Aperion Verus Ii Grand Review Vs Axiom M80

Note: Measurements taken in the anechoic sleeping accommodation at Canada'south National Inquiry Quango tin exist found through this link.

Though my exposure to Axiom Audio loudspeakers has been limited, it'south been positive overall. The last Precept I listened to was their new omnidirectional flagship model, the LFR1100 ($4580 USD per pair), driven by Precept'south behemoth four-channel power amplifier, the ADA-1500-4 ($3230). I came abroad impressed with that arrangement's neutral, uncolored, powerful sound, and felt information technology offered excellent value for a speaker-amp combo around the $8000 mark.

But I realized that, with its rear-facing drivers and four-channel power requirement, a pair of LFR1100s requires more space and money than some music lovers are willing or able to commit. I filed that session away nether "Glad for the Experience" and saved my pondering about Axiom'southward more than traditional, lower-toll offerings for another solar day.

And then when Axiom's M100 v4 floorstanding model crossed my path, it seemed fortuitous. Co-ordinate to Andrew Welker, the company's R&D Manager, the M100 is a direct descendant of the LFR1100, and its appearance seems to confirm that. Its front-firing blueprint makes the M100 more flexible in terms of organization and placement, and its price of $2790/pair makes it more than wallet friendly, besides. With the sound of the LFR1100 and Precept's online data about the M100 fresh in my mind, I promptly said yes to reviewing them, and shortly thereafter received review samples.

Description

I wasn't quite prepared for what unpacking a pair of M100s entails. Not because they aren't smartly and sturdily boxed -- in fact, they're among some of the most sensibly packed speakers I've e'er handled -- but because they're quite tall. Each cabinet measures a proud 47.5"H x 9.25"W x 17"D. (They don't await that imposing when fix, all the same, no doubt due mostly to their slim forepart profiles.)

If you take standard eight' ceilings, as I do, standing an M100 upright and lifting off its carton won't work. You'll take to commencement open the proper end of the box, then lay it downwards on the flooring, catch agree of the speaker, and slide it out, hopefully with a helper holding the box steady as yous do the sliding. Easy peasy, and then long every bit you've immune plenty infinite.

A visual examination of the M100 shows that it'south well fabricated for the price. The pair I received came finished in a standard vinyl wrap simulating Blackness Oak. Cypher special near that, perhaps, only it'south one of the better vinyl finishes I've seen, and works well for a speaker at this price. They're also available in Boston Cherry; other vinyl finishes, real-wood veneers, and piano-blackness gloss are available for extra cost.

The M100 may look somewhat pedestrian to the casual observer, merely a closer examination reveals a advisedly balanced, well-thought-out design. For example, Axiom designs and makes all of its drivers in-house, something few speaker companies do, regardless of their models' retail prices or available resources. Nor is Axiom shy about using those drivers, of which each M100 has 7: two 1" tweeters, two 5.25" midranges, and 3 6.v" woofers. Except for the titanium tweeters, the cones are fabricated of aluminum, to keep the drivers' operational characteristics consistent.

Axiom's reasoning for 7 drivers per speaker is unproblematic: More drivers ways increased ability handling and higher output compared to speakers having only two or 3 drivers. It should also help ensure that no single driver operates at anywhere near its maximum limit of excursion during normal operation, which should provide greater linearity and less distortion.

The M100 was designed for those who want full bass response and extension but who don't want a subwoofer. Equally such, one of Axiom's primary goals for the speaker was to achieve linear depression-bass extension at full output downwardly to the speaker'southward lowest frequency limit: an überlow 31Hz, +/-3dB. Axiom accomplishes this by using larger-than-boilerplate voice-coils and scroll surrounds so that the woofers can achieve total excursion without compression.

The tweeters feature some design ingenuity of their own. For example, gone is the plastic faceplate Axiom uses in some of their other designs: The M100's tweeters have die-cast metal faceplates, which finer turns the housings into large heatsinks. This increases not merely cooling just power handling, resulting in less distortion at loftier volumes.

