Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Stereo The big showdown: M40 vs M50 vs M80 (VERY LONG)

Yes, the accuracy.
It's incredible how some of my best music, perhaps a first independant cd recording of an early band, now sounds so 'sloppy' because the speakers reproduce such an accurate sound. I love the music still but i will have to get used to a bit more hiss and a whole new 'version' of the songs.

Oh well, time for new music i guess

Bumping a long ago, super review.
Don't know where fhw ever got to, but he's one of the few to have heard the often forgotten M40s.

New child + new house + new job = no time for forum-surfing.

'Nuff said.

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These recordings that I used to listen to, and that sounded bad on the M60s, sounded EVEN WORSE on the Bose.

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I really have to agree with this comment.

I'm one of those people who do, occasionally find my M60s a tad bright. The funny thing is, I've become aware that some recordings really are bright! I had always found a couple of Heart recordings from the 80s bright, but never really thought of other CDs as the same. Now, I can be listening to a CD on a totally different, non-Axiom system, and it hits me: This recording is bright and sibilant! I just never really noticed before.

I seriously wonder if my Axioms have taught me to be a better/more critical listener?

It was this post that made me decide to go with the M40's (over the M2 or M3's). And I've never looked back...still a great little speaker.

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New child + new house + new job = no time for forum-surfing.

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I think many understand completely.
I've only recently had some time to peruse the threads again but i suspect that soon enough it will be short lived.

That doesn't mean the great effort in posting the 3 speaker comparison shouldn't be highlighted from time to time. Next up, blind testing of the youngin!

It is great to hear this from others. I have had the exact same experience. I keep looking for just my newer cd's and musical dvd's when I really want to enjoy my 60's. I was a bit disappointed at first with the flat sound that was coming out when I would put in some older live recordings and some of the classical music. But you guys hit it on the head, if the speakers are telling the truth, which seems quite apparent that they are, then the recording is just not that good.

I also agree that having axiom's and really listening to things does make you a more trained listener and of course that leads to a more critical listener. (Note: Don't bag on your buddies inferior systems, just brag about your own!)

Once again this forum gives me relief that others experience the same things as I.

Again, if you haven't tried it yet, the best live album I have tried is "Dave Matthews Band and Tim Reynolds Live at Luther College". The acoustic guitar sounds so good it is ridiculous.

M60's, VP150, M22ti's, Hsu sub

Hey guys! The Epic 40 is back!! (Embarassed to say I haden't looked at the Products page for a while)

See that!! Give the M40s a bit of respect, and we get the M40 HT package back again!!

Because of fhw's original post, I decided to audition the m40's, because 95% of my listening is stereo music, with the other 5% watching DVD's. The m40's seemed like the perfect size, and I thought they sounded good, but I wanted to be sure I wasn't missing out on anything. I ordered a set of m22's and m60's, and A/B'd them with the m40's (no sub).

I must be one of the few people who has auditioned m22's, m40's and m60's at the same time. I'll spare the excruciating details, and just give the highlights:

1. I found the m40 to be a great speaker for playing DVD movies. I can't imagine needing more than this for the two mains of a 5.1 home theatre system. Several of my friends have a "home-theatre-in-a-box" 5.1 system, so I'm quite familiar with their performance. Watching movies with the pair of m40's alone puts these HTIAB systems to shame. I can only imagine how much better they sound as part of the Epic 40 system. For me, these speakers have more than enough bass output - especially for stereo listening. The m40's have the added benefit of not requiring stands.

What do they lack? Clarity in the midrange and vocals. At first I thought the m40's to be pretty decent, and was ready to keep them. Unfortunately, I complicated my life by doing an A/B comparison against the m22's, and in comparison to the m22's, I found the midrange of the m40's to be noticeably recessed, and the vocals sound a bit off compared to the m22's. If Axiom would put the drivers of the m60 on the cabinet of the m40 and still arrive at a decent tonal balance, I think that would be the ideal speaker for me (more on that later).

2. The m22 is a good bookshelf speaker, with wonderful clarity. I recently listened to a pair of Energy Connoisseur C-3's, and I thought the m22's to be more clear in the midrange. With a smaller living space, I might have been satisfied with the m22's - especially if I could have placed them on top of a shelf. I could have even lived without a subwoofer. Unfortunately, my living space is large, and the layout necessitates stands and a sub. With the cost of stands and a decent sub bringing the total for the m22's higher than a pair of m60's, there was only one thing I could do...

3. The m60's are huge, by my standards. I auditioned some Energy Connoisseur C-7's a few months ago, which are of similar size, and thought them to be too large. I think the same of the m60's, and would be happy to take a hit on bass output in exchange for a smaller cabinet. I much prefer the size of the m40's. Despite my misgivings, the improved clarity of the m60's when compared to the m40's was undeniable, and of course they crank out just as much or more bass. Advantage: m60's.

It seems like the m60's lose just a touch of midrange clarity when compared to the m22's, but that is possibly because with the m60's the added low frequencies are superimposed. A proper comparison using a sub would have helped. I have a basic understanding of the frequency response plots, but I'm no audio engineer. However, I still wonder why the m60's don't have two 5 1/4" drivers, and one 6 1/2" driver, so that the mids are boosted. Maybe that would make them too forward sounding?

For the record, I kept the m60's and shipped back the m22's and m40's. They do everything I want, albeit in a larger package than I'd like. Still, it's a more compact arrangement than stands and a sub.

I listen to a bit of classical and jazz, but mostly folk, alt-country, alternative pop, and electronica. I guess with classic 70's and 80's rock the m60's may sound bright to some. I can't say, as I don't listen to that kind of music. I find them anything but bright, and at the risk of being crucified on these boards, I would actually love to find a speaker that reveals even more midrange detail. Unfortunately, nothing I listened to in the price range of the m60's could beat them for clarity, so I'm keeping them. I'm sure that a $2000+ pair of speakers could best the m60's, but I can buy a pile of CD's with the money I saved!

I'd also like to compliment the level of discussion on this board. It's (mostly) technical, polite and people seem well-informed and avoid delving into hocus-pocus arguments. I've learned a great deal from reading everyone's posts!

krs, thanks for the added notes.
I'll pass this along to my brother.