Australian audio designers & manufacturers are producing some wonderful loudspeaker systems (now and in the past) and these Australian AXIS loudspeakers are from the past glory days of Australian hi-end audio products.
I do suspect though, these bookshelf speakers were produced by Axis to try and capture the mid-range/price sensitive market (even at A$700!) just as many Australian manufacturers had to do in order to sell their speaker systems when competing against cheap low cost Asian imports. Richter had this problem as well.
Axis these days is more focused on specialised high quality audio systems, where imported product from competitors is not so heavily breathing down your neck! Axis currently have their Voicebox range, the little S ($2000 and above) and the specialised FLS systems for sound reinforcement.
I mention all of this to try and indicate that Axis were and are not a "backyard fly-by-night" loudspeaker design & manufacturing company - they take their products seriously.
Axis loudspeaker systems were extremely well considered at the time of release in the 1980's and even now, owners of these speaker systems love the sound they produce.
HISTORY OF THESE LOUDSPEAKERS:
These loudspeakers were used for monitoring/demo purposes in our old audio production facilities many years ago, they were part of a large number of loudspeaker systems we had to hand for evaluation and client demonstration of their musical creations once we had edited/mastered their "masterpieces".
My personal opinion (and keep in mind it is just my personal opinion) is that although these sound great, especially when pushed hard, they seem to lack a certain tonal quality - my hearing is pretty terrible these days so it could just be me but the low end (drums etc) sound realistic but sort of "dead" - I usually run my favourites, Vifa's from Denmark and they are a much more "lively" sound, both at the very low end and up in the high registers. I have not got a response curve for these speakers and it could be that they have a flat response across their whole frequency range, whereas my Vifa's might be a bit "bright" at certain frequencies - I'm not going to get all anal about this!
I am not putting these speakers down, to a certain extent loudspeakers come down to a personal choice, but they just seem to have a bit of a "flat" sound - have a look around online and see what others have said about these speaker systems - some others have made similar comments to my personal experiences.
Then again, these are pretty small drivers/woofers and my Vifa's are a lot larger but truly, drums/percussion sound more realistic on my Vifa's - that's just my opinion.
I am fine if you wish to listen to these for yourself (driven by my test NAD amp) but strict security measures are in place for anyone entering our house!
If you have a keen interest in these and live locally to us in Rooty Hill, NSW then I can arrange for you to have a listen to them in my "less than ideal" small office at home (lots of sound reflections etc) to judge for yourself.
AXIS Two Channel Loudspeaker System
Bookshelf format (medium size)
Model: LS 28
Designed & Manufactured in Australia
Release date around the mid 1980's (if my memory serves me correctly)
Screw down/banana plug type connection at the rear
Weight of each cabinet: 8Kg
Dimensions of each loudspeaker: 210mm wide x 285mm deep (front cloth grille on) x 428mm height (there are no feet)
2 Way Bass Reflex design - front ported
Each cabinet contains:
1" dome tweeter
6" driver/woofer
Part numbers of the speakers are showing in the photographs
As near as I can find out, these were made by Tonegen of Japan. Tonegen is a reputable speaker manufacturer, building speakers to their client specifications. Their clients in the past are some of the best known names in the audio industry, companies such as JBL, B&W and JVC. But these particular Axis speakers "quality ranking" will depend greatly upon what the original specs were that Axis specified to the manufacturer - those speaker specifications are unknown to me.
Design power handling is 100W per channel RMS
L-R-C Passive crossover network
Manufacturers Specifications:
Sensitivity 88db
COSMETIC CONDITION:
Overall these loudspeakers are in very good - excellent condition.
The black veneer is largely unmarked/unscratched
All speaker cones are in very good condition - no holes/no tears!
SPECIAL NOTE:
We had some pot plants near these speakers and unknown to me, the underneath/rear tended to get a little damp if the plants were over-watered! Evidence of this is the MDF has just ever so slightly expanded in the rear panel/lower section - near the floor. This expansion is not large and I have checked the seal within the cabinent (changes in air pressure should make the driver cone move in and out) and the seal is still fine. The MDF is not crumbling or any as disastrous as that!
There is absolutely no water damage INSIDE the cabinet, it is external only and quite superficial.
The front cloth grilles are in very good condition, one grille though has a couple of very tiny holes near the badge - barely noticeable.
One thing I really hate about these speakers though - why on earth did Axis use a velcrose arrangement to hold the front cloth grille frame in place? It works, but only just - the normal plug/socket arrangement would have been better and in fact we used these without the grilles fitted most of the time (they fall off very easily)
TESTING:
These had been sitting nice and quietly in my storage units since the business closed down (retirement) some 10 years ago. I have been using them for around one month before listing this advertisement - no issues noticed at all, albeit my comments about the sound compared to my Vifa's
These just need some sort of "off the floor" base such as speaker stands, or audio system shelving and you are in business.
Just keep in mind (as always) that you really should look/listen to your room acoustics - I have seen many with great loudspeakers, great amps etc and the room acoustics are shocking - sound reflections from all the walls which just turns a great sound into a muddy mess.
Small things such as heavy curtains, even acoustic wall foam, can make a massive difference for very little outlay.
I can ship these bookshelf speakers, packed safely for travel, with either Australia Post or a courier - my website can only provide pricing for Australia Post at the moment so if you desire to use a courier, please ask me for a customised quote.
