Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Stereo Are M60/80's overkill for HT?

I'm trying to decide between the M60's and the M22's. I use my
system exclusively for HT, never 2 channel. Please help me understand this.
If the lower frequencies are sent to the subwoofer, what advantage would the
M60's have over the M22's? I understand that the M60's have a lower frequency
response than the M22's, but if I'm sending bass below 80hz to the subwoofer anyway,
I'd never take advantage of their capability, right? Like I said, I never use my
system to play 2 channel sources. With that in mind, what advantages does the M60's
have that I would not get with the M22's?

I would not call them overkill at all. What is your room size? Everything down to 80hz is still very low, and the 60's will blow you out of the room with deep bass. Also, LFE below 80 hz are non directional, meaning you can't tell the direction from where the sound is coming from, you can only feel it in your chest or when you hair stands up.

Most people think what they are hearing is coming from the sub, but in fact it is coming from the woofers on the main speakers.

Sirquack, my room size is 14'x16'. If the M22's have a frequency response that's capable of producing the lower frequencies you refer to (just above cutover), what advantage do you get from using m60's?

I'm sure some of the 22 owners will jump in here as I've never owned them. The 60's have dual 6.5" woofers and the 22's have dual 5.25" woofers, so overall the 60's would give you better/tighter bass. However, the 22's are no slouch and have great reviews. I'm sure they would do fine for your room, especially if you throw in a sub for the real low LFE's. Also the 60's are rated at 37hz +- 3dB which is much lower than the 22's 60hz +_ 3dB's, so the 60's would be expected to do a little better in the bass category. For HT, I'm sure you would be fine. Also, the budget is better on the 22's, so you can spend more on a great sub.

The main thing is that the 60s will be able to play more loudly and still sound nice and clear. The M60s simply have about twice the driver area (2 x 6.5" plus 1 x 5.25") doing the work, plus the larger cabinet makes them flat down to below 80 Hz whereas the M22s are starting to roll off around 100 Hz.

Many people have also reported a "bigger" sound (whatever that means) from the lfoorstanders, possibly a function of the drivers being spread over a wider vertical distance but not sure. I noticed a significantly bigger, more open sound when going from M2s to M60s.

I agree with bridgman. And the same can be said for 60s to 80s.

For M22's you are going to want to set the crossover at 100Hz. I have them.

There is certainly a few decible dip if you would se the crossover at 80Hz. However, in HT I honestly think you would be much better off buying a better subwoofer rather than upgrading to the 60's.

One of the most impressive facets of a home theater is simply the power of the bass. Upgrading from the m22's to the m60's will really be negligable in a home theater unless your room is large. Even then, I would upgrade to the VP150 first before upgrading the mains to m60's.

Honestly, I always put my subwoofer in the front of the room, so I don't mind if the 80-100 Hz is somewhat directional. It will sound like those frequencies are coming from the front speakers anyways.

In reply to:

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For M22's you are going to want to set the crossover at 100Hz. I have them.

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Um, correction. Dan wants to set the crossover to 100hz.

Experiment and see what works best for you. Most people find 80hz is the best setting as far as mixing with the mains and keeping the bass low enough that it doesn't sound localized. But again, ymmv.

Well...looking at the M22's graph that is the best setting for them.

Localization really isn't that much of a problem. As I said, I have the sub right up in front.

The M22 graph does not take room loading into account, they are rated down to 60Hz so an 80Hz crossover would work just fine. It's all about what works for each persons application.