Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Stereo m3 v2's or m22's - neighbors, apartments, and bass

Hey everyone,

After my cousin dropped off an old HK385i amplifier, I was tempted to go out and buy some speakers. I settled on the Axiom M3 v2's and they are currently pumping out some great sound. [ordered tuesday, arrived wednesday. Awesome service!]

Of course, I'm now tempted to try the M22's (yes topic repeated once again on these forums :)). I live in an old condo with poor sound proofing, so rarely can I really crank the volume/bass.

The m3's have enough bass to easily piss off the neighbors. I can turn down the bass, play it in the day, etc... But maybe the M22's would be a perfect solution? Which play best at lower volumes? Oh how I wish I had no neighbors.

Also, my cousin said the amp was "fixed up" by the shop he had acquired it... I can't find much about it... He wants me to buy it for $100CDN, and I'm having doubts. Then again, it's sounding great, but it leaves me $100 short for investing in something "better".

I have received M22s last week (and heard the M3s often as my brother has them). My M22s are in a room without soundproofing so when I listen to them at 5AM, volume is very, very low. I also have M80s (but in a more soundproofed room).

Out of a scale of 1 to 10, I would rank (personal opinion) those three speakers at low to very low level as:

M80: 10/10
M22: 8.5/10
M3: 6/10

The M22s have good bass, but without the bump in the M3s (that I have started to dislike now that I heard the M22s). The M3s become much more par when volume starts to rise.

ordered...

Welcome to the forums odg.

From my impressions that I have read on the forum in regards to M3 vs M22 is that the M22 is more detailed and the M3's have more perceived bass when ran full range. Some users also give the M22's a increase in the bass tone controls to mimick that of the bass hump in the M3's. Both are excellent speakers, the M3's are just slightly more laid back when compared to the M22's (even though I would not call the M3's a laid back speaker).

Enjoy your Axioms!

So EFalardeau, where/what would you rank the M60's in that comparison?

I never heard the M60s. From Mojo/Jason earlier test reports, they seemed to rank lower than the M80s at low volume, but I cannot say for myself.

Ah, I was hoping to get a direct comparison. I have both M60's and M22's, but I am yet to really put the M22's through any rigorous listening as front mains.

And congrats odg! You cannot go wrong with Axioms

Golden. Do you have a sub in the mix?

I found the M22 + sub to be very similar to the M60 (aside from the greater bottom end a sub gives).

And yet my M22v1s are more in line with the M80s when paired with a sub. My later listening sessions with M22v2+sub I think I would have to agree with Fred. The M22v2 does sound a bit more like the M60's. Maybe right in between the M60 and M80. But the memory of the 2 sets of speakers is fading a little, I think someone should send me some M60v2's and M22v2's again

I am currently without sub At some point in the near future I will be putting together a GR Research/Rymthmik sub. To be honest though, for my music listening needs the M60's have been putting out more bass than I expected. And using the M22's as surround is definitely overkill for music, but absolutely perfect for gaming and films.

Without the sub though, I haven't had a real reason (or want) to play with the 22's in depth.

It is interesting to hear that the M22ti's are more similar to the M80s though, while the the M22v2's are more like the M60's. I wouldn't have expected that.