[Vertigo-1]

Edirol MA-10D Digital Powered Micro-Monitor

Rated output: 10w + 10w (20w total)
Woofer*: 9.2cm/ 3-5/8"
Tweeter*: 5cm/2"
Frequency range: 45 Hz to 35 kHs
Controls (On right speaker): Bass, Treble, Vol 1 Coax and Optical ins, Vol 2 RCA
Connectors (On right speaker): Front: Mini plug phone jack, Optical Toslink
Rear: Line 1 stereo miniplug, Line 2 RCA L/R, L speaker out, Optical and Coaxial in
Dimensions: W156 x D197 x H238 mm, W6-3/16 x D7-13/16 x H9-3/8 inches
Weight: Right speaker 3.5 kg / 7 lbs 12 oz, Left speaker 2.3 kg / 5 lb 2 oz
Digital input Sampling rate: 32/44.1/48/96 kHz, 24-bit
D/A Converter: 24-bit
(Speakers Magnetically Shielded)

Available from here for $129.95. And no I don't work for these guys. I might've even considered these myself for the heck of it if I didn't already have my Triangle Tituses...

 

[chych]

Too many features for a speaker... I don't like it... it is it's own amp and own d/a... then again I have never heard it.

 

[Neruda]

There's NO WAY you're getting any useful bass at 45Hz from a 3 5/8" woofer. I'm sorry, but you're not. 60Hz maybe, but if you try to make it go any lower than that and the bass is going to be absolutely lousy.

 

[RickG]

Quote:

Originally posted by Vertigo-1 I might've even considered these myself for the heck of it if I didn't already have my Triangle Tituses...

I didn't know you had the Triangles, Vertigo. I just read a review on these and the guy was very impressed with them. How do you like 'em? I'm thinking of buying a pair of speakers in this price range for my office system.

They are very nice looking speakers...

Product Review:

http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/volum...rs-6-2001.html

 

[yage]

If you're in the market for some very inexpensive monitors that happen to sound incredible, check these out:

http://www.axiomaudio.com/products.cfm?productID=M3

Soundstage and GoodSound both gave it glowing reviews. I have a pair myself and they are worth every penny.

 

[Vertigo-1]

Quote:

I didn't know you had the Triangles, Vertigo.

I would imagine you didn't since this is a headphone site, and one doesn't make too many comments about speakers if they don't want something bad happening to them.

I got em only recently, after my big thread about what speakers to look into. MacDEF brought em to my attention which I'm quite thankful for now that i got em...they're really nice speakers. Jumping from what is considered one of the best sounding PC speakers, the Midiland S2-4100, over to these was no competition...the Titus just smoke any and all previous speakers I've ever owned/heard to date, which has been mostly high end PC speakers. I agree with with everything that reviewer said (that review was pretty influential on me in fact before I bought the Titus). The Titus soundstages like crazy, and that was the first big ear opener to me...right off the bat they sounded waaaaaaaaay more airy and the soundstage was just much huger than what I had in the past. I also needed a bookshelf that could play at low to very low volumes, and once again the Titus doesn't disappoint, as that reviewer mentioned. These things can reveal a lot even at very low volumes. Overall tonality is a warm musical presentation, non-boomy bass, and a slightly rolled off top end. It's hard to get over the massive soundstage though, that's the major strength of the Titus. Only thing I could wish for was more wallop behind the bass as I've just come off a subwoofer/sat system, and I notice certain low bass notes just totally disappearing, so I might consider a sub in the future to pair with the Titus.

 

[RickG]

Thanks for the info, Vertigo. I'm dying to hear these speakers.

 

[kajohndet]

How can these speakers be powered?

 

[Ctn]

9v batts

 

[kajohndet]

You're kidding right?

 

[Neruda]

yeah, he's kidding

some speakers come with built-in amplifiers; paradigm makes some highly praised ones. it's like how subs have built in amplifiers. But I wouldn't take a chance with these ones myself. the specs they give are obviously untrue, and they look rather cheap to me.

 

[Xevion]

They are probably meant for use as small monitors for a computer - the main input is a minijack in. They probably sound pretty bad, but look interesting.

 

[thomas]

Quote:

If you're in the market for some very inexpensive monitors that happen to sound incredible, check these out: http://www.axiomaudio.com/products.cfm?productID=M3 Soundstage and GoodSound both gave it glowing reviews. I have a pair myself and they are worth every penny.

I listened to them a few days ago, and was very impressed, even though the store setup wasn't ideal... that alluminum woofer really moves! I was very impressed by the detail and the neutrality, which is exactly what i'm looking for...Unfortuanately, i haven't auditioned very many other speakers in that price range, so i have no refference point... I was very tempted to buy right away, as the store had a pair with unnoticable cosmetic defects for only $180 USD, but decided to audition a few more before buying...

What's surprised me is that i haven't seen any other reviews for them other than those three sites, all of which seem to be connected to Axiom in some way (i've seen the soundstage people post on the axiom forums, all seem to be affiliated with NRC in Ottawa)... Considering the hype those reviews raised, i expected most magazines would give them a try...

Has anyone done a lot of listening to bookshelfs in the $200-$400 US price range? (the triangles are a bit out of my budget, but if they really are much better than everything else, then i'd be willing to spend that much...But it seems EVERY bookshelf/monitor review contains the words "giant killers"...

 

[gerG]

Ah yes, that looks like the venerable Audax tw60a tweeter (or some variant). Very common cheap tweeter with very zingy and directional response. From the flashy trim rings I am guessing that there are some low end foam surround woofers hidden in there. Extra flash usually means that they are hiding something.

Sorry to be critical, but I have purchased way too many things that appear to be bargains, only to find out that they were cheap for a reason. Shop carefully.

 

[yage]

Yeah, you'd think that the major mags would've covered a product such as the Axiom M3Ti's but they're probably too busy drooling over the "statement" products to even consider them.

The thing is, Axiom has been in business for a while (or so I've read) manufacturing speakers for other companies. The reason why the product is so inexpensive is economy of scale - they have the manufacturing processes in place to make a lot of speakers at low cost.

I bought the Axiom sound unheard based on the reviews from Soundstage and GoodSound. I had auditioned the NHT 1.5 and B&W 602S2 beforehand. To my ears, the Axioms at least meet, if not exceed, the performance of those speakers for less than half the cost.

And the reason why you might find a lot of people from the NRC posting stuff on the Axiom website is that they handle speaker testing for a lot of speaker companies. A lot of the designs from Canadian speaker companies are based on research conducted in those labs. Needless to say that the NRC guys know what they're doing.

I'm not Canadian myself, nor am I affiliated with Axiom but I happen to feel disappointed that there aren't more widely read audio publications that focus on good quality, affordable audio equipment. I bet it's much easier to design a good speaker with cost as no object than to come up with a quality design at realistic prices.