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I noticed a few people here using the M22's as a cnetre channel rather than the 150. Just wondering why that is? Is it a matter of the m22 being cheaper or is the sound actually better than the 150 which was specifically designed for use as a centre?

In theory, if your center channel speaker and left/right speakers are the same brand, they will be timber matched, or tone matched. This is because the manufacturer will use the same drivers. It is not a good idea to mix/match brands, as I'm sure you've heard.

Anyway, the next level would be to not only have the same brand speakers, but to use the same model speakers. This would give you the best soundstage. The problem arrises with placement.

For example, if my screen was higher, I could get a third m80 for the center speaker, but that is not practicle for room design. Having a horizontal designed center works best in my situation.

Now, when your talking bookshelf sized speakers you may be able to have more options.

How about going with two M2's for a centre over something like the 150? I'm not sure if I will be able to squeeze an m22 as a centre. I guess I want to know what my options are.

There really is no problem with using a VP100 or VP150 as a center speaker. You could also use 2 bookshelfs, but keep in mind that 2 m2's would create a 4ohm resistance versus 8ohm when using one, so as long as your receiver is stable with 4 ohm loads it would work.

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I noticed a few people here using the M22's as a cnetre channel rather than the 150. Just wondering why that is? Is it a matter of the m22 being cheaper or is the sound actually better than the 150 which was specifically designed for use as a centre?

My choice was driven by a suspicion that the VP speakers were not to the same caliber as the rest of Axiom’s speakers. Pure speculation on my part based off trends I saw. In other words, I can’t remember ever seeing the QS’s talked about in a negative light. All the towers and bookshelves get good reviews for the most part. Folks either love them or hate them. Those that hate them, call them bright. Folks who call them bright tend to like laid back speakers so that’s understandable and does not point to a fault of the speaker.

Now on to the VP’s. If I were to have built a spreadsheet with every comment or review on these, the trend would not be all that favorable for these speakers. Trends are a good and accurate indicator. Trends are hard to argue with.

The 22’s fit under my screen. A third M80 would not. Three M60’s wouldn’t fit either. So I bought a set of 22’s.

I can’t tell you if they are better, the same or worse from personal experience. They do sound mighty fine to me though.

Price had nothing to do with my decision.

This almost makes me want to purchase a pair of M22s, just to see what difference it makes. Even if I feel the VP150 is good enough, I could always use the M22s for something else.

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This almost makes me want to purchase a pair of M22s, just to see what difference it makes. Even if I feel the VP150 is good enough, I could always use the M22s for something else.

I am considering switching my M22 mains to the M3s and seeing what the parallel M22s are like for a centre channel, and see if there is any "noticable" difference.

I am going to drive my wife up the wall...

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I am considering switching my M22 mains to the M3s and seeing what the parallel M22s are like for a centre channel, and see if there is any "noticable" difference.

I am going to drive my wife up the wall...

Why are you looking at the M3 for mains? (Im deciding between the M3 & M22 for mains right now).

Looking at the VP100, doesnt it use the same drivers & tweeter as the M22?
If the M22 is used as a center, does it have to stay upright?

I've been considering an M22 for center channel. The idea of three M22's is very appealing, actually. I can get all three for less than the price of a pair of M60s, and would have matching fronts for my home theater (which is the best way to go). I didn't realize these were magnetically shielded until today, which makes this a reasonable scenario for my setup (though the center channel may look funny sitting on top of my TV until the video side of my theater gets replaced).

As a question (don't want to open a separate thread just for this), is there any reason why I shouldn't get M22's across the front instead of M60s/150? I have a good subwoofer, and the speakers are going to be crossed over at 80Hz anyway. I have no plans on bypassing the sub for music, thus have no real concern for low bass reproduction from my mains. About the only thing I can think of is that the M60s would likely be better for larger rooms, and would have more output. They would also gives me the benefit of listening to music in "pass through" mode (no processing, thus no sub... a feature in the pre-amp I'm looking at). Of course, I didn't buy the sub so I could bypass it is, so this scenario is not likely to happen often - if ever.

