Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Stereo New proud owner of a pair of M60ti...

Hi, 'all
I've been researching on the internet for a good tower speakers and found lots of very good reviews for Axioms.
I'm from Puerto Rico so ofcourse there are not any Axiom dealer here but I do audition Bose 701 ( docking ) the Paradigm studio line and the Reference 20's.
I was very impressed by the Reference 20, but to put things in perspective, I audition them in a top-class listening room with preamp & amp in the 5 figures price!

I read reviews that place Axiom very similar or even above the Reference line of Paradigm and at a significant lower price, so I could not resist and order a pair of M60ti. I'm a 80% music & 20% HT.
I've been reading this forum a couple of weeks before getting the M60ti. I'm aware of the importance of "break-in" and that the M60 are a little harsh on the highs. Especially on not that great CD recordings. I found both of them to be true. Listening to CDs & DVD concerts like James Taylor, Sting(the new one) and some Dave Grusin & Nora Jones CDs ,all great recordings, I found them to have great bass and mid and even highs, but I find a harsh funny coloration on the mid-highs (not familiar with audiophile terminalogy ;->) . I do LOVE the sound of Eric Clapton (DVD Concert) guitar tho, also, I have a couple of clasical music DVD (beetoven 9 shyphony & others) and the speakers really bring live to them, they have an excellent punch and the harshness is a lot less present.
I've already put like 15-20 hours on the speakers and the harshness had been controlled abit. but there's plenty still for my taste. I'm driving them with a Denon AVR 3300. Does anyone have a similar setup ?
I've been contemplating on buying a good 2ch. amp or preamp (or both) just for music.
Any opinions on how to sweet the harsh sound? Positioning? I do have a small room 12x11x8.5...
My!...this is getting long,
Bye thanks,

Jaime

My advise is to give them some time.

I too found them a little harsh, especially on some female vocals. I have a Denon 3802 and listen to music in direct mode 99% of the time. Occasionally I would switch to stereo and adjust the tremble down a notch or two. I only did this on a few cd's, as most sounded fine.

I don't know if the M60's changed with more hours or my hearing changed (maybe a little of both), but I no longer hear a harshness. I've had them a few months and I wish I could tell you how long it took to "break them in" but I can't.

All I can say is every time I listen to them they seen to sound better than the day before. I am still amazed at the way they sound.

bill

Typically it is the human brain that needs to break in, not the speakers. If a tweeter is made of aluminum, it does not change the more you play a speaker and if it does not change, neither does the high end sound. Perhaps if you took a hammer to it and changed its shape dramatically, then you certainly would have 'break' in.
But hey, who am i to argue against the crazy nuts that buy $1200 electrical units to run charge through things like cables to 'break' them in. One can never argue with a fanatic.
They are fanatic.

I agree, One have to "learn" what good sound is. I used to have JBL Control 5 speakers, famous for beeing harsh. I do really like my Axioms, actually, yesterday I went to the Bose store and listen again to the 701 to compare and they were not even close as how good the Axiom sound.

I used to play cello most of my young life, I have an below average cello, and that's the sound you get used to. One time my profesor lend me his cello for a day to take home and play, it's a cello with a sound and price tag as big as a nice house mortgage, and I did not like the sound at first, Then you learn what "good" sound is.

Jaime

Hi Jamie, i just received my new M60ti's yesterday. I'm currently powering them with a Denon DRA-435R which is about 10 years old but still working very well. I also did a lot of research on the Internet and finally settled on Axiom due to all of the positive reviews I've read and the posts on this message board.

Maybe it's my lack of audiophile understanding but I'm just a tad let down by the sound I'm hearing. It's not enveloping me the way I thought it would and I'm not getting the WOW factor I had hoped for. I've listened to Sheryl Crow, Norah Jones, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and Pearl Jam trying to get a good sense for how the speakers will handle the music I typically listen to. I noticed specifically with Led Zeppelin that Robert Plant's vocals were drowned out by Jimmy Page's guitar which I attributed to a very strong mid range sound. And there were times when specific drum sounds that have been burned into my memory for all eternity (due to heavy rotation in teenage years) just didn't come across the same way on these speakers. Almost like they were behind a wall of midrange sound. I also have a problem with the soundstage they are presenting, I just don't hear it. I close my eyes, put on Pink Floyd and don't get that airy sense I've experienced in the past with my Boston Accoustic bookshelves. If I had to summarize what is bothering me it would be that the sound is flat and midrange and it doesn't give me the grand experience I was hoping for. Maybe that will change as they break in, which is why I keep playing them for hours on end.

Perhaps this quote from a review I read on the M80s sheds some light on the issue "Don’t expect to just plunk the M80Tis down and sit back to enjoy stellar sound. You’ll need a large room with lots of space within which to maneuver these substantial towers and a good-quality amp in order to make the best of the M80Tis' bass. Placement especially is a make-or-break factor here, folks." Trouble is I can't build a house around a set of speakers trying to get them placed right.

Hoping things get better.

Hi JaimeG,

Actually, the sound of the M60ti's won't change: "break-in" is rather a red herring. What you are really "breaking in" is your own set of ears, accommodating new speakers with a different spectral balance with different dispersion traits.

If you find the M60ti too analytical or "bright", call Joe Vassallo, our service manager, on the toll-free line and ask him to mail you a set of resistors that simply clip onto the lead to the tweeter. There is a 1.4 ohm value and a larger one. The former reduces the tweeter output by a dB or two; the latter attenuates the output even more. He will tell you how to pop out the tweeter and clip on the resistors.It's easy to do and no soldering is needed. I don't use the resistors on my M22ti's but I do use a set on the M80ti.

Regards,

The other thing you need to look at is speaker placement. The M60s need to be about 2 feet away from the walls, and just slightly toed in. (At least that is what I found works best for my M60s) Don't forget to check that all 4 of the screw caps on the connections are down tight, and make sure that the bridging straps didn't slip out.

Michael

Hi Alan.

I have a pair of M60ti's. Interested in hearing a little more detail re Joe Vassallo's resistor "fix", from you and others who have gone this route. Impact on sound...size of resistor used...any downside using this "fix"?

Cheers,
Joe

I know this is intended for Alan ...
I won’t call it a "fix", nothing is broken.
I just find that my m60 are too bright for MY taste, maybe my small room and tile floors contributes to this, or the fact that my last set of speakers were small dull sounded bookshelf’s (JBL Ctrl. 5) with 4db bass boost , hearing loss?? Humm, don’t know.
BTW: I do am very impress with the bass, midbass and mids, I have perfect-pitch and I could tell very lows notes on a acoustic bass down to the A to E on the m60, impossible to do with bad or even average subs or speakers aka. Bose, Infinity, JBL
I do find that the sound of the M60 is really big and definitely not in a bad way, I just have to get used to.

Jaime

Hello Jaime
From your post it sounds like the problem is not with the speakers but with the acoustic properties of your room. Here are a few sites which offer acoustic treatments for your room. You may want to check them out.

http://www.foambymail.com/Products.html
http://www.soundprooffoam.com/
http://www.auralex.com/main.asp

Good luck! Enjoy those beautiful M60s!