I have seen some questions lately re: the M50's, as well as getting a few p.m.'s asking about them, so I figured i would just post something for those who are interested. I have never heard the the M60 or any other Axiom made tower speaker so I do not have anything to compare them too, but who cares. I did audition paridigm and definative tech speakers before trying/buying the M50's a year ago.
Here goes. As far as music/sound is concernd, I'm very happy w/the the M50's. I won't use words like "airy' or "colored". I hate when I read reviews of speakers and read things like that. i will say that the sound stage has height to it. In two channel stereo mode the M50's make it seem like sound is coming from my center chanel (vp150) which is positioned about 2ft above the M50's on top of my TV. The soundage has some good width to it as sound seems to come from around the speakers.
The bass is what i like best about the M50's. I pair them w/the paradigm pdr-12 sub most of the time when listening, however, the M50's produce just as much bass when standing alone but you do have to increase the volume in order to acheive this. For example, the M50's alone produce the same quantitiy of bass w/the volume level of my Onkyo SR-700 set to 50 (a higher number represents louder volume on Onkyo receivers) as the M50's w/sub do w/the volume set to 43.
I did notice that the 50's sound better w/better recorded music. I have never not liked what I was hearing but I do have albums that just sound better than others. I figure the 50's are getting "out of the way" and letting the music/recording come through.
People tend to label the 50's as "laid back" and I will agree. I definate whould not label them as bright or harsh. I think this is a good thing especially w/so many brightly recorded DVD movie soundtracks. I have no issues w/the treble/midrange, but then again I have nothing to compare them to. They definately are not bright or fatiguing but the highs seem to be there when they need to be.
For home theater the M50's work great and that is what my system is mostly used for. I have a large room, that is why I chose a tower instead of a book shelf speaker. The M50's fill my room adeqately although I think an external amp is needed, my room is that big. Overall I'm very happy w/them. I hope I shed some light on the M50's the black sheep of the axiom speaker line.
-jay
Thanks for the summation! I'm looking forward to getting my M50s within the next 1-2 months...
Bless you! I have 50s on the way as well and it is good to hear some positives on the board for these. Maybe there will be enough of us "50s guys" that we can chat about ours like all of these 60s and 22s owners.
I own the M50's, VP100, and QS4's. I haven't had a change to hear them yet, for as of now I'm without a receiver.
It's been quite painful just being able to look at them for about two weeks now. However, my birthday is next week and I'll be getting a new receiver as a gift from my wife, got to love that woman. lol
Soon I'll be posting a full blown reveiw of the M50's, so everyone interested can look for that in about a week to two weeks.
Sutter Cane
Yeah, I like to refer to us m50's guys as "the M50ti crew" and you will be pleased to know that we now total a whopping seven M50 owners on earth ;o )
Maybe we can join together w/the M40 owners and take over the message boards. Beware M60/80/22 owners. We are bad men........
Soon, soon, we shall rule the WORLD!
Muah ha ha ha!
Once I get around to ordering the things, that is...
never - we m22 owners rule the WORLD!! ALWAYS!! jk jk! nice to see some light shed on the m50s... good job sutter!
Well, speaking as an M60 owner, I'm glad to have the input from you M50/M40/M3 owners. I know there has been some info here on that series in the past, but not much really (other than the M3s) since I've been a member here. Maybe, someday, there'll be an M50/M40/M3 owner in my area because I'd really like to hear them.
Geez, Sutter, if I were in your shoes I might have had to go buy a reciever and return it within the return window...
In reply to:
Soon I'll be posting a full blown reveiw of the M50's
Sutter;
I'll be looking forward to this. I'm sure you will do a great job reviewing the M50's, and I'm curious to know what you will think.
Mark
Ok Guys,
Sorry for the long delay. Here's a copy of the review I wrote over at the HomeTheaterSpot. So pull up a seat, grab a beer, soda, whatever your choice of beverage. If ya smoke, light up a cig, pipe, or cigar.
At the time I wrote this, which was a few weeks ago, I hadn't had a whole lot of time to play, listen, toy, and jack around with everything. With that said, this is my mini reveiw of the M50ti's and the VP100, based on what I heard and experienced at the time. A more full detailed review will follow shortly.
The M50's:
In a word, WOW! In another word AWSOME! In two more, TOTALLY INCREDIBLE!!! These babies have such silky and detailed highs, and the midrange, man, the midrange is so smooth and pleasant. They're very clear and crisp. Oh, and the bass, guys I don't even have my sub yet, but let me tell you all something; The M50's bass is tight with no obvious peaking due to port tuning. They're definately quite satisfying without a subwoofer. I only bring this to point, for someone who wanted to build their system in stages.
I'm still in shock and ahh over the sound of these beauties. The high frequency response was a little bright at first, but balanced quite nicely with the midrange. There was little or no evidence of raspy or sharp edged sound that some tweeters exhibit, and The transition from the midrange to the tweeters was seamless. The soundstage these speakers produce is flat out unreal. The imaging is just amazing. Truely one of the best natural sounding speakers I have come across, especially in this price range. These speakers should cost so much more then what they do, but thank God they don't. lol
The VP100:
This center channel will knock ya on your butt, plain and simple. If your jaw doesn't drop, then there's something wrong with it and you should seek a doctor. lol
My cousin ordered the VP150, for his room is much, much, larger then mine. So luckly I was able to compare them both side by side. I'm going to make this short, easy, and simple. Sonic and Sound, identical. His VP150 wansn't any clearer or sounded any differently then my VP100. Where the differences took place, was where they'd be expected. The VP150 had a greater dispersion, and was a little louder.
