Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Stereo M3 or M2 without a sub

I'm planning to install wall-mounted M3 or M2 in living room. I've no plans for a sub (at least in near future). Based on the discussions here, the M3 is more laid-back and has more bass than the M22, but is also less accurate. Since I intend to wall-mount, it would have to be the smaller M2 vs. the M3. Which would you recommend? I listen to a wide range of music, including jazz, rock and classical. Many thanks.

If you're not planning on using a sub, I would recommend the M3. Even though it is not as accurate, you'll get an added bit of bass. It's a trade-off, really. The lesser accuracy of the M3, from what I hear, is only really apparent when compared directly to the M2 or M22.

You're going to have even less bass if you wall mount, because the ports are in the back of the speakers. Perhaps you should use the full metal brackets that Axiom sells.

kcarlilie is right. You don't want to put the rear port right up against the wall. You'll need some space between wall and speaker or the bass will suffer. Some speakers are designed to be wall mounted (QS8/4) but ported(especially rear ported) speakers need room to perform(breathe) and the further away from the wall the better.

Reb, you reported in your June post that you'd received your M2s and M22s. Haven't you been able to listen and experiment enough to pretty much know the answers to these questions?

You're right, JohnK. I use those for HT, with the M2's as rears. But I'm planning to get 2 speaker pairs for the living and dining rooms for music. (I think that'll be cool, especially for easy listening when I have friends over.) Hence, my query about how the M3 and M2 compare, without a sub. What do you think? And how much distance should I provide from the wall? Thanks again.

Hi rebel
for easy listening, I think M3s would be hard to beat. They are wonderful, liquid, rich sounding speakers. They work beautifully with a sub, and if you're going without a sub, the M3s go lower than the M2s. The M3s are wonderful sounding speakers.

Reb, the M2/M3 comparison is pretty much as you suggested in your question. Without a sub the M3 has significantly more bass, and gives an added impression of low bass which isn't entirely accurate since it's due to a bump in the upper bass. As far as distance, you should leave about 3" for the rear port to have breathing room.