Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Not sure if I want to keep them...

Tivo, possibly the M3 is probably a better fit for you. Re returning the M2s 1st, or doing side-by-side comparision, that's up to you. Side-by-side is often very informative.

I also have an RX-V1400. Sometimes YPAO selects odd bass crossovers and EQ settings. Yet you can't inspect the current EQ settings -- only by re-running YPAO in "step" mode and writing them down can you verify them.

Manually set your crossover to 80 or 100 hz and try that. Experimentally disable EQ by changing from parametric to graphical - flat.

Was your bass management with the Advents set to "both"? If so you were combining sub and speaker bass. If the M2s were substituted in this configuration, they'd naturally sound thin since they have less bass capability to augment the sub. Just one possibility.

Make sure your bass setting with both Advents and M2s is "SWFR", not "both". Re-run YPAO in step mode and verify your speaker and bass management settings afterward. Disable parametric EQ for A/B speaker testing. It's easily possible YPAO could do something odd with one set of speakers and not the other.

Tivo, I have to agree with Haoleb's & Chess's last posts. If you are not happy, send them back. But first, have you tried different crossover points on both the sub and the M2's? If the 2's are set too high and the sub is set too low, you will be missing a critical band of frequencies.

Also, it has been discussed here many times, (by Alan and others) that when doing an A/B comparison, both speakers MUST be at the same volume level. Even the slightest variation will cause the louder speaker to sound superior.

There have been many flame wars here regarding speaker break-in, so take the following comments as PERSONAL OPINION only. I do not believe in speaker break-in, but I do believe in ear or brain break-in. All the reviews I have ever read about the M80's stated that they have incredible amounts of bass energy, but when I got mine, I thought, "Where is all this bass I had read about??" Words could not describe how much I loved the detail and clarity, but I was so disappointed in the bottom end.

After about 10 to 15 hours of playing / listening, the bass really came alive, and it is amazing how much bass they really do produce.

Now the reason I know this was my ears / brain adjusting to the new speakers, and not "break-in", is two fold. One, my previous speakers had 12" woofers that produced a "fat", bloated, sloppy bass that over powered the rest of the speaker. For over 20 years, that was my reference for "good" sound. Obviously, that is not how music is supposed to sound.

Secondly, my pair of 80's spent a month and a half at Joe's house before I got them. (Joe from Axiom) Any potential "break-in" that would have happened, happened long before I got them. Any perceived changes in sound were all in my head.

TF,as some of the replies have mentioned, be sure that regardless of YPAO, you have the speakers set small, with a crossover somewhere in the 80-100Hz area and that the sub is actually getting the regular bass in addition to just LFE from some movie tracks. Beyond that, I'll simply repeat that the M2s are excellent above 90-100Hz. They don't sound "rich" and neither do any of the other Axioms unless the recording being played has that frequency characteristic.

your M80's spent a month and a half at joe's house? did he do one of those airbrush deals i heard about a while back?

I ordered the m3s a while back and decided to upgrade to the m22 to fill my room. They sent me the m22s along with shipping coupons for free fed ex shipping, so I could send back the m3s back for free. My point (aside from that you should make sure you get free shipping if you upgrade) is that you Will be able to do a side by side comparison.

That's a good deal with the shipping coupons jserv. Is that an axiom policy? I would love to order two sets of speakers and pick the one like better and then ship the other back free! Is that an axiom policy or was that a special deal for you?

It may be a policy if you decide to upgrade, but not one that is laid out on the website or in the terms of the 30 day trial.

It's not standard Axiom policy. I think it's only when you are upgrading to another set. Trying giving them all call and ask about it. The guy who gave me the deal is named Brent. Let me know if it works out.

I just ordered the M3i fronts. Hopefully they will be what I am looking for. I didn't ask about the free shipping coupons.

I will let everyone know my thoughts after they arrive.

I just received the M3ti's today and have listened for about an hour and I think I like them better than the m2i's. I am going to do some A/B tests this weekend and hopefully I can make a decision in a week or so.