Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Advice from Axiom Owners M2 or M3 or M22 as surround

Hi,

I want to upgrade my surround and back surround 7.1 speakers setup. Axiom is now on my short list. I know they made the QS4 or QS8 for surround but I prefer direct firing for surround (maybe my room).

Is anyone here using M3 (or M2 or M22) for surround?

Wich one (M3, M2 or M22) would you recommand?

My front are Def Tech Mythos ST couple with a SuperCub 1 sub.

Thanks,

Eric

eric, i recommend to you what i have which is the QS8v3 for surrounds and the M2v3 for surround back. for surrounds (sides) nothing is gonna generate the gigantic sized surround field (which gives you that perfect surround effect)that your gonna get from the Q's. i have a 7.1 system and the setup i mentioned is incredible and i'm glad i went that way and will recommend it to anyone wanting to go 7 channels.

i hope this helps, best of luck.

please keep us posted!

Eric, keep in mind the Axiom QS-Series ARE direct-firing...they just happen to fire in four directions at the same time.

As to which of the others would be preferable, that's difficult to know without knowing how the Mythos sounds for comparison.

They are the Dick Cheney of surround speakers.

I would still recommend trying the QS's as they are the better speaker for surround duty, but I would recommend the M2 if you must go with a direct firing speaker. The M3's are not as good with the midrange which is where a surround should excel, IMO.

Invading in all cardinal directions simultaneously.

Quack quack quack .

Eric, I'd also suggest that you use the QSs at least for the side surrounds. I wonder if your preference for direct firing is in comparison to dipole surrounds. If so, note that the QSs aren't dipoles; all the drivers operate in phase. They're a variation of direct firing which results in much more spaciousness and to a considerable extent combines the best aspects of monopole and dipole surrounds.

If you have enough room(say 7-8')between the listening position and the back surrounds for the monopole speakers(most likely M2s)to disperse their sound, they can work well, but even in that situation QSs wouldn't be inappropriate.

Can someone explain me why (technicaly) M2 will be better than M3 for surround?

Because the M3 attenuates the midrange, to cause the lows and highs to appear louder. Some people like this better. Purists prefer the M22 or the M2 over the M3.

According to your question, I'd choose the following order of preference: QS8, M22, QS4, M2, M3.

The M22 seem like a good option but the speaker is a bit big... If I settle for the M22 but the On Wall version, will I notice a big drop in sound quality compare to the regular one?

I don't think the m3 attenuates the midrange, it just has that hump in the bass.

Adding colouration between 80hz-100hz is precisely one of the reasons why many feel the midrange is recessed in the M3. To take this example further, equalize 10kHz-20kHz up so you now have a smiley curve. The midrange is still unchanged but you will hear how it kills the midrange even more. A somewhat neutral pair of headphones and a MP3 player with a equalizer will show you this also.

Now I think it is also due to the fact the M3 uses the 6.5" while the M22 employs the 5.25". It seems the 5.25" plays much nicer in the midrange noted by the different crossover points the 5.25" mates with the tweeter in the M2, M22, M60, M80 designs. You will notice the 6.5" is crossed no higher than 2.2kHz by itself.

The on-wall does not provide the fuller sound that the bookshelf does. But it is still a viable choice.

Nobody here use M2 or M3 as there surround?

I think you'll find a large number of people (myself included) came to Axiom because of the QS8, and then picked up others from the line. Axiom's purpose-built surrounds are that good.

Nope, but I use the M2 as a center and it works very well. Compared to other front firing speakers, the M2 will work just fine for such a non-critical application. Don't sweat it.

The pedant in me must agree with the pedant in you.

Really, for rear surrounds, do you need a bass boost?

Is an extra 10Hz, 60 vs 70, going to make a noticeable difference for rears? I don't know.

For the M22s, I would ask if the extra clarity/detail is going to make any difference for a diffuse surround sound field. personally I don't think so.

I bought an M2 for a center channel and I found it to be lacking too much in the lower end for male vocals. It seems odd that you found it to work good in that application. Right now I'm pairing the M2 with the VP100 and I still find it a little missing in the male vocals, so I'll be swapping out the VP100 for the VP150 sometime soon to see if that helps. I don't have the room for the VP180 or I'd go that route.

i really think it depends on the size of the room, distance from the speakers and whether or not you've got a good sub cut in just right.

i have a VP180 in my main HT room which is much, much bigger than the room my M2 center is being used in and they both sound great for the space that they are in. the fact is that in my smaller secondary HT setup in my basement office, i use 3 M2v3's for my fronts and i was absolutely shocked at how good they sound as fronts paired with a good sub to bring up the low end. for me, that wouldn't work out very well with my main HT room as i believe my M80v3's would over power the M2v3 being used as a center.

both can be used as a center, no question, like i said it depends on the size of the room and distance your sitting from the speakers and of course the listeners preference which may change everything!

I have the Mythos 2 speakers in my bedroom coupled with a small sub. I'm no expert, and I've never done a direct A/B with the mythos as part of my main system, but I think the tone of the mythos is very similar to the Axiom speaker's sound. Niether speakers feature any coloration of the sound. I'd go with the QS8s, and especially if they are mounted close to the seating positions. The farther back to get from the seats, the better a direct firing speaker will sound. If you want direct fire, the m2 and m22 are pretty close, with the m22 featuring more low end which isn't very important in a surround speaker. The on wall speakers lose a bit of bass but that would be fine in a surround speaker.

Also, you may want to consider the mythos gems for surround since they have been known to be voiced the same as your other mythos speakers, or I can recommend my mythos 2s. They mount to the wall very nicely.

Also, is this for multichannel music, or movies? Movies benefit the most from the QS8s while music would suit a m2 or on wall m22 nicely.