A few days a go I recieved an email from someone considering Axiom speakers who read my early review of M50s on the audioreview website. He was disgruntled a bit that the Axiom forum has virtually no posts that are really informative about the M50s or the M40s. I have noticed myself a notable bias for the M22 and M60 on the forum. So much so that is was surprising to learn what relatively big sellers the 40s and 50s are. So owning both M22s and M50s I was finally motivated to do a direct comparison.
So I brought the M22s out from the bedroom and set them on top of the M50s. I then listened to two recordings that have seemed like aspects of them were lacking on the M50s.
The first was a Chinese HDCD recording of a couple piano sonatas. It has always struck me as somehow lacking a certain life and I wondered if it was the M50s. The other is the first disc of the Rodrigo Guitar pieces. The guitar has always sounded wonderful but the orchestra has never seemed as clear or present. So I thought these would be good recordings to see if the M22s added something to the experience that the M50s lacked.
I went back and forth between the speakers in fairly short snatches of music sometimes playing the same passages over again. First, the difference in sound was not great. Listening to the piano the M22s were just a bit more lively sounding, like there was more air around the piano strings. The piano sounded a bit less substantial than with the M50s. Very pleasant and enjoyable to listen to though. The M50s were a litle less lively or bright as though there was not quite as much light in the room. On the other hand the piano sounded more full and substantial, more resonant in the lower midrange. On the Rodrigo the orchestra was a litle more forward with the M22s. The strings seemed just a touch clearer as though there was a little more space between the instruments. With the M50s the orchestra was more subdued, the instruments a little less distinct but fuller toward the bottom end. More substantial in the room.
Both were very enjoyable. The music in either case was delightful to listen to when focused on like this. I came away appreciating both recordings more than I had before. The two speakers offer something a little different from each other, but both very enjoyable.
My conclusion was that if I had to choose one over the other I would go with the M50s. At the same time I can now understand what I think the M60s would have to offer over either one.
A few other comments on the M50s. They are used in a home theater set up with and older model VP150 with the earlier TWWWT configuration. They blend seamlessly for home theater to my ear. I use Michaura M55s which were made by axiom for surrounds. For music listening I generally listen in my Outlaw 1050's phantom mode which turns off the center speaker but sends some signal the surrounds. I can not tell that there is any sound comming from the surrounds unless I walk back behind them and listen closely. The effect though, over stereo listening, is that the sound field is expanded and more enveloping while seeming to be a stereo image. I do not care for the sound of music played in five channel modes other than something five channel like the DTS 5.1 Eagles Hell Freezes Over DVD. The exception to this being some recordings recorded in large halls like an organ/pan pipe performmance which comes alive in 5 channel in the 1050's Hall dsp.
I mention this because I find that the M50s, VP150 and Michauras with their two 5 1/4" aluminum woofers & 3/4" titanium tweeter all blend well together. Better than the Axiom CT20 center channel did with the M50s.
So overall I don't find timber matching the M50s with the other Axiom Millenium line speakers is a problem as has been sometimes suggested. I even spent a few periods listening to one M50 and one M22. This also worked much better than I would have thought. Well timber matched but less symetrical, like the sound you would naturally get hearing with the natually asymetric assembly of musicians.
When I aquire a subwoofer I may do another comparison session.
My other thought is that I may build some stands that lift the M50s up about 8 inches so the tweeters are more at ear level from my listening position. The soundstage often seems as though I'm somewhat above it listening to the M50's.
