Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Stereo M22's vs. M22's

First off I'd like to thank the generosity of the the Axiom forum hosts and their willingness to allow reviews of speakers other than their own brand and if this review violates any implied or explicit review rules I'll gladly retract if needed.

I began my audio life with an ONKYO HTIB and rather liked it - for a while. You all know the drill. Maybe I could get a little more bass? Are the trebles that good? What would a different amp sound like? And on and on.

So anyway I upgraded to an HK 3480 125W 2 channel receiver and liked the change. THEN discovered Axiom audio and added a pair of M22's which woke things up in a fairly dramatic fashion. Simply loved the clear details and accuracy.

Then I added a Mirage 8" sub woofer to fill in the bottom end and found a used ATI 1502 amp to power things up a bit,(run from the pre-outs of the HK receiver.) A great big WOW to the ATI Amp. That thing rocks!

All my music is run from a Squeeze Box and FLAC source files with a slightly modded power supply - another huge thumbs up for that addition!

Which brings us to yesterday when the REVEL M22's arrived. I found a deal where the discontinued maple M22's are on sale for $995.00 plus shipping and pulled the trigger in a late night impulse buy. I guess they retail for around $2000.00 but can be found for $1799.00 or so.

Came perfectly packaged and with cloth protective bags. Smaller than I had imagined. PERFECT finish. Nice looking but not great in my room.

I did not do a scientific A/B test and my ears are just OK but here's what I (and my wife) found. The first thing with the Revels is how unremarkable they at first listen. VERY different than the Axioms first impression. Laid back comes to mind though I have never discussed the term with anyone who has defined it for me. At the same time quite detailed and VERY easy to listen to. Trebles were different and a bit better than the Axioms. Perhaps smoother? Not as harsh, though I never thought of the Axioms as harsh, I would fatigue a bit after a long listen.

Much more bass than the Axioms, which is no surprise, and it's nice to turn off the subby. Really not needed for my tastes. The biggest difference is probably in the subtle details that the Revels revealed and the ease of listening.

Jazz is SO wonderful and vocals like Andre Bocelli's Amore were awesome. Just a little more realistic I would say than the Axioms. Fourplay was the music of choice and seemed to fit the speakers really well.

I'm not that great with perceiving sound stage and imaging so I won't pretend I know. The speakers did not seem to disappear as I have heard so many describe but again so very easy to listen to, which even as I'm listening now - unremarkable but smoooooth.

Now of course the big question - was it worth the upgrade? Yes. Aren't they all? At least for the first few days.

Are the Revels worth 4 times what the Axioms cost?

NO FREAKIN' WAY. The Axiom M22's are still a GREAT speaker and the upgrade is one of those small steps that happens from here on out.

So I hope this review does two things; turn someone on to a value in upgrades AND reinforce what we already know about Axiom speakers.