...Its been several days since my last post and actually a couple of weeks since purchasing my Axioms.

In Chapter 4 I think we can all agree that my opinion of the sound that emminated from my M3Ti's was less than perfect and inferior in quality to the descriptions that past Audiophile reviewers had described and possibly somewhat controversial.

BUT and i mean BIG BUTT...there are some very important caviets to address before we go on and they are listed as follows:


  • My review was "out of the box". Speakers are like new automobiles and must be broken in! I suggest at least 200 hours with a specific passage for this exact purpose such as the one on Stereopile's #3 disk.
  • There is the Platonic standard and the Relative standard. This translates into comparison to the "perfect" speaker and to the peers of the speaker in question...usually based on cost.
  • Lastly, the total cost of my system, everything, including speakers is $960. So I cannot draw out the absolute performance that some may. But that doesn't matter because this is about how they sound with MY system!

    So, this said, where are we now with the sound of the M3ti's.

    After some 125 hours these speakers have really improved! I cannot emphisize how important it appears to be to break them in. There is not just a perceptable improvement but a significant improvement. I mean the snap of the cymbol and the slide of the string are much cleaner and have increased attack and clairity. Most of the grime which I refered to is now gone. The sound has improved significantly!

    The top end is much cleaner and clearer, the midrange is much warmer and there is still good punch in the upper upper bass. Speaking of bass, this leads me to one observation. The bass rolls off like a stone after 100 Hz. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. The best one can do is say "its got good base for a bookshelf speaker", no more no less!

    So where does this all leave us? All this improvement may have revealed a flaw. I believe that the speakers do indeed sound better. But, better than what? And do they sound good? Good comapaired to other $275 speakers or good compared to the best speakers?

    ........So, next time we'll try and see. :)

    bill