Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Advice from Axiom Owners Polk vs. Axiom

I am in the market for some new fronts, and was leaning at either RTi10's or LSi9's. I like the 10's and my wife wants smaller speakers, I came across this site tonight and from what I have read the Axiom M22T1 looks like a nice bookshelf speaker. The M60T1 looks like a nice floor standing speaker as well.

The Axiom is not a speaker I can readily find in a store so I was wondering if anyone else out there has ever listened to the Polks side by side with the Axiom?

I am leaning toward getting an Axiom (still deciding between bookshelf and floor standing) anyway as the 30-day guarantee is great, but if anyone can let me know what their experience has been in regard to the differences (if any) I would appreciate it.

I've heard the Polks and I have pair of M22s. I haven't heard them side by side but it didn't take a side by side comparison to tell that the Polks sounded veiled and uninvolving. I felt that the upper mids and highs were rolled off and upper bass sounded bloated. I didn't hate the Polks, they just weren't my cup of tea. YMMV.

IMO, the M22s have a more brilliant sound (not to be confused with "bright" or "metalic" *Curtis* ). With the M22s it's all there, nothing is rolled off except the bottom octaves which is to be expected from any bookshelf speaker. But what is there is very well balanced and no frequencies are emphasized over others. That balance is what I love about the M22s.

Of course this is just my opinion and what sounds veiled/rolled off to me may sound delightful to someone else.

Hi mjwilli

I had a pair of Polk Rt25i's. I liked them very much. I thought the Polks were much better than the fancy Infinities I also used to have. IMO, Polks are pretty much the pick of the litter of the Circuit City mass market speakers. That having been said, I think the Axiom M3Tis are much better than the Rt25s. Most folks here prefer the M22s to the M3s. I think the preference for the M60 over the M22 is pretty universal. The Polks have gone way up in price over the past few years. Axioms are not only better speakers, the Axioms are a better value as well.

JMO

I wholeheartedly agree. I have a pair of Polk RT25i speakers and a pair of Axiom M22tis. The Axioms are much better and I use them in my main system. I have the Polks connected to my B-channel and use them in the kitchen.

I heard the polks that are about $429 each in Circuit City. With a direct comparison to the Infinity Alpha 50 which is $300 each with a barrage of different music connected to a HK AVR 330 receiver, two channel, no sub, the Polks were a lot tinnier, and thinner sounding. It wasn't the extra bass of the Infinities(which they did have the upper hand with), but they just sounded so much fuller than the polks, while the polks sounded like a boombox. It was a difference I'd expect from hearing a $100 lower model - and it was $130 more. I wouldn't go near Polk with a stick...

A lot of people'd agree that the Axioms sound a lot better than the Infinities - so if you wanna go with the Circuit City crap, at least go for the superior of the crap.

I appreciate everyones input. I just put on order the M60Ti's.

Thanks again.

I definitely wouldn't cancel that order (the M60s are WAY WAY better than the Polks), but I think the new Polks are quite a bit "fancier" looking. Sonically they seemed OK to me, but pretty dull and lifeless compared to the M60.
Please post back with your impression of the M60s.

Until just recently, I had a pair of Polk RTi28 bookshelfs. Compared to my Axiom M2is, they were much better looking, but lacked detail and had a rather "nasal" quality (elevated midrange?) to the sound.