Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater my thoughts m60 vs m22

i recently recieved my m60s and i had a chance to compare them directly to my m22s using my HK 525 zone 2 option.

I will start with the basics.
Obviously the m60 has much better bass output. the m60's bass is very clean and noticeable, while the m22s bass is clean, but neither low nor loud.
The m60's have a much better soundstage. while testing i was sitting 10 feet away from both the m22s and m60s(in my 15x24 basement). when i first got my m22s i thought "wow, i really like the soundstage. this is much better then what i heard at tweeter, good guys ect." But when compared to the m60s the soundstage almost sounds bad. the m60's really filled the room. not just with volume of sound, but quality of sound. it is hard to describe, but basically, the m60s really opened up the sound. the m22s sounded more like two speakers while the m60s sound like a soundstage.

the m60s are warmer then the m22s. when both the m22s and the m60s were playing together(HK zone 2 option) i could hear the m22s above the m60s even though they were playing at the same volume. the m22s sound is 'brighter'. i did not expect this. while the tonal quality is the same, the m22s were definitely brighter.

i think the m22s are just as accurate as the m60s. i could not hear a difference. but, my ear is not 'trained' for such listening precise listening. i can tell the difference in accuracy and detail between lesser speakers and the axioms, but to me they reproduced the sound quite similarly.

i am not sure what category this fits in, but to me, the m60s really sounded 'fuller'. i know this probably had to do something with bass output, but i also think the m60 sounded more complete.

it is really amazing how much my view of the m22 has changed since getting the m60. when i first got the m22 i really liked it. it is still better then all the other 400-800 dollar speakers in the stores i went too(except for bass output), but compared to the m22, there is no way i would go back the m22. the m60 is really an amazing speaker.

hands down the m60 is worth 400 dollars more then the m22.

unfortunately i was never able to hear the m22s with a subwoofer. unless my HSU comes by monday (which is when i will be sending back my 4 m22s, i doubt i ever will:(

on another note-has anyone used HK's zone 2 option and noticed a difference in quality of sound between the L/R mains and the zone 2 speakers? i am just wondering because it is possible the zone 2 is not as capable as reproducing sound as the regular L/R mains.
just a thought

That's pretty much my impression between the two as well. The M22 is great, but the M60 does everything the M22 does, only bigger and better.

it is really amazing how much my view of the m22 has changed since getting the m60. when i first got the m22 i really liked it. it is
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still better then all the other 400-800 dollar speakers in the stores i went too(except for bass output), but compared to the m22, there is no way i would go back the m22. the m60 is really an amazing speaker.
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i meant to say that compared to the m60, there is no way i would go back...
but you knew that:)

since it is a sunday and i wont be shipping the m22s off until monday i decided to use my 4 m22s with my m60s to make a center channel, 1 rear surround and 2 surrounds.
the m22 made a very good center channel. i tried it both on its side and standing up(on top of my tv-it was pretty high up). i could hear no difference in sound between the vertical and horizontal positions. although you could tell where the tweeter was when placed on its side, it really wasnt an issue. once i started to watch the dvd(Aliens-Quadrilogy edition) you didnt think about tweeter placement. only when i was specifically listening for a difference in sound could you tell the m22 was on its side. what i mean by this is you could tell the tweeter was to the right or to the left of the center axis of the tv. when vertical, you knew the tweeter was directly in line with the center axis.

the m22s made great surrounds. being slightly 'brighter' then the m60s they really shined in bringing out minute detail such as gunfire, the aliens walking, and off screen effects. i really didnt notice any bass coming out of the m22s though. when i heard bass, i knew it was coming out of the m60s. i dont think very much bass is sent to the surround channels in the first place.

as for the rear surround, i really tried to listen for sounds coming from the rear m22. unfortunately, when a lot of action took place(which is ussually when the rear surround went into action), i would get mesmerized by the movie and stop paying attention. oh well. in any case, i think an m22 as a rear surround was overkill. again, it is my belief that very little bass signals are sent to the surrounds during a movie.

question-if using only one rear surround, does your reciever compile the 2 rear surround signals into one and send it to the rear surround? or does the reciever only send 'rear right surround' signals to the rear surround(and vice versa with 'rear left surround')

i almost forgot-i had to use 18 gauge wire to connect my reciever to the rear surround-i ran out of my 12 gauge cable:(

In reply to:

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question-if using only one rear surround, does your reciever compile the 2 rear surround signals into one and send it to the rear surround?

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Actually, both rear channel speakers use the same signal, so "7.1" is really 6.1 with 2 rear speakers.

Mark

See? I'm not crazy. That 6th or 7th channel in the rear doesn't make that much difference! I laid out the cash for a second amp, and the M2i's so I could go from 5.1 to 7.1, and I'm kicking myself in the butt. Certainly NOT worth the extra $780 it cost me to make the switch.

Well...if do not want that Odyssey amp....I will take it for what you paid for it.

I haven't even got it yet! I was referring to the Rotel 1070 (which I actually just sold this weekend!)

I'll probably keep the Odyssey. I may end up selling the Axiom M2i's, or more likely, I'll move them into our computer room.

Geez, you guys are giving me buyer's remorse before I've even bought! :-)

I can't afford the M60, and my wife's vetoed it anyway... I guess the trick is never to hear them!

Having heard the M2i's in a tiny room, I think the only issue with my M22's was that I was using them in too large of a room. In MY room the M60's are much better than the M22's. If your room isn't too big, there's no need for buyers remorse with the M22's.

Well, according to my crummy measurement (couldn't find my tape measure, had to use a 60 inch sewing one...), the room's about 17x18x8, with a double doorway sized opening into the kitchen and a single open doorway into the (little) hall. I think I'll be fine with the M22s. I only sit about 8 ft from the TV/speakers, so...

God, I feel like a newbie again! It's so ...refreshing. Sort of. But not really.