Axiom Audio Moving Forward
Among those who care about recorded music and the equipment
it’s played through, the debate rages over which part of the audio chain is the most
critical. Many argue in favor of amplification, while some advocate for a high-quality CD
player or turntable: what you put in at the source is supposed to be what you get out.
However, the vast majority of fans, enthusiasts, and givers of advice point to the
loudspeaker as the most influential, variable, and individualized aspect of any hi-fi
system. And, as it happens, many of the leading manufacturers of first-rate speakers are
in Canada, thanks to the existence of the National Research Council (NRC) lab in Ottawa.
Forty years ago, the NRC was fortunate enough to have one
of the few anechoic chambers in the country. And in Dr. Floyd Toole, it claimed a
scientist who was also an audiophile, and was willing to develop a system of speaker
testing. Funded by the Canadian government, this facility was designed to support Canadian
businesses, and with respect to audio engineering, it’s still paying dividends.
Here’s the legend, as told on the Axiom Audio website:
Axiom’s president, Ian Colquhoun, built his first set of speakers in a friend’s
garage, and immediately another friend asked if he could buy them. Colquhoun went to work
under Dr. Toole at the NRC around the time he founded his own company, in 1980. For the
next two decades he helped establish the bona fides of Canadian sound engineering, and by
1983 Axiom had moved to its current home in Dwight, Ontario. Since then, by applying the
research and discoveries of the NRC to his own standards as a music fan, Colquhoun has
grown the reputation of Axiom as a leading speaker brand. Axiom’s own anechoic
chamber was built in Dwight in 2005.
"The NRC brought scientific rigor to the technical
measurement of loudspeaker performance and how it correlates with listener preferences, as
determined through double-blind listening tests with a range of people. We determined that
the universal qualities listeners like are linear, neutral, transparent, uncolored
sound." With their distinctive eight-sided seamless cabinets, Anti-Standing-Wave
wedge-shaped designs, and distortion-free Vortex porting, Axiom speakers are designed with
one purpose in mind. "In a word, it’s accuracy," says Colquhoun.
Axiom Audio’s Custom Wood Studio
An M3 from Axiom's VaSSallo line. This one has a
cherry veneer, chestnut stain and satin finish.
This M3 is finished in high-gloss black.
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Axiom loudspeakers are well-regarded,
well-known performers among audiophiles thanks in large part to a carefully cultivated
Internet presence at www.axiomaudio.com.
"[The Internet] has allowed us to be directly in touch with our customers’
needs, and their suggestions have enormous influence over what we offer," Colquhoun
says. Prior to the introduction of the VaSSallo series, Axiom speakers were handsome
enough, but their affordability was slightly betrayed by their vinyl veneers. "Our
recent offering of so many real-wood veneers is in direct response to customer
requests."
The Axiom VaSSallo line is available in a staggering number
of combinations: eight veneers (pine, walnut, oak, cherry, rosewood, maple, and high-gloss
black and white), six stains, six grille colors, and three finishes. You also have your
choice of Axiom logo in gold, chrome, or gloss black. Axiom even offers a custom-matching
service, where customers can send in color samples they are trying to duplicate. Axiom
charges $150 for this. As you can tell, the number of finish options can be overwhelming.
The website, however, makes it easy to view the overall
options and click on specific combinations, which are presented in an image of how your
speakers will look. If a computer-generated approximation isn’t reassuring enough,
Axiom offers 7.9" x 10.5" samples of all vinyl finishes for $10 USD each, and
samples of real-wood veneers for $25, which they’ll ship in a few days.
Colquhoun attributes Axiom’s ability to deliver
customized speakers to his company’s in-house manufacturing procedures, which are
nearly unique in this era of manufacturing outsourced to Asia. "Because we are
located in North America and have a highly automated and flexible manufacturing process,
we are able to offer an almost limitless variety of finishes in four weeks or less. That
isn’t possible when you have to calculate lead time from an offshore location."
