Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Stereo New listening room and search for speakers

Hi all,

We will be moving into a new (for us) house the 1st of Dec and will need to upgrade the speakers for our 2-channel system. The main room is 18x23 with a 2-story vaulted ceiling. In other words a big room to fill. My current bookshelf speakers are too small for the room. Our listening is a mix of classic rock, blues, jazz and some classical, mostly at moderate volumes.

My main criteria is a speaker that throws a nice wide, yet accurate, soundstage so that we get good sound from anywhere in the room. We will mostlikely place the speakers along the 23' wall.I have listened to several speakers from other companies (B&W, Totem, Thiel) and hope to listen to Vandersteens this weekend. I'd really like to keep this purchase under $1,000 so the only way to do that with some of the other brands is to buy used, which I'm not against, but new would be better How do the M60's compare for those of you that have some experience with other brands. Will the sound, and soundstage be a fit for the room and our listening prefs?

Welcome dude,

There are a few members on these forums with vaulted rooms, so hope they jump in here. My basement game/ht room is 900 sq ft with 9ft ceilings, so 8100 cu ft. My m60's and ep500 sub do a very good jump filling the room, and some times I like to crank it up a bit, when the wifey takes the kids to the mall.

Are you planning on also using a sub?

When I was speaker auditioning about 1.5-2yrs ago, I listened to B&W, Paradigm, NHT, and a few others. I almost purchased the B&W 703's as I liked the sound, but the price scared me away. To me I think the m60's are very similar if not a little better than the 703's. Price was a lot better. Not sure how Axiom can make such good speakers at an affordable price.

In my opinion the Axiom speakers are designed to give you an accurate representation of the cd your listening to. So, if you have a CD that was recorded poorly in the studio, some flaws may come out. However, recordings that are mastered of high quality will blow you away. Some people purchase speakers that are described as being "laid back", which hide or muffle what your hearing, this is not Axiom.

Depending on where you live, you might want to check out the "audition in your area" thread in the "Hearing Things" section forum. You might find someone in your area that will let you listen to their Axioms, that is what sold me. Also, on the "Store" page, check out the Factory Outlet, if your not in a big hurry, you can save 10%...

No, I am not planning on using a sub with these speakers.
I will check out the "hearing things" section to see if anybody here in Atlanta is available to audition them. How is the soundstage of the M60's, does it extend beyond the speakers or not.

I think my m60's have a great soundstage and are very easy to place.

Without a sub M80s would probably be the way to go IMHO. I auditioned the BW703s and loved them. Price was a bit much so I thought I would "settle" for M60s.

Much to my surprise the M60 sounded considerably better to me. I have since went back to listen to the 703s again and I definately like the M60s better.

If you check audiogon you can get B&W's at a very good price, albeit used.

I have listened to the 700 series and was very impressed. I would like to put the 703's in the same room as my M80's to see the difference.

Totem is a difficult line to discuss as I have found each speaker has its own sound signature.

I compared 703's to m60's about 2 years ago, and preferred the m60's for better overall sound, and price is no question.