Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Stereo Blown Away....

Call them. I've called late night, weekends and always got an answer. It sure wont hurt to try.

Greg, welcome. All competently designed amplifiers, certainly including even older Denons, are ruler-flat in their frequency response in the treble, so you can be assured that any lack of details in the upper frequencies isn't due to that. The M50 uses the same tweeter as the other Axioms and in the treble range above the crossover point there's very little difference between them, with each supplying plenty of treble(if it's in the program material). It may be that you simply want more treble than a speaker with accurate response delivers. Have you tried increasing the treble tone control?

I don't understand.

What is your source material? (MP3, CD, etc? Bitrate? Source?)

Type of content? (hard rock, classical, etc.)? Can you provide some examples of particular passages that are not to your satisfaction?

How loud are you listening?

I am willing to bet it is the upper midrange you are not happy with as the tweeters are all the same in Axiom's line up so the trebble range should be good. The lack of midrange and lower top end would be due to the M50's design. I think you would be in for a treat to get some M60's, or if you can afford to go further, the M80s.

Hi Tom,

Thanks for responding. I mostly listen to jazz on CD's. Maybe I'm looking for something that isn't there. What I was trying to describe was where the higher notes from different instruments blur together. I was hoping that the notes would be more distinguishable. Maybe it's my ears.
BTW. Got a response from axiom and they suggested getting a NAD or Outlaw Audio integrated amp. This seems to conflict with most of the responses here. I'm going to try to talk to their rep tomorrow (he's not there today).

Greg

Do you have access to another receiver from friends or family that you could try?

Well, I guess it *could* depend on the vintage and overall power output of your receiver. While Denon is a highly respected brand and any of their modern components should be fine, if you are listening at very loud volumes to a very old, 30WPC unit, you might benefit from upgraded electronics.

Wid's suggestion is a good one. You could also prevail upon some local retailer to take your M50's in to the store and audition them against other speakers using his equipment.

How old is your CD player? While I seriously doubt there would be an audible difference, DACs have improved somewhat over the last 20 years.

Of course, it is possible that you would simply prefer some other speaker's character. I like Jay's analysis.

hi,

thx again for responding. i listen at pretty low volume. i think jakewash might be right that my problem may be with the upper midrange. although it might be my hearing. i have tinnitus. guess i should get it tested again, before blaming the speakers or the receiver.

greg

my cd player is a Marantz (about 6yrs old)

Hello widl,

I’ve owned a set of M50’s for about 4 yrs now, and I do respect the other comments, even comments by Alan Lofft , but I have never felt that the M50’s are laid back. They sing, with plenty of detail. A lot of people confuse detail with volume. I’ve been into audio gear for over 25 yrs and have auditioned speakers by API, Paradigm, Klipsh, Infinity, Bose, Linn, Kef and others and would rate the M50’s with any speaker in their price range. And although I have never heard the M60’s, I bet the M50’s sound closer to the 60’s then the guys and girls at Axiom care to confess. Rate them too closely to the 60’s and they could steal sales away from a more profitable product. That’s just good business.
Your issue sounds like they might be more environmental then anything else.
Is your listening area heavily upholstered? i.e lots of cushions and/or thick carpet and the like.
As someone else suggested, check the controls on your electronics, bass, treble, filters etc.

Greg, I think we can eliminate watts and source component as potential problems.

I would definitely pursue the tinnitus issue. Likewise, you can obtain pretty dramatic changes by simply moving or toeing-in your speakers within the listening space. A few inches or a few degrees really can make a difference.

Good luck. Cheers.