Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Stereo noob needs guidance! m22t

Hello,

Always wanted a HiFi Stereo setup, but never had much to spend. On advice of my friend purchased the m22ti, came yesterday, breaking them in now. So far they seem a little harsh for my ears (i listen to most types of music). He mentioned i would need a sub to really make m22t shine, and i just put an order for ep125 in the outlet but I couldn't find any reviews on the sub. The amp i am using is sonic impact super T-amp. I am concerned if the amp will drive the m22t and the ep125 well, its only ~10w per channel, and is the ep125 a good sub for the money? thanks!

ps. I tried searching but found nothing!

The EP125 has it's own built-in amp, so it does not require, and will not use, any outboard amplifier power. The T-amp should drive the M22's okay, provided you do not demand high/concert level playback, especially paired with a powered sub to relieve the T-amp of any bass duties.

Let us know how it all sounds.

Welcome urbanachiever

In reality speakers don't break-in, although many seem to think they do, I really don't want to start that flame war again...

I'm interested in what is causing you to use the word harsh. Axiom speakers are designed to be neutral and true to how the CD was recorded. So, if the particular CD was recorded poorly, those flaws will come out. On the other hand, properly recorded musice will sound great to your ears.

Do you have any Tone or EQ controls set for treble or midrange, this will make your speakers sound bad. Most will keep everything to zero.

I'm sure some m22 owners will jump in here and give advice, but I've never read any reviews calling the 22's harsh...I think a lot of people are used to speakers that are not efficient or detailed, so when they buy Axiom's their brain hears the difference. Once your brain "Breaks-In" you will like them...

Welcome!!

There was a review of the EP125 and M2 completed quite a few years ago; it can be found right here in the "reviews" section of this web site!

Yea, as soon as you enable an equalizer the m22's sound awful. I was reading people complaining they were harsh, and i'm like, wow, i guess I can sorta see that. *Click* turned off the equalizer on iTunes. All better. Perfect sound.

I used to think my M22s were a bit much. The longer I have them the more smooth and neutral they sound. I doubt the speaker has changed, so it must be the listenener unless I broke them. I agree they do sound best with bass or treble set flat or better yet with the tone defeated.

thanks for the advice. I am not using any sort of audio processing, and the T-amp has none. By sounds harsh i mean that the higher pitched sounds stand out and don't blend too well with the rest - but that goes away on some cds/mp3s. I also was pointed towards the HSU stf-1 sub. How is the m22/hsu stf-1 combo? Reading the m2/ep125 review it seems that ep125 is more meant for the m2 and the ep175 is meant for the m22, but I don't want to spend more on the sub atm.

thanks

Urb, the reason that it goes away with some CDs is probably because it's some CDs which are mixed "hot" in the upper mids/lower treble so as to sound more impressive on mediocre equipment which sound a bit harsh on accurate speakers such as M22s. Tone controls or equalizers can help some with bad recordings.

A STF-1 would suit the M22s just fine, but also consider the Outlaw LFM-2, designed with assistance from Dr. Hsu, which might even have a slight bit more extention.

Hi Urban,

I've not heard of a Sonic Impact Super T-amp. Is this a vacuum-tube device, given its tiny output? The M22s when fed with a clean signal from a well-designed solid-state amp or receiver (any Denon, H/K, NAD will be fine) will not sound harsh unless the source recording is harsh.

The EP125 is meant for rooms of modest size--dens, bedrooms or small living rooms, and in that setting it performs exceedingly well with any main channel Axiom bookshelf models. If your room is 2,100 cu. ft or larger, get a subwoofer like the EP175 or EP350 with a 10-inch or 12-inch driver, or something from Hsu.

I suspect your Super-T amp may not be linear (if it's a tube device it won't be; the output iimpedance will interact with M22's impedance curve and alter frequency response). If that happens, even a few dB variation in the midrange response can make an otherwise smooth and detailed speaker sound recessed or aggressive.

Try borrowing a good solid-state amp of the aforementioned brands, one with lots of power in reserve (at least 50 watts per channel or more) and known very low distortion levels and then see how the M22s sound. If you need recommendations for really good source recordings, you'll get lots of suggestions from everyone here.

Regards,

From reading a review of the Sonic Impact T amp it seems the distortion level sharply rises after 5 watts. I too would suggest as Alan does and try a different amp with the M22s. It would seem you could send this little amp into clipping real quick like.