2. speakers
  3. 1119322016

Axiom M80 VS Vienna Acoustic Beethoven on CJ 11A

Hi,

I currently have a pair of Axiom M80 driven by a Conrad Johnson 11A power amp. I listen mostly to classical, percussion, and vocal. Very few jazz and no rock at all. Stereo only and no surround.

I'm looking for speakers upgrade and I listened to some Vienna Acoustic speakers (used to have a pair of Bach and auditioned Beethoven) and I got very good impression on them. In particular, I love their smoothness. The model I'm looking for is Beethoven, not the newest Beethoven grand however.

Unfortunately in home audition is not available so I'm looking for some opinions here.

Did anyone ever compare Axiom to VA? How do they compare?

Also, did anyone try CJ and VA combination and how do they match? I think both of them are warm but I'm not looking for some "too warm" sound.

Thanks for any thoughts and input. Any idea is appreciated.

Andy
hklai
hklai OP
14 posts
 
It seems like many people here got a lot of affection to VA Beethoven. =)

My Beeothvens finally arrived my doorway yesterday! The Rosewood finish really looks fantastic! There is a small scratch in the bottom of one speaker but considering the money I paid, I cannot complain. =}

VA Beethovens in fact sound very good on my CJ 11a. Compared to Axiom, they got so much more details, more transparent treble and midrange, not as bright and less annoying sibilant sound. Soundstage is substantially wider and deeper.

I do not find any dynamic problem with VA Beethoven at all. I think their dynamic is way better than VA Bach and I'm very satisfied with them.

Bass is good in general but the lower bass is not as punchy and low as Axiom. I think it's less controlled as well. This is probably due to limitation of my 75w amp, but I'm going to do more experiment on different placement and cables.
maxxc
177 posts
 
What Axioms did you replace?

BW Maxx
hklai OP
14 posts
 
Hi Maxx,

I replaced Axiom M80... Similar size and spec in fact, quite different sound however.
boyhowdy
12 posts
 
Congratulations Andy. I'd like to recommend Paul Spelz Anti-cables for your Beethovens if you have any cash to spare. They are quite cheap ($10 per foot pair) and handily bested the Kimber 8tc in my system. The Anti-cables had more clarity and gave me better extension in the bass and treble. They aren't very "pretty", however.
hklai OP
14 posts
 
I'm currently running a pair of zu wax to my beethovens. I also have a pair of transparent cable music wave super lying around that I would like to try some time soon.

Hmm.. I have heard some good things about anticable. For $10/ft pair it's quite tempting. I will probably order a pair. If they beat both zu and transparent, I may in fact make some money by selling them off. =D

Thanks Boyhowdy.
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