Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Technical Questions M60 Enclosure

Does the M60 have separate enclosures for the 6.5" woofers and the Mid/tweeter? And how are the ports positioned in relation to the drivers?

The 6 1/2" woofers are in a seperate internal enclosure from the 5 1/4" woofer and tweeter. The ports (front and rear) are all in the 6 1/2" portion of the cabinet.

Ian Colquhoun
President & Chief Engineer

Does the M80 also separate the woofers from the mid/tweeters. Also, does the M80 crossover the woofers at 300 Mhz.

The M80, like the M60, does have separate enclosures for the 5 1/4" woofers and the 6 1/2" woofers. Crossover points between the 5 1/4" woofers and the 6 1/2" woofers are the same for the M60 and M80 at 300Hz.

Ian Colquhoun
President & Chief Engineer

Check out how much the design has changed since the early days. Of course this is just the tip of the iceberg.

It would be great to see pics of an m60ti intervals and bracing versus current. It looks like grills might be different, flat across the bottom versus the angular half a hexagon cut mine have. I’m also curious if the specs and power handling have changed at all over the years.

Currently the m60v4 ( not hp ) states 250w rms with 1000 watt dynamic peaks. Do my ti have the same handling capability? I can’t really find a reliable statement of old specs.

Another difference is the HP option. We’re the cabinets beefed up at all to handle the additional stress? Another final thought, if the HP woofers can handle more SPL are the tweet and mid designed to handle more too? Or do the HP woofers actually play lower hz at a wider range of volumes. ( ie : “ choose the HP for 2 channel playback with no subwoofer needed. “).

The m60 lives on.

Edit: Another change is the Bryston A3. Suspect it has more bracing and is rated 6 ohms so likely gets the HP woofers standard. Power handling recommendations are 100-250 watts per speaker rms. No dynamic quoted. Like the black woofers.

A lot has changed, and much of it is unknown to us. Axiom has experimented a ton to extract as much fidelity as possible from the Millenia architecture while preserving capital investment. This is my educated opinion as an outsider looking in.

I'm sure your M60s can handle 250W "average" with 1000W peaks. The fundamental architecture of the drivers supports these numbers. The question is "to what levels of performance?" There is a big chasm between function and performance. And it is this chasm that Axiom has narrowed.

The free-standing cabinets were beefed up and I think any audible remaining resonances were treated within the realm of practicality given passive filters. With the actives, some of these resonances were further addressed. With the Brystons, Axiom went even further and the price reflects that. I would expect the Model T acoustically disappears better for example than an M100 and it is also more visceral.

The mid and tweeter were re-designed partly so they can handle more power. There is a big difference audibly between v2 and v4 in this regard. That doesn't mean one can't like v2 mids. But v4 mids are more emotionally impactful.

The only reason for the HP driver is to play louder with less distortion - particularly at the lower end of the woofer's range. That doesn't mean the standard driver is crap. Axiom has never quantified how the standard vs. HP drivers compare. But I am sure if a prospect was to describe their listening room, system and habits, Axiom can make a reliable recommendation.

Ian has said he prefers the M60 with the standard drivers more than the M5. He's also said an M2 with sub is like an M60. I think with the current sub technology, M2 with sub is better than just an M60.

Nice response mojo. Thanks. Very interesting. I agree they are wise to capitalize on the millennia design, especially because it works well.

While the m80 and m100 are amazing speakers , no doubt, I feel like the m60 is the unsung hero of the line up. I’m curious what their best selling model is within floorstanders and within the entire line up.

I remember a video of Andrew saying they test everything well beyond what they are rated. I’m curious what these m60 can do with maximum power behind them, which I could test now with my larger space. ( Very grateful you told me to wait to upgrade components awhile back bc it’s a totally different game now in this house. ). The thought would be to get some quality amps that will eventually drive some m100 or LFRs ( want to avoid subs if possible in the great room ) and then the m60 will be the mains for my basement theatre. But until then I can enjoy maximum power playing thru the m60s.

But I digress, it’s very interesting to look forward and look back at the changes and evolution.

I wonder what is next for the venerable m60?

The number of reviews on this page may reveal which floor-stander Axiom sells the most of. I think while they sold more of the M80 due to the small difference in price, the M60 has not been an unsung hero.

https://www.axiomaudio.com/floorstanding-speakers

Sure Axiom tests well beyond spec but what does that really mean? I think what it means is you can exceed the maximum ratings, to a point, and not damage the speaker. It doesn't mean you won't hear the effect of playing them out of their specified range.

With regard to playing them to their full potential, I expect a 2-channel ADA-1000 would do that with your version of the M60. With the M60v4, the ADA-1000 would quit before the speakers do.

Ha true!! There’s a lot of reviews for both! Wow. Never really looked at that. I guess I was just going on forum chatter and general perceived interest. The big guns always get more attention ( m80 m100 ) but in reality a compact quality floorstander is really all most folks need I guess and are easier to drive generally. It’s a well placed and specked product. And sounds awesome too!

The m60 is a stalwart player for sure. And they look great as well.