Re: Shelf Mounting, and M3v3 vs M22v3
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Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 1,703
connoisseur
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connoisseur
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 1,703 |
I've very impressed with the amount of low end that the M3s put out so far . . . they don't really sound like little speakers at all. Nope they sure don't.
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Re: Shelf Mounting, and M3v3 vs M22v3
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Joined: May 2012
Posts: 30
enthusiast
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OP
enthusiast
Joined: May 2012
Posts: 30 |
Well, we've decided on the keeping the M22s after all.
The M3s do sound like they've got a lot more low end than the M22s. With all five speakers engaged while watching TV/movies (including my required sound test movie, the 5th Element) the M22s just seemed to blend in more seamlessly though. If I was really being picky, I'd say that I could notice a slight difference when sound was moving from the mains to the center channel. Having the sub on seemed to help the M22s a lot.
For our music test we listened to a lot of different stuff, Coltrane, Pink Floyd, Supertramp, Radiohead, the Eagles, etc. The M3s only outshone the M22s with the sub on one particular track, 'Mouth's Cradle' by Bjork . . . it's like they were made for that tune. They pulled out some low sounding grunts and vocal noises that I'd never really noticed before.
If I was listening to them just on their own, I might have kept the M3s, but with the sub the M22s sounded a little bit more detailed/clear with music and more balanced with the other speakers as a home theater.
I guess that it goes without saying that everything sounded much better than the speakers/reciever in a box that I was using previously. All testing was done with my new Denon AVR-1912. Hopefully this will keep me happy for a long time . . . because our audio budget has been depeleted for many years to come.
PS - I really like the QS-8s too . . . we've got them mounted behind our listening position (due to room shape) and I was worried about how the surround effect would work out. They make the room feel much bigger and work well no matter where you're sitting.
Last edited by GuitarStv; 06/21/12 07:13 PM.
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Re: Shelf Mounting, and M3v3 vs M22v3
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Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 6,015
axiomite
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axiomite
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 6,015 |
I've made the blanket comment before that, with Axiom speakers, the higher the cost, the better they sound (base models only, ignoring special orders).
I've been told that's a stupid way to look at it and each speaker should be analyzed on it's own merits.
But, almost 100% of the time, the more you pay, the better they sound, has shown to be true.
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Re: Shelf Mounting, and M3v3 vs M22v3
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Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 16,441
shareholder in the making
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shareholder in the making
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 16,441 |
the more you pay, the better they sound That has not been my experience. If you modify that to "The higher the list price, the better they sound" then I might agree to a certain point. See this thread for what I'm talking about: http://www.axiomaudio.com/boards/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=211682&page=1
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Re: Shelf Mounting, and M3v3 vs M22v3
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Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 6,015
axiomite
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axiomite
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 6,015 |
Note that I prefixed my message with "with Axiom speakers". I wasn't referring to just any other speaker. But, yeah. I'm not talking about an Axiom speaker "on sale" sounding worse than one not on sale.
Last edited by CatBrat; 06/21/12 08:57 PM.
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Re: Shelf Mounting, and M3v3 vs M22v3
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Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 1,703
connoisseur
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connoisseur
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 1,703 |
Well, we've decided on the keeping the M22s after all.
The M3s do sound like they've got a lot more low end than the M22s. With all five speakers engaged while watching TV/movies (including my required sound test movie, the 5th Element) the M22s just seemed to blend in more seamlessly though. If I was really being picky, I'd say that I could notice a slight difference when sound was moving from the mains to the center channel. Having the sub on seemed to help the M22s a lot.
For our music test we listened to a lot of different stuff, Coltrane, Pink Floyd, Supertramp, Radiohead, the Eagles, etc. The M3s only outshone the M22s with the sub on one particular track, 'Mouth's Cradle' by Bjork . . . it's like they were made for that tune. They pulled out some low sounding grunts and vocal noises that I'd never really noticed before.
If I was listening to them just on their own, I might have kept the M3s, but with the sub the M22s sounded a little bit more detailed/clear with music and more balanced with the other speakers as a home theater.
I guess that it goes without saying that everything sounded much better than the speakers/reciever in a box that I was using previously. All testing was done with my new Denon AVR-1912. Hopefully this will keep me happy for a long time . . . because our audio budget has been depeleted for many years to come.
PS - I really like the QS-8s too . . . we've got them mounted behind our listening position (due to room shape) and I was worried about how the surround effect would work out. They make the room feel much bigger and work well no matter where you're sitting. As a M3 owner everything you said sounds very reasonable. Hope you enjoy your speakers!
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Re: Shelf Mounting, and M3v3 vs M22v3
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Joined: May 2002
Posts: 10,654
shareholder in the making
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shareholder in the making
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 10,654 |
Steve, I'm sure that you'll enjoy your M22s, as I have mine for a little over 10 years now. It's always interesting when the M3 vs M22 bass is described and sometimes the M3 is credited with even "a lot more low end". This illustrates again how the boost in the upper bass around 100-150Hz that some speakers(including the M3s)have can give the impression of greater bass extension farther down in frequency. As I've pointed out several times, the larger M22 enclosure is actually tuned just slightly lower than the M3 and the real bass extension is a bit deeper.
-----------------------------------
Enjoy the music, not the equipment.
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Re: Shelf Mounting, and M3v3 vs M22v3
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Joined: May 2012
Posts: 30
enthusiast
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OP
enthusiast
Joined: May 2012
Posts: 30 |
OK, a couple more questions for the venerable audio gurus here . . . 1. How much of a difference does it make going between the EP500 and the EP350 subs? I'm pretty happy with the 350 for movies/music, but yesterday ran a few test tones through it and realized that it's not giving out much signal below 25 Hz or so. 2. If I added an EP500 sub (or maybe I win the lottery and can afford an EP800, who konws :P) to my setup in the (far distant) future, would that work well to give me some additional low end and smooth out the room response? Or is it better to run matched subs? Steve, I'm sure that you'll enjoy your M22s, as I have mine for a little over 10 years now. It's always interesting when the M3 vs M22 bass is described and sometimes the M3 is credited with even "a lot more low end". This illustrates again how the boost in the upper bass around 100-150Hz that some speakers(including the M3s)have can give the impression of greater bass extension farther down in frequency. As I've pointed out several times, the larger M22 enclosure is actually tuned just slightly lower than the M3 and the real bass extension is a bit deeper. We must be used to hearing most of our bass in the 80 - 150 Hz range or something then . . . it really didn't sound like the M22s were going lower than the M3s(although I know by the spec sheet that they do).
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Re: Shelf Mounting, and M3v3 vs M22v3
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Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 7,786
axiomite
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axiomite
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 7,786 |
The EP500 will extend lower, but will not smooth out the bass. I imagine you will notice a difference in movies like Transformers that have significant LFE content.
Fred
------- Blujays1: Spending Fred's money one bottle at a time, no two... Oh crap!
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Re: Shelf Mounting, and M3v3 vs M22v3
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Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 10,420
shareholder in the making
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shareholder in the making
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 10,420 |
it really didn't sound like the M22s were going lower than the M3s(although I know by the spec sheet that they do). This the difference between a truly linear speaker and one that is mostly linear, a few db here and there at well placed points makes a noticeable difference.
Jason M80 v2 VP160 v3 QS8 v2 PB13 Ultra Denon 3808 Samsung 85" Q70
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