# Arx vs Emp Tek vs Axiom



## Bjski (Jun 23, 2012)

Hi,
I'm making a second,smaller and cheaper home theater room. I have a Denon 3311 receiver with an older set of paradigm model 7 and a 300 cc along with an old subwoofer. I was thinking of getting the Arx towers, Emp Tek towers or Axiom towers for my left/right mains. Any thoughts or suggestions? I am not worried about getting a new subwoofer yet. My wife and I will be using this room mostly for TV.


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## theJman (Mar 3, 2012)

Without knowing a room size or budget it will be difficult for anyone to provide much guidance, so that info will be helpful. Some general thoughts though...

Mismatched fronts are never a good idea; the center should be "voiced" the same as the left and right. Failing to do so will often result in an unbalanced soundfield, especially noticeable when using one of the higher level codec's (like Dolby TrueHD or DTS-HD). Another consideration is that you'll need towers with a lot of low end ability if you opt not to use a subwoofer. That means you should consider a lower end into the 40Hz range, otherwise you'll end up missing out on a lot of vital content.


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## Bjski (Jun 23, 2012)

theJman said:


> Without knowing a room size or budget it will be difficult for anyone to provide much guidance, so that info will be helpful. Some general thoughts though...
> 
> Mismatched fronts are never a good idea; the center should be "voiced" the same as the left and right. Failing to do so will often result in an unbalanced soundfield, especially noticeable when using one of the higher level codec's (like Dolby TrueHD or DTS-HD). Another consideration is that you'll need towers with a lot of low end ability if you opt not to use a subwoofer. That means you should consider a lower end into the 40Hz range, otherwise you'll end up missing out on a lot of vital content.


Hi,
Room size is 20x13x7. 7 foot ceiling perfect for standing wave. I do use GIK Acoustics to tame my 2 channel room.

I realize about the front 3 main. I would like to keep the budget under $1500. I do have a 15 inch paradigm sub.I purchased the paradigm's about 18 years ago for my first home theater system. 

This will be a system to view TV shows. My main home theater room has Axiom's all around except for the sub which is an Earthquake MKV-15. My wife hates the sub. She like's to listen at low volume where I'm more theater. She will be mostly using this system so the sound quality isn't as important. Occasionally I will be with her so I thinking of something with good sound. I know the Axiom's M80's surprised me with their sound quality for the money. I never heard Emp Tek or ARX or any other brand's in that price range except for the Axiom's.. I know the 3 brand's I mention offer tower's and a center channel for $1500.

I can always upgrade the sub with something from SVS,Rythmik or any of the sub manufactures in the future.
Thanks....any suggestion's would be appreciated.


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## theJman (Mar 3, 2012)

For a $1500 budget another possibility worth investigating is the HTD Level Three. For $1000 you could get their center and a pair of towers. You can choose a different veneer option as well, which might be of value depending upon the decor.


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## gtpsuper24 (Jun 24, 2009)

Actually I sold all my Axioms for an Arx A5 setup, IMO I got better speakers for less than what I spent on the Axioms. Better quality components, more robust cabinets, better drivers, better crossover components and IMO better sound quality (subjective). 

My opinion of the Axioms is designed only for loudness and powerhandling. Instead of quality drivers, Axiom just stacks more cheap stuff in a line. Axiom stuff definitely gets mixed reviews. Pretty much Axiom is almost non-existence outside of Axiom's forum.

You could actually be one of the few that could give us a side by side review if you decided on either the Arx or EMP (out of stock till July) against the Axioms. For being so compact the Arx is actually the same weight as the larger Axiom. From the 5 cabinet braces to the monster sized XBL2 motors.


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## Bjski (Jun 23, 2012)

Never heard of the HDT something I'll look into.

The ARX intrigue me. At one point I owned Infinity IRS Epsilon's in my 2 channel system. I now have Legacy Focus SE in my 2 channel system so I am familiar with a planar type tweeter. I am impressed with the Axiom's for $1500. I would be able to give my opinion on comparing the ARX vs the Axiom's. I have Bryston 7BSST/2 for my main 2 channel system along with a Bryston 9BSST/2 for my home theater. I also have the Denon receiver that I mentioned. I saw that the ARX tower's won't be available till mid June. I also have no problem replacing the Axiom's as my main home theater speakers.

I'll look at the HDT and the ARX now. Any other thoughts?
Regards and thanks for all your help


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## Bjski (Jun 23, 2012)

Bjski said:


> Never heard of the HDT something I'll look into.
> 
> The ARX intrigue me. At one point I owned Infinity IRS Epsilon's in my 2 channel system. I now have Legacy Focus SE in my 2 channel system so I am familiar with a planar type tweeter. I am impressed with the Axiom's for $1500. I would be able to give my opinion on comparing the ARX vs the Axiom's. I have Bryston 7BSST/2 for my main 2 channel system along with a Bryston 9BSST/2 for my home theater. I also have the Denon receiver that I mentioned. I saw that the ARX tower's won't be available till mid June. I also have no problem replacing the Axiom's as my main home theater speakers.
> 
> ...


Today I received an add from Amazon. It listed Polk,JBL,Infinity, and other brands in the price range I'm looking at..... Are these worth considering or should I stick to the brands I mentioned earlier?


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## gtpsuper24 (Jun 24, 2009)

Bjski said:


> I saw that the ARX tower's won't be available till mid June. I also have no problem replacing the Axiom's as my main home theater speakers.


