Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Stereo axiom vs. b&w

i'm trying to decide between the axiom m3ti's and the b&w dm303's. anyone have any opinions?
oh, i may be able to up my budget too. so how about another comparision between the m22ti's and the 601's Series 3's.
Thanks

I'll give you an opinion, as I have not been able to audition the Axiom M3Ti's in a controlled comparison with the B&W 3O3's, or the M22Ti's against the 601 Series 3's.

However, I suspect that the Axiom M3Ti's, in terms of neutrality and freedom from coloration, would come out on top, as would the M22Ti's.

In comparisons over the years that I've made with B&W against some prominent Canadian brands, including Axiom, the B&Ws tend to be pleasant but have more of a "colorful" sonic signature. Of British speakers, however, I've found B&W to be more consistent and neutral than many of their Brit competitors (Celestion, Wharfedale, KEF, etc).

Alan Lofft
Axiom Resident Expert

I happened to compare my M3Ti with B&W 601s2 and I believe I made the right choice.

I listened 602s2 before and felt the sound of 602s2 is good enough for me. But it's out of my budget, even 601s2. I ordered the M3Ti and brought them to the store to select CD player. I saw a pair of demo 601s2 were on sale so I asked them to bring them to compare with mine. The middle to high is comparable to M3Ti or you may think it's a little bit better than M3Ti, if you like the style. But I really cannot find the bass from 601s2 while there are some from M3Ti. I agree with my friend who said that b&w 601s2 won't work without a subwoofer.

Regarding the 601s3, I have no idea about it. I checked the spec and found that they improved it to 60hz. It should be obviously better than 601s2 but I don't know if it's good enough for you.

Just my two cents.

Alan,

Since you mentioned it, what is your opinion on Wharfedale?

Personally, I have heard both the M3's and the B & W 303's, and I prefer the M3's. They have a more open and neutral that I prefer. The 303's seemed a little 'filtered'. Sometimes voices out of it didn't sound 'human' or natural. The M3's, I believe, also have a little bit more bass, but I am not too sure. That could have been due to placement of the speakers. I could not compare them side by side, thus the different listening positions and environment could have affected the bass performance. Either way, I believe that either of these speakers should be matched with a subwoofer.