[Haoleb]

Well, I have had these for just over a month now and figured it was time to write a review to add to the archives here. Let me first say that my previous speakers were JBL ND310 which are dual 10" 3 way floorstanders. And my equipment is as follows (if it matters)

NAD C-370 integrated amplifier
Cambridge Audio D300 cdp
Sansui TU-517 Tuner
Clarity Labs "Foxfire" interconnect from CDP and "Emberglow" from tuner.
AudioQuest Type 4 speaker cables

And now, the review!  
I had been long searching for a new pair of speakers to replace my old JBL's which i felt just sounded soo lifeless and dull every time i would pop in a cd i would find myself walking out of the room immediatly from disgust and dissapointement it got to the point where i wouldnt even listen to over an hour a week. So i had been researching onlibe for months and the Axiom M80's caught my eye... read as much stuff about them i could find and talked to numerous people and i was sold. Although i had my heart set on PSB 6T earlier. i felt that these were much better speakers. So i finally got enough money and ordered them in Boston cherry finish from the factory outlet for $935 bucks with the regular FREE Fed Ex 2nd day air shipping TO HAWAII! which really surprised me, i thought i would email them and get the awnser i had heard soo many times. Continental US only. Nope. Amie at axiom assured me the shipping was free. I got them 3 buisness days later very well packaged arrived in perfect condition. Unpacked them and looked the over. Wow. they are Nice. i got the factory blems and there were a couple VERY small places with a scratch or ding or whatever you wanna call it. The finish is absolutely beautifull. The best vinyl veneer i had ever seen.  I put in the carpet spikes and hooked them up.

 First cd was Pink Floyd Echoes disc two track three "the fletcher memorial home" WOW! ! ! it took me about 3 seconds into the song to know that my money was well spent. The sound was soo crisp. the bass was now deep and full. The instruments had weight and sooo much detail. The soundstage is seamless. on most all songs i cant even tell that the sound is coming from the speakers, it extends well beyond the speakers as well. the highs and mids were soo forward sounding compared to the cheap JBL's i love it. Every part of the music has its own place in the soundstage and the sound is soo airy and smooth. The balance of the sound was very good. On Pink Floyd "wish you were here" i remeber that well, i was reading the manual when the acoustic guitar at the beginning started. I immediatly looked up with a smile. Oh my god!  I had never heard it sound soo good before, it was soo crisp and detailed it seemed like it was going to break the speakers. ( i cant explain it ) In the past month i have listened to more music and ENJOYED it than i had in the last 7 months i had with the JBL's This is what a good speaker can do, i say to myself every evening when i sit down for some good foot tapping relaxation.

The build on these speakers is superb, cabinets are finished very nicely as i have mentioned, the cabinets are solid also. Drivers are top notch and the sound can account for that. The binding posts are solid and secure. What can i say. i really love My Axiom M80ti's  was probbly the best 1000 bucks i ever spent! They look great with or without the grills, One of the first speakers i have seen which actually looks good to me with the grills on.

To sum it all up. The speakers are probbly the best thing out there in this price range and beyond. Axiom is definetly the best company i have ever delt with, customer service and satisfaction is a top priority for them and it shows. Emails are usually awnsered in a couple hours or less and they have people there which can awnser your email with real knowledge of the product.  And one of the best things about them is their FREE shipping and 30 day money back guarantee. Me living in hawaii and having to ship heavy floorstanders Fed Ex 2nd day air would have cost me $250-300 bucks, so knowing im paying the same buying direct from the company and getting free shipping, or if i went to canada and bought from a dealer makes me even happier i chose axiom!

If you have any questions about these speakers, email me and maybe i can help or go to Axiom's forums and the folks there should be able to help. The below pic is of my system. but note the tiles which are under the speakers in the pic have been removed.

[ABEX]

Glad you are happy with the M80's. I have a set of Modified NEAR M15's and a set of Modified M50's on the way which are not made any longer ,but I live where they were manufactured so I got to meet the president Bill K. of NEAR and he hooked me up with a set from someone.

The Metal Driver tech was introduced to the audio community through NEAR who were the first to make it work and now alot of cos. are using it.Before that there were ringing issues associated with the driver's ,but that has been well overcome and I am glad that Axiom has made it work for them.

I have heard alot of JBL's in the old days and they were good if not great speaker's then,but they lost the edge for true audiophile's I think and now are relagated to the mass market.  