The Arx A5 tower is instock, the smaller A3 is out of stock till further notice I guess. Its (A3) getting a new revised higher output planar tweeter and a crossover tweak. Jon Lane the guy that designed the Arx line said the new tweeter will sound the same as the others, but will be more capable of higher output and higher power handling. 

The Arx tweeter is a custom RT1.3 planar 
http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?partnumber=297-412

Heres a older picture I took back before I sold my Axioms. Its Axiom 5.25" woofer on the left and the Arx 5.25" woofer on the right. Big difference between a woofer from the $500 Axiom M22 vs a woofer from a $249 Arx A1 bookshelf.


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## tesseract (Aug 9, 2010)

Bjski said:


> Today I received an add from Amazon. It listed Polk,JBL,Infinity, and other brands in the price range I'm looking at..... Are these worth considering or should I stick to the brands I mentioned earlier?


The Internet Direct brands you are considering are aimed squarely at the name brands, generally offering better value because there is no middle man taking his cut. Polk, JBL and Infinity are quality speakers, but marked up considerably over their actual manufacturing costs.

Personally, I would take a chance on the Arx speakers. They are built very well and priced reasonably. If these were in a store, they would be priced 2-3 times higher, at least.


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## Bjski (Jun 23, 2012)

gtpsuper24 said:


> The Arx A5 tower is instock, the smaller A3 is out of stock till further notice I guess. Its (A3) getting a new revised higher output planar tweeter and a crossover tweak. Jon Lane the guy that designed the Arx line said the new tweeter will sound the same as the others, but will be more capable of higher output and higher power handling.
> 
> The Arx tweeter is a custom RT1.3 planar
> http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?partnumber=297-412
> ...


Will there be a new tweeter for the A5? What's this about an A6 and will it be a tower?


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## gtpsuper24 (Jun 24, 2009)

Bjski said:


> Will there be a new tweeter for the A5? What's this about an A6 and will it be a tower?


Yes and no. Its going to be identical to whats currently offered but tweaked for more power handling and more output (for larger models, above the A5). Jon Lane has said its not an upgrade and will acoustically sound the same. Instead of going the route of just adding more tweeters, he is going to have the current one stay the same just tweaked enough to be able to keep up with any new larger models, like the suggested A7/A8, MTM top portion and triple 6.5s or dual 8s, using the A5 midranges. But theres no news on it yet or if it will happen. The Arx LineArray seems more likely and may show up much sooner. 

The current A5 will be turn into the A5c to show it has the revised tweeter. 

The A6 is going to be a larger center or LCR type speaker but theres nothing concrete about it yet. It will be a tweeter and A5 midrange with a 6.5" woofer on each side and will be sealed for mounting or close to walls.


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## Bjski (Jun 23, 2012)

gtpsuper24 said:


> Yes and no. Its going to be identical to whats currently offered but tweaked for more power handling and more output (for larger models, above the A5). Jon Lane has said its not an upgrade and will acoustically sound the same. Instead of going the route of just adding more tweeters, he is going to have the current one stay the same just tweaked enough to be able to keep up with any new larger models, like the suggested A7/A8, MTM top portion and triple 6.5s or dual 8s, using the A5 midranges. But theres no news on it yet or if it will happen. The Arx LineArray seems more likely and may show up much sooner.
> 
> The current A5 will be turn into the A5c to show it has the revised tweeter.
> 
> The A6 is going to be a larger center or LCR type speaker but theres nothing concrete about it yet. It will be a tweeter and A5 midrange with a 6.5" woofer on each side and will be sealed for mounting or close to walls.


Should I wait for the new A5c or other models such as the A7/A8. I don't want to purchase speaker and there updated 6 months later. (my Legacy Focus SE $2000 for the tweeter's) I realize there is constant RD along with new models.


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## gtpsuper24 (Jun 24, 2009)

Bjski said:


> Should I wait for the new A5c or other models such as the A7/A8. I don't want to purchase speaker and there updated 6 months later. (my Legacy Focus SE $2000 for the tweeter's) I realize there is constant RD along with new models.


Go ahead and order the current A5. The new tweeter isn't really new and Jon Lane has said even side by side theres no difference. The only reason for the new tweeter is to have the same tweeter across the line when he releases higher output models. He has said that he feels the current tweeter might hold back higher output speakers beyond what the A5 can do. Something with much larger XBL2 woofers (6.5-8) and multiple midranges will have much more output than what the current tweeter could keep up with, thats why with Axiom when you go up to the larger M80 you get more tweeters as Ian from Axiom has said the extra tweeter is for output. 

Jon has elected to design the same tweeter already but just capable of more output across its freq range (not distort when the larger models reach high outputs) and will handle more power. 

Theres no set date or even a drawing of the A7/A8, its a model that was discussed on the Arx Owners thread at AVS. It would be atleast the beginning of the year before anything concrete comes about. From what I've heard there is a prototype line array but that will be a high premium speaker and large.


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## theJman (Mar 3, 2012)

Along with what Chad (gtpsuper24) has already said regarding the revised tweeter... Jon Lane has mentioned creating an "upgrade" kit for current owners who wish to retrofit their speakers with the new variant of the tweeter, so if at some point you want to get the 'latest and greatest' you should be able to.


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## Picture_Shooter (Dec 23, 2007)

theJman said:


> For a $1500 budget another possibility worth investigating is the HTD Level Three. For $1000 you could get their center and a pair of towers. You can choose a different veneer option as well, which might be of value depending upon the decor.



Just a note that HTD has a clearance on open box deals on L3's and L2's


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