Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Stereo M60s not as nice at lower volumes...

Hi all,
I've had my m60s for about a month now and have a better perspective of it at this point. My problem is right now, like I was worried about earlier on, is that I find that I do't really enjoy it as much when its at average volume-which is about -30 to -35 on my denon 1604. Its only when I turn it up to -10 to -15 that I really like it.
Its a pretty major problem for me because my roommate is not to happy at my stereo at those latter volume levels but I dont' enjoy it as much at lower volumes.
Is there something i can do to improve quality of the sound at lower volumes?
Is it because of the cd player or anything else I might have in my setup, or even the cd quality itself?

Would appreciate the feedback!

hey. i have that same problem with my M80's! lol


Did you ever notice its the complete opposite with "average" consumer gear? turn that stuff up and it sounds worse. I dont think theres much you can do, it will just sound better when turned up, thats how it is i guess. i know that when i put in AC DC back in black it doesnt sound really good until its pretty loud.

Gotta sub? Try pumping it up a little at low volumes.

"sell the roomate!"

Yes you are probably right, I HAD seriously thought about a sub (its just a matter of time) and have heard that it does make low listening levels more enjoyable, but with current roommate not happy about just m60s alone i cant imagine the reaction if the bass were upped even further!

haoleb, I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one with this problem!
Ringmir, yes it has come to that. I'm afraid them m60s are causing me and the roommate to go separate ways soon. Warning owners of m60s/m80s out there looking for roommates: be sure to mention your 3 foot tall babies. Trust me, they will not go unnoticed.

So it's a perfectly 'normal' situation then? I shouldn't be worried about my connections, settings or anything like that? I've heard people adding on an equalizer to boost low listening enjoyability but I'd rather spend my money on a great cdplayer and a subwoofer...

Another question: with poorer low listening quality, does it mean that the m60s are less sensitive? I know when I was still using the sony 495 receiver, the sound quality was not as good because I was losing a lot of detail. When I switched to the denon 1604 there was a significant improvement. But am I not correct to assume that the 1604 is more than enough to drive my two m60s, so why am I still losing detail at low volumes?

It's perfectly normal. Frequency perception changes as volume changes:

What you hear at different volumes is actually a different mix of sound, not just the same frequency distribution at a different volume.

I've actually done some research on this of late and it's super interesting (well, I like it at least. ). The difference you hear will happen with any speaker, any amp, etc etc, and it's not just 'in your head'.

Mike

I hope that some of the scientists in our midst will chime in here, too. I'm interested in other opinions.

And I want to particularly underscore Raindance's premise that the effect you have observed is probably NOT unique to the particular model of speaker. There are many other factors that impact how we perceive music relative to SPL, not the least of which being your ears. I know that is an oversimplification, but sustained exposure to loud music can permanently negatively impact your ability to discern detail, especially in higher registers.

Likewise, the "forgotten component" (is that Alan's term? Love it!) - the room. It seems plausible to me that certain room environments or listening positions exacerbate that situation. One example is the near-field listening experience; with headphones (or even some "computer" listening stations), you are much closer to the transducers, so room interactions have less chance to obstruct the detail. Of course, *I* much prefer the richness and imaging presented by reference volumes while sitting on my couch 12 feet away.

I guess my point is, I would disagree with the notion that M60's are only good speakers when played loud. You would likely find the same (or higher) level of dissatisfaction with other speakers holding all the other variables constant. M60's are really pretty efficient, and the fact that you can play them loudly while maintaining clean response is a testament to their design and components.

But yeah, get a sub.

I definitely did not mean to imply that the M60s don't work well at low volumes. I listen at levels from -35 to -20 very happily. Below -35 on my Denon 2802 it just isn't a whole lotta fun (no soundstage, no breath, no thump, etc...).

It has to do with psychoacoustics - our ears are not as sensitive to low and high frequencies at lower volumes.

http://www.tonmeister.ca/main/textbook/psychoacoustics/02.html

You may find that a slight boost to your receiver's treble and bass settings when you listen at low volumes makes the M60s sound better.