Need a new pair of stereo speakers for HT and CD listening, nothing fancy

No I've never had the chance to listen to the Ref .5 versus an Axiom or Ascend side by side. And I'd be prudent to point out once again that this is only my opinion. I've heard the ELTs (a friend has a set) and they are nice but not great. The drivers have their inherent limitations and just tossing them into a nicer cabinet, in my mind at least, does not endow supernatural capabilities onto them. There is a reason why the rest of the reference line uses the Vifa XT tweeter and Atohm Mid-bass driver. I mean look at the prices, a $700 spread between the Reference .5 and the next level up Reference 1.0. To me, the Reference .5 is a product to make the Reference line more "approachable", kind of like the BMW 318ti, MB C-coupe, or the Jaguar X-class. It's placement in the Reference line is done for marketing rather than based on audio merrit. I think the only thing it has accomplished is to cheapen the rest of the Reference line because for $300 you too can have a "Onix Reference" speaker.


I've been eyeing the Reference 1 and SP3 package for the past few months. Might break down and buy it one of these days.

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You certainly won't be disappointed. I've had mine for almost a year now and it's just a magical combination to say the least. Don't forget to add the XCD-88 to the system. For under $300, it's a steal on a great sounding CDP.


As for the .5's being nothing more than a rebadged ELT.... on the surface it may appear so with the use of the ELT drivers. However, the crossover was completely redone and upgraded to the "Reference" line standards. I also believe the cabinet is a little larger and more heavily braced.


As you know, the crossover can have a HUGE impact on how the drivers integrate together and the overall sound and performance of the speaker. Don't discount this little guy just from appearances alone.


From the folks that I've talked to, it is something special for the $300 asking price. WAY better than the ELT that it may have been patterned after.


Not, I've not heard it yet either. I'm just going on what others who are very familiar with the Reference line as well as the ELT line have had to say about it.

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The Quad man's already made the points for me. I'll agree with you that the ELTs have their limitations. If the ELTs cost $300/pair, I, too, would get the Ascend 170s, instead. I've yet to listened to the .5s, so I can't say either way--whether the cabinet upgrade (OR the cross-over upgrade) make it significantly better. In the same breath, you can't say that it's not either, without listening to it first.


Having listened to the M22s in the same room as the ELTs and 170s, I would disagree that Axiom provides a much better value. The M22s, while pretty nice, didn't do much for me.