Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Hearing Things M5HP “Review” on YouTube

Not sure if this is posted anywhere else in the forum……

First time I’ve ever seen Axiom make it onto a YouTube Review. You’ll notice I put “review” in quotations.

https://youtu.be/XzX-1tTQqsM

PS only other time I’ve come across Axiom on YouTube is an Audioholics chat about class d amps and they used the Ada-1400 as the example.

The reviewer is based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, in case anyone was wondering.

He mentions the ep800 in the comments. Would be cool to see an ep800 get reviewed.

Gene Descala was talking about Class D amps and how they have improved over the years to the point they will probably eventually replace Class A, A/B. Of course, he was talking about the problems of the original amps(the Axiom he reviewed was 12 years old). I immediately wondered why he didn't get a new Axiom amp to review, but those of us that have been around this forum for awhile, know there were issues between Descala and Ian that I assume were never fully resolved, in which case, I doubt Axiom would send him one to review anyway.

I wondered that too. I was like hey he should have a new ADA-1500 or something. Oh well. If I recall correctly, he did actually say the ada-1400 measured pretty well anyway.

I wonder why the reviewer didn’t like the m5? Cuz I really like all my axiom speakers. I think they sound great. Especially with well recorded material.

Kodiak, here are some reasons I can think of why he didn't like them.

He made a few comments that suggest they may be too neutral for his system (which includes him). He compared them to the Polks which he perceived had more authority to the bass in the Eminem Killshot song. He also said the sound seems to be generic.

He perhaps enjoys a "colored" speaker as evidenced by the comment "...the lows, mids and highs haven't jumped out at..." him.

Perhaps they have a defect.

Perhaps the amp cannot provide the requisite power down low. It's really impossible to tell from the specs although the stated design, with a linear power supply, should do very well unless there's a design implementation or other defect in the amp.

As for soundstage and imaging, it's hard to tell if they are positioned properly.

The treble being a little bright was very interesting. I can't possibly imagine Axiom spending any more time tweaking the M5 design given everything else it has going on. This is either a listener preference within his room or something is wrong with the M5.

First off I didn’t listen to the review … just giving an option on why bad speaker reviews are often given.

Everyone has their own expectations and tastes. If used to a bass heavy speaker which accentuates the boom in your music a flatter response may sound/fall … well … flat to you. I think this is especially true for headphone. Also it depends on what you drive it with … if you like it loud and drive it with a low wattage amp you’ll get distortion … Next up is how some speakers lack detail … a good speaker can show flaws in your music that your old ones didn’t. I’m sure other can come up with more reasons …

To sum it up … the speaker is often the first thing blamed when the resulting sound does not meet expectations.

I don't have a high opinion of his content, it's right down there with Darko, Joe N Tell, Steve Guttenberg, PS Audio, Andrew Robinson, Cheap Audio Man and Audioholics.

He appears to buy his own equipment to review; I've seen several of his Calgary Kijiji ads trying to resell them for 70 cents on the dollar. Good luck that. I rarely bother buying used unless it's 20 cents on the dollar or less.

Social media is a tough market to stand out in. My nephew's wife has 4 million Tik Tok and close to a million YouTube followers, and it's lucrative at that scale, to the point that she's turning down offers of hosting her own television show because the cost/benefit doesn't work out.

Ok I watched more of his content. The m5 review was first time I’d seen him. I can see why he may not have liked them based on his other content and obvious preferences. Each to there own I guess. It certainly solidified my opinion of YouTube audio reviewers. You have to take it all with a grain of salt or big amount of salt sometimes.

I mean,to be honest it takes time to get a new set of speakers sounding good. Especially if you’re a preferences listener like May enjoy or gave a bias towards a more V shaped sound ( to steal a YouTube reviewer term). It may be the first time he’s heard a linear or flat and true speaker. I absolutely admit that my axiom speakers ( m60, m3 and m2) all faithfully produce what’s on the recording. And if it sucks then it’s gonna sound shitty. But when it’s a good recording or mastering or whatever the term is ( full dynamics?) then watch out bc it’s REALLY good and addictive. I’m always on the hunt for great recordings for that reason.

In my last response, I assumed he gave them time to break in and is still not satisfied based on his latest comments.

Judging by the comments, at least one person has been convinced to not try Axioms and a few more are knocking the brand. This is very unfortunate not only for Axiom but also for those who are missing out. They are not only missing out on the great performance but also on the loyalty benefits.

Those who start a social media channel should understand they take on an important responsibility and should question if they have the right skills, education and communication abilities to fulfil their role.

I'd probably argue that it's more important to be right than to be popular or entertaining. I'm still waiting for someone to prove that the NRC audio research, the Harman target curve, the Olive score, and double blind testing is complete BS. I'm totally open to better ideas if they're out there.

But I expect those breakthroughs to come from researchers, not influencers.