Effect Audio Axiom Impressions
This is not going to be a positive set of impressions. Still, I would like to commend Effect Audio for making their IEM accessible for demo via a world tour. My hope is that they can consider making some revisions to their IEM that I think would greatly benefit its competitiveness on the kilobuck market. Starting from the build and accessories (or rather, lack thereof), here are my brief thoughts:
- There is no included case or cable. I really would like to have at least seen a case being included, especially to protect an IEM this expensive. I don’t really understand the appeal of not including a cable either. If someone doesn’t already have one, they need to buy another which just means more waste piling up.
- The ear tips are generic wide-bore silicones. I would like to have at least seen something like Azla Sedna ear tips being included.
- The build quality of the Axiom itself is very good. The shell ergonomics remind me of an even more sized down CFA Solaris 2020.
- The swappable modules are pretty interesting. I don’t think it’s necessarily a problem that needs solving, but I can see the appeal for some users.
Now moving to what really matters: the sound. The sole aspect of sound quality which I think the Axiom is currently passable as a kilobuck monitor lies in its imaging performance. Akin to the CFA Solaris, the Axiom has a quality with which the side channels come across as tall and grand in nature. Yes, the Axiom is fairly holographic in its presentation even if I would not consider its instrument localization to be excellent. This is at least partially due to some of the tuning decisions made with the Axiom. I would describe the Axiom’s sound, then, as an unabashedly colored one that is trying to go for something along the lines of CFA’s Andromeda or Solaris IEMs.
The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree in terms of bass performance. The bass on the Axiom sounds excessively bloated until all of 1kHz, yet it has an issue - akin to the original Solaris - wherein there’s very poor texturing and it comes across more BA than it does DD. If you’ve ever wondered why some people call too much mid-bass “farty,” well, this is a prime example of it. You can still screw up bass quite a lot without making it sound outright offensive, and that’s exactly how I feel about the midrange on the Axiom. It’s a weird combination of scooped out upper-midrange followed by a peak in the lower-treble at 5kHz. Female vocals are effectively pushed behind in the mix yet sound sibilant on trailing ends of consonances. And if you thought I was done, no, it gets worse. I understand - to a certain degree - the tuning direction taken with the Axiom up until this point. It’s a more relaxed, musical, gooey sort of tuning - I get it. But the treble of the Axiom is surprisingly peaky given; in addition to the 5kHz peak, I hear what sounds like a strong plateau at around 12-13kHz. Treble instruments simply sound metallic and harsh. There’s seemingly very little air after this point too; really, it’s a wonder that the Axiom even has the staging chops it does. Staging aside, technicalities on the Axiom mostly don’t warrant consideration in my eyes - or at least certainly not for $1500. Detailing in the bass and midrange frequencies is rather poor due to the combination of too much presence under 1kHz and the mostly scooped out upper-midrange. Treble detail often comes across as faked due to the general peakiness of the response.
Despite the brazen nature of my reviews, it’s especially difficult for me to approach negative reviews when the product in question is more expensive like this. People almost expect stuff like Chi-Fi to flop; however, it’s another matter entirely when it’s a boutique brand. And I’m sure I’m going to get some fun comments blaming cable/source synergy, burn-in, the works - that’s fine. Either way, in my humble opinion only, the Axiom is in need of a major re-tune. This is tuning that I’d expect at a tenth of the price and, even at that price, there are IEMs that punch far above in tuning competency than what the Axiom displays.
Score: 3/10