Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Advice from Axiom Owners M22 Placement

Hello:

I am in a situation where I no longer have enough room to keep my floor standing speakers. I have an Axiom center speaker and was thinking about buying a pair of the M22s. I will be placing them in a bookshelf off the sides of the 60" plasma. I am worried about sound issues as they are rear ported.

I wanted to see how other M22 owners have mounted / placed their speakers.

Thanks!

Personally, I'd either mount them on stands, or go for an in-wall, or on-wall variety before putting a a bookshelf speaker in a bookshelf (???).

I have M22's in an open bookshelf with a 60" tv. I don't have boundary issues to deal with, I have them about 1/2 inch protruding from the shelf. You may get reinforced bass if you have them in an enclosure, which isn't a bad thing, I would think. There were some discussions with M22's about additional bass response when placed near a corner or a wall a while back.

My M22v3s sound wonderful in my HT but they sit in the open on a pair Velodyne subs for stands. They are quite tall & rear ported, so that may be a problem if you are placing them 'in' a closed type bookshelf system.

I also have a couple of M3v3s (on Axiom 24" stands) that are shorter & perform well without the need for a sub for most music - rear ported again though.

If you can work any of these into your system, I believe that you'll be most happy with Axiom products despite what a few others may say elsewhere.

Good luck in your quest...

TAM

Hi seven,

There is some compromise putting bookshelf speakers in a bookshelf, but it's not the rear porting that's the issue--a few inches behind the rear port is sufficient to let the speaker vent. Rather, it's the adjacent boundaries of the shelving that you don't want interfering with the output of the drivers, which is why we at Axiom suggest you have the front baffle of the speaker protruding from the bookshelf by an inch if you can manage it (a couple of centimeters in metric). If you do that, you'll keep compromises in sound quality to a minimum.

Regards,
Alan

Dusty, as the replies of Alan and Nach indicate, if you don't recess the speakers "in" the bookshelf, but have them protrude slightly, reflections and refractions are minimized and there should be no significant problem.

The problem that I've found over the years is that bookshelves with a 'back' on them (ie, not open) are often not deep enough to allow rear-ported speakers to fit comfortably to allow them to breathe.

If they are 'open backed', then the whole unit can be moved out from the wall to for some breathing space...

TAM

Can the M22s can be turned on their side without screwing up the audio? My wife is not happy that they are 20" tall. They will be used as front left and front right channels.

Thanks.

The dispersal pattern is definitely compromised and the horizontal dispersion suffers. The degree to which this would be considered "screwed up" would differ with the individual user.

Would it be better to go with a pair of M3s over the M22s to guarantee they will be standing upright? I really don't want to compromise the size of the speakers but may not have a choice. How much different do the M22s sound compared to the M3s? I will have 2 subwoofers playing as well.

Thanks.

If at all possible, I'd order a pair of M2 and a pair of M3 so I could test them both. Listen to 1 for a few days, then swap and listen to the other for a few days. Then send one of them back.

If not, most people would say to pick M2 with sub and M3 without sub.

I didn't know about using to 2 subs which is ideal; however, in case you missed my reply over at AVS, here it is:

GTP's assessments are correct. From what I read from the gurus on the net, vertical speakers normally shouldn't be laid down if you can help it especially if there are more than 2 drivers in each enclosure.

I have 3 sets - 2 separate audio only systems (M2s + EP-400 sub; M3s only) & a HT ( M22s each perched on its own Velodyne sub).

The M2s are small bookshelfs that are really intended to be used with a sub for fuller sound & are more than satisfying in that type of array - I am most impressed with mine - big sound with small footprint.

M22s sound similar to the M2s as they have the same drivers. They are are good on their own but shine with a sub.

The M3 has the same tweeter but bigger woofer. It therefore sounds similar but also a little different (if that makes any sense).; however, for normal music listening, it doesn't really need a sub as it has a bit of mid bass bump to give the impression of more bass. This actually works quite well, not quite as accurate as the M2 series but still pleasing to listen to.

If your room isn't too large, I'd recommend the M2s with 2 subs & M2 center (if you could use it vertically). I don't have an Axiom center so I can't help you there.

If a sub is not involved, then the M3s would be a better way to go.

Overall the M22s would be best due to higher power handling, but I hear ya when it comes to WAF.

Unfortunately aesthetics are often large problems that need to be overcome. System appearance is very important to me as well...

TAM

Dusty, if there's no way you can get past the height issue(my M22s certainly don't look unusually tall)then M2s with subs will be very good crossed over at 80 or 90Hz.

Here is an uneducated question: the M3s can handle up to 175 watts of power. If I attached them to an amp with 200 watts per channel, would I blow the speakers?

You would probably blow up your ears first, ha! Having more power than normally required is far preferable to being under powered where clipping of the amp can & will damage drivers.

You will be fine as long as you don't go stupidly loud beyond the limits of the speaker - that would be stupidly loud. Besides, your subs will carry much of the load by contributing a ton to the overall sound field thus relieving stress on the sats...

TAM

As Tom indicated, the determining factor is how loud you play a speaker, not the maximum power capacity of the amplifier. Most of the time with a speaker of average sensitivity, such as the M2, the speaker will use about 1 watt for a comfortably loud level. The amplifier can be capable of 200(or 2000)watts, but there's no danger of damage to the speakers(or your hearing)if they're not played at dangerously high levels. Even on brief peaks it's unlikely that more than about 100 watts would be used.

The M2's sound extremely similar, actually pretty much identical to the M22's (A/B listening with some pretty select music is about the only way to tell, IMO) and as you will have subs I would get the M2's and never look back. Tom & John have covered the power question.