>>OK, curiosity got the better of me so I calculated the increased area of the M22. If you compare the 1x6.5" of the M3 to the 2x5.5 of the M22, the M22 has 43% more cone area, a fair increase. It also ups the efficiency slightly and has slightly better power handling.

If you measure the active cone area the difference is quite a bit smaller. Measuring to the center of the surround the sizes are 5" and 3.75" respectively, which results in about 12% area difference.

The Axiom specs indicate that M22 has roughly 1dB higher efficiency relative to M3 and essentially the same power handling (200W vs 175W) so in terms of ability to play loud I would say the two are essentially the same. AFAIK you buy M22s for the sound, not for their ability to play loud.

>>For what I want, which is not big sound, I think M3s would suffice.

Yep. IMO you would need to step up to M50s or M60s to get a "bigger" sound. I guess the simplistic picture is that M50s sound like big M3s, M60s sound like big M22s, and M80s sound like big M60s ;\)

Last edited by bridgman; 01/22/09 11:33 PM.
M60ti, VP180, QS8, M2ti, EP500, PC-Plus 20-39
M5HP, M40ti, Sierra-1
LFR1100 active, ADA1500-4 and -8