>>They just shipped me a pair of M22ti today and I should receive them on this Friday, can't wait!!
I think you're really going to enjoy them. We really need to get all these speakers in the same room some time...
OK, first impressions :
Big & solid, very nice finish. Needs another port on the front for easier carrying. Notes to self -- Home Depot 12 gauge speaker wire is NOT polarized. Bare wires stopped being the lingua franca of speakers about 20 years ago, now everything speaks "banana plug".
First record was "So Much" by Lori Cullen, a local jazz singer. Album is piano, string bass, drums plus vocals -- very crisp & clear. Played the first track about 20 times with the sub off, switching between M2 and M60.
First observation -- if you don't match the levels between the speakers exactly the two speakers sound totally different. If you match levels exactly they sound a lot closer together. I need an assistant.
Second observation -- the M60s sound boomy with the rear 8" from the wall. Pulled out to 12" from rear, much better. Probably still need to go out a bit further. Wondering if my problem with the M2s + sub was that they were "trying to boom" but there wasn't enough low bass for me to really notice. Poor little guys
OK, let's stay with rear of the M60s 12" from the wall, fronts of M2s aligned with fronts of M60s. M2s are to the left of M60s, ie same separation between the pairs, I just have to wiggle my head left & right when I switch speakers.
Moving on to "Look of Love" (Diana Krall). This is a much more "lush" recording with something going on at most frequencies -- the previous album was pretty much "one instrument at a time". Setting the levels accurately is much easier on this recording, and it takes a hefty twist of the volume control. There are no dB markings on the receiver but if there were it would be about 4 dB of adjustment (there's a sweeping generalization for you
).
Very pronounced difference between the speakers but hard to say which is right. The M2's still sound frighteningly similar to the way I remember Quad ELSs. There is definitely a difference in midrange response between the speakers on "S'Wonderful". With the M2s Krall's voice sounds like it has less lower midrange but is very VERY clear -- on the M60s her voice sounds a bit deeper but maybe a tiny bit less clear or less forward. Either the M2 has a peak the M60 does not, or the M60 has a dip the M2 does not, or their peaks & dips are at different places. Auggh, need more educated ears or a room full of test equipment.
Strings seem a bit more prominent on the M60s, while female vocals are a bit more prominent on the M2s.
Very interesting results when I start cranking the volume up. Even at the SAME volume control settings (ie ignoring the difference in efficiency) the M60s sound a lot more comfortable when the volume goes up. Hard to describe... not really distorted or edgy, more like "I turn up the volume but things don't get all that much louder". Not talking about room shaking volumes here, just the dividing line between "tasteful" volume and "turn it up, I like this" volume. Could just be the small enclosure, I guess, but I don't think I have seen this behavior before. I don't believe I am hitting the power limits because the M60 keeps getting louder and still sounds clear at the same volume control settings.
Just walked back into the rec room and switched from M60s back to M2s (and turned the volume up to keep SPL constant). The M2s just have the NICEST vocal reproduction I have heard in a long time. They really do sound like little Quads.
Tried some A/B-ing and focusing on imaging. Again hard to say -- seemed like some instruments imaged more sharply on the M2s and others were more sharply imaged on the M60s.
Starting to think the room needs a lot of work. Never had good speakers in it before -- this room was optimized more for "fireplace & red wine" than for acoustics. The room is pretty live.
Anyways, the only big surprise here is that the M2 seems to "stop getting louder" earlier than I would expect. The M60 sounds a lot more "dynamic" (loud things louder, quiet things quieter) than the M2, although there is no noticeable distortion with the M2 at the levels where the SPL seems to stop going up with the volume control.
Everything else is what you would expect. The M60 has bass and doesn't seem to need a sub for music, while the M2 really benefits from a sub with some genres of music (although jazz, most classical and a surprising amount of pop sound perfectly fine on the M2 and seem to have all the bass you could want).
I am NOT going to buy M22s just to see how they sound.
I am NOT going to buy M22s just to see how they sound.
I am NOT going to buy M22s just to see how they sound.
I am NOT...
Anyways, going to start playing with the sub now and try to compare (M2+sub) to M60 with and without sub. Back in a while...
JB
P.S. Dang, the M2s still are the best speakers I have ever heard for female vocals.
