OK, here it is...it's so long, I hope it doesn't cause any problems with the message board or server space...
As I mentioned in my previous post, I ordered a pair of M40Tis from the Outlet to see how they would compare with a pair of Mission 782s that I’ve had on hand for about 3 weeks. I’m at the point that I need to decide whether to keep the Missions or send them back (another one of those 30-day at-home audition deals), and I had read such great things about Axioms, particularly the M3, that I thought it would be instructive to compare the floorstanding version of the M3 against these Missions.
For reference, the system consists of a B&K ST140 amp, Adcom GFP-710 preamp, a Sony SCD-CE775 SACD player (modified by Matt Anker) and a Denon DP-750 turntable with an Infinity Black Widow tonearm and a Sumiko Bluepoint Special cartridge. Interconnects are Straight Wire Symphony II (preamp/amp) and LAT International IC-80 Mk II (SACD player). Speaker cables are the modest Audioquest Type 2+. The listening room is about 15’x 24’x 8’, with the speakers 4’ from one side wall, 4’-6” from the other side wall and 5’ from the back wall. They’re about 6’ apart, and the listening spot is about 9’ from a line drawn between the fronts of the speakers. The speakers themselves are toed-in just barely, less than half of what would be required to “aim” them at the listening spot. This seemed to provide the best imaging for both pairs.
For starters let me add my praises to everyone else’s regarding the apparent lack of visible flaws in the Outlet speakers I received. These are Boston Cherry, and I literally cannot find the flaw that put them in the Outlet stock. I haven’t gone so far as to set up halogen worklights around the speakers and pore over them with a jeweller’s loupe, but a quick look at each surface and every edge and corner under broad daylight revealed no clues. They’re beautiful speakers, especially with the grilles off. Both drivers look gorgeous, though I admit I’m still getting used to the rather “gnarly” appearance of the ports.
As far as the sound goes, let me start out by saying these are wonderful speakers in their own right, and astonishing speakers when their price is factored in. The first thing I noticed about the M40Tis after hearing the Missions for a few weeks was an immediate impression of greater bass output. On paper, the Axiom’s –3dB point is 8Hz lower than the Mission’s, which is no doubt noticeable, but I have a feeling the major cause for the perceived difference is the Missions’ side-firing woofer, which is proving to be a little hard to coax into sounding its best at my listening position. Its quality isn’t bad (in fact, it’s very good), just the amplitude is a bit lacking, though it improved substantially when I got around 100 hours on the speakers, and still continues to improve.
The second thing I noticed is that the Axioms image like crazy. The Missions are among the best I’ve heard at this particular phenomenon, and the Axioms are sooo close. They’re just the tiniest bit lacking in 3-dimentionality, but the image they throw is rock-solid, plus it doesn’t seem to waver much when I sit outside the “sweet spot.” I assume this is due to unusually good dispersion patterns, especially for the tweeter. One side note about that tweeter: I’ve read a number of posts that hint at and sometimes outright complain about Axiom’s tendency toward being overly bright, saying that perhaps the culprit is the titanium tweeter. I heard none of that at all. The highs are remarkably smooth. In fact, the Missions have a silk dome tweeter, and I would say both speakers were pretty comparable in the extension and presence of their highs. If anything, the additional psycho-acoustical heft from the bass of the Axioms made the Missions sound like the brighter speaker, though not by much. Since most of these comments have been in regard to the bigger tower models, perhaps what people are hearing is the bit of extra “presence” in the upper mids that can come from the midrange drivers in three-way systems. That might be what is making people think the tweeters are too hot.
One of the characteristics I prize very highly in speakers is natural timbre of instruments and voices (it may sound strange to say this holds true with amplified electronic instruments as well, but it does - Keith Richards’s guitar in the right channel of “Monkey Man” from the new SACD reissue of “Let It Bleed” sounds absolutely perfect). The Axioms sounded very natural on female vocals and instruments like violins, oboes and brass, though male vocals seem a little overly resonant, at least to my ears (listen to “Delia’s Gone” from Johnny Cash’s “American Recordings” CD and imagine the difference between hearing him in a small, hard-surfaced room versus hearing him, say, unamplified outdoors). While the additional bass that I heard added a welcome weight to the basses and the lower ranges of cellos in orchestral works, it seemed to make bassoons, the lower registers of the clarinet and the main body of sound from cellos seem a little “fat.” It’s an effect that isn’t unpleasant by any means, but when I’d switch back to the Missions these instruments sounded more like I hear them in the concert hall. Even so, it’s a pretty subtle difference, and I’m not sure I’d have a problem with it if I weren’t comparing the speakers side-by-side.
