Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Advice from Axiom Owners M60 vs M80

I won't quibble with happy M80 owners, even if they are overcompensating for something. I've heard the M80's; they are great. I have not lived with them, however.



I don't think either one of these things is true at all. I regularly listen to my M60's at sensible volumes and I think they sound great. M22's plus a good sub is a dynamite combination, especially in a relatively small room. There are MANY audiophiles that believe no floorstander can compare to a monitor style speaker for imaging.

Do not underestimate the sheer size of the M80's. They are very deep (unlike some of their owners). That alone could restrict your speaker placement options considerably, and how your room interacts with your speakers is really very important.

Regards,

Tom
M60 Posse Member

Wow, I'm not sure if you could squeeze more insults in there, Tom!

With a room that small, Tom has a point. However, the M60s are only 2 inches less deep than the M80s, so it's possible that the M22s+EP350 might be a better choice.

Not to mention that many 80 owners pass out due to the excellent sound - so their enjoyment is limited.

I've owned M60's for a few years, M80's currently, and M22's upstairs. I think they all sound great at any volumes.

CB, the M22s aren't "missing" anything in the mid-range. The M22s use the same two 5 1/4" drivers for the mid-range that the M80s do(the M60 uses one of them). Both measurements and listening confirm that the mid-range is superb.

Oops, my bad. I meant to say the M50 not the M22.

M60s may sound better for movies, but the M80 club has a way better secret hand shake and decoder ring.

All three sound very close. The M22 and sub sounds ideal for a room your size.

I felt that the M80s were a little nicer on the upper end: airy or transparent if you have to use audiophile descriptions. Alan Loft an a few others here feel that the M22 actually delivers more detail.

Alan is actually the one that talked me out of the M60's and into the M22's, in a room much larger than CatBrat's. I figured since the M60 is a three way, it must naturally sound better... Alan shot that down pretty fast. Brent at Axiom also explained to me on the phone, the whole reason the M22 was created was to create M60 sound in a smaller room, allowing the speaker to be driven slightly harder and allowing it to stretch its legs. It's like having a Ferrari and putting around town, versus having a Mercedes and leaning into it a bit to get the same result.

I will never disagree with purchasing the best product you can afford, as long as the diminishing returns don't get too high.

CatBrat what is the primary use(s) for this system. If HT is a large portion of it I hope you are planning to get a subwoofer. In that case my choice would be the M22s + sub since I consider the M22s the best sounding Axiom speaker for the money and paired with a sub will give you full range for any music or movies. If you don’t plan to get a sub then the M60s or M80s would be my choice.

Rick made a good point that if you ever plan to move these to a larger room you might also want to go with tower just to future-proof yourself. However, depending on what you plan to purchase right now the M22 mains could later become surround back, width, or height speakers and the mains replaced by towers in a larger more complete setup. Also even in a larger room don’t assume placing towers will be easy. Most people have to compromise tower speaker placement even in large rooms due to screen height. I spent quite a bit of extra time searching for a house that fit all my other criteria and also had high enough ceilings so I could fit my M80s under the screen.

I own both M80s and M22s and when both the M80s and M22s are crossed over at 80Hz to a subwoofer they sound almost identical to me. The M80s sound a little better in a large room but that’s all. Also bookshelf speakers and a sub can often be easier to place in a smaller room as you can place the bookshelves for best imaging and the subwoofer for best bass and have the best of both worlds something difficult to do with only towers.

Cheers,
Dean