Axiom Audio On Wall Line of Speakers First Look

Some things are destined to happen. Celebrities are destined to get divorced, subwoofer's are destined to piss off neighbors, and Axiom was destined to extend their line of on-wall speakers. A while back we reviewed their Epic Accent M0 on walls which, at the time, were the only offering from the manufacturer for these type of products. We actually had a such an early version that they didn't even have logos on them. We were overall impressed with the speakers and the bracketing system. We figured it was only a matter of time before Axiom Audio extended their line of on-walls - and we were right.

Axiom has long had a reputation as a value leader. Internet Direct brands can be made or broken on word of mouth. That's why it is important to not only innovate but to maintain your level of quality. Axiom Audio has striven to do both with extending their speaker offerings to include in walls, hybrid in/on walls, in cabinet, and now on-walls. The Accent M0 speakers were actually branched off their computer speakers (at least they look similar) but their larger bookshelf speakers didn't have an on-wall equivalent. They do now. 

    
M2 On-Wall                                                  M3 On-Wall

The Axiom line of bookshelves have included the M2's, M3's, and M22's for years. The M22's have long been considered to have a great value to performance ratio. All three of these speakers now have an on-wall equivalent. In addition, Axiom has created on-wall versions of their two center channel speakers - the VP100 and VP150. This will allow people that are looking for an entire on-wall system to have a dedicated, designed center. With the M0's it made sense to use one of the speakers as a center - it was perfectly timbre matched and small enough to easily place near a display. The larger speakers - especially the M22's - are a different story. They start to take up a lot of real-estate on the wall and it makes more sense to have a dedicated (and horizontally oriented) center.

VP100 On-Wall                                             VP150 On-Wall

The M2, M3 and M22 on-walls are all ported. The VP100 and VP150 on-walls are not ported. The line-up comes with traditional grilles but we suspect that Axiom will make the move to magnetic across the board shortly. All the speakers are video shielded.   They are all listed on the Axiom Audio website with pictures and specs. Since the on-wall line-up was based on the hybrid in/on wall speaker counterparts the specs are similar (except for slightly less bass extension and efficiency for the on-wall versions).  All of the bookshelf speakers use the innovative Power Bracket combination wall bracket/binding post. We've had experience with this in our M0 review and overall like the way it works. Essentially, you wire to the bracket and slip the speakers on top. This holds the speaker flush to the wall (well, flush-ish) and makes the connection to the amplifier. Axiom has redesigned the bracket to address the few problems we noted in our M0 review to improve the security with locking mechanism, update the hardware and make it easier to align the speaker when attaching it to the bracket.

The center channels utilize the T-bracket long used by Axiom to wall mount their QS line of speakers. This makes sense as the Power Bracket is small and probably wouldn't hold the horizontally oriented speaker securely. With just one explosion played through one of their subs and the center would most likely come down. The T-bracket provides a very secure connection through it does mean that the VP100 and VP150 will need to be connected via traditional binding posts. 

Expect the new on-wall speakers to be offered in the traditional vinyl wraps usually offered by Axiom plus custom wood veneered finishes for extra cost. Speaking of cost, Axiom could have easily justified raising the prices of the on-wall versions of their speakers based on the assumption that more technology has gone into them. But they didn't. All the on-wall versions of the speakers cost identical to the standalone counterpart. This makes them a very attractive option for those on a budget that don't have the floorspace for speakers or speaker stands. The M0's are available now and the rest of the speakers start production in May.

Conclusion

To get a feel for these new speakers you can take a look at our Epic Accent M0 review to get an idea of what to expect. We like that Axiom has gone in this direction as they are now offering their speakers in every possible configuration that a consumer might want - standalone, in-wall, in/on-wall hybrid, and on-wall. We look forward to more information and review samples so that we can see how well they perform.

For more information, please visit www.axiomaudio.com.

Unless otherwise indicated, this is a preview article for the featured product. A formal review may or may not follow in the future.