The biggest difference for me, and the one that I suspect I’d have a hard time overcoming, is that when comparing the two speakers, the Axioms tended toward a bit of congestion when there was a lot going on, or when volumes got too high. Massed strings in large-scale orchestral works sounded like they were a single source of sound, not like a group of instruments playing together. On rock recordings, passages that were pretty clear on the Missions got a little muddled and opaque on the Axioms. Mick Jagger’s vocal on “Live with Me” (again from the “Let It Bleed” SACD) just couldn’t make its way front and center with everything else that was going on around it. The net effect was a desire to turn down the volume, even when it wasn’t overly loud to begin with. On quieter, smaller-scale pieces, and at lower volumes, the Axioms sounded spectacularly clean and transparent, though. I might have thought this was a problem with my electronics if I hadn’t been able to hear differently with different speakers. Of course, I suppose it could still be the electronics, or at least the combination of the electronics with the M40Tis in particular. It could be something that going to one of the larger 3-ways would improve.
In case anyone thinks I’m damning the M40Tis with faint praise, let me reiterate that these differences in sound were all very subtle, much more so than I expected, and my ears aren’t nearly golden enough
to suspect that they’d necessarily be problems for me, if I hadn’t had the other speakers there for immediate comparison. And please keep in mind the price difference between these two sets of speakers. While the Axioms have a list price of $490 US, I was able to get an Outlet pair with a little extra incentive thrown in for newsletter subscribers, so I paid $416. The Missions have a list price of $1400, though to be fair, in their native UK, it’s 700 pounds sterling, which I believe translates to something in the neighborhood of $1100 to $1200 US. I know there are probably importation costs to add to that number, but I can’t help but think that Denon (their North American distributor) may be inflating their list a little bit. Even at their sale price of $700 plus shipping (a cost that’s included in the Axiom’s $416), the Missions are a full 75% more expensive. So at this point, I’d have to say that the M40Tis are remarkable speakers. They make me wish I had a second system I could put them in.
If anyone is interested in reading further, here are some of the recordings used in my listening sessions (in no particular order):
LP
Prokofiev; excerpts from “Romeo and Juliet;” Leinsdorf/LA Philharmonic; Direct-to-Disc Sheffield Labs 8
Prokofiev; Wedding and Troika from “Lieutenant Kije Suite;” Tilson Thomas/LA Philharmonic; CBS Masterworks M 36683
Thompson; Suite for Oboe, Clarinet, Viola; Peter Christ, Oboe; Crystal Records S321
SACD
Bruce Cockburn - “Anything Anytime Anywhere,” Rounder SACD 11661-3180-6; tracks: “Wondering Where the Lions Are,” “Pacing the Cage”
Rolling Stones - “Let It Bleed,” Abkco SACD 90042; tracks: “Love in Vain,” “Live with Me,” “Monkey Man;”
CD
Cantus; “Let Your Voice Be Heard,” Cantus Recordings CTS-1201; tracks: “Loch Lomond,” “Danny Boy,” “Shenandoah”
Johnny Cash; “American Recordings,” American Recordings CK 69402; tracks: “Delia’s Gone,” “Drive On”
Bruce Cockburn; “The Charity of Night,” Rykodisc RCD 10366; tracks: “Birmingham Shadows,” “The Charity of Night”
Holly Cole Trio; “Treasure: 1989-1993;” Alert Records 6152 81035-2; all tracks
Fairfield Four; “Standing in the Safety Zone;” Warner Bros. Records 9 26945-2; track: “Roll Jordan Roll”
Fallen Angels; “Rain of Fire,” Wildchild Records 05852; track: “I Close My Eyes”
Diana Krall - “Love Scenes,” Impulse Records IMPD 233; tracks: “My Love Is,” “Garden in the Rain”
Diana Krall - “Stepping Out,” Justin Time Records Just 50-2; track: “This Can’t Be Love”
Lori Lieberman; “Home of Whispers,” Pope Music PMG2005-2; track: “Roots and Wings”
Toad the Wet Sprocket; “Acoustic Dance Party,” Columbia Records 44K 77727; track: “Something’s Always Wrong”
Barber; Adagio for Strings; Bernstein/LA Philharmonic; DGG 413 324-2
“Cantate Domino;” Nilsson/Oscars Motettkor; Proprius Records PRCD 7762; tracks: “Julsang,” “Stille Nacht”
Medieaval Babes; “Worldes Blysse;” Virgin/Nettwerk Recordings 8 6700 30142 Z 9; tracks: “Kinderly,” “Ecci Mundi Gaudium,” “Erthe Upon Erthe,” “So Spricht das Leben”
Prokofiev; Ten Pieces for Piano from “Romeo and Juliet;” Frederic Chiu; Harmonia Mundi HMU 907150
Rimsky-Korsakov; “Dance of the Tumblers;” Oue/Minnesota Orch; “Tutti! Orchestral Sampler;” Reference Recordings RR-906CD
Rutter; “Requiem;” Seelig/Turtle Creek Chorale; Reference Recordings RR-57CD
Tchaikovsky; 1st movement, Symphony No.6; Rostropovich/National Symphony; “Return to Russia;” Sony Classical SK 45836
Thompson; “Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening (Frostiana);” Turtle Creek Chorale; Reference Recordings RR-49CD