The M100's configuration of ports seems to exist unique. Each chiffonier has half-dozen reflex ports: ane at the bottom front of the chiffonier, and five around dorsum. The ports are lined with molded plastic in what Axiom calls its Vortex design, which information technology says reduces air turbulence and its resulting noise. Welker said that the number and locations of the ports were arrived at through an "intensive investigation into internal cabinet standing waves and port-woofer interaction." In brusque, Axiom appears to have paid as much attention to the ports every bit they accept to every other aspect of the M100.

Setup

I put the Axiom M100 v4s in a spare room so that they could break in for 100 hours or then. That done, I set up them up in my 20' x 20' 10 8' listening room. With bass traps in all four corners, audio-visual absorption panels at the sidewalls' primary and secondary reflection points, and diffusers elsewhere, this room sounds quite counterbalanced and neutral at a variety of locations.

Even so, fine-tuning speaker positions always pays dividends. The M100s ended up some two' from the sidewalls and 3' 9" from the front wall, measured from their front baffles, and toed-in by about 15°. This left the speakers about vii' apart, measured from their centers. At various times I sat viii.5', 12.five', and fifteen' away from the Axioms.

Listening

Satisfied with the M100 v4s' positions, I spun up Grizzly Bear's awesome disc of modern stone, Veckatimest (CD, Warp 0182). The album's mix of deep bass, wide dynamic range, and varied usage of acoustic and electronic instruments sounds best through speakers capable of handling such demanding extremes, and it took only the first track, "Southern Point," for me to hear that the Axiom M100s were handily up to the task. The audio they poured into the room was loud, deep, and make clean, with a generally even-handed tonal balance and an effortlessly dynamic audio.

In fact, the M100 was among the most dynamically expressive speakers I've heard this side of $3000/pair. Regardless of how hard I collection the review pair, they e'er sounded clean and composed from soft to loud, with no aural distortion or compression. This was well-nigh apparent in the bass, such as that on "All Nosotros Ask," likewise from Veckatimest. The M100s delivered thunderously deep, rich, taut bass that I could feel resonating throughout the room as much as I could hear it.

Simply to make certain I hadn't set up up some serendipitous pairing of recording and speaker, I played Harry Connick Jr.'s classic trio album, Lofty's Roach Soufflé (CD, Columbia CK-46223). The title runway'southward kick drums hit with affect and authority, portraying a realistic sense of weight and scale like to what one would hear live. Unlike almost speakers at this price, the M100s never failed to lay down a convincingly solid foundation.

But the M100 could do more than just dynamics and bass. Stile Antico's Music for Compline (SACD/CD, Harmonia Mundi HMU 807419) highlighted the Precept'due south tonally neutral midrange, even if it was mildly recessed overall. Voices sounded natural and well defined, without any etch, smear, or artificial edge. It was like shooting fish in a barrel to follow distinct harmonic threads within the musical whole in Thomas Tallis's "Miserere nostri," for instance, and individual choral sections were nicely balanced with each other.

Lower-treble sounds, such as the cymbals in Lofty'southward Roach Soufflé, sizzled with crispness and clarity, the Axioms pushing them slightly forward in the mix. Synth hits and percussion in densely layered recordings, such every bit Justin Timberlake's wickedly good but sonically subpar The twenty/20 Feel (CD, RCA 88765 47850 ane), sounded brilliant and detailed. Listen to how well the percussive chimes stand out from the mix of "Strawberry Bubblegum," or how the horn section in "That Girl" bites with a realistic sharpness. Though its lower treble could occasionally seize with teeth with too much enthusiasm, the M100 made high-energy music come alive.