If I had not found my NEAR's I would have settled for the Axes myself.Came a few weeks short of getting them.  I know of another audiophile in HI. that sold me my FT Audio LW-1.

Happt listening!  

[ABEX]

I read a thread at AA where someone made new XO's on the M22's with marked improvement!

I would definately checkout what you could do in that area.My speaker designer is alway's improving on the crossover design to get the best out of the driver's.

[Haoleb]

Yes, actually its funny you mention that because i was considering it just a week or so ago. after reading at AA about some people who upgraded the xovers and one guy who redid the xovers on all his axioms. And id still like to do it someday but right now i definetly dont have the money for the parts. But i guess replaceing the caps and resistors has a good improvement in sound. I posted this topic over at the axiom site but, didnt really get any awnsers. i dont think most of the folks there are intersted in tweaking or upgrading their speakers. Oh well... too bad for them!

Im still really enjoying the speakers. Definetly happy i bought them they continue to please me daily.

[ABEX]

I would definitely look into it and write directly to John and Alan.Get as much feedback as you can as to how and what to use while the people are still around.I know about $$ constraints because my speaker's are being made for the same amount of $$ ,but with new advanced XO's.

Parts will not cost you more than $100 I bet.

Well worth it to tweek them as much as possible,nut be careful also because if you go to far you'd have to have them retuned.

Just thought I'd let you know!

[2channelguy]

Thanks for the review. Nice!

I hope to get a pair of the M3Ti's within the next couple of months. They're a lot smaller but they'd be going into a very small room, only 120 sq. feet.

I've never been so hot for a speaker that I've never even heard but I've read countless reviews of Axiom and not a single bad word has ever been written about them. And for $275, how could you go wrong? I'll post when I get them and report what I think.

Looks like you've got an awesome setup. Enjoy!

[Haoleb]

Abex, who is john and alan.. i have no idea who your talkiing about   And 2 channel guy have you thought of the m22's instead of the M3's. I always read on the Axiom board about everyone saying upgrading to the M22's is worth the extra money. Just a thought.

[ABEX]

Sorry,I might have misplaced their names.

I was refering to the Owner\Prez. & his Chief Technical Person.They answer Q's that you either post or drop a mail.

They should beable to answer some XO change's question.

DO a serch at AA DIY for the best Caps\Resistors and Inductors to use .Then purchase the parts and Remove & Replace them and I bet the quality of the Speaker's drasticly improves!

Good Luck!

[2channelguy]

Dammit Haoleb! Just when I was settled on what I wanted, you got me guessing again!  

[ABEX]

2Ch.guy:
If It were me I would get the M22ti's and rework the XO's.There was a post about it over at AA and it would really make those speaker's really sing!

Just a thought!

[2channelguy]

Yea I bet that would be sweet but like I said, my listening room is going to be quite small. (I start moving tommorow)

Now I'm thinking the M2's might be a better bet since none of the bookshelfs are going to give any real bass anyway.

I've got about 11 feet to play with. There will be a small doorway and a closet that I can remove the doors, so I'll have that bit of air behind me. So I'm thinking if I go with the 22's, they'll need a bit of space behind them. Would 8-9 feet of space between the 22's and my ears be enough?

The room is carpeted and I do plan on doing some sound deadening.

Sorry if this doesn't make much sense. I think I comming down with the flu.  

[Haoleb]

Oh yea. I have my M80's about. gosh i think its 8 feet apart and i sit 8 or 9 feet from them. so that much room with the m22's would be plenty.

[rosconey]

my michaura m55's (axiom m22 clone)work best about 6 to 8 ft apart,
i also upgraded the crossovers with mills resistors and solen caps.

[duff138]

2channelguy,
   take a look at my set up in the gallery part of audiocircle.  I have the m22 set up in my room.  about 6 feet apart, 6 feet from my chair, 4 feet from the back wall, and 2 feet away from the wall.  They sound great.  Occasionally I pull in my sub woofer from the hometheater set up in my other room.  It's a cambridge soundworks p1000.  Adding a sub really improves the sound.

[2channelguy]

Thanks all. Now I feel a little better about the room. For some reason I just thought it would be way too small for anything but small 2-way's.

Now to convince the wife that I need a new set of $400 speakers.....  

Ah, easier to ask forgivness then to ask permission.  

[Haoleb]

Just let her listen to em. that should do the trick