It seems my budget for audio is shrinking lately. I go from Thiels to Axiom M60s to M22's. It may have something to do with house-hunting (and preping existing house to seel it), as well as the new family addition that will be arriving shortly. I doubt playing "loud" is going to be an option for me for a while, anyway.

From all the reviews, the M22's/sub seem to be a good way to go. But again, I have no experience with any of these speakers, so I could be dead wrong. The M60's may be head and shoulders above the M22's, in which case, I can hold off a bit longer in order to get the better speaker.

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Why are you looking at the M3 for mains? (Im deciding between the M3 & M22 for mains right now).

Looking at the VP100, doesnt it use the same drivers & tweeter as the M22?
If the M22 is used as a center, does it have to stay upright?

Yes, the M22 should stay upright.

Sorry for your confusion, I already own M3s and M22s, I use the M3s in parallel for my centre channel with my M22 mains and I was stating I was thinking about "testing" the M3s as mains and the M22s as my centres to see how different they are from the M3s.

Sound is in the ear of the beholder, if you like the M3s as a centre better than an M22 or VP100 or VP150, then its just that simple! Woofer matching doesn't seem to matter when something sounds good.

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The M60's may be head and shoulders above the M22's, in which case, I can hold off a bit longer in order to get the better speaker.

Depending on your room size, you won't notice a HUGE difference with the M60s and a sub compared to the M22s and a sub if they are crossed over at the correct frequency. Thats the beauty of the M22s, their mid and upper range is nearly identical to the M60, the only thing lacking is low range which is made up for with a sub.

You should try and find someone with the M22s and a good subwoofer for an audition. It will put your mind at ease. I love my M22s, the sub provides more than enough low end warmth and unff when I need it!

An email excerpt from Alan regarding this topic:

"Alan, in my 14 x 16 x 8 room, will I notice a difference between a pair of M22s and an EP500 sub and a pair of M60s and the EP500 sub in my room size?" -Robb

"Hi Robb,

As to the comparison you cited: you might notice a little more upper bass "warmth" with the M60s and the EP500 vs. the M22s and EP500, simply because the M60s have two woofers that aren't far from the floor and you'll benefit from some upper bass enhancement, even if you set the M60s to Small with the EP500. Other than that, they are extremely close to the M22s, as are the M80s, so much so that in many comparisons I forget which combo I'm listening to. I have to look at my A/B switcher to remind me. These comments assume I'm listening in 5.1 with the EP500 always on. If I switch to stereo only, with the EP500 running, the differences are a bit more detectable but still subtle.

One advantage that I like about using the M22s over the much larger M60s or M80s is that because the M22s front baffle and overall dimensions are smaller, the M22 soundstage seems to have just a bit greater spaciousness and depth. It's quite subtle but it's there, and I believe it's simply because the overall dispersion of the M22s may be a little better." -Alan

Ah, thanks for the clarification. Unfortunately i need my center to lay flat for my current setup. So i would be "stuck" with a VP100 or VP150.
Still i would love to hear what you think of the M3's as mains vs M22's.

The vp100 and vp150 are great speakers, why would you say you would be "stuck" with them.

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Ah, thanks for the clarification. Unfortunately i need my center to lay flat for my current setup. So i would be "stuck" with a VP100 or VP150.
Still i would love to hear what you think of the M3's as mains vs M22's.

The M2 and the M3 are considerably shorter than the M22, a vertical M2 may fit into your space. If you are deciding between M22s and M3s, get the M22s, they are an all around better speaker.

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The vp100 and vp150 are great speakers, why would you say you would be "stuck" with them.

Thus the parentheses around stuck.

I really dig the idea of all 3 fronts being the same for "seamless" audio, but im still educating myself here!
Now i just need to locate some Ascend vs Axiom impressions...

Thanks. That helps. I'm really liking the idea of three identical speakers to front my home theater.