When I played Esa-Pekka Salonen and the Los Angeles Philharmonic's DSD recording of Mussorgsky's Night on Baldheaded Mountain (SACD/CD, Deutsche Grammophon 000718236), I could hear that the Axioms were besides capable of outstanding imaging. They accurately conveyed the rich, warm acoustic and huge sense of space of the Walt Disney Concert Hall, filling my room with a large, densely populated soundstage. Through the M100s, I could close my optics and visualize the musicians playing in front of me: the speakers produced a front-of-hall perspective, with fine precision of depth and imaging.

What's more, the Precept M100s maintained a remarkably stable listening window in both the vertical and horizontal planes. Inside viii-10", they seemed largely immune to changes in the height of my ears -- I was able to enjoy their imaging qualities with very trivial change in tonal character. According to Welker, this is a result of using multiple tweeters and midrange drivers in such a mode that "the cancellations betwixt the drivers are at present staggered, resulting in a smoother overall vertical response family." Any the reason, the result was a pair of speakers that didn't require me to listen as if my head were locked in a vise.

Comparison

Feeling that I now had a handle on the M100'southward full general character, I compared it with one of my long-term reference speakers, Aperion Audio'due south Verus Grand Belfry. Like the Axiom, the Verus Grand is sold straight from the manufacturer with gratuitous shipping, has in-firm-designed drivers, and a similar three-way configuration of more drivers than the norm -- in the Aperion's case, 5. And at $1998/pair, the Verus Thou is priced well-nigh enough to the M100 for the comparison to be meaningful.

Total disclosure: I used to piece of work for Aperion Audio; my last day at that place was almost two years ago, as of this writing. I still enjoy my Verus Grands -- I retrieve they're fine speakers that sound great with all types of music. What's more, their eminently musical, even-handed character works well for long listening sessions. But since my job is to accurately and honestly draw what I hear, that admiration doesn't diminish my ability to be equally impartial equally I tin can be in reporting all of the differences that I heard between the Aperions and the Axioms.

Hélène Grimaud's brilliant Credo, a collection of music past Beethoven, Corigliano, and Pärt, with Esa-Pekka Salonen and the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra and Chorus (SACD/CD, Deutsche Grammophon 4748692), well highlighted a few of those differences. Midbass notes sounded bigger, more cleanly rendered, and improve divers through the Axioms, while the Aperions seemed to dig merely a bit deeper. A quick comparing with pure 31.5 and 25Hz examination tones confirmed that the M100s had more output at 31.5Hz, while merely the Verus Grands produced usable bass at 25Hz.

Listening to "Wagon Wheels," from Joshua Redman'southward Back East (CD, Nonesuch 104252-2), revealed that the Axioms had better pitch definition, clarity, and articulation in the lower registers than the Aperions. That, coupled to their greater quantity of midbass, made for a perceptually cleaner yet bigger bass sound through the M100s.

Moving up the audioband, Grimaud's piano sounded richer, smoother, less "glassy," and only a fleck more realistic through the Aperions. The Verus Grands also delivered more instrumental body and fullness, portraying more of her instrument's warmth, weight, and heft. Grimaud's left-hand notes, for example, resonated more forcefully through the Aperions, while the Axioms made those same notes sound thinner, slightly recessed, and a piffling sharper overall. Correct-paw notes, nonetheless, had more brightness and presence through the Axioms, which some listeners may or may not prefer.

The ii models resolved nigh equal amounts of detail, the Aperions edging slightly ahead. Intricately nuanced textures and details, such equally the soft impact of felt drum mallets or the swish of brushed cymbals, like those throughout Alexandre Côté'south Portraits d'Ici (CD, Effendi FND 128), sounded more tactile and textured through the Aperions. The Verus Grands also put forth more complete reproductions of a given note's attack, sustain, and decay, with cleaner, more extended transients and trailing harmonics. But the Axiom M100s countered with more brilliance and brightness on those same cymbals, while underpinning this with a tighter, tauter, more articulate low-frequency foundation.

