Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Advice from Axiom Owners My Room is 19 (l) * 14.5 (w) * 7.5 (h)

Given that my Room is 19 (l) * 14.5 (w) * 7.5 (h), should I stick with the M50s or should I save for the M60s (or would these be too much for this room?) Also, should I go for a 10 or 12" subwoofer?

Hi Opie - Welcome to the Axiom forum. Good to see you here ...

It may be less a question of which speaker will be better to fill your room, but more of which type of sound you prefer. General consesus is the M50s are a tad more laid back in the midrange vs. the M60s. There is good info to be found if you run a search of the forums. Either way, you can't go wrong.

What type of speakers are you using now?

That room size would be OK for anything from M22 up to M80... it's on the large side for M22 and M80s would be overkill. Either M50 or M60 would be just fine -- difference between those two is mostly a subtle sound difference. The M60 has an added midrange driver and has a slightly more "forward" sound than the M50.

The M60 is a bit more accurate (although the difference is pretty subtle) while the M50 is a bit more forgiving of bad recordings because of a slight midrange dip around 3khz. If you are listening to a lot of music and most of it is pop/rock then M50s might be the way to go (because there are more so-so recordings in that genre where the M60 can be "painfully accurate", otherwise the M60 will sound a tiny bit clearer and play a little louder but otherwise not much to choose between them.

Regarding the subs, the EP350 and up (12") go deeper into the bass and will do a bit better with the low frequency effects on DVDs; given the small price difference between EP175 and EP350 I would lean towards the EP350.

If you are going to be playing more music and listen to a lot of jazz & classical music (or if family/neighbor issues mean you won't be playing all that loudly) then I would spend my $$ upgrading M60s rather than getting a bigger sub.

I am a fan of the 60s.

Lots of good subs in the 12 inch line, Axiom, SVS, Hsu.

All of above can be tried in home and returned if dissatisfied.

Either one would do in a room of that size.I have M80s in a similar size room and they sound great.As far as the subs go get the biggest that you can afford.

Thanks for everyone's responses.

Right now I have some pretty cheap large booksheves. That's it. This is my big jump into the real HT world. And $700 for a pair seems more logical for me right now than $900! But I don't want to make a pennywise mistake.

what is your % of movies versus music listening?

I'd say 60% TV, 30% DVDs, 10% music.

It probably dosen't need to be stated, but...

The biggest change I noticed in going from bookshelf to floorstanders, was in how much more "presence" the floorstanders added. Everything just felt so much larger and more lifelike.

I agree... definately going with floorstanders.

Would the larger center be too big for my room (and matched with the 50s)?

While the M50s are very good speakers and seem to match your listening habits quite well(only 10% music)and yes, are the better priced set; there still is the question of what style of listening you are used to, or prefer?

As has been previously noted, there are differences, though slight, between the sound of the two floorstanders. And these differences should be well understood before deciding.

That said....

I can't recall anyone using the VP150 with M50s, but I do know that the VP100 has been, and is being used with them with great satisfaction. I'm not sure that your room is large enough to require a VP150, although it certainly wouldn't be overpowered by one.

Other folks are using M2s and M3s as centers with good results. The M2 would be best suited for use with M22s and M60s(it would be a stretch to add M80s to the list!!)and the M3s go well with M50s.

In reply to:

---

I'd say 60% TV, 30% DVDs, 10% music.

---

To be honest with you, I’d have said 60% TV, 39% movies, and 1% Music BEFORE I got my Axioms. Now it’s more like 30, 50, 20. That’s what good speakers will do to your listening habits!

Yup!......A common result of Axiom purchases.

Example:

We bought "Pirates of the Caribbean" on DVD.

We then bought "Pirates of the Caribbean" on CD.

The best of both worlds, Huh?

I visited a local retailer (that rhymes with egg 'beater') to order some HT furniture, and for kicks I listened to some kit and their spiel about Polk Audio being the greatest speaker since Winston Churchill and that a good bookshelf beats a cheap tower (which I agree with). I talked with him about Axiom and he said that Axiom was in Best Buy once but the salespeople weren't smart enough to upsell it to customers (which doesn't surprise me). He also said that metal tweeters are never as good as Polk's silk nipple tweeter (or whatever it is called). He also noted to check the speaker weight as a measure of the quality of the cabinet (the Polk Audio boxes are heavier than the M22, I think). I will say that the Polk towers with the extra woofer at the bottom sound great, which they should for the $1500 or whatever they were.

Anyway, my point? I'm still trying to determine if the M50 or M60 is better for home theater use with my H/K 635 and a sub and the dimensions in this thread subject.. Looks like people are somewhat split here. Any other criteria to use, other than demoing both of them?

P.S. As far as music goes, I listen to mainly adult alternative rock.

From what I can tell your salesman was blowing smoke up your behind.Axiom has never been sold at BB,also what he said about the Axiom tweeter is also bs imo.I had a chance to listen to some Polk Lsi 25s and I thought my M80s were far better in sq.It's your call on which speaker you purchase but for the money Axiom gives you a speaker far above what they charge.

The call between M50 or M60 is something that requires hours of meditation and contemplation. People have been driven to drink, or right to the edge of sanity over this most eternal of questions.

I'll be out of therapy one day, they tell me.

The best way is to order both pair sent to your home at the same time so that you can audition both, pick one, and return the other on the free no-risk 30 day trial.(less return shipping)

They are both great speakers in their own right, both with their own sets of strengths, but, if you were drawn to Axiom by the rave reviews, then you need to know that of all the Axiom speakers sold in the M50/M60 class, that only about 10% of them are M50s. The average "Axiom" fan is attracted to the more accurate sound of the M60 over the more relaxed, easy going sound of the M50. Niether is "better" than the other, just "different"

Only you can decide which camp you reside in!

I would totally agree with the comparision made here between M60s and M50s. However, I would love to hear some comparision made between M60s and M80s. Not that I am not very happy with M60s, I actually am, but, in the future, I may be able to use M60s for a basement HT and get new speakers, probably M80s, for living room music pleasures. That is a way in future project of mine, but I love to think forward and make plans.

Ask and you shall receive...

60 vs 80