Axiom M80 VS Vienna Acoustic Beethoven on CJ 11A

Sorry, I'm not familiar with Axiom loudspeakers, but I think you'd find the Vienna Beethovens to be extremely satisfying. I also own the Gallo Ref3 which is a phenomenal loudspeaker, but I prefer the Viennas for their image density and their seductive way with vocals. Pairing it with the CJ will probably result in a warm, very lush sound, and you may find the bass somewhat soggy or tubby. I just don't think tube power amps can control the woofers optimally, but this might not matter much to you and also depends on your musical tastes. The Beethovens are very placement sensitive, as well as very sensitive to their front end components. Hopefully you have a relatively large room to place them in, so they can perform their disappearing act. With my associated electronics (classe power, minimax tube pre, cairn fog cdp, Paul Speltz Anti-cables) the Beethovens sound relatively neutral, but always musical and fatigue free.

Andy, if the Bachs sound relatively undynamic with your CJ amp, then there's a good possibility that the Beethovens will be a similar situation. If you're stuck on the CJ, then I'd do everything I could to audition the Beethovens with this amplifier. Your room size is very similar to mine, and I also have my speakers firing along the long wall, so there should be no problem there. FWIW, I haven't found anything near their price range thats been as musically satisfying to me, but like any high-end component, they will not match well with everything. Hopefully a CJ/Vienna owner out there will chime in.

Matt

Andy, I get the impression the rosewood Viennas sell reasonably fast. They are among the most beautifully made loudspeakers IMO. If the Beethovens don't work out you might want to investigate Spendors or Proacs. I've heard some some models of these with tube amps and they gave very good sound.

Good luck,

Matt

Congratulations Andy. I'd like to recommend Paul Spelz Anti-cables for your Beethovens if you have any cash to spare. They are quite cheap ($10 per foot pair) and handily bested the Kimber 8tc in my system. The Anti-cables had more clarity and gave me better extension in the bass and treble. They aren't very "pretty", however.