Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Stereo What Makes a Speaker "Punch?"

I think I know the answer to this question, but thought I would ask anyway. To me it seems that the sheer amount of air being pushed is what creates the "punch" factor that I enjoy so much. In practice this seems to mean larger woofers at the sacrifice of clarity. E.g. I owned (until recently stolen) a pair of M22't which didn't provide a large impact or punch, but were very clear vs. a friends set of Polk's that created a lot of impact, but were not quite as clear.

The reason I ask is because I am in the process of replacing my stolen speakers and want to end up with more of that sought after punch, but without a loss in the clarity my M22's had. And no... I can't drive a 4ohm load

Thanks,

If you aren't staying with bookshelfs the M60's should provide what you need.

Somebody stole your M22tis???

Oh, I don't know, how about telling it that it looks fat in that outfit?

Another vote for M60s. I have not had a chance to A/B 22s against 60s but my understanding is that you get the clarity of 22s plus the added punch of more and bigger drivers.

Lol, you certainly won't get any sweet music saying that.

As an owner of the 60's I can't complain. To answer your question, room size, speaker placement, and proper bass and frz treatments will give you the punch you need.

Jarrett, I'm not sure what someone might view as "punch"(other than what you might get by following Doc's tongue-in-cheek advice), but if it relates to full, clear sound at high levels in medium-sized rooms, my experience is that the M22s have it in abundance. Not sure why you flatly state no 4 ohm capability, since this is rarely true in actuality, but you might be best served by the M60s.

Hi Jarrett! I'm wondering if you might enjoy Ascend Acoustics CBM-170 SE's. I happen to own both the M22's and the 170 classics. Although I prefer the M22's for their overall clarity, I also enjoy that "punch" which is more apparent in the 170's. Now that the 170 SE's have updated drivers to improve clarity, they're certainly something to consider. However, if a full sized speaker is an option, I agree with the others who suggested the M60's. You'll find that the M60's provide an excellent combination of punch and clarity.

Thanks for all the posts. By punch I had meant the actual physical sensation that accompanies the sound. Its the.. my heart skipped a beat when the band nailed that note. I am sure that the sub is mostly responsible for the sensation.. and this time around I am opting for the front firing EP350 instead of the downward firing HSU Research STF-2