The VP100 is a very clear and articulate speaker, and it truely deliveres dialogue comprehensibly even when layered with other conversations.
I couldn't be happier, and would highly, highly recommend the M50's, and the VP100 to anybody. I'll be doing a review on the QS4's later this weeek, once I've had more time to listen to everything in futher detail.
Sutter Cane
Uh oh.
Someone grab a spittoon b/c once Ken reads Sutter's post, he's going to drool.
Actually, I pumped my fist and said, "YES!" and showed my wife.
Then I showed her your post, Chess. She concurs...
Oh god, I've become someone who uses multiple smilies!
Well
take your pic(k) Ken.
I think the second one in the first row would best suit the wood finish of the speakers. Oddly enough the first picture in the first row on the second page is rather confounding considering the search request.
And now, I'm rather frightened.
Wow, very few replies to my review. I'm sad now, I'm going to cry a river of tears and soak in my beer. lol heeheehee j/k
Seriously though, these speakers are truly unbelievable. I mean there just incredible, getting nothing but better and better each time I fire my system up.
I'm getting ready to do my little review on the QS4's here shortly. So for those interested in that, be on the look out. It's coming soon.
Sutter Cane
The M60 owners probably just don't want to admit they spent too much money.
/flamebait
lol, that very well could be. I know us M50ti members are few in numbers, but look out, those numbers are climbing everyday.
Since I purchased my Axioms, or I should say since I've had them, I got two of my cousins and three of my friends who have ended up ordering the M50's. They all came over, heard my system, and their jaws dropped straight to the floor. lol
Sutter Cane
Considering the sheer number of m60 owners, I would say that that statement took some courage.
Thanks for the info, suttercane. How about some feedback on the new QS4s? How's the bass? The VP100, QS4s and M2s might be what I buy Dad for his housewarming present.
AJax:
I was only joking around bud. lol
BigWill:
The QS4's are awsome, they provide plenty of bass. A lot more then what I expected them to. I love them, they're everything I was hoping them to be and then some.
I haven't had them up and running long enough to do my review on them yet. I was doing some remodeling in HT room, so my QS4's got hooked up last. I plan on doing a review on them hopefully this weekend. At any rate, my review on the QS4's will be posted shortly.
Got a question for all you guys though. How do you get the little emoticons to display in a post such as this one?
Sutter Cane
Sutter, I knew that. So was I.
I really wish I could hear some M50s, sometime.
Jack:
Where do you live bud?
Sutter Cane
Jack:
Darn, you're a little ways from where I live unfortunately. I live in the Wizard Of Oz! lol Wichita Kansas, that is.
Sutter Cane
Well, If I ever get to Kansas..........
Well Sutter, you must be the man behind the curtain then!
SC,
= : ) , but without the space.
BigWill:
Thanks bud, I actaully figured out after reading the FAQ section.
Sutter Cane
I have been wondering about the m50s ever since I read the designtechnica review. Today I officially joined the m50 club which won't begin for 2 weeks.
I read your post over at the SPOT. I'll be interested to hear your impressions of the 50s and how they compare to your 22s.
Welcome to the club.
I suggest using M72s. I'll post pictures tonight.
;-)
I'm going to have to get a larger room. Maybe I'll ab them and mount the 22s on the front wall. That's what I'm after. An entire wall of sound.
I've been the owner of m50s about 3 days now. I have been doing a one man comparison of the m22s vs the m50s in my living room. Sometimes I find myself listening to one pair and then becoming bored and switching to the other. I believe both have their own strengths and weaknesses. I have found that I cannot decide if I like one over another. If the two were combined into one speaker that would be the speaker for me. In the words of a friend of mine, it's all good. So, I've come to a conclusion that I am going to give up on my long quest for perfect sound within a budget. It does not exist. If I purchased Martin Logans or Wilson speakers, I would probably find something about them I wish was different. Having said that, I'll probably walk through a B&M next week and stumble upon something that blows me away, but I doubt it, because it doesn't exist. ROTFL
In reply to:
If I purchased Martin Logans or Wilson speakers, I would probably find something about them I wish was different.
...like the price, right?
Hi SutterCane,
Just to give you some feedback so you don't feel deprived. Excellent summary and audition comments on the M50's tonal balance as well as the VP100 and VP150. It confirms my exhaustive A/B comparisons that I conducted with a comparator on the VP100 and VP150 at my own place as well as listening tests I did at the Axiom facility with the M50s, M60s, M40s, M80s, etc.
Regards,
I think I'm starting to warm up to my m50s. These speakers are awfully smooth. The only question I have about them now is what do I do with my sub, since it is no longer needed.
Listen to some metal. It's needed. Not to say that the M50s aren't gorgeous, but they don't quite make the low as well as I thought...