Axiom M80 VS Vienna Acoustic Beethoven on CJ 11A

Sorry, I'm not familiar with Axiom loudspeakers, but I think you'd find the Vienna Beethovens to be extremely satisfying. I also own the Gallo Ref3 which is a phenomenal loudspeaker, but I prefer the Viennas for their image density and their seductive way with vocals. Pairing it with the CJ will probably result in a warm, very lush sound, and you may find the bass somewhat soggy or tubby. I just don't think tube power amps can control the woofers optimally, but this might not matter much to you and also depends on your musical tastes. The Beethovens are very placement sensitive, as well as very sensitive to their front end components. Hopefully you have a relatively large room to place them in, so they can perform their disappearing act. With my associated electronics (classe power, minimax tube pre, cairn fog cdp, Paul Speltz Anti-cables) the Beethovens sound relatively neutral, but always musical and fatigue free.

I have not heard the Axioms either, but I own a pair of VA Beethovens. I think they are wonderful speakers...the type you can listen to for days. I have experimented with a few different power sources and have had more success with SS amps over tubes, though admittedly most of the SS amps I tried were more powerful than the tube amps. As the speakers are somewhat "soft," the tube amps tend to make them sound too soft, to my ears,anyway. I am currently using a RAM-modified PS Audio HCA-2 amp and PCA-2 preamp and I am very happy with the sound.

Thanks Boyhowdy and Mezzrow.

I'm not looking for lush sound in particular. That is why I kind of hesitate to make my purchase decision. My room size is about 20(W) x 15(D) x 12(H) and I place the speakers along the longer wall.

I used to have a pair of VA Bach and I love the smooth vocal. However I found the dynamic is not even close to my Axiom (understandable due to their sizes) and soundstage is somewhat smaller. Is Beethoven much better than Bach or are they completely different animals?

PS. It is a good sign to see that many Beethoven owners are very happy.

Thanks,
Andy

Here is another happy Beethoven owner. I am driving them with a Cary V12 tube amp and I have plenty of bass. Some people think I have a sub going. Mine are the newer version of Beethovens.

Hi Jdodmead,

It's good to hear that beethoven driven by a tube amp can also produce a good result!

Did you compare the newer Beethoven grand and the old one? Would you mind telling me roughly how much you paid for it? You may drop me a private message if you do not want to publicize it. =)

Andy