Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Advice from Axiom Owners Newbie advice

Hi all!

A friend with Axiom M60s recommended that I post on here to ask which speakers would best suit my specific needs, set-up, room and budget.

I presently have an old pair of Ohm C2 speakers. They are very well-rounded and good with highs and mids, and very accurate in the bass department. For the most part, I enjoy them. But I’ve been considering trying Axioms for a while just to see what a newer speaker will sound like with this system. I tried six kinds of vintage speakers before sticking with these.

My set-up:
Adcom GFA-555 mkII power amp
Adcom GFP-565 pre amp
Dual 1219 tt
Marantz CD player
iPod - yes, I believe in digital music and that it can sound good too.
XM satellite radio - Pioneer Inno tuner/mp3 player
Luxman KX-101 cassette deck
Luxman R-1050 receiver (not in use at the moment)

I mention my sources because they matter as much, if not more, than the amp/pre. I listen to CDs and digital music more than vinyl.

The room I've got is difficult, not much space for playing around and positioning, sadly. And, I can't have a boomey bass as it's an apartment and directly below where my stereo lives is the neighbor's bedroom. Blah!

I'm looking at the M30 and the M22. Down the line, if money flows out of the sky, I'll try the M60s. (But I don't think this apartment is right for them.) And if the money keeps flowing, I’ll also try the Musical Fidelity amp I’ve been dreaming of.

So, my question is: What set-up matches my system and room needs the best? Will the M30 be enough? I can't listen to music loudly, nor do I want to. But I like the way the Ohms are good on all fronts and if I leave the room I can still hear every detail.

Thank you in advance for all of your help!

Zoë

How big is your room and how far from the speakers do you normally listen ? The Ohms seem like pretty good speakers both in terms of reputation and ability to move air, so going to a significantly smaller speaker might not work for your room if you like to play at louder levels.

I'm a big fan of M3s; only caution is that they may not play as loudly as your C2s.

For anyone who tried to look up the C2 and didn't find much, here's a link to the mfg site. To their credit they still offer replacement drivers 30 years after they sold the speaker.

http://www.ohmspeaker.com/store_item_detail.cfm?item_ID=7&cart_ID=11189315876

Hi Bridgman, thanks for replying! My room is very odd sized because it has an open concept kitchen taking up one quarter of it, one wall has a sloped roof, and then there is an open hallway. So, loads of problems acoustically. In total, it's about 20’ X 20’.

I don’t play music loud, but I require detail – of course! The Ohms C2s are lovely, I've just heard such great things about Axioms that I wondered if I should try them out too. As I mentioned, in an ideal world, I'd get a pair of M60s, but they are too rich for my blood right now. I’ve also got a pair of Kef speakers that I like, but are shallow on the bass. I’d need a sub for them to really shine. I don’t really want to do that.

Anyway, I guess what I should try to figure out is if I should wait and buy the M60s down the line when I can afford them, or buy the M30s or M22s now to try out for size. And, if so, which is more highly regarded?

I miss Ontario! I'm south of the border now.

If you want detail, I'd suggest the M22 over the M3. Both are excellent speakers, but the M3 has a slight upper bass hump which the M22's don't. Also, all the reviews I've read state that the M22's are just slightly more detailed then the M3's overall. Nothing major, but it should be noticable. Neither of these have much bass and will work much better with a sub, but if that's not likely to happen, try wall mounting them or placing them very close to a wall (like 3-4 inches away). Alan was mentioning recently that after blind testing some M22's wall mounted, there was a noticable increase in bass output. Ian tested it to be ~9db higher for some of the range below 100 Hz. Although it won't make up for not having a sub, it will make these much better for use as stand alones.