Not much yet, still playing with setup. Sierras like to be toed in towards listener while Axioms seem better either toed in less or pointing straight ahead. I really need a speaker switch box, going to start another thread on that.
- Sierras sound a bit more neutral (a bit less midrange) but I don't know which is "right"
(but the slightly more forward midrange in the M3s is also something that gets a lot of positive comments re: detail)
- Sierras seem to have a bit more bass but M3s seem to distinguish different bass frequencies more readily
- Sierras hit volume limits at relatively lower level than M3s (surprisingly low on some electronica)
- didn't notice big differences in efficiency
- main thing I noticed about Sierras in comparison with larger speakers was more detail in complex passages (suspected less cabinet vibration but only a guess)... relative to M3s the difference certainly isn't as obvious, may not be there at all
(if I had to use short words I would say that the Sierras sounded more "solid" than the larger speakers but I haven't done enough testing yet to tell if that is still the case vs M3)
(this may be why I have always liked bookshelf speakers on stands - thought it was 2-way vs 3-way crossover but maybe it was small/rigid cabinet)
So far it's turning into one of those "they do sound different but I'm not sure which one I like better" things, but the differences aren't as big as they were between Sierras and larger speakers eg M60s.
EDIT - I was starting to think along the lines of the Sierras sounding a bit "bigger" than the M3s, but after I moved the M3s out to the stands and toed them in a bit more I started getting the same "big" sound from the M3s, at least as close to the same as I could detect when unplugging & moving speakers.
Speaker reviewing is hard, at least doing it well is hard.
Last edited by bridgman; 12/02/16 09:21 PM.
M60ti, VP180, QS8, M2ti, EP500, PC-Plus 20-39 M5HP, M40ti, Sierra-1 LFR1100 active, ADA1500-4 and -8
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