Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Stereo New W22s- where's the beef?

Hi there,

I just took delivery of a pair of W22s and have mounted them on my wall as per the instructions. I like the look of them but I gather that they must not be recommended as stand alone stereo speakers as there is a serious lack of bottom end. I had a pair of PSB Alpha bookshelf speakers that had more oomph than these.

I realize that they're probably meant to work with a subwoofer amd I have every intention of working my way up to a 5.1 system, but I was surprised nonetheless as I was planning on using them just as stereo speakers with my Denon 1610 until such time as I can rationalize getting the remainder. Anyone have any comments?

I have a pair of M22s and love their sound but wouldn’t recommend them w/o a subwoofer. The only Axiom bookshelf that is IMO designed to be used w/o a subwoofer is the M3 and it’s variants. However, going that route you trade off the flatter frequency response of the M22s. I haven’t seen a frequency response graph for the PSB Alpha but I imagine they play with it a bit like the M3 does to trick you into thinking your hearing more bass.

One problem I’ve noticed in using a speaker with a flat frequency response is that w/o the high end rolling off and/or the low frequencies being manipulated to simulate more bass they will sound “thin” compared to other speakers that do. However, it took me no time at all to appreciate the more accurate sound. But still for most things I would want to use a subwoofer with the M22s and their variants.

Welcome to the Axiom forum Abraxas.

A few things to check over.

1) Do you have the speakers wires hooked up correctly for proper polarity (not likely the problem but worth checking)

2) In your receiver settings are the W22's set to small or large. If they are set to small change the setting to large so they run full range.

3) If they still lack bass to your tastes you can apply up to a 3db boost in the bass tone controls of your receiver. Many people like to do this around here if they are not using a sub with the 22's.

4) Since they are bookshelf speaker, bass response is limited unlike a floorstander which by design can go much lower. Even so both are best paired with a subwoofer.

Hope this helps.

Cheers!

I have had the M22's for about 2 weeks now, and I love the sound that comes out of them. They excel in highs and mid-range, but they do lack in base. The only thing I have to compare them with is a Sony HTIB (home-theater in a box). I ran just the left and right channels of this in comparison to the L/R with just the M22's and, well, there just wasn't any comparison. Like comparing dirt and gold.

I've been told that running these with a SW is comparable to the M80's in sound quality, just not as loud.

Thanks for the response. From your reply it's as I guessed - I've got to admit the highs sound pretty good, but a subwoofer is definitely on the cards now.

The polarity is correct and the setting is 'large'. I'll try the bass boost, at least until I get the wall shaker

Thanks

Don't go to crazy now with an excessive setting on the bass tone controls. They can safely handle up to a +3db boost from what I remember.

The W22's may not have the same amount of low end as the M22s or any other bookshelf regardless of bass settings, the cabinets are quite a bit smaller so a sub would be a must for the on/in-wall versions of these speakers.

I would agree with jake. I don't listen to music much other than concert DVD's, but my W22's give it up around 95 hz. If I listened to more music I might be concerned as a sub is not as accurate that high, but for movies it's a non-issue for me.

This leads to the next question, which subwoofer would match the W22's better? It looks to me like it would be the EP400, because of the extended upper bass. If I were to go that route, I would probably just order the W22 and W100 in Black Oak, instead of the shiny black I really want, and put the $556 saved toward the $1100 SW.