Ditto what Mark (mhorgel) and Haoleb said so well.
In reply to:
How bad is the M22 bass really?
There is nothing
bad at all about the bass produced by the M22s. In fact, within its specified frequency range(down close to 50Hz), the bass is quite accurate, robust, and articulate. From my perspective, the problem comes when the subwoofer doesn't match the fine low end qualities of the M22 and the bass suffers below the crossover point.
I find it amusing when ppl use the term "anemic" when describing bass from "book shelf" size speakers. You simply can't expect to get any of the bottom two octaves from book shelf speakers. They just aren't designed for low bass.
btw, I have an old JBL G-10 subwoofer that doesn't sound good with any speakers. The bass is "flabby", "one-noteish", and not tight at all. I now use an NHT sub for music and a HSU VTF-3 for home theater. These are both amazing subs. Will your JBL work with the M22s?...only you can say if they mate well together after you've listened to the combo. My
guess would be no. Save up for a good Axiom or HSU or SVS sub if you're going to buy bookshelf speakers and if you want full frequency range. Btw, most towers won't give you the bottom octaves(20Hz-40Hz) either.
I don't know what main speakers you are using now but I think you'll be amazed at what the M22s can do within thier rated frequency range.
And yes some opera material does contain bottom octave bass.
