Editor,
I've really benefited a lot from reading articles on the SoundStage! Network and have been looking at two packages that have been highly recommended on your sites.
1. Axiom Audio Epic 80-800 7.1
2. Aperion Audio Verus Grand 7.2 (your site highly recommended the Verus Grand Towers)
I'm looking for a good set within $6600. Are these the best systems I can get for my money? If so, which one is better? Do you have any other suggestions? Thanks a lot.
Sincerely,
Fred
Both Axiom and Aperion share some strengths in that they are speaker manufacturers that offer factory-direct products and, therefore, provide great value for the money because they can cut out middemen. Both companies have outstanding reputations for customer service and you can listen to both products in your home and, if you're not happy, you can return them. Both sets of speakers are ideal for home theater but also do justice to the finest music. I don’t think you'd be less than thrilled with either -- particularly for the money.
However, there are differences, and I think the most prominent might also be one that adheres to an old audiophile cliché. The Axiom speakers use an aluminum-dome tweeter and the Aperion speakers use a soft-dome tweeter. The Axioms are therefore extremely detailed yet stay natural sounding at loud volumes, while the Aperions have a warmish tonality that sounds rich and produces a large soundstage. Generalizing, those might be the biggest differences sonically between the two. Still, you should be comforted to know that both companies are engineering driven and produce loudspeakers that are essentially accurate to whatever signal you feed them, whether it be music or movie soundtracks -- exactly what you want from your speakers. . . . Jeff Fritz