When the music's intensity kicked up a notch or two, the Axioms consistently delivered a bolder, livelier, higher-octane presentation of it than did the Aperions -- especially when I cranked the volume punch up to the proverbial "11." Bass and percussion instruments, especially those on the Timberlake album, sounded punchier and more impactful from nigh 80Hz on up. What'south more, the Axioms consistently threw a wider soundstage, and produced more high-level dynamic slam overall.

Without a doubt, at that place'due south a articulate winner: whoever purchases either pair of speakers. Both fabricated music in an honest and emotionally engaging fashion, delivering a loftier level of sonic accuracy and musical satisfaction that few, even only ten years ago, would take thought possible at either price. I already ain the Aperions, just I could be equally happy owning the Axioms. Nonetheless, they're unlike enough that some listeners may prefer one over the other. That option will be made on the basis of personal taste.

Decision

As someone who for years has worked in various capacities throughout the audio industry -- including for a speaker visitor that directly competes with Precept Audio -- I've heard more than my share of loudspeakers at all levels of quality and price. All of this has taught me that it's never easy to bring a speaker design to market place at a given price and still feel you've achieved all the goals you began with.

Perhaps that'southward what makes the M100 v4 such a fine addition to the Precept family. Non merely has Axiom met all of its goals for this model; they've managed to exercise so at a price nearly everyone tin can afford. The M100'southward uncanny blend of low-pinch, superb bass quality and quantity, and lively all the same uncolored tonal residuum, makes information technology one of the well-nigh well-rounded, non-hair-shirt, will-please-just-about-anyone speakers you can buy at whatsoever price.

Of course, no speaker is perfect, even ane equally well engineered equally the M100; some listeners may ultimately adopt a warmer, cozier sound. I, too, occasionally wondered what the M100s might audio like with simply a smidge less lower-treble brilliance and a flake more natural decay and detail.

But those are tiny flaws in what is, ultimately, an accomplished loudspeaker design. I thoroughly enjoyed my fourth dimension with the Axiom M100 v4s, and I imagine at that place are quite a few folks who would be pleased as punch with the kind of highly dynamic, excitingly impactful, refreshingly honest audio they delivered in spades in my room. Axiom deserves a aureate medal -- or, better still, a Reviewers' Pick award -- for how much sonic goodness they've packed into the wonderful M100. That they're able to practice so for a starting price of merely $2790/pair is wondrous indeed. The Axiom M100 stands as ane of the best-balanced reasonably priced speakers I've heard. Enthusiastically recommended.

. . . Oliver Amnuayphol
olivera@soundstagenetwork.com

Associated Equipment

• Loudspeakers -- Aperion Audio Verus Chiliad Belfry
• Integrated amplifier -- Marantz PM-KI Pearl
• Phono preamplifier -- Graham Slee Revelation M
• Step-upwards transformer -- Custom-fabricated Sowter Magnetics 9570 (1:x transformer)
• Sources -- Rega Research RP8 turntable; Lyra Delos cartridge; HP Pavilion G6-2320DX laptop calculator running JRiver Media Center; Arcam airDAC; Antelope Zodiac DAC; Denon DCD-CX3 SACD/CD player modified by Reference Audio
• Analog interconnects -- Custom solid-core silver/Teflon (RCA), Blue Jeans Cable LC-ane
• Speaker cables -- Canare 4S11 Star-Quad
• Power cords -- WireWorld Aurora five.2 and Electra v.2

Axiom Audio M100 v4 Loudspeakers
Cost: $2790-$4167.60 USD per pair (depending on options).
Warranty: 10 years parts and labor.

Axiom Sound
Highway 60
Dwight, Ontario P0A 1H0
Canada
Phone: (866) 244-8796 (N America), (705) 635-3090 (worldwide)
Fax: (705) 635-1972

E-mail: advice@axiomaudio.com
Website: www.axiomaudio.com

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Source: https://www.soundstagehifi.com/index.php/equipment-reviews/735-axiom-audio-m100-v4-loudspeakers

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