Axiom’s in-house philosophy extends to every facet of
their business and permeates their philosophy of speaker building, which includes
designing all their own parts. "We’re always researching driver design at
Axiom," Colquhoun says. "For example, my first experiments with an aluminum-cone
driver were in the 1980s, with a subwoofer, and now all of Axiom’s speakers use
aluminum-cone midrange drivers and woofers." Colquhoun calls having manufacturing,
production, and research in the same facility "a huge advantage. We can make running
changes to all our products to improve them at any time."
Axiom: something like the real thing
For many music listeners, loudspeakers are the closest
we’ll ever get to playing a musical instrument. Truthful speakers allow you to
imagine that the performer is right there in the room with you. They drive the music
through the air and deliver it to your ears. For Ian Colquhoun, reproducing the intentions
of the musicians, producers, and engineers stands above all. "We strive to bring
exactly what was recorded into the customer’s room. The loudspeaker itself should
neither artificially emphasize certain parts of the musical spectrum (for example,
exaggerate the bass), nor should it detract from the sound of instruments (for example,
muffle details). And that is the goal of every loudspeaker we design at Axiom."
Re-creating the flow of recorded music is a cakewalk for
the Axiom speakers I’ve heard. Their naturalness eliminates the sterility and
artificiality that are all too common in reasonably priced equipment. Colquhoun, however,
acknowledges that some compromises must be made with smaller boxes. "It takes more
power to get bookshelf speakers to play at the same loudness as larger floorstanders, and
to play cleanly and naturally, free of distortion."
Midbass, upper-bass, and midrange notes are precisely
articulated through the Axiom M22 speakers I have in my home, and even though Colquhoun
confirms that "large floorstanding speakers produce deeper bass and more bass output
overall," what the smaller bookshelf monitors may lack in low bass is made up for in
crispness and clarity in the treble. In combination with a satisfying low end, the
crystalline highs of Axiom’s titanium tweeters support the music’s overall
architecture, and establish the drama and scale essential to an involving musical
experience. While accuracy and neutrality are wonderful to wish for and rewarding when
lived with, the audiophile’s ultimate goal might be the transformation of a poor
recording into a listenable one. But Colquhoun doesn’t claim to work miracles:
"A great speaker might not be able to make a bad recording sound good, but it will
make the recording as good as it can be."
Axiom interactive
 The continued vitality of Axiom Audio is
inextricably linked to the ongoing expansion and limitless possibilities offered by the
Internet. "We get to make sure the customer has the best possible experience with our
company by being in direct contact with them throughout the purchase and installation of
their system," Colquhoun says. Axiomaudio.com overflows with information that removes
some of the uncertainty from home-audio shopping, including tips and tweaks on how to make
your system sound the best it can, along with a complete and comprehensive FAQ page. For
example, Colquhoun considers his products to be ready right out of the box -- it’s
the listener and the room, he says, that require the real break-in. "Any actual
mechanical break-in of speaker components takes place in a matter of a few hours. In fact,
what’s most often occurring with break-in is your ears and hearing mechanism
accommodating the sound of new loudspeakers in your particular room." If this type of
guidance isn’t enough, the site enables you to request free expert advice via e-mail.
"We really like the instant feedback we get from customers on new products and new
purchases."
Axiom in high-definition
Ian Colquhoun’s heart may belong to music, but his
business savvy tells him that the future of loudspeakers might be linked to the
consumer’s attachment to his television set. "I think there is an increasing
demand for better performance than the old home-theater-in-a-box. A lot of people were
first exposed to home theater through little all-in-one systems, and now they’re
refining and upgrading their systems to hi-def sound to match their hi-def pictures."
In a world of glamorous flat-screen TVs, speakers no longer
need be second-class citizens hidden away in corners. Courtesy of a wonderfully involving
shopping experience that gives you the ability to customize the design of your speakers,
and more than a hundred combinations of real-wood veneers, stains, and finishes to match
any style and taste, the aesthetic individualization of your speakers has been taken to
the next level. Now, Axiom loudspeakers look as luxurious and as special as they sound.
...Jeff Stockton
To learn more about Axiom Audio, visit www.AxiomAudio.com.
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