstly, the reviews you may as well chuck out right now.

Secondly, I would not buy the Axiom's unless i knew I could return them full refund (including all shipping charges) - I'm not a huge fan of buying a speaker unless I can hear it first (including kits unless they're dirt cheap so it's no big deal if it sucks)

Thirdly for $2700.00Cdn I would explore a lot of the competition and of different cabinet design or speakers of panel design(stats and planars) etc.

On a personal note (And this is what I would do only so chuck it out if you wish) if number 2 does allow for free return I would definitely TRY it simply because I think the 100V3 is an atrocious bang for buck speaker as I have heard for $2700.00Cdn(It would be overpriced at $1500.00Cdn IMO). It's a worse speaker than the V2 its build Quality looks WORSE it sounds worse IMO, it has less bass than the V2 less impact, its treble is less bright but then it's also boring and the whole thing sounds like it lacks cohesion(and even sounds hollow with a funnel effect. If you must have Paradigm then get the 100V2 or the 40V2 and a sub. OR preferably a PMC Transmission line or something anything from Dynaudio. I prefer high sensitive designs as they "TEND" not to make everything sound constipated and narrow.

As a Canadian I'm least proud of the speakers that come from our country - I'm happy they sell though and puts us on the map and helps the economy - but generally I feel we make some of the worst speakers on the market for sound quality for music - home theater maybe not too bad as boom and sizzle is popular these days probably because of the boom and sizzle recordings. Horrible Resolution lots of detail(noise in the signal).

This above paragraph is an opinion based off my auditions over the years ONLY - they are totally subjective and lots of people totally disagree with me on this - it is not meant to be argumentative in any way shape or form --- as a note I am seriously in the minority when it comes to the sound and value offerred by many of these speakers. (There are some exceptions here as well as I noted a couple of them). Speaker evaluation is subjective - not everyone appreciates,values or even hears the exact same things in the exact same way. (and some speakers are suited to certain genres of music as well).

I would audition speakers with wildly different cabinet shapes, design approaches, tweeter and woofer materials, etc --- preferably in the same room with the same equipment --- this is hard as most dealers don't have the set-ups generally to accomodate this like, for the most part, my dealer offers. So I have some advantage in not needing to rely on any print reviews to steer me because the sound is all that needs to be the indicator.

[kexodusc]

As a Canadian I'm least proud of the speakers that come from our country - I'm happy they sell though and puts us on the map and helps the economy - but generally I feel we make some of the worst speakers on the market for sound quality for music - home theater maybe not too bad as boom and sizzle is popular these days probably because of the boom and sizzle recordings. Horrible Resolution lots of detail(noise in the signal).

Yikes, that's an absolutely bold statement to make. Bang for the buck seems to be something Canadian speaker manufactures have in spades. I would argue completely the opposite of your assessment, RGA...especially the boom and sizzle stereotype (except for maybe a few large models). I will, however agree with you, that once you reach, say, the $2000 price level, Canadian speakers tend to lose their edge compared to other offerings. The only exception being Focus Audio, who IMO are the best kept secret in the audio world. The FS line are probably the best speakers I've heard between $3000-$8000 USD. Absolutely incredible (though they rely heavily on European drivers...a good thing IMO)

RGA, you'd probably actually like the Axiom sound...look around your area, Canadian stores still carry them in stock, despite Axiom's claim to the contrary. A very different sound than PSB, Paradigm, Energy, etc...After a year of almost zero use, I'm really starting to dig my M3Ti's...They have a very accurate bass and midrange (though the bass isn't very extended, these are pretty small), and a somewhat warm sound in the highs. These speakers sound much different than your typical slim line design...I'm tempted to almost believe the Axiom propaganda on their trapezoidal cabinet designs. Difficult to place though...

[46minaudio]

Firstly, the reviews you may as well chuck out right now.

Including yours.RGA you are a AN shill...Anything posted by you should be taken with a large grain of salt..

[Haoleb]

I own the M80's and while i really enjoy them and have not had a single bit of regret in buying them, but there are obviosly better speakers out there. I have not heard the paradigms but I remember them being very nice speakers. V2 perhaps is what im thinking of. The paradigms use real wood venner and weight about 40 lbs more per pair than the Axioms. Although from what i have seen pics of them and read they might be visually, nicer speakers. I have not heard them so the extra grand in cost might not be worth it.

Hearing the M80's is something i definetly reccomend you do. There are many axiom owners across the country that will open their house to you to come audition the speakers. A list of these folks can be found here: http://www.axiomaudio.com/boards/sho...b=5&o=0&fpart=

From what i have read the M80's and 100's sound very similar so since 1000 dollars is alot of money i would go for the axioms and hope for the best. I have not heard of anyone who was not pleased with their purchase. There have been some who were dissapointed with some of the bookshelf models. Like the guy above maybe but It seems their floorstanders are much better. Although i doubt they sell nearly as many M80 as they do M3's But again, i suggest you try and hear the axioms. There could be someone very close to you with either the 60's or 80's who would have you over for a listen.

[RGA]

Including yours.RGA you are a AN shill...Anything posted by you should be taken with a large grain of salt..

As Jack Nicholson said "You can't handle the truth."

[46minaudio]

As Jack Nicholson said "You can't handle the truth."

No RGA you cant tell it...

[rajx7]

All you guys, thanks a lot for all your insights and suggestions. Just please do not throw stuff at each other just because you do not agree with each other. I know most of the comments posted here are subjective. There are millions of great speakers out there and so many odds against us to make the right decision to chose the right speakers. The reason could be budget and defnitely very low chances of hearing all the great speakers out there , thus we come out here to read each others opinions on the brands we never get to hear. If I could hear to all the brands I know are good, hell I would have never posted this question and I would have decided for myself. I just hope that by reading your experiences and different opinions I just hope it will help me to make the right decision.

Since the "bang for buck" was used in this discussion, I wanted to know, what you think of Athena AS-F2s. I know they do not cost as much as Axiom M80 and no way close to Paradigm 100s still have heard that they sound better than some of $2000 speaker/pr. Is it true?. By the way have Paradigm stopped selling Studio 100 v2 after v3s was released?
Regards,
R

[RGA]

Hi Guys,
I just had the oppurtunity to listen to Paradigm Studio 100s and was quite impressed. I just wanted to know if anyone had the chance to listen to these and Axiom M80s. If yes, how do they compare with each other. If Axiom sounds as good as the Paradigms or little better, I would prefer to go for them, as there is a good difference in the dollar amount. I would really appreciate your insights.
Regards,
R

I'd like to opologise for being one of many to get this thread of topic. Is this the Studio 100V2 or V3. If the former I would probably buy it if you can get a deal - if the latter I would take the chance on Axiom - you can always ship it back if you don't like it.

Also if it has not already been said you could and probably should explore the used market - you'd be surprised at the deals you can get at high end dealerships on used speakers - speakers are generlaly cheap to repair minor damage as well. I have seen $5,000.00 spekaer after 2-3 years going for about $2k - I recently(2 years ago) saw a Bryston 3B ST going for $600.00Cdn asking.

A slightly cheaper option might also be the B&W 604S3, Energy C9, Klipsh RF series, etc.